There’s currently a petition calling for an official posthumous apology from the British government to Alan Turing, often considered as the father of modern computer science. From the official petition on the British Prime Minister’s website:

Alan Turing was the greatest computer scientist ever born in Britain. He laid the foundations of computing, helped break the Nazi Enigma code and told us how to tell whether a machine could think.

He was also gay. He was prosecuted for being gay, chemically castrated as a ‘cure’, and took his own life, aged 41.

The British Government should apologize to Alan Turing for his treatment and recognize that his work created much of the world we live in and saved us from Nazi Germany. And an apology would recognize the tragic consequences of prejudice that ended this man’s life and career.

If you’re a British citizen, do consider it and  enter your name for the petition. Read more on this, here, here, here, here.

Oscar Wilde’s only published novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is due for a film adaptation. Dorian Gray will be released in September, 2009.

Wilde’s sexuality has been much discussed —he was definitely not heterosexual, and the hedenostic protagonist of his creation, Dorian Gray, follows suit.

For those unfamiliar with this story, here is a brief recap; Dorian Gray is a beautiful socialite, who trades his soul to keep his looks. Though he remains perfect looking, his nature becomes more vicious and evil. In contrast, a portrait of Dorian in the attic slowly gets older and uglier, reflecting the soulless monster he becomes.

The trailer looks rather faithful to the book (some parts even look like little salutes to previous film adaptations).

The film director, Oliver Parker, has suggested that the once subversive novel is nowadays more a part of tradition, and he wants to “blow off the dust”. Will this Dorian Gray really remain “the very portrait of modernity”? From the trailer, I’m not entirely convinced, but I’ll have to wait till September to say.

Meanwhile, I introduce you to what looks like (to me) an effective adaptation of Dorian Gray.

Wilde was a person of words; witty, pithy, and memorable. That this adaptation is a dance (without words), is quite a skillful switch of languages to me, from spoken, to physical:

It is choreographer/director Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray. In this modernised version, Dorian Gray is immortalised in billboards as the face of a new perfume. Dorian Gray is a celebrity, serial killer, and from the looks of it, a rakish devil.

Those who will like to watch more of Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray should click here (and wait for 1:50).

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As an aside, I am currently collecting stories of people who went for KL Pride poolside party. If you’ve not heard, Harian Metro sent a female journalist undercover to the party, and she wrote something one would expect from the tabloid that is HM.

It’s a nasty piece of work, that article, and I am angered at the parties responsible. If you, or your family, are regular readers of HM, I suggest not giving them any more business.

Apparently all kinds of scandalous things happened at the party. For one thing, how dare lesbians dance without shame? Everyone knows homosexuals are only allowed to dance with a cower in their footsteps. And….kissing? Are you mocking the hate-rag that is Harian Metro, even though they had no bloody business being there?

[ To those who hooked up, picked up, and got their rocks off that night, good on ya ]

Well, I’m glad it sounds like you all had some fun at the party; I’m sorry about the crap that HM published. Fuck what Harian Metro had to say, their version of the party was crap, and let’s face it, written to sensationalise everything. Like you wouldn’t get the same stuff in different events.

I didn’t go for the party (I’m currently not in the country). I don’t want the only thing I know about the party to be from the scummy article I read, and I’m sure there are others who would prefer we reclaim what happened that night.

I want to hear from you.

How did the party go? Did you find it friendly?

What outfit did you pick? Did you meet any new people (you hung out with your cliques, kan? )?

Did you go into the pool? Were there any interesting people?

Were you the last one standing? How many girls were wearing boybeaters?

Who had an awkward bump-in with their ex, and their ex’s ex, who is now hitting on the same straight girl as you? How was the DJ?

If you have an anecdote on how the party went, please do email lainieyeoh@gmail.com soon (really soon), I’d like to hear from you. Anything. Save me from the crap memory that came from Harian Metro.

The bigots at Harian Metro strikes again! This time, little miss Sarah Zukifli, our bastion of non-judgmental and unbiased journalistic ethics heads out undercover as a lesbian. I wonder how does one do that. Maybe she had to practice all day trying to act and look like one, which really questions her abilities to report anything substantial, really. Perhaps the only lesbians she finds are other undercover ones – all thinking lesbian is some stable, pin-pointable identity. Probably people just let her in – unlike you, little miss Sarah Zukifli, we don’t discriminate.

