Some comic relief for our dear Malaysian readers who seek amusement in Malaysian political sandiwaras:

(courtesy of Malaysiakini, March 24,  2009)

Wanita Umno chief Rafidah Aziz today said that she did not see her challenger Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as an enemy and played down reports of tension between them in the run-up to the party polls tomorrow.

Shahrizat is going for broke by taking on Rafidah for the top post. She is not defending her deputy Wanita chief post and a defeat would leave her in a political limbo.

The battle between the duo for the top post has been build up by the media as a contest which neither can afford to lose.

“I’m surprised at the talks that there is animosity between Shahrizat and me,” said Rafidah today after chairing the wing’s pre-council meeting at PWTC. Seated next to her was Shahrizat.

“I’m not the enemy of anyone… far from that. Why is it that people see things differently and try to interpret and say that there is animosity,” she was quoted as saying by Bernama.

A smiling Rafidah then looked at Shahrizat and asked if they were enemies.

Shahrizat did not answer but just flashed her trademark smile.

 

However when a journalist interjected to ask if Shahrizat felt the same, Rafidah took offence and said:

“Are you not listening to me. What do you want me to do… to sleep with her?”

“What relationship are you talking about? Why are you taking it negatively? Jat (Shahrizat) you talk lah, tell him (the journalist). I am done. I’ve said enough… (he) still raise the issue. He doesn’t believe me,” she said.

“Are you not listening to me? What do you want me to do… to sleep with her?”

And when Shahrizat responded, she was less effusive in explaining the relationship between the two.

“What I want to say is all is well, okay. It is a contest. We have conducted ourselves very well. The delegates will make the decision tomorrow. We are very professional,” she said.

“That’s all and good day,” and Rafidah interjected again.

Very cheeky, hor? Too bad cheekiness doesn’t help you retain your incumbency.

One of my friends was recently mugged while walking home after gym. He was whacked with a motorcycle lock by four boys on two motorbikes, had a finger severed and sustained a skull fracture.

In the midst of soaring crime rates in Malaysia, guess what’s worrying “anti-crime NGOs” such as the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation? The ‘lack’ of efforts to promote discrimination and bigotry, perhaps…hmm?

From sex-obsessed Malay tabloid Kosmo!:

NGO bimbang dengan filem gay dan lesbian

KUALA LUMPUR – Pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) melahirkan kebimbangan dengan bertambahnya penerbitan filem dan drama Malaysia yang menjurus kepada kehidupan gay atau lesbian.

Menurut mereka, karya seni seperti itu tidak mampu mendidik masyarakat mengenai keburukan budaya songsang golongan berkenaan, malah ia dikhuatiri mempengaruhi generasi remaja di negara ini.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Capaian Belia Yayasan Pencegahan Jenayah, Ahmad Kamal Affandi berkata, terdapat lebih banyak kesan negatif melalui filem-filem itu berbanding kesan positif.

“Biasanya penerbit dan pengarah hanya berselindung di sebalik niat sebenar mereka menerbitkan filem bercorak gay dan lesbian ini.

“Kononnya mahu memberi tauladan… bagaimanapun itu hanya alasan. Mereka sebenarnya mahu mencari untung daripada filem seperti ini.

“Saya bukan seorang pengkarya filem atau drama tetapi melihatkan filem begini, kisah tauladan yang ditunjukkan hanya sedikit untuk mencantikkan perjalanan cerita,” katanya.

Ahmad Kamal menambah, mungkin pengkarya di negara ini sudah kekeringan idea untuk menghasilkan filem lebih berkualiti dan bermanfaat.

Kisah mengenai golongan gay dan lesbian dipaparkan dalam karya beberapa penerbit filem dan drama seperti Comolot arahan Mohd. Ikram Ismail, Histeria (James Lee), Anu Dalam Botol (Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman) dan Mabuk Astrogen (Sheila Rusly).

Penerbit pertahan karya songsang 

KUALA LUMPUR – Penerbit filem dan drama yang berunsurkan gay dan lesbian menyeru pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) supaya menyokong perjuangan yang tersirat dalam karya-karya mereka.

Penerbit filem Anu Dalam Botol, Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman berkata, tujuan utama mereka mengangkat tema sedemikian kerana mahu masalah itu ditangani.

