Empire Times Queer Edition 2001 (volume 33 edition 9)

My alarm had only been sounding for a few moments before I gathered the energy to stumble out of bed and switch it off, resisting the temptation of the magic 'snooze' button. I stretched and gazed out of my bedroom window, while my eyes adjusted and started to take in the morning I walked through my home, bee-lining for the kitchen. It was very quiet. I stopped to turn on my stereo. The first words I heard for that day were those of the elected leader of this country:

" there are many things that you accept and tolerate in life without necessarily supporting them personally or thinking that they should be given a different status. I mean my view is that we should be completely tolerant and fair minded about people's sexual preference. But I don't believe that homosexual relationships should be given the same place in our society as traditional concepts ~uch as marriage."

I stood there, completely still, and listened. I was stunned with what I heard.

"if one of my sons said he was gay and can I say that is I'm being asked a completely hypothetical question What I said was that if one of them hypothetically said he was gay I said I ,wouldn't love him any less but I did go on to say that I'd be disappointed ' and I would There's nothing to clarify, I haven't met a parent yet who wants their children to grow up gay."

I was utterly shocked. My stomach turned and I felt physically sick I felt angry and I felt like crying. Why was I hearing this? Why would anyone say this? This is the kind of ignorant , narrow-minded bullshit I would expect from some uneducated , insecure, immature bigot - not the Prime Minister of the country in which I lived, not on national radio. How could he make such offensive and ignorant and completely fucked-up judgements like this about so many people , people he had never met and knew noth i ng about, abou t my friends , about my parents, about me?

I have always been aware of the existence of intolerance, oppression and hostility towards queers ingrained within so many · structures of our society This experience, however, these few sound-bytes, shocked me It presented the catalyst for a realisation of the truly insidious, offensive, real, widespread and personal nature of homophobia.

On a social level we grow up in a world which assumes our heterosexuality. Those who do not fit this expectation are left to reconcile their inner conflicts then face the daunting and life-long task ·of revealing and announcing their "difference" to an often hostile world. Public figures such as Howard (who so graciously "tolerates" but refuses to support Queers), and the recently inaugurated Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell (who announced

"homosexuality to be a greater health hazard than smoking"), use their position of "authority" and their own screwed logic to oppress Queers and reinforce homophobic attitudes. Similarly, homophobia is instilled by public role models who are quick to joke their way around any Queer issues which come in their direction. Then there are those, such as Marshall It's almost become cliched to suggest that one would think, in present day, we would be wiser, more accepting and tolerant. One might hope that after decades of battles and struggles that the scales of equality might be starting to look more balanced The truth, however, is that we have so.far to go. Certainly, we, as a society, have a better understanding of queer issues, but with this comes a recognition of the severity and extensive character of the problems.

HOW COULD HE MAKE SUCH OFFENSIVE ANO IGNORANT ANO COMPLETEL -~FUCKED-UP JUDGEMENTS LIKE THIS ABOUT SO MAN1 PEOPLE, PEOPLE HE HAO NEVER MET ANO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT. ABOUT M·~ FRIENDS, ABOUT M ' ~ PARENTS, ABOUT ME?

We exist in a society dominated by heterosexist attitudes ahd structures. At in institutional level we battle with a

government that refuses in so many areas

to acknowledge that queers and same-sex

relationships even exist. Queer couples are

denied rights held by hetero-couples in

regards to access to, and responsibility for

partners receiving medical treatment, inheritance, superannuation, tax rebates, immigration and social security entitlements - such as youth allowance and family allowances. The government would seek to have lesbians denied access to IVF treatment. Why should a large proportion of society, those identifying as heterosexual, have exclusive access to developments in medical technology based on this sexual identification? Gay men are not allowed to donate blood - regardless of the safety of their sexual practices. School fail to adequately, if at all, cover issues of Queer relationships, health and sex. Churches and private clubs and associations are free to discriminate against Queers. This is extremely alarming given the money and subsequent influence held by many of these groups in public policy formation. The media presents a hetero'.normative view of the world where Queer issues and perspectives are either sensationalised, tokenised or neglected altogether. · ·

Mathers (aka Eminem), whose lyrics are filled with messages of gay -hatred to create an image and sell albums While Mathers is quick to claim that he isn't really a hateful guy and is only shit-stirring, try telling that to the 13-20 year-old target audience buying and listening to his albums We exist in a society where it is funny to tell 'faggot' jokes, where to call something 'gay' is degrading, where queers have abuse hurled at them as they walk down the street and must fear for their personal safety, where more than one third of suicides are related to sexuality.

If I have made the situation sound urgent, that is because it is. This is the state of things now. This is the society which we all comprise - It is hostile and splintered and oppressive, it is confused and ignorant and complacent. Queer issues are undeniably just as significant today as they have ever been, because · things can change, and indeed they must. It is for precisely this reason that we have things such as· the Queer Edition of ET. Through communication, visibility and education we can change systems, we can change laws and most importantly, we can change attitudes. It's time to wake up.

AT ·I N . I NST I TUT I ONA L LE VE L WE BA TT LE WITH A GOVERNMENT THt\l REFUSES IN SO MAN'~ AREti.S TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT QUEERS ANO SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS EVEN EXIST.

Dear Editors,

Having read the most recent rant from Alexander Drew, I felt compelled to respond, in an attempt to correct at least some of his ignorant and damaging misinformation about Sociology.

There are so many baseless assumptions in this article I don't know where to start. Firstly, to talk of 'sociological theories' as though there is one set that all sociologists subscribe to is ludicrous, as it would be for any other discipline. Secondly, to boast that 'sociology's theories have been discredited' or of 'dwindling numbers of sociologists' is, at least, hopelessly premature Thirdly, Alexander seems to think that it was the sociology of the 60s and 70s that came up with the idea of government involvement in private lives, as though this hadn't ever been an issue of political philosophy But I think my favourite of the ridiculous assumptions behind this article is the notion that government policy is dictated by what sociologists think. Go tell that to your average sociologist and listen to the laughter

Drew has the nerve to accuse sociologists of using 'deliberately vague' terminology like 'disadvantaged', when he is responsible for this gem of precision : 'Did you know that people from low income backgrounds have a high representation amongst the very high achievers in all fields of life?' Well , how high Al? A little· bit of sociological study would have taught you that without statistical evidence, claims like this are meaningless Of course there are some high achievers from low socio-economic backgrounds, just as there are some who were born with a silver spoon but are now in the dole queue. There are exceptions to every rule. This doesn't discredit the claim (made by some sociologists) that if one is born into a wealthy family, provided with a private school education with all its social benefits, financially supported during one's learning and then sent out into the world with a network of family and school contacts, one has a better chance of succeed-

ing occupationally and financially.

I'm not even going to get into Al's shite about 'welfare mothers' raising multiple children to multiple absent and unknown fathers' (as though women are responsible for men being absent fathers). To those who missed it, though, I'd recommend you read it. You could spend a whole hour watching Beauty and the Beast and not come across such baseless moral panic - and it's all Sociology's fault. Who would have thought it provided such a helpful scapegoat?

And then there's the bit about ah, fuck it, this is stressing me out. I'm going to go spend my Youth Allowance on crack

Luther Blisset.

Dear ET,

We're going to hear a lot of pathetic, emotional tripe over the coming days/weeks/months/years as a result of the so-called 'terrorist attacks" on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. I'll leave it to others to voice their opinions on the events that have transpiredinstead I'll just predict what will happen as a result of the attacks.

The government of the USA will reinstate assassination as a valid means of dictating world affairs. That ' s it Cliches will develop describing "new tactics for a new war" but at the end of the day the US will send a bunch of covert operatives onto foreign soil, with the express purpose of killing leaders of movements that oppose the US interests. That's assassination, no matter how you dress it up.

So, before you all jump aboard the retaliation bandwagon and (silently) support such actions, think about the consequences. Will the world be a better place if we sanction assassination (under the guise of counter-terrorism)?

I don't think so .

Henry

Letters to the Editor

In 1945 the United Nations (UN) was formed. Its aim was to bring peace to the world by promoting the collective action of nation states to remove the causes of conflict, poverty and injustice from the world.

The acts of terrorism that took place in New York and Washington on 11 September are surely the result of a failure by the UN to to successfully fulfill its Charter. This being so, it is surely the responsibility of the UN to take remedial action to ensure that the terrorists are brought to justice.

Instead of this taking place, we have heard nothing about UN action from world leaders, but only a rush to assist the United States (US) in taking the law into its own hands.

It would seem that after all the work of setting up such a massive organisation that has done so much good in its 56 years of operation, it is now to be abandoned to suit the whim of a US President seeking personal glory. The UN has ample resources from its member states to track down the terrorists and it has its own International Criminal Court where they can be tried.

The terrorists who acted on 11 September are international criminals and should be dealt with in the international court under international law. If we break international law by bombing other countries, are we any different to the terrorists?

Sincerely,

Ron Gray Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc.

Growing up in today's society there are few things that can be assumed by people . When a person is growing up there are some things that society does assume about its citizens and they are their gender, their race and their heterosexuality These days it may be less of a surprise that there are people who do not identify as the gender their genitals prescribe them with, and that there are people who may be attracted to the same sex, however it is still seen as against the norm.

"Coming out" is a term used because of this presumption of heterosexuality A person who is not as assumed, must come out of this identity and proclaim to be different, hence "coming out of the closet" as a lesbian/gay/bisexual. Coming out can be done in so many different ways, with so many different outcomes that it is like defining life, or love. But that's what coming out is actually all about- a life with love, and a love of life. People who ignore their sexuality or never come out, are often left depressed and wi th a web of lies surrounding their instincts covering themselves up from discovery. Coming out is about being true to yourself, and finding a way to be true to those you are traveling through life with

When a person does " come out" they must consider a few things like who to tell, how to tell them , and when is the right time? The following is some advice that may be useful:

Coming out is something th at is different for everyone, and there isn't really an effecti ve "How to " that would be all -encompassing But , some of the things I think need to be considered are the following :

When? When you' r e ready. You don ' t even need to know for sure what you are exactly, and which label is perfect for you . To let you know, most of t he people I have known have come out as bisexual and the n later become more comfortable with gay/lesbian Not to say that some people aren't actually bisexual, but to say that any transition even after you've come out is always fine I think the way you know you're ready is when you feel that it is necessary to be truthful, open and want people to stop thinking you're someone different from who you are There is nothing more frustrating then being constantly referred to as straight or looking out for the opposite sex, when s~cretly inside you're not Don't rush yourself though Take your time, just because others seem to have decided it is time for you to come out, or friends of yours have done so, does not mean it is the right time for you You ' ll know when you need to tell people

Who do you tell? This is comple t ely different for everybody depending on their situation Some find it easier to tell friends, some find it easy to tell their family, some need to

start by telling unrelated strangers. Thfs is a personal choice and can only be decided by you. The right type of person, is someone who is understanding, or very important to you. The wrong reaction can harm your coming out and scare you away from completing the process you've begun. It also has to be to someone you trust will keep the information confidential. After all, coming out is your journey, and your life, no-one else has the right to out you without your permission.

How do you tell others? Hmmm Another tricky one; In person, over the phone, sober, drunk, cheerfully or with tears? The possibilities are endless, and the outcomes equally so. Again, from personal experience, you are probably the best judge of what is appropriate. If you're scared or worried, maybe over the phone would be less confronting, but it does deny you the ability of gauging the person's reaction by not being able to see their face. I guess by being truthful and natural you may imbibe the same response in your intended audience.