Ugh. I find it extremely funny that such a piece of news qualifies as “berita utama” – and it’s always my policy to reply intelligently (whenever I can muster enough of it) to intelligent articles. However, neither Sarah, nor the report titled “Pesta Lesbian” seem to evince any of it.

I guess being labeled “sesat”, “songsang”, and “maksiat” is what we queers have to get used to in Malaysia. Really, it’s not as bad as arbitrary arrests, unexplained deaths, and authoritarian rule. Besides, it’s only little miss Sarah Zukifli who thinks so – I bet many of us are laughing (and cringing) at her desperate claim to “religion + conservative values + eastern tradition” axis of power used so frequently to otherize those just different from Sarah Zukifli.

Oh no, Sarah. We see through that. Why don’t you stop importing values so typical of the conservative right in America, huh? Isn’t that a bigger sacrilege of whatever religiosity you claim to?

UPDATE: The Star picked up on it in their newspaper, too! Obviously, whoever was doing the translation and writing had all the genders and orientations slightly muddled: “The wild, poolside party where couples kissed, cuddled and performed sexy dances drew not only female gays, but also their male counterparts.” Male counterparts? What, strap-ons? Here we go again!

This year, with the theme “Our Bodies, Our Rights”, the festival is focusing on issues that affect everyone, such as privacy, moral policing and human rights. We speak with co-organiser and feminist activist Jac SM Kee to find out more.

Jac SM Kee is is a feminist writer, activist, poet and occasional painter. She has written column pieces for several Malaysian newspapers, and numerous articles for both online and offline journals.

from PopTeeVee.net

PopTeeVee interviews Jac SM Kee, one of the co-organisers of Seksualiti Merdeka, about spaces and internet censorship.

Reading a collection of essays on indigenous rights kept reminding me about the similarities the movement for indigenous rights have with the movement for queer rights. In an essay by Kirk Endicott*, where he lists an amazing number of oppressive policies the federal and state government practices against the Orang Asli and indigenous groups of Borneo (i.e. low compensation for snatching land away, destructive Islamic missionary initiatives, and a Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli that is made up of Malays), the struggle of the Orang Asli and other indigenous peoples around the world, in their act of revolution against the hegemonizing nation-state, reminds me of an inspiring manifesto I had once read. Finding it today, again, I want to share a touching paragraph on the politics of reclamation and self-identification – one that, if sometimes seems more confrontational than conciliatory, restores faith in the self-worth of the community. In the indigenous communities that most of the time lack proper access to infrastructure and education, such a manifesto, I hope, renews some hope for coalition building (perhaps not at the expense of making invisible the diversity within the coalition) so that our Original Peoples are included in Najib’s farcical 1Malaysia.

A paragraph from the manifesto of Queer Nation.

“AN ARMY OF LOVERS CANNOT LOSE

Being queer is not about a right to privacy; it is about the freedom to be public, to just be who we are. It means everyday fighting oppression; homophobia, racism, misogyny, the bigotry of religious hypocrites and our own self-hatred. (We have been carefully taught to hate ourselves.) And now of course it means fighting a virus as well, and all those homo-haters who are using AIDS to wipe us off the face of the earth. Being queer means leading a different sort of life. It’s not about the mainstream, profit-margins, patriotism, patriarchy or being assimilated. It’s not about executive directors, privilege and elitism. It’s about being on the margins, defining ourselves; it’s about gender- fuck and secrets, what’s beneath the belt and deep inside the heart; it’s about the night. Being queer is “grass roots” because we know that everyone of us, every body, every cunt, every heart and ass and dick is a world of pleasure waiting to be explored. Everyone of us is a world of infinite possibility. We are an army because we have to be. We are an army because we are so powerful. (We have so much to fight for; we are the most precious of endangered species.) And we are an army of lovers because it is we who know what love is. Desire and lust, too. We invented them. We come out of the closet, face the rejection of society, face firing squads, just to love each other! Every time we fuck, we win. We must fight for ourselves (no one else is going to do it) and if in that process we bring greater freedom to the world at large then great. (We’ve given so much to that world: democracy, all the arts, the concepts of love, philosophy and the soul, to name just a few gifts from our ancient Greek Dykes, Fags.) Let’s make every space a Lesbian and Gay space. Every street a part of our sexual geography. A city of yearning and then total satisfaction. A city and a country where we can be safe and free and more. We must look at our lives and see what’s best in them, see what is queer and what is straight and let that straight chaff fall away! Remember there is so, so little time. And I want to be a lover of each and every one of you. Next year, we march naked.”

