Wildewire

I started blogging about LGBT issues after a friend suggested that Facebook really wasn't the appropriate forum for what I was sharing. She was into the "Hi, how you doing?" experience and didn't want to have to deal with wild rantings about inequality everytime she logged on. She told me she rarely read anything I posted and would 'clear' her page of my contributions before getting on with her chats. I laughed and apologised and was introduced to blogging. I'm quite squirrell-like in the way I use information: I read something and store it for future reference by date and subject in reference to different projects or interests and refer to them regularly thereafter. Unfortunately, I ran foul of copywright rules when a gay website (certainly NOT one of the better ones btw) reported my activities to Wordpress who immediately closed my blog and told me I would have no further access to it. I had made no attempt to claim any articles as my own, I ensured ...

After my thoughts about a LGBT international 'Underground Railroad' I'm pleased to see this new organisation The Kaleidoscope International Diversity Trust is to be launched today in UK with the likes of Elton John and George Michael providing the celebrity endorsement.  I was bemused to see David Cameron as a poster boy offering his support when UKBA is definitely part of the problem. His letter to the organisation crows about the developments UK has made etc. I hope Kaleidoscope has the balls to take UK government to task over its treatment of LGBT asylum seekers in particular AS WELL AS putting pressure on governments dependant on UK aid to include LGBT rights and protections as a prerequisite of receiving that aid, (but I very much doubt it will happen). Each of the UK party leaders have issued letters of support, it means little without their commitments to ACT.

look at gay adoption More articles by Claire Connor » Written by: Claire Connor Tags: Adoption , gay adoption , Gay families Share It has become almost impossible to get from cover to cover in an LGBT magazine without being confronted by advertisements that claim to assist the community in creating a family. Countless services declare their ability to make the process not only seamless, but also, in their glossy spreads, glamorous. Photographs of cute, giggling babies veil the serious side to starting a family. There are a great many children in care who need to be adopted And what are these advertisements offering? Rarely adoption. These agencies want to make money. Purchase a womb in the form of a surrogate, purchase some sperm, purchase a turkey baster (or rather, ‘insemination kit’); purchase pretty much anything one needs to create a baby. What gets forgotten, however, is the option of starting a family with a child that already exists. Th...

I read an post from the excellent blog LGBT Asylum News , by Joe Mirabella that got me thinking... When that idiot David Ssempa in Uganda first presented his proposed bill to (amongst other things) make homosexuality punishable by death, my thoughts were immediately about how to reach out to and if possible protect my LGBT brothers and sisters. I sit here in comparative luxury where my sexuality isn't something I need to hide and I have laws that can protect me should (some) things go wrong. I remember when none of that was true, but even then it wasn't as bad as the fear so many in Africa feel from day to day. -I thought about how escaped slaves were smuggled into Europe in the 19th century, how Jews were smuggled out of Germany in the 20th.  But how could this be done?- Part of the the problem is the UK Border Agency who seem keen to send LGBT people back to places where they are in danger of being murdered by their own states in the name of "protecting" UK'...

I've had a month or so off to sort out big changes in my domestic life: my 13year old Godson is now living with me after coming here with his father and me being 'vetted' by our local social services. It is ironic that this has occured: a couple of years ago I decided that whatever my relationship status, I would begin the process of registering as a foster parent. I have felt for a long time that I had parental- or at least mentoring qualities and that I'd enjoy the responsibilities of caring for a young person. I'd always felt it would be a job for two and added it to the list of prerequisites of any potential partner- lol a definite contributing factor to my prolonged singledom! I did foster a 16 year old for a year with a partner in Hampstead about 20 years ago, through a project called The Albert Kennedy Trust after spending an entire year thinking about it and whenever we left the house there'd be a mental check: "If we were fostering a teenager, w...

