Archives for Gay Politics
What lies beneath 'gay' and 'straight'? (August 29, 2005) There's an article I'd very much like to write about in the Guardian today, except that it seems to be one of the only articles in the damn magazine not posted up online. And worse still, I wanted to take...
On Alexander and Uncle Tom... (January 8, 2005) The other day I was watching BBC Breakfast and they got their film critic on to talk about the premiere of Oliver Stone's new film Alexander. Now Alexander has not got terribly good reviews and they showed a few clips...
Why I won't be buying any Muller products... (July 10, 2004) I sent this letter to consumers@muller.co.uk today because I finally had enough of the stupid bloody adverts in which mincing gay men flounce around the place looking at straight men's cocks. I'm sorry to be crass, but it pisses me...
Lunatic Tebbit blames "buggery" for fatness... (May 29, 2004) The new caring version of the Conservative party doesn't inspire that much faith in me. I know they're all multicultural this and "ooh happy gay people" that, but all it really takes is someone like Lord Tebbit to pull back...
My blood is unclean... (May 23, 2004) I couldn't agree more with this piece on gay men being banned from being sperm donors. The same thing happened a few years ago with the blood transfusion service. They're desperate for donors and yet the rules say (in the...
Legal gay marriages in the United States (May 17, 2004) Massachusetts has become the first state in the US to allow same-sex couples to get married. Whether it will last or be crushed under the weight of a Constitutional amendment I don't know, but it's bloody wonderful in the meantime:...
On adaptive success and theories of homosexuality... (January 19, 2004) The latest issue of New Scientist contains an article - "The In Crowd" - that is both profoundly interesting and yet totally unavailable online. Gradually, I'm delighted to say, this situation is becoming more rare and more of a surprise...
A lovely article on Gaydar... (December 8, 2003) There is a quite charming article on the Independent's site today - Confessions of a Gaydar junkie - which is about one of the world's most successful (and mostly unsung) pieces of social software: Gaydar. Like most truly dedicated social...
On pets... (November 12, 2003) So Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was apparently - woo - a tremendous success in the States and everyone was so happy about it and stuff because - ha ha - funny gay men patronising the dumbass straight men...
On the distribution of gay teenagers... (August 16, 2003) Yesterday (via new-favourite-weblog Let Me Get This Straight), I stumbled upon an article about a Bronx senator and a conservative legal group in Florida who are suing the Harvey Milk school in New York with discrimination. The Harvey Milk school...
On the existence of God... (August 3, 2003) I'm an atheist. I have been for nearly twenty years, and before that I wasn't really anything - I didn't really have a position on God vs. No God. I suppose I just hadn't thought about it properly. I can't...
On a lack of fearlessness in man to man contact... (December 29, 2002) So through the magic of a constantly updating Google News RSS stream to NetNewsWire1, today I stumbled upon a piece in the Orange County Register called Manly Images. It's an article about how John Ibsen - a researcher into early...
A few thoughts on Jason Kottke's post on HIV... (December 14, 2002) I suppose this is an example where a politically neutral examination the transmission of a viral entity through a network suddenly takes on a huge weight of real-world issues and commentary and ends up looking totally different. Jason Kottke has...
Three Stories of The Invisible Poof... (December 7, 2002) So the story goes like this... A friend of mine who used to work at The Express is talking with some friends in the office. She happens to mention me in conversation. A passing acquaintance of hers stops with a...
A piece of writing from a book about Baudrillard pertaining specifically to Nietszche and history... (October 23, 2002) I've been re-reading a little book on Baudrillard because it's the only thing that fits in the pocket of my brand new coat (excessive money spent - we'll say no more about this). In it I've stumbled upon a section...
On B3ta, homophobia and teen suicide (September 13, 2002) The post below may be edited through the day. I have written it in a blaze of fury and irritation, and the language, grammar and spelling has suffered as a consequence. What the fuck is going on with B3ta? Each...
My first public and scary experience of homophobia... (August 8, 2002) I had a really nice evening last night. Really cool. But I don't want to talk about that. What I want to say is that wandering through Soho last night I experienced my first public piece of badgering because of...
On Will & Grace... (July 16, 2001) In the second post on gay issues in a row, Tom decides to take a certain amount of issue with Mark Lawson's article in the Guardian today on Will & Grace. Tom decides particularly to take issue with this excerpt:...
Help your gay children at Christmas... (November 30, 2000) A few years ago, while at University, I was quite active in gay politics - I was publicity officer at Bristol's Lesbian and Gay Society for several years. I made some nice posters, and stood in the foyer of student...
Not a real man. Not a real poof. (November 5, 2000) OK so it's a standard conversation. You're out with women and you're chatting away about someone who's just fucked them over in some way and they say things like, "All Men are pointless", or "I've never met a man who...
On 'Balanced' and 'Impartial' Journalism... (September 14, 2000) I've just read this astonishing article on a conference held by journalists about the reporting of gay issues: ["'Gay' journalists turn activists"] At this conference the question of "balance" came up - the question was Do we have to present...
On different stages in gay identity... (August 26, 2000) I've been through three major episodes in my quest for a decent gay identity, and none of them have really fitted right. First came the pre-gay "Can't we be just like everyone else" episode, where I wore what everyone else...
Super-villain or cringing victim? (August 26, 2000) There's a really bizarre article about Richard Hatch, the so-called "Evil Queen" of America's "Survivor" (which we don't get over here in UK) over at the Washington Post: "Hard to Beat, Impossible to Avoid". I kind of skim read the...
More on Gay Marriage... (July 17, 2000) A few people seem think I fell from the womb an angry crusader for queer politics. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. I started my big gay life as the biggest anti-queen you can imagine - my...
Why are married people being financially rewarded? (July 13, 2000) Jonno and Sturtle have been discussing my "anti-gay-marriage" piece. "I understand what he's trying to say: historically, marriage has been a sort of institutionalized inequity, so if queer politics are about reshaping norms and ideas of what's acceptable and getting...
Thoughts on Gay Marriage... (July 11, 2000) Just read an article on Salon.com called: "Same-sex marriage - I don't care if it is legal, I still think it's wrong -- and I'm a lesbian." and it brought home again a lot of the things that I was...
A letter to Doctor Laura... (May 31, 2000) I got an e-mail from Kerry which included this open letter to Dr Laura: Dear Dr. Laura, Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try...
On giving gay people guns... (March 21, 2000) There are benefits and there are horrors to staying on people's floors. Benefits include not having to pay rent, seeing more of your good friends and getting to know local geography. Horrors include continual exhaustion, sometimes uncomfortable bedding and making...
On Homophobic Bullying (November 17, 1998) Written as part of my journalism course, this was the hardest piece of writing that I have undertaken in my entire life. It was produced circa November 1998.
A 'Trauma' interview with Annie Vicars (November 17, 1998) This post was added late in 2001 when I tried to get some of my older work online in a vaguely useful form. Plasticbag.org (neé Barbelith) was created on November 1st 1999. Amy Vickers grew up on the Isle of...