For the rest of the manifesto, please visit here.

*Kirk Endicott, with his wife, Karen Endicott, have published a book on the egalitarian social relationships, including gender!!, in the Batek community of Malaysia. He has also edited and written several works on indigenous rights and the Orang Asli and indigenous communities of Malaysia. His bio page can be read here.

In a follow-up to this article posted on Tilted World by Yuki Choe, this news article is also a response toward ex-gay ministries and their stand that being LGBTQ is a defect in a person’s morality and spirituality (they even use the word “homosexual” to describe us on their website). A famous and commonly featured (in theStar) ex-gay ministry in Malaysia, Real Love Ministry, founded by Edmund Smith, who is self-described as having “lived a homosexual lifestyle from 1983 until 1994″, describes that its mission is to help people leave the “homosexual” community and lifestyle. Another well-known ex-gay ministry in both Malaysia and Singapore that claims “homosexuality” to be a defect (and perhaps more explicitly and with less tack) is Pursuing Liberty Under Christ (Malaysian website link here).

And since we have started talking religion here, I want to share with you the work of TransEpiscopal. They are a group of “transgender Episcopalians and our significant others, families, friends and allies dedicated to enriching our spiritual lives and to making the Episcopal Church a welcoming and empowering place that all of us truly can call our spiritual home”. The group was responsible for spearheading the passage of several resolutions that recognized and discouraged hate crimes and discrimination against transgender people and also approved resolutions on making the church more transgender-friendly, and recognizing ENDA, which includes non-discrimination of transgender lay employees at the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church held recently in Anaheim, California.

These two news articles sure made me smile.

Programs to change gays to straights don’t work, report says
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/05/gay.to.straight/index.html

(CNN) — The American Psychological Association concluded Wednesday that there is little evidence that efforts to change a person’s sexual orientation from gay or lesbian to heterosexual are effective.
The report looks at 87 studies conducted between 1960 and 2007.

In addition, the 138-page report — covering 87 peer-reviewed studies — said that such efforts may cause harm.

“Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation,” said Judith M. Glassgold, chairwoman of the task force that presented the report at the group’s annual meeting in Toronto, Canada. The Washington-based association represents more than 150,000 members.

“At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex.”

In response, the group’s governing Council of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday urging mental health professionals not to recommend to their clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or any other methods.

The group’s Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation reached its conclusion after its review of 87 studies conducted between 1960 and 2007 and finding “serious methodological problems” in the vast majority of them.

Those few studies that did have “high-quality” evidence “show that enduring change to an individual’s sexual orientation is uncommon,” it said.

In addition, the report cited evidence that efforts to switch a person’s sexual orientation through aversive treatments might cause harm, including loss of sexual feeling, suicidality, depression and anxiety.

Many who tried to change and failed “described their experiences as a significant cause of emotional and spiritual distress and negative self-image,” it said.

The six-member task force was appointed two years ago to address concerns about “efforts to promote the notion that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy or approaches that mischaracterize homosexuality as a mental disorder.”

The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1975.

The task force noted that some people attempt to change their sexual orientation because it conflicts with their religious beliefs, and recommended that their mental health care providers help them “explore possible life paths that address the reality of their sexual orientation, reduce the stigma associated with homosexuality, respect the client’s religious beliefs, and consider possibilities for a religiously and spiritually meaningful and rewarding life.”

“In other words,” said Glassgold, “we recommend that psychologists be completely honest about the likelihood of sexual orientation change, and that they help clients explore their assumptions and goals with respect to both religion and sexuality.”

Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, a network of more than 250 ministries that he said “reach out to men and women and families that are affected by what we call ‘unwanted same-sex attraction’” disagrees.

He offered himself as proof that such efforts can work. “The fact is that there are tens of thousands of men and women just like me who once identified as gay,” Chambers said in a telephone interview. “For me and for these people, the truth is change is possible.”

Chambers said his transformation from gay man began more than 18 years ago, when he attended a support group at the organization he now leads. Chambers, who said he married a woman nearly 12 years ago, has written a book, “Leaving Homosexuality,” which was published last month.

“You can’t refute a personal story,” he said, adding that about a third of those who try to switch their sexual orientation through the group’s ministries wind up doing so.

“We’re not talking a light switch that you turn on and off, we’re talking about very deep and complex issues that, I think, take years to resolve.”

Though all mainstream health and mental health organizations concluded years ago that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, the American Psychological Association formed the task force to work on the report two years ago after noting a resurgence of groups that identified homosexuality as a defect or spiritual or moral failing.

I don’t know about you, but Youtube is a wonderful source of procrastination for me. Each time I can’t get work done, I head there and preload videos as an incentive to meet (or miss) my deadlines.

Lately, I’ve been on a binge of poetry videos, and I thought I’d mix some up here to share with you.

My suggestion: If you are uncomfortable with performances that contain queer references blasting out of your speakers……use headphones.

That was Dakota Camacho — on Myspace and Youtube.

Marty McConnell questions the revolution on a very popular poetry tv show. If you like what you see/hear, plenty more available here. I like the videos of female figureheads(?) who have passed away, speaking to contemporary pop culture stars. Or, start here, a poem about gay domestic violence.

Followed by Paul Mabon (very into audience participation, this one).

Regie Cabico, who also gets a bit angry about the kind of guys who are attracted to him.

Digression: If “You bring out the [noun] in me” sounds like a familiar sentence in poetry by now, it might be due to Sandra Cisneros’ “You Bring Out the Mexican in Me“.

For other examples, check out Bao Phi’s You bring out the Vietnamese in me; or queer poet Maiana Minahal’s You bring out the Filipina in me.

For poetry somehow a bit closer to home, Sharanya Manivannan’s You bring out the Sri Lankan in me (she performed regularly in KL, before moving to Madras and helping to organise the first Chennai LGBT pride parade).

A court in India recently overturned a law used to criminalise same sex relationships, by the way.

Skim, on the damages of hate. For more of Skim, I found another video here, a Myspace account, a new blog and a Facebook page.

Sarah Dopp, who also engagingly discusses queer identities, andgender, sexuality and mom. Sarah Dopp also runs a wonderful website called Genderfork. I’m personally very attracted to the Profiles section, because I get to check other people out (ie: almost be a creepy internet perve, but it doesn’t count if you don’t google anybody!).

And finally, for those with a Youtube account (and who are older than 18), you can watch Ernesto Sarewale perform in the buff, waxing poetic about Her Penis.

Dust off those schedules, people, Seksualiti Merdeka is coming your way! The theme for the second year is “Our Bodies, Our Rights”.

Do we have the right to privacy? Do we have the right to our own bodies? Do we all deserve to be treated equally regardless of our sexuality?

Yes, yes and yes.

It should not matter if you are single, married or divorced, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transvestite, intersexed or asexual, everyone has these rights. But are these rights recognised in Malaysia? Should they be? And what can we do about it?

This year, Seksualiti Merdeka calls for everyone to stand together to claim our rights.

Here’s a list of the events that will be happening, take a peek, it looks like a wonderful programme and I personally find that many of these promise to be very entertaining. This is a personal bias, but I want to attend everything under the “Arts” section! Bring your cameras if you do go, people, this will be good.

And I know this website caters to a largely queer audience, but please, bring your friends along; queer or otherwise.