The number of people becoming infected with the AIDS virus in USA was about 50,000 a year between 2006 and 2009, according to data compiled by government epidemiologists. This apparent statistical 'plateau' is apparently hiding the disturbing fac that there was been a rise of 12% per year of cases among black gay men- from 4,400 in 2006 - 6,500 in 2009. Moreover; this was the only group of gay men where a significant increase of cases was recorded.   I read an article that suggested research has shown that young gay black males don't engage in riskier sex than their white counterparts, but that fewer of them know they're infected in the first place so they're spreading the virus more widely. This level of ignorance is sad and dangerous. A 20 something told me last in Newcastle year that as long as he didn't "shag" anyone over 30 (I WASN'T offering btw!) he would be safe from HIV!!!!!!!! I remember my own invincible youth, when a visit the the c...

I met with a friend on Saturday afternoon in a pub in the Toon -after he sent a text telling me he was where we had agreed to meet! -Not working is messing with my head it weird ways.-Not to mention the fact that I rarely go out drinking and was still a bit dazed from Friday night, I had to jump into a taxi and got there 25 minutes late. Luckily; my friend is usually the late ones for these rendez-vous, so he let me off. My friend has been instrumental in the continued success of the annual "Pride" event that takes place in Newcastle. I'd go as far as to say that were it not for him, the last three events would have been complete disasters. I've been critical of the organising group for being effectively closed to anyone who wasn't used to the unnecessarily bureacratic way they did things- it was also of note that most of the committee were former students who knew each other socially- but who didn't really use 'The Scene'. -I've spent lots of my...

A lot of the reason I research what's happening for LGBT people around the world is because of my dissatisfaction with 'The Gay Scene' where I live in North East England. "Yes" this region is at the bottom of several of the lists categorising English Regions- population, employment, productivity etc but there is little real poverty here it exists for some but,  certainly compared to many other countries it is hard to compare. There is less money here, but it costs less to live here than in other regions so there is a definite feeling that its all relative. -for example:The house in which I live cost me at least £210,000 less than a similar propery would have done in London . Newcastle upon Tyne is the "regional capital" so unsurprisingly, it has more gay bars and clubs than any other city in the region (it has more of everything else too). Despite its 'regional capital' status, only about 250,000 people live here- under £3m in the whole region....

Next month, my 13 year old Godson and his dad will arrive to stay with me. My Godson is to stay here whilst his dad moves to Switzerland. The details are complicated and not for public consumption. I've wanted to parent for a long time, I did foster a 16 year old from an organisation called "The Albert Kennedy Trust" with a partner a long time ago and I think I am good at it. One of the reasons I've not pursued this since is that I thought it would be better to attempt to parent with a partner. Nevertheless, I hit 50 this year and thought: I have a large-enough house, am economically 'settled' etc- do I really need to have a partner to foster? Then, my friend contacted me with the proposal that my Godson comes to stay with me- at least during school terms and it seemed appropriate so I accepted. Every couple of hours of every day as their arrival approaches, I'm hit by another image of what could go wrong- that's not me getting "cold feet...

The fact that John Ssewagudde was convicted of raping a WOMAN in Glasgow should be a bit of a clue. Of course; it is not impossible for gay men to rape women, just highly unlikely. This pond scum is clearly grabbing at any available straw to save his ass and knows that the headlines generated in Uganda will raise public opinion in protections of Gay people. But he RAPED someone! We simply do not want people like that among us and the fact that he would try to use this defence to save himself is truly annoying when people are living in fear in Uganda. I hope they send him back to Uganda and they believe he IS gay it would be poetic justice of a kind.

I'm for it personally! - Recently anti gay, homophobic and outright bigoted Americans have been targeted by people lobbing glitter at them. I love it. I think its quite eloquent really: there's only a threat of very minor actual harm and mostly the targeted individual is inconvenienced and hopefully embarrassed. But, guess what?- "conservative gay groups" are unhappy and asking glitter-bombers to stop claiming that they're not furthering the cause. If Gay Pride and liberation had been left to "conservatives" we'd still be waiting. It is no coincidence that Gay Liberation started in a drag bar - Stonewall (from what I have read) was a haven for gay men who were not welcome in other bars because they drew attention to themselves and therefore to other patrons working  hard to "blend in". I read of drag queens being refused entry to gay bars at a time when it was fashionable to try to 'out butch' straight guys. There wasn't anyo...