What if you think they know already? Don't fool yourself into thinking your coming out will be the biggest surprise. Parents often don't know no matter what the signs are, but friends not having the same. hopes and aims for you, and knowing you in different settings, have a better chance ·ot having a clue The fact that they might know is very different from actually knowing though. Always approach it from the angle that it has been a big deal for you and may not be for them, but that they need to hear it from you to know where they stand. Never just expect people to know, as this may hurt the person who you don't tell, as they may think you didn't trust or like them enough to tell them.

As I can see I have said repeatedly throughout this article, coming out is a very personal experience and impossible to dictate the appropriate manner for every example. The thing to remember is that through talking to others we get closer to others. Ask a friend who is gay/lesbian/bisexual, or a stranger, or if there isn't anyone around, try to read some queer -friendly literature. Never think that it is just too hard to say. I have never looked back since I came out because there is nothing like having friends and family who love and respect you, and actually know who you are, not who they have assumed you are .

A pi,ffey-ell\,t A}>:pY-o&tcltt

I think I'll take a slightly different approach here. My parents and all of my friends know I am a lesbian. I told them in various ways and at various times, and I was met with a huge array of responses. Luckily for me, the vast majority were positive, and my coming out experience has been full of drama, but not much heart break.

The one thing that has scared me the most in the last year about my sexuality is the way my boss would react if she found out. You see, I teach children to swim. I love my job, I love teaching all my kids, watching them improve, seeing their faces light up when we play games, seeing how excited they are when they step into the water, and how proud their parents are when they see their child put their face into the water for the first time or kick their legs, or swim by themselves. What if the parents knew I was gay? What if the other swimming teachers found out I had a girlfriend? What if, what if, what if.. ..

Ordinary I wouldn't care. If anyone asked I would tell them and not be afraid of the consequences but this time I felt differently. this is because of a social stigma attached to being gay. Many people in society think that gay people are paedophiles. While this is untrue, and the insinuation pains me deeply, it is nevertheless fact that many people still think that gay people should not be around children

One day I was in a newspaper article about queer and sexuality officers. It mentioned that I had come out There was a colour photo of me for all to see. Naturally I was ver proud. The next day I went to work as usual having completely forgotten about the article . I was greeted joyfully at the door by my boss's husband. He gave me a big hug and a kiss and said, "Elise! We saw your picture in the paper! It was great" I kept waling alongside the pool to the changerooms in a state of complete shock . As I approached I saw my boss showing something to a parent. I went over to see her and realised what was being shown. She had cut out the artic;le and had brought it to work to show all the instructors. She was beaming. She looked so proud. I felt like crying. When I went into the changeroom after teaching that day, one of the instructors started telling me about the days when se was at uni and how she had a gay male friend who was a sexual harassment officer and how everyone loved him I felt so relieved that day. It was on e of the most heartwarming and affirming experiences of my !ife You ca be so fearful of coming out, of what people's reactions will be, but when you do, you may be pleasantly surprised .

It was March 1998 during the first week of my new undergraduate degree, in my Rhetoric and reasoning class, that I accidentally fell out of the closet as being lntersexed. We has been discussing the illusion of the binary classifications of male and female : so the conversation revolved around the concepts of heterosexuality, homosexuality, make and female and yes, transexuals. I put up my hand and stated that the class was overlooking one classification of people who blurred both the sex and gender binaries: lntersex.

The lecturer asked me to elaborate on the definition of lntersex, so I explained that lntersex was not an identity as was homosexuality, but a biological state of being. lntersex people possess either sex chromosomes, and/ or physiological sexual characteristics, which manifest as various blends of male and female: hence they breach the binary sexes of male and female. The are "inter" = "in between". I also explained that society denies the existence of lntersex. Consequently a whole medical industry has emerged committed to the physical and psychological modification of lntersex infants and children, via the imposition of hormonal and/or surgical therapies in order to force them, against their will, into existing as either one of the two binary opposites of male or female. Eventually, often the outcomes of these therapies are traumatic and soul destroying for these individuals.

A fellow student asked : "How come I knew so much about lntersex?" And before I could stop myself I replied "because I am intersex!" Utter silence filled the room. A complete look of shock, embarrassment or fear played across most of the student's faces: including my own I suspect!. The lecturer, Ruth Trigg, asked me to further comment on my experience of being an intersexed person. I tried to explain that the classification and concepts of sex, sexuality and gender, such · as male/female and homosexuality/heterosexuality could not apply to a sex and a gender that was beyond the binaries But it was obvious to me that these students were encountering something beyond their comprehension, and from their later behaviours towards me I suspect that many of them automatically labelled me as a raving homosexual.

However I am glad that I outed myself, albeit accidentally, as it assisted me in accepting myself as I am overcoming that feeling that I should somehow be ashamed of my biological reality. A couple of years ago I also joined the UniSa Pride and met several wonderful people., some of whom have now become my closet friends. I encourage anybody whose reality is beyond the common sexuality or gender identity to make contact with our new Queer officer, Liz or approach either Trev or myself who are the sum total of the 2001 Queer Standing Committee to discuss their options.

CllA.11\,R,l!

From personal experience, the greatest fear of being different is generated by the "what if's" which haunt people in the closet. The reality though is much different If you openly accept yourself as you are, then most people will also accept you and may became valued and supportive friends. Those who don't are not worthy of your time and their phobias are their problem, not yours.

I came out gradually; I told one of my heterosexual friends first - her accepting attitude enabled me to tell a few o_thers. Then, while ou~ family was on holidays, I told my sister. It wasn't something I planned, exactly, it just came out in the conversation. To my surprise, I didn't get the big rejection I was expecting, instead, her reaction was: "Big deal, I already knew that".

I first realised I haq same sex feelings when I was in high school. But I never said or did anything about it, partly because I had strict Catholic parents, and also partly because I went to a girls' school where that sort of thing was frowned upon. Like most people, I wanted to be accepted, but because of my upbringing, I believed that there wasn't any chance of that.

I spent a lot of years hiding who I was, being careful about how I acted and what I did or said just in case anything gave away my "secret". For the longest time I thought that there was something wrong with me for feeling the way I was feeling. I thought that more people would accept me if I did not fit the stereotype; I though people would treat me better if they thought I was "normal" .

I hid behind layers of painstakingly blow-dried hair. I wore heels and dresses. My make-up had to be perfect. For years, I wore sunglasses almost everywhere. I was creating an illusion, giving people what they wanted to see: painting on a smile to hide the way I felt inside.

I think on some level I thought that if I did that and if I had boyfriends, and acted like "the other girl;", that my feelings would just melt away like some passing phase and I'd wake up one day, with a husband, three children and a dog and my family would accept me because I'd be the daughter that they always wanted, instead of just the "black sheep" of the family.

But as time went on, it became more apparent that my feelings weren't "fading like I wanted them to, that I wasn't going to "just grow out of it" and I began to feel more and more as if my life were some sort of elaborate fac;:ade, and that the real "me" was tucked away somewhere deep inside, where nobody, not even myself, could see it.

But eventually, I realised I couldn't keep running away.

It took some time before I reached the point of acceptance. It wasn't until my second year at university that I began being honest with my friends about who I was.

A year later I came out to my mother after my first same sex relationship ended. Surprisingly coming out was nowhere near as awkward as I thought it would be. In spite of her Catholicism, and the (generally homophobic) culture she was brought up in, her reaction to my big secret was a lot mo~e open-minded than I thought it would be. (I was expecting to get thrown out of the house). She said: "Is that all? I thought you were pregnant!"

I became involved in Pride and began coming out to other gay, lesbian and bisexual people. I was surprised that these people were in may ways just as ordinary as I was. Many of them had the same sort of feelings and some similar experiences.

I still look and dress pretty much the same way I did before, although I no longer feel I am "hiding it" just because I do not fit a particular stereotype. Coming out does not mean you have to cut off all your hair and start dressing really butch or wearing purple everywhere (unless of course that is what you want to do). It simply means being honest with yourself and with others about how you feel, and accepting that those feelings are an important part of who you are.

Coming out is not always an easy thing to do. There will be some people who don't accept you because of the fears and prejudices they grew up with. But it's important to remember that you don't have to come out to everyone just because you've come out to some people. It's also important to remember that many of those who do not accept you at first will get over the initial "shock", and you are the same person that you always were. In a way coming out to those people is a good thing because it gives them a chance to grow and question their prejudices, which is something that many people don't do as often as they should.

Coming out was in a sense one of the best things I didbecause I no longer felt alone. I now know that I am surrounded by other women and men who feel exactly the same wa~ I do. That knowledge has been very empowering because 1t freed me from many of the negative feelings I'd had about myself in the past, and has in a sense opened up a whole new world to me. My hope is that'in telling this story, others like myself will find the courage to take that step for themselves.

My story is like everyone .......,_ __. else's, and yet like noone's. I grew up in the Northern Territory predominantly, in a loving family with an older sister. I was always a confident kid doing lots of extracurricular activities. I always had girlfriends, and always wanted to be liked. I was also always a "sensitive" boy, in touch with my feelings and able to empathise with girls on a level that led me to have mostly girls for friends. I remember staring at good looking boys in movies, magazines and class and wanting to be like them.

I was lucky to travel with my parents around the world when I was fifteen, and was away from school for four months. I had left my friends and girlfriend for an exciting adventure. I returned to Darwin a supposedly different person. Suddenly it was like someone had lifted a veil and I was exposed to others like I hadn't been before. I was called names by boys from the back of class, I had graffiti written about myself and a number of boys, lucky enough to be involved in amorous adventures with me. I didn't know why this had all happened. As a 14 year-old who was always analytical I would go home and wonder about these words- "faggot", "poof" and "gay". I thought about what they meant, why people would call me these names, and whether I did indeed want to be with boys. I couldn't understand what had changed that suddenly people thought this about me. These events precipitated an immediate meditation on my past.

· I remembered when I was 7 lying on the tiled ground by the swimming pool at training, while we were being lectured on backstroke technique, and attempting to see up my coaches shorts as to what was there. I remembered my friend Dariiel in primary school in grade 7 who would come and hug me at lunch and it would feel so nice. I remember Daniel telling me at the end of that year that we would not be doing those regular hugs anymore in high school, and wondering why. I remembered kissing my girlfriend Rebekah at the school social and trying to convince her that without tongue was far better a technique. I remembered my admiration for my friend Josh, and for the men in my sister's magazines, for their amazing good looks and for the fact that all the girls liked them. I then realised I didn't just want to be like those boys, I wanted tq be with them.

I was very upset at this revelation. I didn't want to be different, I wanted a wife and children, married at 25, the first child a girl when I was 27, the second aboy at age 29 and the third another girl at age 31. My wife and I would both be successful professionals, and very, very happy in our house on a cliff overlooking an impressive beach This was not to be.

I then went through high-school denying. I was still with friends, lots of hobbies, and even a girlfriend at some stage. I then went overseas and even turned 18. While overseas two things momentous happened to me- I went to my first gay club as a straight boy, and I was sexually assaulted by a boy Both were very full on experiences and shaped me on my journey towards coming out.