SCHEDULE

Wed 12/8

8.30pm: Talkshow: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Thu 13/8

12pm: Documentary: CELLULOID CLOSET

2pm: Documentary: BUKAK API

4pm: Documentary: BEFORE STONEWALL

8.30pm: Theatre: THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT

8.30pm: Workshop: KAFE BISIKAN SEKS & SEKSUALITI

Fri 14/8

12pm: Documentary: SOUTHERN COMFORT

2pm: Documentary: PECAH LOBANG + SHE’S MY SON

4pm: Documentary: THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK

8.30pm: Theatre: THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT

8.30pm: Workshop: KAFE BISIKAN SEKS & SEKSUALITI

Sat 15/8

12pm: SEKSUALITI MERDEKA LAUNCH

2pm: Debate: MORAL POLICING – IS IT JUSTIFIED?

4pm: Book Launch: BODY 2 BODY: A MALAYSIAN QUEER ANTHOLOGY

6pm: Forum: THE LAW & OUR BODIES

8.30pm: Concert: RAINBOW MASSACRE

Sun 16/8

12pm: Tutorial: IT’S A QUEER WORLD – QUEER THEORY 101

12pm: Workshop: THE SEX TALK SHOW

2pm: Talk: Screwed – THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MALAYSIA

2pm: Forum: WHO’S AFRAID OF SEX?

4pm: Talk: LEGALISING NATURE: HONG KONG, INDIA & SINGAPORE

4pm: Workshop: POLICE POWER

6pm: Discussion: STEP BY STEP

8.30pm: Concert: RAINBOW MASSACRE

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FEATURES

SEKSUALITI MERDEKA LAUNCH

Officiated by Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. Come celebrate our official launch and meet all the sweaty organisers and cute volunteers of Seksualiti Merdeka. The launch will also feature a song by V-Mix and a performance by young sexuality rights defenders. Refreshments sponsored by twenty.one kitchen+bar.

Sat 15 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 3

Debate: MORAL POLICING – IS IT JUSTIFIED?

Should we allow the State’s “moral police” to dictate how we should behave? This friendly debate revolves around the role of the State and “moral police” in legislating morality, religious convictions and public law. Debaters include representatives from the Bar Council Human Rights Committee and Centre for Independent Journalism – Fahri Azzat, Adiba Shareen Al’Ayubi, Khaizan Sharizad, Gayathry Venkiteswaran and Shanon Shah. It will be moderated by Simranjit Kaur Gill.

Sat 15 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 3

Book Launch: BODY 2 BODY: A MALAYSIAN QUEER ANTHOLOGY

The first of its kind in Malaysia, Body 2 Body: A Malaysian Queer Anthology features 23 original pieces of fiction and non-fiction in English selected by editors Jerome Kugan & Pang Khee Teik. There are cheers and tears, raunch and kink, polemics and politics: a versatile tribute to the rainbow diversity of Malaysia. The launch will have short readings by Shanon Shah, Cheryl Leong, Brian Gomez, Faizad Nik Abdul Aziz, Paul GnanaSelvam dan Maya Tan Abdullah. The book will available for purchase at RM30 each.

Sat 15 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1

Forum: THE LAW & OUR BODIES

Do the laws that govern sexual practices and sexuality in our country protect our rights? Or do they infringe upon them? Panel speakers from the Bar Council Human Rights Committee including Saha Deva A/L A. Arunasalam, Simranjit Kaur Gill, Lim Kar Mern and Aston Philip Paiva take a close look at the law and discuss just how restrictive they really are.

Sat 15 Aug, 6pm, Gallery 1

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ARTS

Art Installation: TEMBOK MERDEKA

A collective of artists will create an art installation inspired by the 29 Yogyakarta Principles, as well as two interactive walls upon which visitors can record their experiences of discrimination and acceptance. The installation will last throughout the festival. Strike a pose or become a part of the wall!

Talk Show: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

With dance doyen Datin Marion D’Cruz, TV & Radio host Will Quah, actor Mano Maniam, transsexual writer Julya Oui, and Irene Leong, mother of a happily gay daughter. Sharing tales about their lives, passion and relationships, these straight and queer individuals will show how diversity, understanding and love are important foundations for a more accepting society.