By Cleo Thompson, founder of The Gender Blog [I'm fascinated by the information in the article and have reproduced it in its entirity here. Note all the link backs to the original placing and acknowledgements to the author] Since the mid-1990s lifting of the unspoken ban on the appointment of homosexuals to the court system in England and Wales, there has been considerable change for the better. Nevertheless, the judiciary is often still perceived by the LGBT community as an unwelcoming environment and it continues to face considerable obstacles in achieving the greater diversity in its ranks to which it has publicly committed. Earlier this month, the Law Society in London hosted the launch of a survey prepared by the Interlaw Diversity Forum (ILDF), a group established in 2008 to encourage LGBT diversity, equality and inclusion in the UK legal sector. The report, authored by Prof. Leslie J Moran of Birkbeck College and Daniel Winterfeldt, a securities ...

Since autumn 2009, seven students have committed suicide in the Minesota school district. One of the five ex students suing the School District attempted suicide after years of bullying in and outside school. They logged a constant stream of incidents of verbal and physical abuse, of being urinated on, stabbed in the neck with pencils, slammed against walls, pushed into lockers, choked. Yet the school districts policy of restricting discussion about Lesbian and Gay issues meant there were no opportunities to address what was happening to students who were being  relentless harrassed and bullied because of their actual or perceived sexuality. The appellants want this policy struck down and they seek compensation for the harm they suffered whilst supposedly in the care of the School District. Of the five students; one identified as lesbian, one gay and one bisexual. The other two said they were subjected to slurs and attacks because they were perceived as gay; one for his personal...

"conservative family organisations" in New York plan demonstrations against same sex marriage on Sunday - the day 700 same sex weddings are slated to take place. The anti gays claim that it will be a chance to express the will of the people who were denied a vote when the legislation to allow same sex marriage was introduced by politicians: they want a chance to express a vote. -Which is interesting because  polls leading up to the change in the law seemed to show clearly that there was a definite trend in favour of same sex marriage... -mind you: its pretty possible to get the results one really wants with opinion polls! All recent reports from New York suggest that more and more people ARE accepting of same sex marriage but organisers of Sunday's protest expect to be able to muster about 5,000 people to make their message heard. Its not clear exactly what form their protests will take, perhaps picketing weddings and attempting to spoil the 'special days' of lo...

Najib Kabuye is the treasurer of a human rights youth organisation. On Sunday July 3rd, he escaped his burning home after neighbours responded to his alarms, broke padlocks and let him escape. The house was rented, but Mr. Kabuye lost almost all his belongings. Why? - He had been approached by youths earlier that day, who accused him of recieving foreign grants to promote homosexuality- a common charge against LGBTI activists since David Ssempa claimed the existence of an international Gay conspiracy to recruit Ugandan children into homosexuality, possibly in retaliation for significant evidence that his "ministry" was heavily bank-rolled by American fundamentalists. It is a clever tactic in a poor country: to spread rumours that LGBTI people are getting financial support from international sources to 'corrupt' young people with expensive gifts most ordinary Ugandans may never afford; it stirs up hatred and jealousies that somehow justify horrific violence in the m...

Stonewall has published the second edition of its survey of how LGBT friendly UK universities are: Gay By Degree is sets out to give LGBT students an idea of how supportive their potential place of study will be to them. It is important to feel secure in an environment like a university, studying in a supportive institution could mean the difference between academic success or failure and is the sort of issue straight students never have to think about. University can be an intense period of self discovery and development, it is important to allow students the space to discover themselves and how they relate to the world, if they are made to suppress their real feelings and conform to social norms that aren't natural to them, the negative effects can be harmful and long lasting. Stonewall assesses each university against ten criteri: the guide assesses 160 universities according to whether they have a policy that protects LGBT students from bullying, whether they have compul...