Then came my first year of Uni, and moving to Adelaide to live in on-campus accommodation. Not the most queerfriendly place I've ever lived!! I met my best friend Sarah, who I found out was a lesbian, and I told her I didn't mind - I might be straight but definitely not narrow minded. I got a girlfriend, and continued to deny what I knew was true, even with queer friends, and even going to the Mars Bar with my girlfriend to dance. I then began to tell people I thought I might be bisexual. I went out one night with my friends and girlfriend and spotted the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I had ever seen They belonged to Paul, and I knew I wanted to be with him I knew he was gay. I knew it was time. I told my girlfriend who understood, and admitted her mom had asked her on the night she met me if I was gay. She was so supportive I then had a big night, hoping to meet those blue eyes. I did and a week of daydreams ensued. My 19th birthday rolled around, and I had had a hedonistic week of excesses with friends, and on a downer decided it was time to tell my own mom

"Happy Birthday"

"Are you sitting down? I have something to tell you. I think I like boys." "No it's not a phase " "Well, no matter what happens, you'll always be my baby, and we'll always love you " "Can you tell Dad?"

Or something like that. Whatever the case, I then in quick succession had my first kiss, got my first boyfriend, fell in love for the first time , had my heart broken for the first time, and became an assumed homosexual.

It doesn't become easier to come out though. My coming out story was more of a coming out to myself than others story. I'm still not out to my extended family and still feel shy kissing my boyfriend in public. But 1'm happy. I still want kids and that house on the cliff with the impressive beach. But I'm happy. Isn't that what Gay means after all?

':2.00i.: A co~ ow.t odM~'

A free resource with information, articles, contacts and stories for peopl questioning their sexuality or in th process of coming out. Available from th Student's Association and Queer Space.

queer flinders:

2001 saw a fantastic milestone for Flinders University queer students, the opening of Queer Space for the first time. Such a space for queer students at Flinders was a long time coming, it took many years of haggling, advocating, begging and pleading, for previous sexuality officers and other queer activists to finally get such a symbol of recognition of queer students at Flinders. I hope that it is used and used well by future students as a source of support, community, fun and political organising.

2001 kate Cameron sexuality officer

Pride Day 2001 was lots of fun. It took a lot to pull together in a short amount of time, experiencing the usual queenie dramas that any event like this expects. After all that the day went really well. We managed to see some great local (and one of them international) performers, including our own Emily Davis. The day was really camp and it was a great opportunity to increase the visibility of queer students and their friends at Flinders

2001 also saw the queerest Empire Times editions ever. Never before (at least in my memory and I can tell you that the beginning of my student id number is practically in roman numerals) has there been so many insightful and interesting articles written by queers at Flinders. The contribution of these writers to both the newspaper and the queer community at Flinders is so important and I hope that this sort of inspiration continues at Flinders. Never again should an edition be published without something queer in it, so make sure there are plenty of contributuions for them to choose from

A couple of students from Flinders made the treck to New South Wales for Queer Collaborations 2001 (a student conference dedicated to queer issues). It's a shame it was so far away as I think that the cost put off more students going. I have however heard that it was as it is usually, fun, a good perv fest and oh so political. Keep it in mind for next year, it's an experience no queer student should leave university without.

At this point I would like to thank some people from the bottom of my heart for all of the support and assistance that they have given me during this year and they have given queers at Flinders over the last few years. Huge thanks to:

Sarah, Candice, Michael D, Dale, Josh W, Glenda, Sally, Umandeep, Naomi, Alexis, Penny, Emily, Rob, Scott C, Kathy. Student Council members for 2000 · 2001 SOC for the cash for the space

NOWSA 2000 for the extra large wad of cash for the space And all the other queer and queer friendly Flinders kids out there.

Queer Pol icy The Five Major Parties

Sam Butler Male Sexuality Officer Adelaide University

Queer and politic's can often be seen as mutually exclusive as they are synonymous. For lots of people who have or are in the process of coming out and have their friends, family and co-workers to deal with, the last thing they want to do is get political and inevitably 'out' themselves to everybody else. Most gay, lesbian or bisexual folk would just be happy with a strong network of friends, a supportive family and a loving partner. But for those who do get political, it can be quite a disenfranchising experience You learn the sad pragmatics of mainstream politics mainly, that neither of the two major parties are keen to promote actively the long-overdue changes required to present legislation that discriminates against queer people and their relationships, especially in relation to family law, super an n u at ion , Centrelink, wills, medical rights and access to children. It may not be that either the Liberals or the ALP are a homophobic party as such (although both have more than their fair share of homophobes), it's just that queer legislative reform is seldom a vote-getter, particularly in resistance to powerful family or religious lobby groups. It worked for Sydney Independent MP Clover Moore but that's because her electorate, as well as taking in Darling Point and Point Piper, it also takes in Darlinghurst and Paddington - a

bizarre blend of old money and trendy, urban queers with high disposable incomes.

With the sexuality Department keeping student representation, and in particular, queer student representation, at the forefront, I decided to contact the big 5 in politics - Liberals, ALP, Democrats, Green~ and One Nation - to get some feedback about their queer policies and what they plan to commit to specifically in light of upcoming state and federal elections.

It was simple enough to do: check out the websites and then send off emails asking for additional information that may not be found on the website. It was no big surprise that my first two responses came from the Democrats and the Greens. Both have prided themselves on being queerfriendly parties, which is fair enough considering the Green'.s Federal leader, Bob Brown, is openly gay Similarly, :the Democrats' Senator Brian Greig, in his maiden speech, acknowledged his - homosexuality,

compensated for the fact that finding any information on the ALP national website about queer issues was almost as difficult as it was for the Liberals and One Nation It also does not rectify how much the ALP lets queers down when, in 2000, Labour voted with the Coalition to defeat the proposal to expand eligibility for the independent rate of Youth Allowance to young gays and lesbians in de facto relationships of a year or more .

highlighted to the Senate how current discriminatory legislation directly affects him and his partner, and pledged to fight institutionalised homophobia I also received from the Democrats, among other things, their "Shades

It may not be that either the Liberals or the ALP are a homophobic party as such (although both have more than their fair share of homophobes) , it's just that queer legislative reform is seldom a votegetter, particularly in resistance to powerful family

Too often, propaganda is perpetrated by extreme-left wind student activists to the effect that you cannot be queer without being or religious lobby groups. of Pink" pamphlet, a compilation of their principles relating to queer issues, their past achievements and stances on and details about the Sexuality and Gender Status Discrimination Bill they introduced to Parliament. This was all very gratifying, as was the information sent to me by the Greens outlining their progressive queer policies as well as expressing enthusiasm to get involved with our Department as much as possible.

So for the cynics out there who believe that voting Greens or Democrats is a waste of a vote, the bad news is that the two major parties have not performed so well in the experiment. In fact, the Liberals, like One Nation, did not respond to any of my e-mails. A search of "gay", "gay rights", "lesbian", "queer" and "same-sex" turned up "No matches found" on the Liberal website. I started to question if I actually existed or was I just a figment of some socialist's subversive imagination. It reminded me of the e-mail brawl I once had with the President of the WA Young Liberals in which he informed me that he didn't have a "problem" with gay people, he just didn ' t "agree" with us Anyway, the Liberal's faill)re in this exercise merely

reaffirmed

one of them. In past Queer Collaborations conferences , the National Broad Left has tried to silence queer people who are members of the Liberal Party from speaking at what is meant to be a democratic conference In such environments, the "oppressed" become the oppressors, as self-appointed judges, juries and executioners of queer people based wholly on their political affiliations , rather than the vices and virtues of the actual individual. It is parochial and counter-productive to condemn gays, lesbians and bisexuals who happen to be members of the Liberal party and support its economics, since most of them are intelligent enough to at least acknowledge the shortcomings of the Liberals' social policies

The less said about One Nation the better Their national website was as ignorant as the Liberals', although I did manage to come across a media statement of Pauline Hanson's, slamming the " GAY INFILTRATION" [the capital letters are copied directly from her speech, not emphasised by me] of the Uniting Church" and how it "has a lot to do with the fact [that] members are deserting in droves".

A search of "gay", "gay rights",

and "same-sex" turned up "No matches found" on the Liberal website. I started to question if I actually existed or was I just a figment

of some socialist's subversive imagination. that they do not believe queer people have legitimate concerns, and that for the few Liberals who do have a conscience about this particular issue, they would probably be discouraged from doing anything by the antiquated Prime Minister It was Howard's stance on IVF last year that formed the bulk of the information I (eventually) received from the ALP, most of which were media statements condemning his attempts to amend the Sex Discrimination Act to permit states to discriminate against women on the basis of marital status in restricting access to fertility treatment servic es. Althol)gh most of it was framed to defend single, heterosexual mothers, there were glimpses of support for lesbian couples too However, this only partially

I came out of this exercise concluding : So far as addressing queer issues and concerns and committing to solving them, Greens and Democrats rock, ALP's OK , Libe r als and One Nation suck When the time comes to vote at the nex t election , the queer voter

should keep the following in mind : Do I care about progression in queer politics? If so, do I want to vote "symbolically " , (ie. Democrats or Greens, neither of which will be a third party at the next election in the Lower Houses but can at least monitor policy and exercise their discretion in the Upper Houses) or do I want to vote "pragmatically " (for Labour, whose record is not exemplary but who are by far the lesser of the two evils)?

If you find that you, as a queer person, do care about queer politics but do not prioritise this over your rationalist economics, then you have every right to vote Liberal. Just don ' t expect the country to become any more tolerant of your lifestyle and your relationships with John Howard in power for another three years 13

what I already expected to be the case about the Liberals

"lesbian", "queer"

Stress & Mental Health Week

"SHIT l'M STRESSED!"

How often have you heard this? Stress is an unfortunate part of so many people's lives. It can be the result of a number of things including: study commitments, financial problems, work, relationships, sexuality issues (deciding :whether to come out of the closet can create a lot of anxiety) and illness.

iA little stress is necessary to motivate many of us For l example, being stressed over an assignment may be just! the motivation you need to get it done . However, being; overly stressed over something can lead to all sorts of physical and mental health problems

IWhen this happens we need to get a grip, take control and put things into perspective. This is the theme that has been adopted for a range of activities that will take place at Flinders University in Mental Health Week (October 812). The primary aim of the program is to promote healthy perspectives.

IThis will be an opportunity for the service providers on campus to highlight who they are and advertise some of their services. There will also be displays in all the libraries and on Wednesday, an expo on the Plaza. Our service providers include Health and Counselling, The Student Association, The Student Union, EO, Careers and the Inter-Faith Chaplaincy Service . These services are free and open to all students. We have a great team of people on campus If you think things are getting a little out of control check them out .

Wednesday October 10, 2001

Plaza Expo

From Noon-2.00pm

Come along and enjoy a range of activities and entertainment including: Tai Chi

Food Giveaways

Free Massage

Live Entertainment Meditation

(in tl1£ Religious Cl!ntre)

ToroU9hou\ the week there will also be llOOl, displavs at U~i 6oar.s and informattm displays In ail lil)rarles on 11\e campus.

Corey McMahon

Been to Bertha's lampshade shop? Have you tried the coffee down at the Montmarte Cafe? It's strained through a sock! Want to grab a beer at The Red Lion? Maybe we can meet down at the bridge later OK?

Any of these places sound familiar? No? Maybe not to you or me, but to another generation these places were as familiar as the Mars Bar, or The Edinburgh Castle Hotel - a generation who didn't recognise themselves as Gay or Queer. They were camp. They lived in a different era. An era of conservative moral values. An era where you were sent to gaol for indecent behaviour with other men and your name was published in the court notices of The Advertiser or the Adelaide Truth.