“Gejala gay dan lesbian sedang berleluasa, mereka (NGO) kena bantu kaji dan bukan pejam mata saja,’’ ujarnya ketika dihubungi di sini semalam.

Menurut Raja Azmi, disebabkan sikap tidak ambil peduli itu, gejala tersebut telah berkembang dalam diam.

“Saya bukan bodoh mahu menampilkan adegan yang kemudian tidak diluluskan dan dipotong oleh Lembaga Penapisan Filem (LPF), tetapi ia cuma digambarkan menerusi seni. Masih ada batasan dalam kami berkarya,’’ jelasnya.

Bagi penerbit telefilem Mabuk Estrogen yang juga memaparkan tema cinta songsang, Sheila Rusly, masanya sudah tiba untuk masyarakat berfikir mengenai masalah gay dan lesbian.

“Sampai bila kita mahu ia menjadi isu yang terbiar begitu sahaja. Jika tidak lama-kelamaan masyarakat kita menjadi semakin parah angkara tidak memahami apa yang berlaku,’’ ujarnya.

Reposted from Tufts Observer.

By Seth Stein

When does a man become straight or gay? Is it a choice or is it predetermined? If it is a choice, as certain groups claim, then the issue is further complicated: why would a person willingly join an oppressed minority? Perhaps the discussion should start on a more personal, albeit admittedly non-scientific, note.

I grew up in downtown Chicago. One of my best friends grew up about four blocks away from me. We come from similar socioeconomic strata; both of our parents are professionals. He has an older sister; I have an older half-brother and half-sister. We attended the same day camp as children and the same high school as adolescents. We both attend prestigious top-tier universities now. Yet he recently came out as a gay man and is very active in the LGBT community at his school, while I’m a heterosexual with a girlfriend. What “makes” him gay and me straight?

Before examining what in his life led him to be gay, it is important to understand what a gay man is. Homosexual behavior, as in same-sex sexual parings, is as old as the human species. The Greeks, the Romans, and Samurai all practiced pederasty; various other kinds of homosexual behavior have been the norm in societies across the globe. But a gay man—a man who has exclusively same-sex relations with romantic attachments—is a modern phenomenon. The Greek who has a boy lover that he trains to be a warrior, but also has his wife to maintain the home, is not a homosexual. A man who self-identifies as gay, has strong attraction for same-sex relations, and chooses not to adhere to the norms of straight society, certainly is a homosexual.

The Gay Community

To understand homosexual behavior, not identity, we can use the animal world as a guide. Homosexual behavior is commonplace among other primates. The most popular theory used to describe this behavior is called the “alliance formation hypothesis.” Simply put, homosexual behavior allows lower-ranking males to cement alliances with higher-ranked males or other lower-ranked males; this allows them access to resources they either would not have had before or would have had limited access too. The main resource, ironically enough, is access to females. Homosexual behavior, just like heterosexual behavior, is used to cement social bonds. In this light, the ancient Greeks and Romans aren’t outliers—they are the norm.

But where did the modern gay community come from? Around the 19th century there were fundamental changes taking place in Western Europe that would transform the face of the world—industrialization, nationalism, and the modern nation-state. It should not be surprising that the first homosexual community—who looked to men exclusively for romantic and sexual relations—emerged in the most advanced state of the time, Great Britain. Freed from traditional family arrangements and social constraints, as well as the ability to lead independent lives with relative autonomy and anonymity, they embraced their sexual desires towards members of the same sex.

The division of the world into gay and straight quickly followed the creation of the first gay communities. Up until the early 18th century, it was not uncommon for married Englishmen to engage in homosexual intercourse on occasion. However, the burgeoning field of biological science quickly ended the fluid sexuality that had been the norm in Western civilization from ancient times. Rapid advances in medicine spurred doctors to classify homosexuality as a deviant behavior and therefore an illness or defect. This was instrumental in further separating those who chose to engage in homosexual behavior and those who did not. People now began to self-identify as either gay or straight.

The tendency for both the homosexual and the heterosexual worlds to practice exclusively same-or opposite-sex relations caused gay men to develop an alternative community to the predominantly heterosexual world. Before the community came out of the closet in the 1960s, it was maintained by secretive bars and meeting places. There were clearly established ways of suggesting to possible partners that a man was gay. This is where the stereotype of the effeminate gay man originates; gay men would commonly act more effeminate to signal to other men that they were gay.