Wed 12 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 3

Theatre: THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT – 3 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT SEXUALITY

In “XX, XY or X?”, Low Ngai Yuen directs Carmen Soo & KK Wong who play a brokenhearted and unfulfilled couple searching for answers from an X-rated video. Meanwhile, in “Bed”, directed by Kwan Chan Fong, a woman (Chin Lee Ling) and a man (Lim Chung Wei) confront the secret life of their dead housemate. Finally, one woman’s driving lessons take her down the road of sexual awakening in “Drive”, directed by Hariati Azizan, performed by Ruza Jajuli and Renita Che Wan. The plays contain mature themes. In English, Malay, Mandarin & Cantonese. Admission by donation: RM25 at the door; RM20 presale passes available at http://www.applause.org.my

Thu 13 & Fri 14 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 1

Music: RAINBOW MASSACRE

From “I Will Survive” to “YMCA” to “Bukan Cinta Biasa”, queer anthems teach us to dance, fight, and unleash our inner Dorothy – uniting us in a celebration of the outrageous, tragic, campy and bitchy. Rainbow Massacre presents two nights of queer anthems and comedy featuring some of KL’s best entertainers: Joanne Kam, Jit Murad, Mia Palencia, Shanon Shah, Zalina Lee, Fang Chyi, Maya Tan, Melvin Ho & Friends, with emcees Edwin Sumun & Fahmi Fadzil. Admission by donation RM30 adult; RM25 for students. Passes available at http://www.applause.org.my

Sat 15 & Sun 16 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 3

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DOCUMENTARIES

Documentary: THE CELLULOID CLOSET

The Celluloid Closet (1995) is a documentary film about the the Hollywood film industry and its cast of LGBT characters both on- and off-screen, censorship and stereotypes.

Thu 13 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 1

Documentary: BUKAK API

The groundbreaking semi-documentary about the lives of transsexuals on Chow Kit Road, directed by Osman Ali.

Thu 13 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 1

Documentary: BEFORE STONEWALL

This historical documentary is about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots.

Thu 13 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1

Documentary: SOUTHERN COMFORT

Southern Comfort is an emotionally touching documentary about the last year in the life of Robert Eads, a 52-year-old female-to-male American transsexual who died of ovarian cancer.

Fri 14 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 1

Documentary: PECAH LOBANG + SHE’S MY SON

Two award-winning Malaysian documentaries (Freedom Film Fest) about two different transgender experiences: one from sex workers’ perspective and one from the mother of a transsexual.

Fri 14 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 1

Documentary: THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK

Before Milk, there was this documentary of the charismatic gay activist, who became the first openly homosexual person to be elected to public office in America. Featuring real footage of Harvey Milk and his friends.

Fri 14 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1

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EMPOWERMENT

(The following sessions require registration. Please email your name and the names of the session to: seksualitimerdeka2009@gmail.com)

Workshop: KAFE BISIKAN SEKS & SEKSUALITI

What is the difference between sex and sexuality? And why is sexuality such an issue for control, discrimination and persecution? This introductory workshop to sexuality and sexual rights is presented by KRYSS (Knowledge and Rights for Young people through Safer Spaces). Discuss your views and gain a better understanding of sexuality rights and how they relate to our human rights.

Thu 13 & Fri 14 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 3

Workshop: THE SEX TALK SHOW

Are you ready to add sizzle to your sex life? PT Foundation presents a talk show with a panel of sexperts on how to make sex safe, adventurous and fun. Additionally, in a separate private room, trained counselors are available to conduct anonymous HIV screenings with counseling.

Sun 16 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 3

Forum: WHO’S AFRAID OF SEX?

Do you think sex is dirty and shameful? Or beautiful and affirming? What influences your attitudes toward sex? What prevents you from having healthy sex? PT Foundation puts together a panel of experts to help you develop positive thinking about sex.

Sun 16 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 3

Workshop: POLICE POWER

Many of us have fantasies about uniformed hotties, but what happens when you’re actually confronted by the real thing? What to do when the cops stop you for holding hands, raid the disco you’re in or detain you for cross-dressing? SUARAM leads a practical workshop on what is the police’s power and what are your rights when you are stopped, fined, detained or harrassed by them.