Thankfully, times have changed. We all now enjoy the freedom of being able to express ourselves the way we want to. But we can't lose sight of the struggle that took place so that you and I can be whom we are without having to hide in the shadows. They were real people with real stories of survival.

As a part of this year's FEAST festival, Junction Theatre Co. and the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service will be presenting "The Pink Files". A landmark production involving a cast of over 35 participants from Adelaide's Gay and Lesbian Community, "The Pink Files" is a musical journey telling the stories of Gay men and Lesbians and their struggle to live their lives in a time of oppression. The stories are loud, outrageous, hilarious and sometimes sadand they are all based on real people and real events.

Many of the show's cast have been involved with the project from the beginning of the year, when Junction Theatre held workshops to teach basic skills such as Voice, Acting and Movement. One participant who got involved with the project at the beginning of the year is Claire Flaherty. Claire studied in Perth for 5 years, and on her return to Adelaide she was looking for something different. "I really wanted to do something creative. I wanted to learn to sing, so I went along to the workshops. The acting and dancing was a bonus".

For Claire the workshops became more than a chance to refine her skills on stage, it was an opportunity to break down some barriers, "Going to the workshops was the first time I really hung out with gay men That was a big challenge for me, coming from a lesbian, separatist background!"

As the months have progressed the group slowly came to together and auditions for the major roles in "The Pink Files" were held in July For Director Geoff Crowhurst, "The Pink Files" has been a significant project "This is one of the most ambitious community based productions Junction Theatre has put on The level of commitment and passion shown by the cast has been impressive."

"The Pink Files" started life as a readers theatre production during FEAST in 1998 Writer Ian Purcell based his script on the transcripts written by Gay historian John Lee who passed away in 1991. "It's been a long journey," said Ian "it's been 3 years since I first invited Geoff (Crowhurst) to see our performance. We've had a bit of a roller coaster ride to get it on stage, especially this year. We've had a bit of a battle to secure funding. But we've finally made it ! "

"The Pink Files" will take audiences on a musical journey through time. Beginning with the story of two soldiers who meet and fall in love on New Years Eve, 1942 through to the passionate fight for law reform in the 1970s. "The significance of the show and the story it tells cannot be underestimated" said cast member Robert Knapman, "you get a greater appreciation of what people went through and fought for so that I am free to stand up -and say 'I am gay'".

"The Pink Files" will be performed on October 12, 13 17-20 and 24-27 at Theatre 62, Sir Donald Bradman Drive, Hilton. Tickets are priced at $20/$15 concession and are available through BASS on 131 246, or at the door.

Although much of the effort of GLBT politics in Australia, USA and UK has been directed towards anti-discrimination legislation, ' domestic partnership rights and equal opportuni'ty enactments, there are larger, more social and more complex i~sues which are often ignored-or given lower priority-by the larger lobby groups Among these are· 'queer youth suicide', queer youth '- homelessness, domestic violence among lesbian/gay couples, and family violence related to family members coming out. Given that political/activist resources such as time, funding, participants' energy, media-space, etc. are always

limited, an 'ethic' on whafneeds to be prioritised must be established.

I've been driven to think about queer youth suicide. Many friends and acquaintances dead , my own £°ailed interventions, the recollections that I might have changed things, the 'what ifs' . My research, stumbling through ways to explain and address it. Watching in horror, as the conservative gay lobby groups talk about superannuation and partnership legislation Reading in terror as the gay press print gossip about which celebrity might be a dyke,

and advertisements for gay phone-sex services but ignore the problems going on around us. Being annoyed when people use suicide as an excuse for other gay-rights, as Democrats Senator Brian Greig did in his parliamentary maiden speech Repulsed, as so many queer politicians put it in the too-hard-basket, and mov e on.

The struggle against queer youth suicide has three political imperatives.

Most political and research-based articulations on queer youth suicide site the standard figures: 30% of suicides are sexuality related. These figures are very likely to have been under-reported-it is difficult to identify suicide causes in many cases. At the same time, most of these articulations claim queer youth suicide is a response to overwhelming homophobia. While I agree, my research and experience suggests it is more complex than merely a response to a hostile society. It is not just about the discriminatory nature of mainstream society, or the imperative to 'compulsory heterosexuality' that comes from conservative politicians and many church leaders. This contributes a great deal. But the struggle is more complex and more far-reaching than simply fighting to end homophobia And the struggle is imperative: the urgency is now. The next suicide might be later tonight. It is complex because the problematic goes to the very core question of what it means to be queer.

I would have been about fourteen or fifteen. In the shower one night, my uniform laid out already for the next day at school, thinking about what to think of during my pre-sleep wank. I was, of course, well-awqre that my sexuality was pretty fucked, that I wasn't gay (as such), that I definitely wasn't straight (who is?). My preferences-because that is what they are-were all over the place. And as the shampoo got in my eyes I realised with a sudden how hard life might be. That there are secrets I will have to keep (at that school, you don't let on that you're anything but what the school wants you to be, not unless you enjoy being violently assaulted by other students-an assault that is, in fact, endorsed by the teachers). The fact · that there will probably be no community out there for me, no one else who will understand. That gay-world has very little to do with me, even if it's more appealing than the marriageand-career path that my parents had so well planned. I could always kill myself. Yeah, and that was the back-up plan that shadowed me for the next three years . Suicide, my friend, because he will always welcome me, perhaps more than anyone else ever will.

( 1) The first is located on the front that we might call 'compulsory heterosexuality'. Although many people and institutions in contemporary society-particularly in Australia-are now more willing to tolerate lesbian and gay expressions of desire, there remain numerous conservative and religious groups with very powerful speaking positions-the power to make their words appear as 'the truth', the power to convince and influence those who have no access to alternative discourses of life, sex, truth, and meaning. Sydney (and former Melbourne) Archbishop George Pell, for example, claims that homosexuality is a health hazard and makes an outright refusal to acknowledge non-heterosexuality as anything but a sin While his archaic views are laughed at by many (myself included), there is the possibility he will be taken seriously by a younger person who feels his desires are not in line with the heterosexual example set by his parents, school, society, media, films, and television . It might be only one in ten thousand, but that is of course one too many. It should be noted that any politics which operates on a utilitarian basis (consider the majority first then look to those who fall into the cracks) is generally a highly conservative approach which directs resources to those who are already well-catered for. A queer politics addressing these issues must always look to th_9se who need to be fought for the most. That one kid, brought up a catholic, and convinced that the archbishop as the vicarof-christ speaks the 'truth', may find the possibility of expressing any desire so intolerable, the only path is to destroy himself. Catholic guilt and catholic terror are very powerful weapons used to normalise or exclude.

J, who has been written about so much by so many already, killed himself in 97. Remembering a couple of months before, meeting him in the back of a car, someone doing the rounds of drop-offs after some night in some shoddy gay club One of his first big nights out on-the-scene, and I saw his fear of the chaos when I noticed him at the bar. We're in the car, talking of how freaky sometimes the place can be, and full-on, and non-accepting, and elitist. And, for no reason, he grabs my hand in a scared and bold move, and he held onto me, and when we got to his house I said he should call me, and we'd drink caffeine and chatter more. But there's no pen, he's to get my number from a mutual friend-and of course that doesn't happen. Returning from some journey away, dinner with some of the uniqueer-crew, and there's talk of a J killing himself, and not quite up-to-date I ask "which J?" And spend most of the meal throwing up my meal. Upset Horrified. "What if there'd been a pen," I demand, "what if we spoke, what method for getting through this little world might I have imparted, what were my own methods?" And when half the guests are gone,

and a friend hugs me, while N gets drunk and she snogs L, and the two dykes kissing and two fags consoling, the waiters tell us to leave La Porchetta "this is a family restaurant." An argument, and I'm vowing that even in the face of NO HOPE, even in the face of the chaos of my horror, and the scene of the heterosexist restaurant, my anger will be deployed for justice, for a world where the Js would never have to carbon-monoxide themselves again.

(2) There is a strong argument that the 'mainstream' of the queer scene can be a contributing factor in queer youth suicide. I am thinking of the person who, having been told so often how welcoming queer-world will be (or how the alienation and isolation will be over if she or he makes that simple step to 'come out' and be part of that scene) finds that it is not so welcoming, not so appealing, not so fraternal. The elitism, the stereotyping and selfstereotyping, the reduction of the community to so many sites that provide entertainment for some but not for all (clubs, bars, skating and bowling).

and then for any specific 'type' that follows). What if one can't?

If we want to combat queer youth suicide, then one of the fields on which we must battle is queer-world (GLBT community). The stereotypes must be discredited. The gay press must halt its biased support for the middle-class white gay male and provide representation for those who do not fit this identity (but are nevertheless outside of the heterosexual norms). The racist, sexist and classist door policies of queer venues must be questioned. The highly offensive chauvinist attitude of drag performers must, at the very least, be toned down. The ideology of rampant consumerism must be halted. And most of all it must stop its shameful lip-service ideal that the community. is welcoming and supportive, when it has a set of discursive, policed codes on precisely who it will choose to accept. How can queer-world claim to be a 'safe space' for nonheterosexual youth when it not only replicates many of the discriminations of wider society, but exacerbates them?

The GLBT community is one of the most policed communities imaginable: to attend some of its institutional spaces one must appear appropriate (according to some stereotyped norms), be the right age (club-age), be the right ethnicity or race (white), often be the right gender (male), have the correct clothes (clubwear), the right amount of cash (do you know how much a beer costs?). To be a member of that community, one must often be willing to be open and honest and out at all times: the tails for 'coming out' are offset against a common claim that one is being either traitorous or dishonest if one doesn •t (despite the risks of homelessness, family violence, institutional expulsion, etc. that often come with being out). To be a member of that community, one must be willing to state unequivocally and clearly that one is gay/lesbian, born that way, and will never change their minds about this. One must direct their desires in the appropriate way (for a gender first-the same gender-

In frustration and failure, W tried to kill , 1 himself in front of me. His sexuality was amorphous, multifarious, queer-he'd had a lot of girlfriends, there'd been boys, and he wasn't particularly attracted to any gender as such For him, this was not a 'freedom' or 'fluidity' but a frustration: there were no available words or theories or ideas for him to express or explain his desires. During the few days of our holiday fling-where I'd come to visit him in another city from time to time-we'd party out hard, crash, usually in disappointment with the world, and he'd hold on all night, tight, as if this fleeting comfort was all he had, a moment when the cold, false culture of straight versus gay was briefly irrelevant .' Of course, it wasn't the only solace: he had heroin too. The warm comfort of whacking up · smack. But frustrated with addiction, he ·was unhappily policed on the methadone programme (9.30am sharp at the centre, or no dose of 'done) And when our late partying saw him miss two days in a row, street-smack was the only alternative to keep his body functioning anci stave off · the pain. I argued against it~ frustrated, ncffve, assuming I could understand but unaware then of opiate receptors and bodily addictions-

· although I lent him the forty bucks for the cap. And a night out, an argument (my it-tempered crabbiness, his frustration with his failure, his desires in chaos, tormented), and at home his pet · mouse was dead (" I said it looked sick"). And the tears, and he was alone and not understood, and alienated and a failure in the eyes. of his wealthy · catholic family, and a failure at gay-world's norms. A failure (he thought) in my eyes for his · drug slippage, a failure as a parent to a mouse, a failure as a sexual being ("why can't I just be a straight or a fag?" he screamed). Yeah, he passed out-thankfully-after lining up the pills to top himself, and I stole the chemical weapons and I disappeared in my own terror and horror and ' sickness at what I saw. And I what I understood. And what I couldn't understand.