LGBT Asylum News reports that since July 1st, UK Border Agency has been recording sexuality-based asylum cases- information that was supposed to have been collected by them since last year. Damien Green MP claimed the delay [in recording the reasons why someone is claiming asylum???] was a cost issue! It is interesting that UKBA didn't announce publicly that it was making this important change, why was it quietly introduced? Was it perhaps because the cost issue claim was an embarrassing lie? "IT problems" were cited [Yeah, right] Recent cases threatening to repatriate people to Uganda and Zambia, highlighted the fact that the agency wasn't implementing directives from the courts and that there was a "head in the sand" approach to the safety issues of gay and lesbian individuals facing the prospect of being returned to countries they'd fled for fear of violence and death. It was found that some of the Agency's data was two years old and had no upda...

Fourteen MPs originally signed an early day motion (designed to raise the profile of an issue rather than seek legislative change): “[T]his House welcomes the decision of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to intervene in support of four cases involving discrimination against Christians that are presently with the European Court of Human Rights; notes that this is a long overdue recognition of the need to defend religious liberty and marks an important development in relation to a better understanding of the role of faith in public life; and further welcomes the commission’s advocacy for reasonable accommodation in the workplace as an acknowledgement of the place of conscientious objection for those with religious belief.” John Hemmings MP then withdrew his name with the following statement: “I would like to apologise to the LGBT community for signing this EDM in error. My view has been quite clear in that I do not support a religious free pass for discrimination....

Laura Fotosky has been the topic of much comment recently since her decision to resign her job as a Town Clerk in a New York town, because she felt that officiating at same sex marriage ceremonies contravened her beliefs as a Catholic. My personal reaction was that: if a Civil Servant is unable to serve the community as they are directed by law, there should be no discusssion: Thank you and good bye. Of course there is much breast-beating and claims that Christians are being persecuted for their beliefs etc. I find the whole discussion about same sex marriage bewildering: These Christians need to accept that for good or ill; LGBT exist, everywhere and as previous centuries of repression have showed: legislation isn't going to make them disappear. Given those facts, surely it makes more sense for these self-elected moral guardians to encourage Gay and Lesbian couples to establish stable relationships like those championed by most religions- AAH -but perhaps that is the problem: a...

In the media storm over the appointment of Paul Oetken as a US Federal Judge, the nomination of Arvo Mikkanen, who is of Native American descent has been almost entirely overlooked. Only two people of Native American heritage have been appointed to the Federal Bench in the history of USA and one of those discovered his heritage long after his appointment. ( a mere) 170 black people have become federal judges in US history, but the land's original human inhabitants have been systematically denied representation. When Senator Schuman spoke to formally welcome Oetken to his role, he spoke of the encouragement his appointment would give to young aspiring Gay lawyers as proof that they could rise to the highest offices in the US judiciary; Mikkanen's appointment could have a similar effect on Native Americans. But: six months after President Obama nominated Mikkanen, there have been no speeches in his support and no movement at all despite many other appointments like Oetken'...

The Episcopal Bishop of Long Island; Lawrence Provenzano has given Gay clergy in homosexual relationships nine months to either marry or stop living together.  “I need to be mindful that the church has always asked people to live in committed monogamous, faithful relationships. I won’t allow heterosexual clergy to live in a rectory or church housing without the benefit of marriage. When one puts it in that context, then you see how it all begins to make sense,” said Provenzano. The Bishop's directive has caused some concern, but he has said that no one who ignores it will be disciplined for failing to meet the deadline. I wonder what would happen to any priest who declined entirely.