Sun 16 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 3

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ACTIVISM

(The following sessions require registration. Please email your name and the session names to: seksualitimerdeka2009@gmail.com)

Tutorial: IT’S A QUEER WORLD – QUEER THEORY 101

Benjamin McKay, Film Studies lecturer at Monash University Sunway campus, introduces us to the joys of Queer Theory; after all, there is no norm, everything and everyone is queer! With film clips from Francois Ozon, Amir Muhammad’s Susuk and Douglas Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession. Now, you too can apply Queer Theory in your daily life!

Sun 16 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 1

Talk: SCREWED – THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MALAYSIA

Not only LGBT folks get bullied in Malaysia. SUARAM presents a crash-course into the overall human rights record of Malaysia, with an overview of the NGOs working in Malaysia. Know your basic human rights, learn about the abuses, and be outraged. Yes, we are all majorly screwed! Let’s all come together for a better future.

Sun 16 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 1

Talk: LEGALISING NATURE: HONG KONG, INDIA & SINGAPORE

Singapore gay equality activist Alex Au discusses recent court cases in Hong Kong and India regarding the repeal of the sodomy law. He also updates participants about the legal situation in Singapore and shares his thoughts about activist strategies for Malaysia.

Sun 16 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1

Discussion: STEP BY STEP

Movies, massacres and moral policing? What does it all mean? This session is tailored for those who are all fired up and asking, “What next?” Find out how you can transform what you’ve learnt into meaningful action, and how your actions can translate into meaningful change.

Sun 16 Aug, 6pm, Gallery 1

Enquiries:

Please email seksualitimerdeka2009@gmail.com

Or call: 03 2070 1137

www.annexegallery.com

The Annexe Gallery, 2^nd Floor, Central Market Annexe, Kuala Lumpur.

You’re welcome to mail this to your friends, but please do not repost this on your blog or publicise this event in the media without permission from the organisers. If you are interested, please email: worldwithoutpangs@gmail.com.

For the full programme, and more information on the event, visit Seksualiti Merdeka: the official blog.

And just for old time’s sake, here we were, one year ago, painting the mural for Seksualiti Merdeka last year:

If you’re so inclined, view pictures from a day at Seksualiti Merdeka, 2008 (by Tilted World).

You should go for this — it’ll be the biggest all-inclusive, queer-friendly event in KL all year.

One last link: Facebook event page

Sayoni presents the first ever Coming Out Guide in Singapore. Please provide your feedback on the guide.

This preliminary version of the guide was launched on 1 August, at the opening of IndigNation 2009, Singapore’s pride season.

From Launch of Coming Out Guide (preliminary version)

While I haven’t read the entire pdf, I did manage to go through a few sections and I feel that certain sections (debunking myths!) will be helpful for those with questions towards their own sexuality. Anj Ho, one of the presenters for Seksualiti Merdeka last year on spotting homophobic traits, is heading the team behind this booklet.

It also shows with simple diagrams and explanations, how sexuality orientation is comprised of sexual identity, attraction and behaviour. If you’ve ever wondered why certain things queer people do conflict with ideas you have on what they should be doing (ie: is a lesbian who sleeps with a man still a lesbian?), you should probably pick up some 101 guidance here.

Give it a go and see how you react to the content.

Here’s an article that I found extremely interesting and important in reminding us that the movement for equal rights can sometimes be (dangerously) dominated by those of us already in privileged positions, if we are not careful and aware of our own politics when advocating for a certain position. To quote a favorite historian and queer rights activist of mine, Tim McCarthy, who tells a predominantly gay and lesbian audience, “Let’s not throw the trans (or insert any minority part of the LGBTQ community, such as the black, hispanic, asian, low-income, immigrant, etc. LGBTQ community) people under the bus!”

By LZ Granderson
Special to CNN

Editor’s note: LZ Granderson is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and has contributed to ESPN’s Sports Center, Outside the Lines and First Take. He is the 2009 Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) award winner for online journalism and the 2008 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) winner for column writing.
LZ Granderson says criticism of President Obama by the gay community has gone too far.

LZ Granderson says criticism of President Obama by the gay community has gone too far.