(3) The third field of political battle is to undo the compulsory order of the heterosexual/homosexual dichotomy. By this, I mean the sheer narrowness of sexual choices that are authorised in contemporary society. Be straight or be gay. No in-betweens. Bisexuality is often conceived as a cop-out, as fence-sitting, as a refusal to become somehow 'truly gay'. And people whose sexualities are more fluidic, or those who do not direct their desires primarily to a 'gender' (but to other categorisations, such as place, space, time, age, etc.) are shunned by straight-world and shunned by gay world. The redu,ctiveness of the hetero/homo binary as a means to explain sexuality is directly implicated in the problem of queer youth suicide.

A portion of my research has been dedicated to thinking about those who fall outside of the hetero/homo binary, those who are neither straight, nor gay /lesbian, nor even bisexual. For many people in c;:ontemporary culture, a sense of belonging, community and identification are necessary factors for our very survival. For those whose desires are in-line with · heterosexual norms, western culture is highly accepting. For those whose desires are 'in accord' with lesbian/gay articulations, the queer community is sometimes a space in which they can forge a sense of belonging. But what of those whose desires fall outside of 'straight' and 'gay/lesbian'? Can they access a language by which to express and act on their desires? Are there the 'safe-spaces' of comfort for them to do so without discrimination?

Those places are there, but they are often not very accessible to many younger people. Queer Collaborations has-at times-been such a place. In its various underg(ound manifestations, gothworld, the rave-scene, and other spaces have sometimes provided the necessary community and the 'language' to express desires, pleasures and eroticisms that are outside of the hetero/homo system. But GLBT community and

the general tone of the heteronormative public sphere are not

Fighting for a culture in which people can express and articulate desires in diverse ways is the third field of battle against queer youth suicide. Allowing ,a proliferation of identifications and pleasures, rather-than , a constant policing of whether one is, apparently, 'truly' straight or 'truly' gay.

By struggling on these three levels, there is a possibility of finding ways to halt that which we call queer youth suicide. By understanding that suicide is more complex, by far, than the result of homophobia alone, we can find ways to address the very problems of being-not-straight that continue to cause so much desperation and breakdown. But it must remain central to the political and activist concerns of queer And it must be understood as a challenge to our own self-definitions of sexuality, pleasure and queer. Only by struggling and trying to find new ways to think through this problem-in 'queer' wayscan we make headway towards a society where the next J, the next W, and all the others never have to end their lives because there are too few ways to live.

"Every straight guy should have a man's tongue in his mouth at least once."

Madonna

things

I took a quiz on line the other day. After fifty· or so questions, I was given my results and as it tµrns out, I am 50% gay. So I'm taking this opportunity to announce my newfound bisexuality. I just figur~d that since I am half gay I must be

Sound ridiculous? Most of the myths and misconceptions about bisexuality do. For example; No one is really bisexual. It' s just a phase in the coming out process. They're gay and can't admit it. They're just straight people

experimenting They can't be trusted, you know they'll just leave you for a man/woman In the face of oppression bisexuals run back to the straight community. Bisexuals can't be monogamous; they I may be attracted want to sleep with t b th d men and women at o O men an the same time.

women but I can Bisexual women are only love one per- sleeping with the enemy. son, and I'm not All they want is heterosexual privilege . . Bisexual about to break up men are all sneaking with the persori I around on their wives.

love and sleep With People just say they are the first man I see bisexual because they think it's cool. , ·to avoid . Bisexuality doesn't exist .

homophobia .

Bisexuality is commonly understood as the potential to be attracted to both men and women. Any definition beyond that becomes a generalisation about something that encompasses such immense diversity. Like any sexuality, people experience bisexuaiity in a very unique and perspnal way. For me, identifying as bisexual probably highlights more of what I am not, than what I am I am not straigh,t, I know that much. But I also know that I am not gay, and I am definitely not both. Being in a refationship with a man .

doesn't make me straight; and having a girlfriend does ndt mean that I am gay.

The misconceptions about bisexuality are extremely frustrating. It's not a phase, or part of the coming out process It is a sexuality in its own right and it does exist, we exist. Sexuality is not as stable or certain as "gay" or "straight" and bisexuality challenges t~e concept essential to both heterosexuality and homosexuality of "the sex I am attra cted to" and "the s~x I am not attracted to".

When bisexual people are· in same sex relationships they face the same homophobia as lesbian and gay people do The discrimination, the inequality, the repercussions and the violence doesn't distinguish between who is homosexual and who is bisexual. It's not as if bisexual people only get beaten up half way because they're "half gay"! And yes, when bisexuals are in relationships with people of the opposite sex there is a degree of heterosexual privilege experienced. However, it is heterosexual privilege often at the expense of hiding your bisexual identity. Homophobic people ~re more than happy to ignore the fact that you sleep with members of the opposite sex after they discover you also sleep with members of the same sex

Misco'nceptions like; 'they can't be trusted, they'll just leave you for a man/woman In the face of oppression bisexuals run back to the straight commu'nity. Bisexuals can't be monogamous, they want to sleep with both men and women at the same time', really anger me I may be attracted to both men and women but I can only love one person, and I'm not about to break up with the person I love and sleep with the first man I see to avoid homophobia.

Homophobia and oppression ar,e felt by everyone who identlftes as non-heterosexual and unifying as a community, instead of fighting over, who is the queerest of the queer, is imperative in the battle against it. Bisexuality is not about who you sleep with, or who you date, who you leave or who you love Bisexuality is about who you are.

Safe Sex

Some v of the "ins & o ut s ' of HIV / AID S

HIV/AIDS is an epidemic of global concern. In Australia there are currently about 12,000 people living with HIV infection.

If you are sexually active or inject drugs protecting yourself from possible HIV infection is of utmost importance. Be safe at all times. According to UNAIDS, the United Nations Program on HIV/ AIDS "young men are the most likely sector of the population to be involved in activities associated with HIV/ AIDS risk". The latest UNAIDS newsletter also notes that "young men have more sexual partners than any other group and are likely to inject drugs. At the same time, they also tend to have unprotected sex and share needles. This issue is particularly of concern for guys who are gay, bi or are same-sex attracted if they are into anal sex (not all are) as thi,s is considered high risk.

Whatever your sexual preferences and tastes, do it safely. Here are some of the facts about HIV/ AIDS and some·of the ways in which you can protect yourself from infection

What is HIV?

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) attacks the immune system, which is the body's defence against disease. If a person's immune system is severly compromised , he/she will develop the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) . This makes the person susceptible to other infections or cancers The most common infection is pneumonia and the most common cancers are lymphoma and Karposi's sarcoma The secondary infections are what eventually lead to the person's death. ·

What are the symptoms?

Within a couple of · weeks of infection newly infected people develop a flu like illness, similar to glandular fever. The glands in the neck and arm pits will be swollen and they will experience headaches and fever. There may also be a rash all over their body. The illness may last a 2- 3 days or up to a couple of weeks

Where can l~ested?

Your GP can arrange a test and explain the process. However, you may not feel comfortable speaking to someone who has· been a family doctor. Clinic 275,, 275 North Terrace, free call, 1800 806 490 is a place where you can gettested. The AIDS Council of SA (8362 1611) can also assist with contacts

How is it treated?

At present there is no cure. Once a person is infected ,the virus stays in their body for life. However, there are a · number of drugs available now to help those living with HIV to enjoy a good quality of life. , The drugs interfere with the replication of the virus and help to reduce the likelihood of secondary infections.

What is safe sex?

Safe sex is any sexual activity that prevents semen, vaginal fluids and blood from entering the blood stream. You can prevent it by using condoms and dental dams : '

How is infection passed on?

The infection is passed on when infected bodily fluids enter the blood stream. Probably, the two activities that are considered of highest risk are anal penetration and injecting drug use Many people do not engage in these and are therefore, less likely to put themselves at risk of infection. (Even a lot of guys who have sex with other guys are not into anal penetration. Some do, some don't. What is important is that whatever you're into, that you do not put yourself and your partner at risk.)

Some of the ways it can be passed on include:

- HIV in cum or pre-cum getting into the lining of the anus;

- HIV in the anus entering 'through the urethra or invisible breaks in the skin of the penis; ,

- Much less common but it is possible through oral sex if cum gets into ulcers or bleeding gums. (It not recommend~d that you floss or brush your teeth before going down on someorie!)

How ·can I protect myself?

-Condoms

Condoms have been shown to be an effective barrier against virus' such as HIV, Hepatitis B ft C, and gonorrhoea as they cannot enter through the .latex. Some people are a bit uncomfortable about using them but if you make it part bf the foreplay it can be an enjoyable part of the experience. Remember also to look after them. It is not a good idea to keep them in the glove box or your wallet for a long time Light and heat deteriorates them.

Health and support. If you fee sA on 83621611. Tl well as link you with ou

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5T4R TREK: QUEER iiEDER4TIDD

Captain Kristof

· "Queer Space, the final frontier! These are the voyages of the Starship, Underpants Its mission, to explore exotic, glamorous worlds. To seek out promiscuous , flagellant civilisations. To boldly go where no queer crew has gone •before!" (Roll footage of gorgeous queer crew strutting their stuff on the bridge).

So life in Federation space in the 24th century may not yet be as sexually frivolous as some of us might hope (I wonder if Wes Crusher from ST: The Next Generation will still be around when it finally reaches that state?). It certainly has, however, had some close encounters of the queer kind over the years. To the extent, in fact , where I'm really led to wonder about the orientation of some of these characters, both out of my own fascination and curiosity, and as a result of their own Star Trek exploits. ·Interestingly, · it was G'ene · · Rodderlberry's (the creator of Star Trek) dying promise in 1991 that future episodes of Star Trek will have regular gay characters. Paramount has disappointingly yet to adequately live up to his promise

Whenever any queer issues have arisen on the show, they've always been addressed in a particularly ambiguous manner leaving many of us Trekkers confused Rather than have a frequent queer character on ,the show (read, a queer character th at is not a mere novelty) all sorts of bizarre plots have been conjured up in an attempt to tackle sexuality in the Federation.

The first example of which, is one of our most prominent sisters, Jadzia Dax, who lives aboard Deep Space 9 as Lieutenant Commander. During the 'Rejoined ' episode, our friend Dax of the Trill species was involved in the first lesbian kissing scene ever shown on Star Trek when she snagged a lover from a former life and hence broke Trill law. Granted, if you know the origins of the Trill species, you would be forgiven for hurling arguments at me regarding the actual queer connotati ons of this scene, however one can't deny how exciting this was over the regular Federation-encountersCardassian-ship, shotsa re - exchanged, everyone'. retreats.

One queer encounter, long before Dax came along and stole the tiara, occurred during 'The Outcast' episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation when our studly Riker hits it off with Soren, a member of the androgynous J'naii race. Alone with each other on a shuttlecraf~, sparks fly as they discuss the sexual compatibility between the two species. However, Soren is quick to point out to Riker that gender-specific relationships are strictly forbidden and highly illegal in the J'naii society. This is no barrier for them though, as they continue their relationship to the point of pashing under the moonlight in the woods, very romantic. The episode ends on quite a sad note unfortunately. Soren is accused of engaging in an unlawful deed and sentenced to be brain washed back to "normal" (sou~ds like those crazy fundamentalist "God Can Save' You From Homosexuality" camps in the US). Riker returns t~ the planet in a desperate attempt to save his love, but is sadly too late, their romantic ties had been severed by the psychotectic therapy.