Fox News seems to be leading the charge of indignation and claims of wasting public money over the discovery of a study of Gay men's penises! The summary of the research appears to be that men with below average penis size tend to assume the passive role in gay sex, men with above average penis size tend to assume the active role and men with average sized penises tend to be "versatile". Intelligent people will be able to see how this study can help health-care planning in relation to HIV and safer sex but it is fuel to organisations like Fox.

I didn't go due to torrential rain, but I wasn't keen in the first place: I'd been briefly on the committee and even that was a difficult achievement: someone paid by the local authority as an "observer" manipulated things to ensure her female friend became Chair of the organisation running the festival, despite this person having little to no relevant experience. I joined them on a "ticket" for reform: the organisation has been famous for its lack of engagement and major moaning about lack of community support: They do things their way and wonder why no one wants to be involved in the planning and delivery. A regular refrain from the local authority rep is "the council wouldn't like that...". In a brilliant ploy before Christmas I was provoked to a point where I shouted down this individual at a Board meeting and then was told that they felt unable to continue the meeting with someone as aggressive as me so either I left or they would. At ...

According to Pink Paper.com more Lesbians are loosening marriage knots than men. -Which surprised me. There is an old joke about the 2nd lesbian date involving Pickfords removals indicating their eagerness to become coupled. The suggestion is that people jumped on the band-wagon as soon as Civil Partnerships were available and are repenting at leisure. I find it interesting that in the US the push is towards marriage or nothing whereas in UK we were more than content with "civil partnerships". It must say something about the differences in culture and society on opposite sides of the Atlantic. I'm glad that people are beginning to realise that if they're not REALLY confident about the longtermedness of their potential relationship, there's no need to jump into a legal arrangement to acknowledge it... Unless they're just after parties, presents and and excuse for a romantic getaway I suppose.

Good the the Presbies! I can't say I knew much about them until I began to read of their bids to modernise their religion to reflect the realities of living here today. I know that for many 'devoutly religious people' fulfilling the letter of the word of their 'holy texts' is the be all and end all of their faiths but it has always bothered me that when the texts were written, so much less was known about how everything works and fits together and where it all came from than we know now. The Bible is a bronze age text written initially for a nomadic tribe for whom masturbation ("wasting the seed")was a capital offence. The Presbyterians are opening their hearts and their churches to all. Had Jesus acted like Pope Benedict XVI "Christianity" might not have been anything more than a local and short-lived movement. It was radical of the prophet to talk about inclusion at a time when religion was about being distinct from your neighbo...

Its surely a great thing that; because of the change in the law in New York, there is already an increase in people applying to be adoptive parents and many of them are same sex couples. There will (always?) be public breast beating from those claiming children brought up in same sex families will suffer, despite overwhelming evidence that the biggest dangers they face still come from outside their families, encouraged by the very people who claim to be concerned for the children. Surely it is better for a child to be brought up by people who really want to be with them; who didn't "have an accident"and made the best of things; who planned for their arrival; who thought about how they would have to change their lives to ensure the child gets what s/he needs. Same sex couples know all the negative assumptions and expectations of them as potential parents. Every time I hear people associating paedophilia with homosexuality I become physically enraged, the "proof...

"History is written by the victors" California's governor Jerry Brown has signed a law that requires the state's schools to include LGBT history in their teaching. "Familly Advocacy Groups" like the "Capitol Resource Institute" in Sacramento aren't happy. -Why? -Because they say it will teach children to accept homosexuality. Well: "No shit Sherlock!" These people are reacting as though teaching children about the contributions of LGBT people to the social, political, scientific and economic development of their country and the world will encourage them to experiment with homosexuality. I believe their real fear is that their own children will question their parents' views in ways they won't be able convincingly to answer. Bigotry, prejudice and hatred are largely learned from people around us: if our parents are afraid and distrustful of a thing or a person, they're pretty good at teaching those reactions to their chi...