As studies of human sexuality in the United States were almost nonexistent before the 1960’s, little was known about this underground community. Alfred Kinsey, in his famous report on human sexuality, opened the doors to this world and may have laid the basis for the gay civil rights movement. He challenged the common misconception that one is either gay or straight, positing that human sexuality exists on a continuum, and, throughout their lives, people can and will engage in both homosexual and heterosexual behavior. That being said, Kinsey did allow that most men engaged in predominantly opposite-or same-sex relations, not a combination of the two.

This caused a sea of changes in the homosexual world. Kinsey allowed that homosexual behavior was not deviant but in fact perfectly normal. As the community came out of the closet in the 1960’s, fundamental cultural changes took place that allowed gay men to express themselves in new ways. Being gay changed from being a dark secret to being alternative; gay scientists and activists sought to end the discrimination they experienced from mainstream society.

At this point the gay community shifted from an underground, largely self-contained community into a political unit. As black Americans demanded that they not be discriminated against on the basis of their genetic skin color, so gay men demanded that they not be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation. Scientists sought to find the “cause” for homosexuality–if orientation was indeed genetic or biological, then it was senseless to discriminate on that basis. However, more conservative scientists and religious groups sought to prove that homosexuality was a choice and therefore not protected by civil rights legislation. And thus inquiry into the biological basis of homosexuality took on politically charged tones that skewed our understanding of homosexuality for decades.

Nature vs. Nurture

Fortunately, our understanding of homosexuality and human sexuality in general has advanced by leaps and bounds; homosexuality is no longer listed in the DSM-IV as a mental illness. The most extensive twin study on sexual orientation ever undertaken was recently published in Sweden. Comparing twins, the study demonstrated that human homosexuality has a genetic factor, an environmental factor, and a social factor. All of these factors play together to increase or decrease the probability that an individual will be a homosexual. The results of the study suggest that environmental factors account for about 60% of sexual orientation, while genes account for another 40% (refer to the sidebar for an analysis of this study).

The genetic basis of homosexuality is a puzzle to biologists—why would a trait that causes a person not to have offspring be preserved in the human species? This puzzle, however, is misleading; although homosexuals currently leave around 1/5th the offspring of their heterosexual counterparts, historically we have no evidence of how many offspring homosexuals could have produced as they were most likely not exclusively homosexual. The genes that contribute to male homosexuality have been postulated to be located on X chromosome and therefore passed down the mother’s line. In a tip of the hat to the elegance of evolution, one theory suggests these genes seem to make women more fertile while also contributing to male homosexuality. As such, the dearth of offspring produced by gay males is offset by greater numbers of offspring produced by women carrying the gene.

As previously stated, genetic factors are not the only determinant of homosexuality, and modern science shows they may have an even smaller effect than we think. Current theory is exploring unique environmental factors, i.e. the state of the fetus in the mother’s womb. The biggest determinant for homosexuality seems to be birth order; the successive sons after the first of a woman are the most likely to be gay. Why this is the case is still not clear, but it may have something to do with hormone levels in the womb. Testosterone plays a major role in sexual development in fetuses, and it is theorized that the first son, who produces testosterone in the mother’s womb, causes the mother’s body to become sensitized to the molecule. The mother will start producing testosterone antibodies that could change the hormone balance of her successive sons, which may increase the likelihood that he is a homosexual.

Regardless of the cause of homosexuality, there are some biological differences between a gay and straight person’s brain. Recent studies, which are considered controversial by some, show that gay men’s brains more closely resemble the brains of straight women. In other words, gay men have stronger vocalization skills and lower visuospatial intelligence than straight men. These differences are not drastic or universal, but they do shed light on a biological component of male homosexuality.

It is apparent that homosexuality has a biological basis, but few of the factors that contribute to homosexuality seem to predetermine it; in other words many different factors work together to make homosexuality more likely. Social factors are important as well. The process of “coming out” is actually a very ordered and regular socialization process, in which an individual chooses to self-identify as a gay man and pursue their sexual desires toward the same sex. This is part of the polarization of male sexuality—men who come out to be gay identify as strongly with exclusive homosexuality as your average straight man identifies with exclusive heterosexuality.