The only really true queer characters in Star Trek appeared in the evil mirror universe of DS9 where all characters from the regular universe are shown, but with slightly different personality traits. In 'The Emperor's New Cloak' we see Kira and Edzri's mirrored universe counterparts engage in a love affair. Unfortunately Kira is a villain in this universe, which places a negative view on her character and her actions. Her friend Ezri, however, is quite the comedian - when the beautiful Leeta tells her that "Captain Smiley wants me to de-brief you", Ezri replies "It must be my lucky day!". ··

Some might say that I'm seeking something, ANYTHING, in . my beloved Star Trek that might be queer related to satisfy my hunger (and yearning to spend some time on the Holodeck with Wes Crusher). Sure, these examples mightn't prove much to the ordinary fan, but after Gene Roddenberry's struggle for more queer related issues in the show, even if they do merely brush over smaller aspects of it, these are a pleasure to see.

"With so much hate in the world, I'm not really interested in people who say love is wrong."

-Anne Heche

Some of the most i nteresting people at the beginning of the 20th century were the Bloomsbury group · a generation of artists , writers and intellectuals This group consisted mainly of t he biographer Lytton Stratchey, the economist John Maynard Keynes, noveli sts Virginia Woolf and EM Forster, publisher and political thinker Leonard Woolf and t he painters Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Roger Fry This group of people came together and developed a range of ideas and attitudes and for the time, some unconventional relationships.

In 1916 Vanessa Bell and her new husband, Clive set up home at Charleston farmhouse in West Sussex and from here the Bloomsbury relationships weave their web. Many of the Bloomsbury stayed at Charleston . Duncan Grant would visit often . Vanessa who had 2 children fell madly in love with Duncan and he stayed on for the rest of his life , fathering a daughter who grew up believing that Clive was her father. At the same time , Clive was kept busy with his womanising Although Duncan and Vanessa had been lovers, Duncan was also in love with David Garnett known as 'Bunny ' Bunny visited Charleston often to continue his affair w ith Duncan although he was married with children He was at Charleston when Vanessa gave birth to Duncan 's daughter, Angelica and swore he would one day marry her (which he did some years later)

Lytton Stra t chey would visit Vanessa and Duncan at Charleston with his latest boyfriend On one of his visits he met Dora Carrington a Slade art st udent (he initially thought she was a boy as she had her hair cropped short and wore corduroy trousers· unusual for the time) Dora , who was known as Carri ngton , at first found the strangelooking Stratchey hideous and annoying but after an incident where she intended to cut off his beard, she looked into his eyes and fell madly in love. They li v ed happily together for a while , but Stratchey had eyes for Ralph Partridge an army officer whom he introduced to Carrington Partridge was smitten with Carrington and he proposed marriage to her Str atche y though t the marriage a wonderful idea Carrington re alised this was probably the only way she would be able to stay with Stratchey. The three lived together for a while Carrington was only

too happy with the arrangement, although she was jealous of Stratchey's involvement with Partridge ,. And so Carrington embarked on an affair with an Army friend of Partridge ' s, Gerald Brennan After surviving WWI, Brennan wanted to spend some time in Spain to 'find himself' and asked Carrington to go with him Carrington couldn't bring herself to leave Stratchey. Stratchey was upset by this time because Partridge was tiring of him and he had met a woman whom Partridge lived with for the rest of his life Carrington continued living with Stratchey, putting up with all of his dalliances until he later died of cancer. Carrington was so devastated by Stratchey's death that she committed suicide by shooting herself. Unfortunately, she wasn't a good shot and it took her 3 days to die in agony.

Virginia Woolf, the literary giant, married Leonard Woolf when he returned from working in India. She had had a marriage proposal from Lytton Stratchey a few years before but he retracted it the following day The though of marring a woman horrified him Leonard Woolf was dedicated to Virginia , encouraging her in her writing, setting up a publishing company and nursing her through her many nervous breakdowns However, Virginia had one last bout of mental illness and threw herself into the River Clise and drowned

The behaviour of the Bloomsbury group rocked . the conservative Establishment of the time Ho":{ times have changed

Barbara .

My first visit to Sydney was for Mardi Gras 2000 (a whirlwind, 36 hour - fly infind hotel - shop - partydance - wander zombie-like - fly home experience). Amazing fun, but perhaps not the best way to properly experience this, most famous 0f Australian cities!

Sydney has a reputation for being a bustling, lively, nonstop, cosmopolitan kind of place, and indeed this isn't far from the truth. For the visitor to Sydney there is always something to do and see, 24-7. Sydney also has a reputation for its vibrant and energetic queer culture, largely due to the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which takes place each year in February and March . The event actually started in 1978, when more than 1000 people moved down Oxford Street to mark International Gay Solidarity Day, a commemoration of the Stonewall Riots. (The Stonewall riots, in New York, are often considered the birth of ,the modern lesbian and gay rights movement). Nowadays it's a huge, colourful, cultural festival with the closing parade something everyone should try to see at least once (my Uncle and Aunty have been going for years!)

Mardi Gras isn't the extent of gay Sydney though - not by a long way. There are loads of queer-friendly venues, from clubs to hotels to shops to restaurants - (you can't walk down Oxford Street without getting tangled in a rainbow flag!) If you're looking for clubs, it's a good idea to grab yourself a copy of a street mag' and check the venue guide, because there ' s always lots happening 'Stonewall' on Oxford Street is pretty funky. With three levels to pick

If you're wanting to shop, you're in the right city. There are loads of stores selling everything you could want. The Pitt Street Mall is a good place to start, and the Queen Victoria Building is worth a look, if not for the shops, just for the building itself. Sydney also has a good selection of markets where you can grab some funky clothes, jewellery, crafts and general market goodies. Paddy's Market, near Chinatown, is open Fridays and Saturdays. Balmain Market is open Saturday mornings (catch the ferry to Balmain and a bus up the hill from there). The Glebe Market, open Saturdays, is also a winner (scored myself some very nice fridge magnets!)

As far as transport goes, Sydney has a very extensive rail system with trains leaving every couple minutes This can be a little confusing at first (I mean, c'mon - you miss the Noarlunga line and you're waiting for an hour!), but grab yourself a day ticket and a rail map and you'll be okay. Oh, and they won't accept your interstate student card for concessions either... even when you argue.. very persistently. There are plenty of busses, and even a monorail, but it just goes in circles - I don't even know if it's used by SydneySiders or whether it's just one of those tourist things : There are also ferries which depart from Circular. Quay. These can be used to actually get you somewhere (crazy, I know), like Balmain, or just for a nice cruise. Actually, cruising under the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a bit of a thrill, as far as bridges go.

from you can usually find a spot to flail wildly or compose

Sydney can be a very exciting and fun city to visit. You can party yourself stupid all night, you can spend quite a bit of money a little too easily (hello 'Red Eye Records'), but you can also have a great time just wandering around and catching trains all day. A nice selection really

On the accommodation side of things, there are a lot of yourself on a couch, as you may desire There are a few places close to the centre of everything, so look around bigger, shinier clubs, like 'ARQ' on Taylor Square and Otherwise, depending on how long you are staying, the 'Home', opposite Darling Harbour. Depending on your Sydney Central YHA is pretty plush in hostel standards and style, they can be I _i'_ . __, 1_._"'r_: _ , 1is c?nveniently just around the corner from Central fun, but they can be a ---~••• ~!i/ ~ Jii•~;;j/i\tJHIII•~- Station bit pretentious (think a mega - 'Planet')and with a $20 cover charge you can't afford to change your mind once you're inside.

- Dale Baldock

Welcome to Adelaide

[one boy's take on the Adelaide Gay Scene]

a friend of mine coined this condition I had, one night while clubbing I was scanning the "trade" at the local gay bar, and I started bagging all the Asian boys. didn't feel a sense of guilt , but more a sense of disappointment. I was looking at my own kind, and I didn't find what I was looking for but I took it one step further, I added feelings of l oathing , anger and spite

yet I still remember, a time when I used to look longingly into another Asian boys face in hope to find another gay boy in my midst. nowadays, in the western culture I wrap myself around in, I see only their faults, which in turn are also my own faults.

I see boys who are young, naive and desperate who claim to enjoy only the company of older men. I see boys whose faces stare blankly like lambs to a slaughter as an older Caucasian man wraps his arms around their waist, laying claim to some prized possession I see boys who are intelligent , smart and sophisticated wearing faces of anguish as they willingly slot themselves into a stereotype of a kept boy

t hese are the faces which make me angry, sad and disappointed, both in my own self, and in my own culture

so quick are we to adapt that we do anything within our power t o make sure we slot into a new society boys who spend their parents hard earned money to look like other gay boys . t:>;oys wtio work to11g hour s to fin~nce this image.

faces float by like ghosts. yet the scariest thing for me is that my face is quickly dismissed as the same as these others so I find myself prey to older men who will follow me in clubs . men who will strike up conversation which condescend . men who will slide their hands across my ass as they slide the rest of their body against mine when passing men who are drunk enough to be a hazard near a naked flame breathing down my neck probing for a kiss.

I look at my own face in the mirror sometimes and hate the one lo,oki ng ; bar k~tr,ne J

- and ( h~ve l I h~v7 90 ~yrpp, thy ~or! thrm for

, , taleht, nq gift, no, idea : rnv heart

in my minrl T]Eian, but ' I am atWays confronted at the Asian boy looking back at me in my reflection. he stares at me quizzically, asking the same question as I do "what are YOU doing THERE?". I look harder for the "whiteness " in me and find a pool of deep chocolate bearing my Chinese soul to me I push that aside and look harder for something which is not there. for I have been brought up in an environment full of western influences ranging from religion to fashion. I have been taught the language and the ways of the world through a pair of blue eyes. I came out in a society of tolerance and understanding which is rare in an eastern country.

I am the banana which is only yellow on the outside, and white on the inside

so I surround myself with Caucasian friends and Caucasian thoughts. while I retreat to my Asian friends when the need arises to feel I belong somewhere. my Asian friends can rarely be found in the same room as my Caucasian ones . so I slip back and forth between cultures and rituals . I dance the fence and split my personality.

t hey ~are · tthe - ~nes -j who-rbllnd~y - q o~e ,t thjemsetves in relationships with older men who do everything but st imulate them. they are the ones who wear the saddest faces in clubs, longing for the arms of another man while being on t he leash of the one who looks after them.

I look at those faces and lose pride in my own culture and my own race.

for these faces are visible on the scene. they are visible on the streets. when one watches a movie, you can see these

and when I am alone , I forget who I am supposed to be.

until recently, I disregarded even dating another Asian boy. nowadays it takes me three looks to get past the prejudice and the self loathing to open my eyes to the possibility of attraction to another of my own. it will take time to get used to the idea , but I think that I will eventually reach my journey's endpoint

A Day in the Life of a Gay-Boy

This documentation of a regular day in the life of a Gay-Boy reveals what many have long suspected ... it's just the same as anyone else's!

Photography By Michael Homan

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By Jay.P

She's that person you tell everything. You call each other on the phone a dozen times a day. She knows all your secrets and loves you all the same. You spend all your time together and never seem to get tired of each other. Sound familiar? That's right, she's your Fag Hag. She's that special someone who you couldn't possibly live without and though sh.e wouldn't admit, she couldn't live without you either. You are best friends but with a slight difference to a lot of best-friendships: you're very gay and she's very straight.

but revert to. You are inseparable and to the untrained eye, it may appear that you are in fact a couple. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and in certain situations can work to your advantage. You know you can count on each other to provide a scape-goat to avoid any unwanted attention from sleazy boys I girls.