This is the main organisation that advises refugees and asylum seekers. With its demise it will be even more difficult for people to get the information and advice they need. I would imagine the already creaking and inadequate system  will be increasingly overburdened and even more poor decisions and injustices will occur. On a happier note, I'm pleased to read that Robert Segwanyi -(pictured) who was tortured and imprisoned for being gay in Uganda had the threat of being returned to Uganda from detention in UK stopped at the (typically) last moment. this was after a judge decided that he didn't believe that Robert is gay, and then commented that even if he was, there wasn't any real danger for him to return to Uganda. Its no wonder the UK Border Agency is accused of Institutional Homophobia. Officials have seriously advised LGBT people being deported from UK to "tone themselves down" and "be discrete". When they're forced to admit they...

I notice that the Irish times' comments in The Cloyne Report " The Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne" that the Catholic Church was less than helpful and reveals systemic cover-ups and determined blocking of anyone trying to get to the truth of allegations of child abuse within the church. The double standards of the Catholic Church is breathtaking: decent, LGBT people of faith are made to feel unwelcome or tolerated as sub-standard of defective whilst evidence that serious crimes against children are brushed under the carpet. If Ratzinger had started his reign as pope with a fervent desire to root out the real problem of institutional child abuse in the Catholic Church rather than his gay witch hunt, he would have more credibility with more people than he does now. The church should be leading the charge for real justice, not trying to distract the public by institutional gay bashing as well.

President Clinton's 1993 "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law was intended as a compromise against the flat ban against Gays in the American military. It has been unpopular with both sides and has been behind the blackmail and intimidation of gay servicemen and women. The law was finally declared unconstitutional by federal judge Virginia Phillips in September 2010 and since then, President Obama's administration has edged closer and close to full repeal. Despite pretty clear acceptance judging by sucessive opinion polls that Americans don't feel the ban on gays in their military is justifyable or sustainable and that there is limited opposition within the armed forces, there are frantic efforts to delay the implementation of the repeal- because its all going too fast! <sigh>

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reports an increase in Anti Gay Crime during 2010 in America at a time when crime figures in general are apparently falling. Whenever statistics like this appear there is often a suggestion that the actual percentage of the incidents themselves have not risen, but that more victims feel there will be a point in them reporting crimes against them because there are more robust laws to address them. Recent cases of anti-gay police actions in America that resulted in financial compensation and the sacking of corrupt, officers who lied about their actions must surely encourage LGBT victims of crime to feel that positive action will arise from their reports.

  Whenever 'reasonable people', want to score easy homophobic points, they claim to be 'protecting children' which remains a powerful weapon in the bigot's arsenal. The change in New York's Gay Marriage law has left Catholic Archbishops and a list of "fundamentalists" reeling and upset, so it is no surprise that the "What about the children?" argument is being trundled out again. I don't doubt that for SOME gay couples, a child is the ultimate fashion accessory, but I doubt they're a significant percentage of the total number in any country where it is possible and that is certainly not a phenomenon reserved to Gay and Lesbian couples. -Consider the pressure to parent: heterosexual couples who marry and decide NOT to have children are still looked down upon as if they are letting down the side. Same sex couples have usually had to do a lot to get to the point where they can look after children, much more thought than most heterosexu...

LOL I fell foul of Wordpress with my first blog. After about five months of collating information I was using to base writing about what I was seeing in international news about LGBT people, the blog was suspended for "scraping": copying articles from other places- despite full disclosure of origin etc AND the fact that I was sharing the information with a small group of people and only as a first stage in writing commentary on what I identified as "trends". Wordpress not only suspended the blog but have ignored my requests to have access to all the information I have amassed so that I would not lose all that work. I don't begrudge them taking the blog offline -I admit I didn't read all the terms and conditions (come on- who really does?), but I'm pissed that they won't let me get the information I had so carefully researched for so long. SO... I have a keen interest in the lives of LGBT people around the world, particularly as I realise how pr...