same-sex - Rainbow Reporter

Rainbow Reporter

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Vimu Subscription

Sex Party launched

November 16th 2008 07:56

Avenue Q was RIGHT!

A new political party to “combat creeping censorship and counter the influence of religious minority groups” sprang into being this week. Really Long Link They’re hoping to grab a Senate seat – preferably Steve Fieldings.

The Australian Sex Party – motto: “We’re serious about sex” – is the offspring of the Eros Association, the ‘adult entertainment industry’ chamber of commerce. Members are worried by the potential damage to their businesses from the proposed internet filter. But they claim their move into politics isn’t just about protecting their bottom line.

“Sex is deeply rooted in the lives of all Australians,” said Party spokeswoman Fiona Patten, explaining that the party also has policies on censorship, health benefits for sex workers, gay marriage and paid maternity leave.

I can see some of our community advocates quaking in their boots at the linking of gay marriage and the ‘adult industry’. It’s been a cliché of rainbow campaigning for some time now to say, “It’s not about sex, it’s about equal rights / a fair go / discrimination / privacy / [anything to stop them thinking about the sex!].”

Now along comes a party of professional pornographers, sex-workers, lap dancers, dildo manufacturers and the like, with an upfront pro-sex message, firmly thrusting the sex back into ‘gay’, and inviting us to join their crusade.

We’ve been beavering away at relationship recognition, de facto status, artificial insemination, parenting, pensions & benefits, superannuation and taxation (all good stuff, of course), but we haven’t been especially vocal about protecting sex on the internet. Especially gay sex.

But we should, because the web is literally a life-saver for isolated same-sex attracted people – especially young people, and especially in the bush. It provides information, help, support, friendship and, yes, sexual contact to people who might otherwise never find these things. Without freely available sex information – including porn – some might, for example, end up unhappily married.

Which is probably what Steve Fielding and his backers would prefer, of course.

It’s time we came out of John Howards closet and put the sex back into the argument, stopped pretending that same-sex equality doesn’t involve the Commonwealth endorsing, supporting and celebrating gay sex. Of course it does. And so it should.

We should say thank you to the Australian Sex Party for their pro-sex message and welcome their support for gay marriage.

Put aside any qualms about hitching our wagon to ‘a party of smut-peddlers’, as they’ve been called. Many gay businesses are in the sex trade, and gay men are big consumers of online porn. It would be hypocritical to turn our noses up at the offer of help. Why not take their money? After all, a lot of it came from us in the first place. Let’s put the sex AND the money back.

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: gay marriage, equality, same-sex, gay politics, Australian politics

Email this Post to a Friend

Good enough to foster but not to parent

October 19th 2008 21:49

Pic by Precious 1

Gay families. Gay mums, gay dads. It’s taken me a while to get my head around those concepts, so it’s hardly surprising the more hidebound sectors of society have slammed their ears shut on the topic and are refusing to hear the facts.

And some of the very people most able to prise open those ears, with a wealth of empirical, tested proof that gay women and men can and do parent every bit as well as anyone else – that sexuality is in fact irrelevant - are refusing to supply it.

The Age reported last week:

“An organisation representing almost 100 family support services is now considering advertising in the gay media for the first time to try to recruit gay foster carers, as part of a broader recruitment campaign.”

“A report recently commissioned by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare identified same-sex couples as one group that could be targeted to become foster carers, and recommended advertising in the gay press.”

“The centre's president, Kevin Zibell, said it wanted to encourage groups that tended to exclude themselves from being foster carers, including gay and single people.”

"Your personal circumstances are not the issue; the real issue is: do you have capacity to care for a child?" he said. "We want to debunk the myth that people from those groups can't be carers."

This is nothing new. I know of at least one Australian agency that has advertised in the gay press, taken a stall at Midsumma Carnival, and appealed for gay foster parents on Joy 94.9 several times in the past. A near neighbour of mine has been a gay foster-dad for more than 12 years.

Yet at the same time gay and lesbian parenting – whether via adoption, fertility treatment or surrogacy – is being vigorously opposed by the aforementioned wilfully-deaf minority in both state and federal parliament.

It seems we’re good enough to temp as parents but not good enough for the permanent job. Which is of course nonsense. But you won’t get any of the fostering agencies to agree with you, at least in public.

In the course of preparing my radio show last week, I spoke to the Centre, and to Good Shepherd, a fostering agency, explaining that I was looking at the issue of same sex parenting, and wanted their views. But no-one would speak to me on the record. Mr Zibell wouldn’t even come to the phone, preferring to relay messages via subordinates.

Why? After all, whether it’s having your own kids via IVF or surrogacy, or adopting someone else’s, or fostering, it’s all parenting, right?

“We don’t see it like that,” came the reply.

“Fostering isn’t about the parent, it’s about the needs of the child,” said another.