What is clear is that homosexuality certainly has its biological, social, and cultural elements. A fascinating confluence of these factors is the “gay ghetto.” Being a Chicagoan, this concept is hardly foreign to me. Northalsted, commonly known as “Boy’s Town” is an accepted part of the Chicago landscape, geographically positioned near other primarily young and progressive neighborhoods. In Boy’s Town shops fly the rainbow flag, men at bars expect other men to be gay and gay political organizations are organized from the community. Because of its tight-knit community spirit, Boy’s Town was one of the few urban neighborhoods to grow and gentrify throughout the entirety of the last four decades, even during the height of urban decline and white flight. As urban renewal became the order of the day in the last decade or so, Boy’s Town has been an essential mover in revitalizing Chicago’s north side.

Conclusion

What do all these facts mean when we look at them together? Gay men are actually different from straight men, both biologically and socially. So is that what makes my friend different from me?

The short answer is no. My friend and I are actually the same in every way that matters. He wants to find someone who he can love and who can love him back. He wants to be with someone he is attracted to who can offer new things in his life. He wants to be happy and satisfied. At the same time, his sexual orientation is not important at all in other large areas of his life—what he studies, what he likes to do, and who he chooses as his friends. I do not consider it too high a compliment to describe him as one of my most cherished friends—a role he filled even before he came out of the closet.

But why then is this the kind of person we are allowed to demonize in such horrible ways? Our cultural bias against homosexuals is so strong that the groups opposed to marriage in California didn’t even try to cover their motives. Instead they explicitly said they were anti-gay rights.

Fortunately times are changing much faster than the conservative forces in society can contain them. Americans our age are much more likely than even our parents, who were hippies, to be accepting of gay and lesbian individuals. Even young evangelicals are sick of beating the sodomy drum and would much rather focus on traditional progressive causes like poverty alleviation. I honestly believe that by the time I am my parents’ age my friend will be able to get married legally.

Even though things are changing quickly, that is not a license for inaction. While I enjoy the full range of rights and opportunities any society can provide, my friend does not. He is a second-class citizen. Gay rights is the civil rights issue of our generation. Liberty by gradations is not liberty, it is hierarchy. True liberty is all or nothing, and, until all people in the United States enjoy and practice their full rights, we will not be a free people—just mostly free.

Continue Reading

A short documentary offering a glimpse into the lives of four transgenders in the United States, and their stories.

Alishia is a firefighter. Enoch is a university professor. Dana is a software engineer. Jesse is an HIV prevention educator. Each makes invaluable contributions in the work place and in the community. And each faces the threat of losing a job, being denied housing or health care, and suffering violence and harassment simply for being transgender.

In Everyone Matters: Dignity and Safety for Transgender People – a new video produced by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders(GLAD) Transgender Rights Proejct, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coaltion (MTPC), and MassEquality – Alishia, Enoch, Dana, and Jesse talk about their jobs, their family, their hopes, and their worries. Framed by hope and optimism, their stories nevertheless show how vulnerable transgender people still are, and highlight the need for comprehensive laws to ensure that people can obtain and retain employment, remain safe on the streets, and have access to health care and housing.

Everyone Matters allows the viewer to hear from transgender people first-hand about their lives, and makes a powerful case for the passage of transgender-inclusive anti-discrimination and hate crimes laws in Massachusetts and beyond.

Please support the passage of transgender-inclusive non-discrimination and hate crimes legislation. For more information visit http://www.glaad.org

Hat-tip: Helen G (Bird Of Paradox)

Image from www.glad.org

At 4am, while I’m still working (yes), it struck me that I ought to warn you that you should keep an eye out for this in APRIL:

Chep and Burn are top students in SM Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah, an elite school in Kedah. Burn is the school’s golden boy (Head Prefect, Captain of the Hockey Team) and his best friend Chep is feared and admired by the younger boys for his quick temper and skill on the hockey field. The school is well respected for its strong academic and sports record.

However the discovery of a dead prostitute in the abandoned railway tracks near their school unravels the status quo and we discover a less golden world of bullying, sex crimes and violence. Best friends William and Asif go from innocence to experience as they are caught up in the repercussions of the murder. But who is responsible for the murder and will they be held accountable?