The term Fag-Hag has become one that is the general and noninsulting name for a female who has a best friend who just happens to be gay.

Every gay male should have a Fag-Hag: they are your dearest friend and despite the differences that usually occur between friends of the opposite sex, you actually have a remarkable amount of things in common. You shop together, check out boys together, go out for coffee I breakfast I lunch / dinner / cock-tails, you love all the same TV shows and she is one of only a few who doesn't laugh at your CD collection (usually because she's too busy borrowing from it).

A fundamental feature of a successful Fag / Fag Hag relationship is the lack of sexual tension that can occur in male / female friendship. You love her because she isn't trying to come on to you and she values your company because its lacks all of the macho bravado that straight men often can't help

This sort of friendship sounds almost too good to be true but no two Fag / Fag-Hag relationship is the same. They come in many varieties and are different for everyone. The most rewarding Fag / Fag-Hag situation is one where there is no sexual tension whatsoever. Each person knows exactly where they stand and you wouldn't have it any other way. You respect each other immensely and enjoy a friendship that's as good as any; one that is only made stronger by the huge amount of things you have in common and many levels you relate to each other on.

Another form of the Fag / Fag-Hag relationship is when the Hag is secretly in love with

Top 10 Ceteh rity Fag-Hags

Keri Russell

the Fag. This is a surprisingly common occurrence and one that will undoubtedly come unstuck. This relationship involves the Hag's real motive for participating in the friendship is her being !=Ompletely in love with her Fag. Many Fags in this situation are unaware or in denial of this little indiscretion and for their part, feel they are experiencing a completely platonic friendship with their Hag. This relationship may exist happily for years until the Hag reveals her true feelings for her Fag or on a night of one too many .Vodka-Lemon-Limes • , lounging around innocently on a bed, the Hag pounces on her Fag. Though he may be tempted or even return the affection, this will undoubtedly result in the sad end for the seemingly perfect relationship.

An argument which can arise when using the term Fag-Hag, is the notion that it is a derogatory term for a female who obsessively follows a gay male and will blindly do anything for him. Today, this is rarely the case. The term Fag-Hag has become one that is the general and non-insulting name for a female who has a best friend who just happens to be gay. Some argue that the term PoofterPrincess is a more fitting term in some circumstances. Referring to yet another form of the sacred Fag / Fag-Hag relationship, a Poofter-Princess is the opposite the derogatory form of the FagHag. Perhaps a more rare situation, the power scales are tipped in favour of the female and, unlike the stereo-typed and traditional view of the Fag- Hag, the female bears all the power. In this instance, the female wears the pants and has all the control, while the Gay-Boy merely follows and does what he is told.

Whatever the Fag / Fag-Hag situation may be, perhaps a little something to remember is that for any friendship to prosper and last a lifetime, the power should be evenly distributed. Sure, the scales . may tip in favour of one or the other in different circumstances and at different times, however, overall the level of power each person holds should be equal.

If you have never had a Fag-Hag or are currently without one, take any steps necessary to secure yourself one. This is one of the most solid and sacred friendships one can experience and one in which a huge amount of love and support can be gained. Final Thoughts ... Fags: Look after your Hag; treat her well and remember to tell her how much you apprecciate her. Hags: Remember that your Fag loves you very much and forgive him for the mistakes he makes; he's , still teai-ning. ·

... from the Hag's point of view ...

fag hag (n.) one who serves thy queen

Contrary to (some) popular belief, a Fag is not a substitute for a boyfriend. To Hags, if they are, stop deluding yourself, gay is gay and you're being pathetic and giving your kind a bad wrap.

Having been a Fag-Hag for a strong number of years, experience has taught me it's not easy. It comes with it's ups and downs just as any friendship with an actual girl would have: bitch fights over war·drobe, accessories, and of course, boys. But it also comes with great moments. may they too be over wardrobe, accessories, and boys. It's hard to say the appeal of a Fag over a girl as a friend. Initially less competition comes to mind, competition that might come with a girl friend over the (straight) boy you've been eyeing off all semester, but the more I think about it, there's just as much competition with a Fag. It's a constant battle to prove the other wrong in a Fag-and-his-Hag relationship. I ponder for a moment...

Yes I think I have it - gay boys are great because they have style, humour, compassion, and best of all, mum will love them! I often think the reason many gay fellas are "cool as a cucumber" is because they've dealt with a lot of shit to be the person they are, which is both admirable and respectable, and everything else minor and petty isn't important. The last thing you need when you' re down is someone to bury you deeper into the pit of misery.

I'm a Hag to my third Fag at the moment. Actually make that third and fourth. A couple. Couples are hard work, haaaard work I say. Not only do you have both sides to each argument, you gotta convince each that the other is wrong so as not to cause any tension between yourself and your Fag. But a job well done will go well rewarded with a happy twosome and a lotta love for their Hag, making it all worth the battle.

Nastasja.

A Journey to t,h·e · Heart.

The Yeperenye Federation Festival 2001.

Before 1788, one bU/ion people had already walked on this land. Before 1788, 390 First Nations lived in this country now called Australia, with a history reaching back more than 60 000 years. This was the first Federation.

Aaron Pedersen, MC of the Road Ahead Concert

ally. There were giant bursts of flames coming from each end of the stage, propelling enough ' heat to fry a million eggs. We were happy though; it was a freeez- : ing night! It opened :with Yothu Yindi and followed with , legends like Frank Yainma (what a voice!), George Rrurrambu; Paul Kelly, Archie · Roac'1 and · It Ruby Hunter, NoKTuRNI, traditional performers, plus a whole host of big name and local musical talent. was a magical 'coming · Christine Anu and my not-so-my-taste Slim Dusty and

On the 8-9 September, over an estimated 30 000 people gathered at the foot of the ·MacDonnell Ranges in Alice Springs to witness "ourstory" in the making - Australia's first and only Yeperenye Federation Festival. The Festival, organised by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) on behalf of the Centenary of Federation, saw the meeting of 30 Indigenous Nations from across Australia including over 1000

Saturday began with an opening ceremo- t th , f I d. f. t Jimmy Littleoge er or n 1genous lrS just to name a Nations, to showcase their culture few.

Mowarntwe (Alice Springs) and was followed by performances from dance groups

ny from the Arrernte people, the traditional owners and custodians of h F. N . d Paul Kelly's tO Ot er lrSt atlOnS an "From Little

G h ( h ·t f ll ) l .k Things Big Things unya S W 1 e e as 1 e Grow" was beautiful from another 30 Indigenous Nations ranging from the Tiwi Islands (NT), Wakka Bunya (QLD), Middar (WA), Moeyoengu Koekaperr (Saibai Island), Gunditjmara (VIC) and more locally the Tai Kin Jeri group (Ngarrindjeri people, SA). It was a magical 'coming together' for Indigenous First Nations, to showcase their culture to other First Nations and Gunyahs (whitefellas) like me.

Hundreds of school children carrying lanterns and giant glowing caterpillars performed the Yeperenye Spectacle. The Dreaming story was relayed in Arrernte language with powerful music ranging from didgeridoo to trance. The atmosphere was nothing short of magical - definitely a great credit to artistic directors Rachel Perkins (Director of 'Radiance'), Nigel Jamieson and the musical director David Bridie. From what I gathered, the Yeperenye Caterpillar Dreaming explained the formation of MacDonnell Ranges.

The big event "The Road Ahead Concert", which dominated the ABC highlights started off with a blast - liter-

me. and moving, celebrating the achievement · of the Gurindji people in striking for 8 years to get equal pay and then eventually land rights. But the most moving

had to go to Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter's "Took the Children Away " As they played, hundreds of Stolen Generation survivors from Alice Springs and the Northern Territory filed out on t o the central stage, to be greeted and welcomed into their people for the first time - a '. powerfully symbolic and intimate moment of sadne~s,joy and relief. They had such a strong and defian t presence. I don't think there were many dry eyes · around at that time.

Christine Anu's "Cos I'm Free' with accompanying big-screen i mages of Cathy Freeman doing her historic 400m win at the 2000 Olympics, let us relive that moment and be inspired again. NoKTurNal demonstrated where the volume switch was (obviously Slim Dusty and John Williamson hadn't found it by then), enhanced by the natural acoustic barriers of the MacDonnell Ranges - they were LOUD, but that's how we like them. The Finale with Yothu Yindi's "Treaty" , and then everyone jumping up to help Joe Geia with "Yill Lull' and George Rrurrambu "My Island Home" topped everything off for me Plenty of arm-waving moments

By the Sunday, there was a different feeling in the airlike we had all shared something intimate and special. I wandered around the 5 different stages,

watching performances. The Corning Together Concert took place that evening, featuring mainly local talent

There was so much energy amongst the kids who crowded the stages and danced the night

like the salt-water reggae styles of Wild Water, heavier stuff from the North Tanarni and Letterstick bands and even some pop from Jason Lee Scott and Desert Sea.

away.

All the bands were Indigenous and a lot of them sang and conversed with the audience in their own language. Of course I couldn't understand a thing, but it was that quality that made it so unique. I can hear those big names in Adelaide and on the East coast, but these bands and this experience was only going to be found in Alice. There was so much energy amongst the kids who crowded the stages and danced the night away

Music is great for getting people together, because for that time, at the foot of the MacDonnell Ranges with panoramic horizons of uninterrupted outback, we were all lost in the rhythm and melody together. That kind of shared freedom was nothing short of magical.

Aricle and Photos - Rita Markwell.

Rusty is a Homosexual

[Sean Crist]

[http://www.Iing.upenn.edu/ ~kurisuto/ rusty

/rusty .html]

Once th.ere was a boy named Rusty . He was 9 years old.

Rusty had a dog named Patches. Patches slept in a doghouse beneath Rusty's bedroom window.

One night, Patches couldn't sleep He smelled a scary smell. "Bow-wow-wow!" barked Patches. "Bow-wow-wow! Bow-wow-wow! Bow-wow-wow! Bow-wow-wow!"

Rusty threw open the window. "Oh, no!" he cried. "The house is on fire! Mother! Father!"

Rusty felt the door as he learned at school. The door was hot, so Rusty stayed in his room and yelled for help from his window.

A big strong fireman came up on a ladder and carried Rusty to safety. Rusty hid his face against the fireman's uniform until they were safe on the ground.

Rusty was very glad to see that his whole family was safe.

"That's a good dog you have ," said the fireman. "He saved your family! And we got here in time, so your house is barely damaged."

The next night, Rusty couldn't sleep. He thought about the fireman. He thought about how warm and muscular the fireman had felt through his uniform. He remembered the smell of smoke mixed with the fireman's sweat

Remembering the fireman gave Rusty a funny feeling He wished he could be together with the fireman again.

The next day, Rusty talked to his sister Sue "I think I want to marry a fireman when I grow up," said Rusty.

Sue gave Rusty a strange look. "Boys don't marry boys!" she exclaimed Then she ran off and told all the other children that her brother wanted to marry a fireman.

Rusty went and talked to his mother . "I think I want to marry a fireman when I grow up," he said.

Mother laughed uncomfortably. "What a funny idea, Rusty!" she said "What will the neighbors think if they hear about this?"

Rusty decided that maybe his father would understand how he felt. "Father," said Rusty. "Did you ever wish that the house would catch on fire again so that a fireman can rescue you? And did you ever wish he'd take off all your clothes?"