(CNN) — Far from flowing rainbow flags, the sound of Lady Gaga and, quite honestly, white people, stands a nightclub just outside of Wicker Park in Chicago, Illinois, by the name of The Prop House.

The line to get in usually stretches down the block, and unlike many of the clubs in Boystown and Andersonville, this one plays hip-hop and caters to men who may or may not openly identify as gay, but without question are black and proud.

And a good number of them are tired of hearing how the gay community is disappointed in President Obama, because they are not.

In recent weeks, one would have thought the nation’s first black president was also the nation’s biggest homophobe. Everyone from Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black and radio personality Rachel Maddow to Joe Solmonese, the president of Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest gay advocacy group, seem to be blasting Obama for everything from “don’t ask don’t tell” to Adam Lambert not winning American Idol.

In their minds, Obama is not moving fast enough on behalf of the GLBT community. The outcry is not completely without merit — the Justice Department’s unnerving brief on the Defense of Marriage Act immediately comes to mind. I was upset by some of the statements, but not surprised. (After the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, President Ronald Reagan’s initial handling of AIDS and, more recently, Katrina, there is little that surprises me when it comes to the government and the treatment of its people.)

Still, rarely has criticism regarding Obama and the GLBT community come from the kind of person you would find standing in line at a spot like The Prop House, and there’s a reason for that.

Despite the catchiness of the slogan, gay is not the new black.

Black is still black.

And if any group should know this, it’s the gay community.

Bars such as The Prop House, or Bulldogs in Atlanta, Georgia, exist because a large number of gay blacks — particularly those who date other blacks, and live in the black community — do not feel a part of the larger gay movement. There are Gay Pride celebrations, and then there are Black Gay Prides.

There’s a popular bar in the heart of the nation’s capital that might as well rename itself Antebellum, because all of the white patrons tend to stay upstairs and the black patrons are on the first floor. Last year at the annual Human Rights Campaign national fundraiser in Washington, D.C. — an event that lasted more than three hours — the only black person to make it on stage was the entertainment.

When Proposition 8 passed in California, white gays were quick to blame the black community despite blacks making up less than 10 percent of total voters and whites being close to 60 percent. At protest rallies that followed, some gay blacks reported they were even hit with racial epithets by angry white participants. Not to split hairs, but for most blacks, the n-word trumps the f-word.

So while the white mouthpiece of the gay community shakes an angry finger at intolerance and bigotry in their blogs and on television, blacks and other minorities see the dirty laundry. They see the hypocrisy of publicly rallying in the name of unity but then privately living in segregated pockets. And then there is the history.

The 40th anniversary of Stonewall dominated Gay Pride celebrations around the country, and while that is certainly a significant moment that should be recognized, 40 years is nothing compared with the 400 blood-soaked years black people have been through in this country. There are stories some blacks lived through, stories others were told by their parents and stories that never had a chance to be told.

While those who were at Stonewall talk about the fear of being arrested by police, 40 years ago, blacks talked about the fear of dying at the hands of police and not having their bodies found or murder investigated. The 13th Amendment was signed in 1865, and it wasn’t until 1948 that President Harry S Truman desegregated the military. That’s more than an 80-year gap.

Not to be flip, but Miley Cyrus is older than Bill Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell.” That doesn’t mean that the safety of gay people should be trivialized or that Obama should not be held accountable for the promises he made on the campaign trail. But to call this month’s first-ever White House reception for GLBT leaders “too little too late” is akin to a petulant child throwing a tantrum because he wants to eat his dessert before dinner. This is one of the main reasons why so many blacks bristle at the comparison of the two movements — everybody wants to sing the blues, nobody wants to live them.

This lack of perspective is only going to alienate a black community that is still very proud of Obama and is hypersensitive about any criticism of him, especially given he’s been in office barely six months.

If blacks are less accepting of gays than other racial groups — and that is certainly debatable — then the parade of gay people calling Obama a “disappointment” on television is counterproductive in gaining acceptance, to say the least. And the fact that the loudest critics are mostly white doesn’t help matters either.

Hearing that race matters in the gay community may not be comforting to hear, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of LZ Granderson.