“We see this as a caring issue, not a parenting issue,” said a third, “We’re very happy to come on your show another time to talk about gays and lesbians fostering, but not in the current context. Not while the Assisted Reproduction Treatment Bill is going through the upper house.”

It’s clearly ludicrous to try to separate ‘parenting’; and ‘caring’ – in this context, they’re the same thing, like the front and the back of a ten dollar note. So what’s going on here? Why won’t the people best placed to provide years of good solid evidence that there’s nothing wrong with gay and lesbian parenting come out and say so ‘in the current context’? Just what are they afraid of?

The Age went on to quote Ian Seal – the gay dad I mentioned earlier.

“Mr Seal said being a foster carer was very rewarding, but he was disappointed that adoption was still not an option.”

"It's hypocritical because on the one hand we're acknowledged for what we can offer in terms of resources and love and nurturing kids, but on the other hand we're told we're not good enough — so it's a ludicrous situation," he said.

In fact, it’s the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, and the Good Shepherd organisation, among others, who aren’t good enough. They want the help and support of the gay community, but refuse to provide help and support in return. Not good enough.

Gays and lesbians will continue to foster kids, because it is all about the children and their needs, and we shouldn’t penalise them for the shortcomings of the bureaucrats managing their care. But shame on them for exploiting us in this way – for do they not also have a duty of care to the carers, as well as the children?

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Comments (1)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: gay rights, same-sex, gay politics

Email this Post to a Friend

Allegro Non Troppo Sunday 11-1

September 27th 2008 08:49

This weekend I’ll be taking the Addam Stobbs seat on Allegro Non Troppo, Sunday 11.00am – 1.00pm. Although I’m not exactly ‘musical’, Addams longtime co-presenter Peter Fortey and producer Robert Brierley assure me they’ll get me through the first hour.

In the second hour, produced by Bianca Johnston, I’ll be looking at the issue of aged care for gay and lesbian seniors. A recent report by the Matrix Guild and Vintage men painted a disturbing picture of the situation for the retired members of our community and those approaching retirement.

Joining me in the studio will be two of the people who put the report together – Project Co-ordinator Jane Kent and Researcher Catherine Barrett from Latrobe University – and entrepreneur Peter Dickson, who plans to build Linton Estate, a GLBTI retirement community in the Victorian country town of Ballan.

Join me on Allegro Non Troppo on Joy 94.9, streaming live at www.joy.org.au. The program will be available as a podcast and via the community radio satellite network.

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: gay rights, equality, same-sex, Melbourne, gay politics, discrimination

Email this Post to a Friend

It's marriage, Jim, but not as we know it.

September 19th 2008 11:33

Live long & prosper!

Just had to post this so I could use the headline - the story's here along with a great gallery of pics

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: religion, gay rights, gay marriage, same-sex, US politics

Email this Post to a Friend

Turnbull the Pink Liberal

September 16th 2008 04:56

Pink In - Blue Out

Nelsons gone, Turnbulls in, and knives are already out for the new leader. But is this good or bad for the gay community?

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Comments (1)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: religion, gay rights, gay marriage, equality, same-sex, gay politics, Australian politics

Email this Post to a Friend

Brian McFadden’s pink stink

August 19th 2008 01:57

Bernarr McFadden - no (known) relation

Former Westlife boy-band singer Brian McFadden says straight men should not wear pink.

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Comments (8)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: gay rights, equality, same-sex, gay politics, discrimination, popular culture

Email this Post to a Friend

Wong Way – Go Back

August 7th 2008 06:33

Penny Wong

Penny Wong has come in for some flack over her remarks about gay marriage on the ABC last week. As the second most senior female, and most senior gay person in the government, she looked uncomfortable at being publicly reminded she was, in fact, gay, and ended up parroting the government line about gay marriage being opposed by the vast majority of the Australian public.

In fact, all available stats indicate that the issue is, at worst, finely balanced, with roughly equal numbers for and against, with some polls flagging a majority in favour. As a cabinet minister she is obliged to toe the party line, but with a bit of finessing she could have indicated that, although forced to do just that, her true sentiments were otherwise

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Comments (3)

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: gay rights, gay marriage, same-sex, gay politics, Australian politics, discrimination

Email this Post to a Friend

On The Rainbow Report Thursday Night

August 6th 2008 06:45

Every Thursday evening 7-8pm AEST broadcasting live from Melbourne on Joy 94.9FM, streaming live at www.joy.org.au. Podcasts available on the Joy site by the weekend.

Last week we had a few things to say about Jeff Kennett, but he’s rather gone to ground since then. But the issue of gays in sport, the entrenched homophobia in sport, hasn’t gone away. In fact, if anything Jeffs intervention made it worse

[ Click here to read more ]

Vote

Shared on

Rainbow Reporter

Doug Pollard Friends

Comments (2)

Add Comments

[ Link ]