Air Con challenges and interrogates the hypocritical habit of turning youth into scapegoats in times of moral panic. Ultimately, it casts a gentle albeit unflinching gaze at the perilous path of male adolescence, and interrogates the heartbreaking ways in which society often expects boys to become men.

Last year, the theatre production Air Con was staged for the first time. It’s very queer friendly, and was very well executed. Read the comments on Kakiseni. I have the Air Con poster on my bedroom wall, and it’s one of my favourites.

The chief complain I heard of this play was that there wasn’t enough of it to go around. It’s a touching bildungsroman that weaves in a lot of social issues and boarding school drama.

Come April, Instant Cafe Theatre will be restaging this production in KLPac. You can visit KLPac’s website for more details.

I strongly recommend you watch this production. You’ll love it. And no, you don’t have to be gay to watch it.

Some notes:

1) Tickets are expected to sell like hotcakes.

2) People have been calling to ask when they can buy tickets from way before, so

3) You can expect tickets to sell out pretty quickly, which means

4) You should get yours soon from KLPac.

I don’t have the time to convince you how much you should watch it. But you’d be terribly, terribly left out if you don’t. You have been warned!

Hi all,

Just a quick note (I’m at work!) to blog readers, LiveJournal (LJ)-ers, and potential LJ-ers out there: A new LJ community has been formed to harness the power of journalers from the Malaysian queer community.

As you can see from the introductory post, it is started by baronbrutalis, who claims to be a Penangnite pansexual FTM.

Head on over and sign up if you want to!

Laman web LOGO TV After Ellen yang biasa menulis artikel serta melapor berita tentang wanita lesbian dan biseksual dalam media massa di beberapa negara telah menyebut filem Malaysia yang baru, “Histeria”, arahan James Lee, dalam artikelnya. “Histeria” menceritakan kehidupan sekumpulan pelajar perempuan di sebuah sekolah asrama perempuan yang berhantu. Dalam filem itu, disebutkan dalam laman web After Ellen bahawa dua orang perempuan berkongsi hubungan intim. Mereka bercium!! Ciuman itu juga disiarkan dalam ‘trailer’ filem Histeria.

The LOGO TV website of reviews and commentary of queer women in media around the world, After Ellen mentions a new Malaysian film that features a “lesbian” kiss! “Histeria” directed by Malaysian filmmaker James Lee is a horror movie about an all-girl’s boarding school. The sexy scene is even hinted at in the trailer. Check out Histeria!

Trailer:

The queer spoken word scene is growing! Plus, there is talk that a documentary on queer hip hop is being made. Here are a two of performances I found on You Tube. I’ve watched Athens performed live and he is quite amazing. His other notable numbers are Tranny Got Pack and Jazz Hands. My favorites are below: Fagette by the Athens Boys Choir and Butch/Femme by Team Gina, who makes an appearance in Fagette. Enjoy!

I just returned from a TransRhetorics Conference at Cornell. It was a good conference despite the fact that I had to puke when I realized I was suddenly lactose-intolerant. The conference marked several milestones in the transgender/transexual academic movement and revealed where trans-issues as an academic field stand today. There seems to be a movement towards teasing out the subtleties between the sociological differences between transmen and women, as well as a call for theory to be more inclusive of minority transcommunities. A lot observation was made of theories and studies being focused mainly on white transcommunities. In tandem with its inclusionary aspirations, historian and activist Susan Stryker is moving the dialog another step further to include the portrayal of transexuals in media and beyond the Anglo-Saxon (i.e. Western) conception.

Also discussed quite persistently is the legal definition of sex and how the law is a problem when trying to determine someone’s sex and gender. Also alluded to was last Thursday’s, March 5, oral arguments in the California Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Proposition 8. The Court has about three months to deliberate and issue a ruling on whether it should repeal Prop 8 after the public has voted on it in November’s elections.

The conference was spiced up – after the dreary and weary theorisizing – by the live performances of Katastrophe and the Athens Boys Choir. My favorite number for the night was Fagette, by Athens Boys Choir – a transguy who does spoken word from his unique and humorous point of view, yet serious and jibing in his own way. He also travels the country offering trans 101′s. You should check out the music video, youtubed below!

Fagette, Athens Boys Choir