Father gave Rusty a strange look "No, I can't say that I did," said Father.

The real shocker came at dinner that night. "I wish a fireman would take off all his clothes and sleep with me in my bed," said Rusty . "And I wish he would put a dog leash on me."

Mother nearly choked on her tomato aspic. "Eat your dinner, Rusty," said Mother. "And be quiet."

When Rusty went to bed, his mother came to tuck him in. "Now, Rusty, there's something I want you to remember," she said . "Don't play with yourself, or you'll go blind."

"Okay, mom," said Rusty . He wondered if he could just do it until he needed glasses.

After Rusty was in bed, Mother and Father talked things over

"I think Rusty may be a homosexual," said Father .

"It certainly seems that way," said Mother. "What ever can we do about it?"

"I think we should have a talk with him and put the fear of God in him," said Father.

The next morning, Mother and Father had a talk with Rusty

. "No son of mine is going to be a homosexual!" said Father. "God says it's bad .

If you don't give up this fireman business, we'll kick you out of the house!" Rusty burst into tears .

Mother talked to Mrs. Brown to see if she had any advice. "I think my little Rusty may be a homosexual," said Mother. "I just don't know what to do ."

Mrs . Brown's eyes grew wide. A homosexual! Mrs. Brown ran away shrieking . Soon, Mother learned that she had been un-invited from Mrs. Brown's Tupperware party.

When Rusty went to school that day, all the other children ran away from him. "Ewww!" they said "We don't want to play with a homosexual! We'll get gay germs!"

Rusty stood behind and tried not to cry.

Rusty was so confused that he decided to call the police to ask for help. "Officer Plotchnik speaking," said the policeman.

"Hello, my name is Rusty White," said Rusty. "I'm 9 years old . Everybody hates me because I want to marry a fireman, and they say I'm a homosexual. What should I do?"

"Well, Rusty," said Officer Plotchnik. "You'd bett~r not put your wee-wee in any other boys mouths or bottoms, or you' II go to jail. Sodomy is a crime in this state, you know."

Rusty hung up the phone, more confused and depressed than ever. "What am I to do?" he asked himself.

After thinking it over, Rus'ty decided to run away to find a place where people would understand him. "Come on, Patches," he said to his dog. "We're running away!" "He packed some peanut butter sandwiches for himself and some dog food for Patches. Then he took Patches with him and ran away to a park.

In the park, Rusty met a man. "Hello, little boy," said the man. "How would you like some ice cream?"

Rusty knew exactly what the man was after. Maybe this was his big chance!

"Have you a fireman uniform?" asked Rusty.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't," said the man.

"Oh," said Rusty, disappointed. Then he kicked the man in the balls to show him what he thought of child molesters.

Rusty ran all the way home with Patches. Then he cried and cried. "Oh, Patches," he said. "There seems to be nowhere to turn. I think I should end it all and kill myself."

He looked sadly at Patches. "But I'm too scared to die alone. Let's make a suicide pact, Patches! How does that sound?"

Patches licked Rusty on the nose. Rusty took that to mean yes, so he carried Patches outside.

Rusty sadly carried Patches to the sidewalk They waited for a car to come by. Soon, a driver came speeding around the bend.

With Patches in his arms, Rusty jumped in front of an approaching car The car ~creeched to a stop just in time. The driver jumped out of the car . "Goodness ~racious, young man!" said the driver. "Why did you jump in front of my car?"

"I was trying to kill myself because I'm a homosexual, and all my family and the other kids and the police and everyone hate me," said Rusty. "Don't kill yourself!" said the driver . "Call the Gay Hotline! They can help you!" He gave Rusty a card with a phone number, and then got in his car and drove away.

Rusty nervously dialed the number. "Hello, Gay Hotline?" he said. "My name is Rusty White. I'm 9 years old I'm a homosexual, and I want to marry a fireman Everybody hates me because I'm a homosexual: Mother, Father, sister Sue, Officer Plotchnik, and all the kids at school. I tried to run away but a man tried to buy me ice cream, and I kicked him in the balls I tried to kill myself but the driver stopped and gave me your number. What should I do?"

"What you need is a good family psychiatrist!" said the man on the Gay Hotline. "Here's a number for you." He gave Rusty the number .

"Can we go to a family psych--- psych--- head shrinker, Mother?" asked Rusty. "I have the number for a good one."

Mother thought, "Maybe this will get those perverted homosexual thoughts out of little Rusty's head." She said, "All right, Rusty."

";Hello, folks, I'm Dr. Goldenberg," said the psychiatrist "What seems to be the P,roblem?" I

''.,We're here because our little son Rusty seems to be a-- homosexual!" said Mother

"Not to worry, folks. Being gay is a perfectly normal variation of human sexuality," said Dr . Goldenberg . "The best thing you can do is to accept Rusty for who he is ."

At home, Mother and Father talked it over. "Maybe we were too hasty to judge the boy," said Father

"Maybe so," said Mother. "All right, let's talk to him."

Father told Rusty, "Rusty, your mother and I have decided to accept you just as you are. We' re proud of our gay son. " Rusty's face lit up. He was very glad.

"Guess what, Patches?" cried Rusty. "Mother and Father say they're going to accept me just as I am!"

Patches jumped and barked joyfully.

Rusty became a gay rights activist and gave consciousness raising talks to his classmates.

"And by using a condom or dental dam every time you have sex, you can greatly reduce your chances of contracting HIV!" said Rusty.

Rusty's parents became avid readers of the P-FLAG newsletter. "Who needs a Tupperware party when we have all these P-FLAG meetings to go to?" remarked Mother.

Rusty's family tried to accept his kinkier interests. "Father, will you buy me that leash for my birthday?"

"But Patches already has a leash," said Father. "I didn't want it for Patches," said Rusty. Father chuckled uncomfortably.

Rusty's family even helped set him up with a good boyfriend. "What about this one, Father?" asked Sue. "10-year-old boy into fireman uniforms and bondage. Usually top but versatile. Is Rusty a top or a bottom, Father?"

"I think he's a bottom," said Father. "This looks like a good match for Rusty."

Rusty was very glad that his family accepted him. He lived happily ever after.

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Love is said to be in the air I'll go and take a look for it there I reached into a cloud with care

But my hand came down empty Love i s said to be in the blood

As tangible as the winter mud I'll infuse myself to get a flood

But my heart came down empty.

Love is said to be in your thought

A fleeting bird in flight to be caught So books of love I went and bought But my mind came down empty. So I looked upon another plane To find out where my love had lain But all my searching was in vain And my spirit came down empty . My hand, spirit , mind and heart

For the race of love must find the start

Lest what is whole i s blown apart . ,. And my life comes down empty.

Stun me with your sarcasm . Blind me with your darkness. Dysfunctional, unfeeling ... Automatic.

Transcend and bend your brain, Until you're insane. Until you've numbed the pain

Live the limelight , Lie low, in your sea-of-green-lowlight. So you'll never, ever feel. Through the eyes of steel. Forever to believe, Only your world is real.

There is a boy , But his name is not Elijah

A sad mysterythe night he vanished Without trace. Only this time, they never found a body, The one I knew, The one that took away the cold.

I'm now aware of less than cold. There is a boy, But his name is not Elijah

In a grey city, Looking over rooftops , Tired and nu1T1b between us . , ., . ... , ,,..,, His final words a whisper in the still air , As the embrace slipped away, And the boy who is not Elijah, Turned away and turned cold.

UNDRESSING THE rWAR AGAINST TERRORISM :

W e were all swept over with shock, grief and feelings of injustice as events unravelled on our television sets that day. For many of us, this was the first time we had witnessed the devastation of terrorism in our lounge room and its impact on the lives of people who seemed so 'real'. The horror was captured on film, the victims given faces, lives, hearts, feelings, but most of all, humanity. The impacts of these events seem to unfold with each day, feelings of injustice turning into a need for something to be done

We are told daily by the television news (especially Channel 10 I've noticed) that we all support a US- led 'war against terrorism' and that John Howard's popularity is 'soaring' in the polls But as the emotions run cooler, and the pointing fingers are withdrawn, many Australians have gained perspective on what justice really means. Many Australians have invested more faith in their gut feeling that war is not the answer

Many of us have realised that war itself is the greatest act of terrorism. There is no such thing as a 'war of peace.' There cannot be a war of Good v Evil, because no one who

commits war, inflicting devastation

on thousands of innocent people, can be good. As much as the media attempts to sanitise this type of violence with these types of declarations, we know that war is essentially systematic, state-sponsored

The most common justification for declaring war on Afghanistan is that justice must be served; and that any country which hides or condones the actions of the suspected perpetrator should also be punished. If that were so, what would America have done if they found the terrorists to be hiding in America, or in Australia for that matter? Would their approach be the same? Or is it different, because they are different - faceless, worthless masses that by virtue of their race do not deserve the same protection as us.

As

attempts to sanitise this type of violence with these terrorism. types of declarations, we know that war is essentially

On Friday 21 September, 1000 peo- systematic, state-sponsored pie congregated at Victoria Square to show their opposition to war and to encourage a non-violent response to the events in the US. A week later, rall i es were held in cities across Australia The force of this movement for peace has not been recognised by the media, or galvanised by any political leadership in Canberra

If terrorism against innocent lives is going to be condemned (which it should) then that standard should apply regardless of who does the ' killing. If the tragic loss of innocent lives is going to mourned (which it should), then let us mourn irrespective of who are the ·victims Ayaz Amir, a journalist in Pakistan wrote:

terrorism.

'From Bush and Powell to Blair, the events of the last few days have been likened to a war on civilisation, with the twin · gods of global information, CNN and BBC, picking up and reinforcing this refrain. Israeli bullets killing Palestinian children do not constitute an attack on , civilisation The bombing of Vietnam and the invasion of Cambodia qualify for no such epithet, not even historical retrospect. The plight of Iraqi children is not an affront to human feelings. But different standards rule when death and destruction strike at the heart of Manhattan and the Pentagon '1

We cannot move closer to justice and peace, until we stop denying the humanity of these people

Despite the ma i nstream media's attempts to clothe the US military response as a legitimate exercise in the pursuit of justice, many of us are aware that the

much as the media

Can justice live without the truth ?

by Rita Markwell

· US Government has not come to this with clean hands In fact far from it. Tens of thousands of innocent lives have been taken by American forces or American backed-forces in the Middle East and Africa . Michael Moore, American presenter of 'The Awful Truth' commented '[w]e abhor terrorism - unless we're the ones doing the terrorising.' In the Gulf War, thousands of inno- In the 1980s, the cent lives were taken Americans trained and b Us .l. f armed a group of terY ml ltary orces rorists in Nicaragua, and thousands more who killed over 30 ooo devastated into ruin. civilians . But remember what that was called by the US government? Collateral damage.

In 1998, the American military bombed a factory in Khartoum, Sudan , killing thou. sands of innocent workers. They legitimised the attack as 'anti-terrorist retaliation', alleging that the factory was manufacturing chemical weapons . They were wrong. The factory was manufacturing pharmaceuticals, and as a result the assault triggered a massive medical crisis in Sudan. It is estimated that tens of thousands of people died because of this crisis. No one knows how many for sure, the US blocked the UN inquiry.

In the Gulf War, thousands of innocent lives were taken by US military forces and thousands more devastated into ruin. But remember what that was called by the US government? Collateral damage.

was backing a war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. This war devastated the country, making millions homeless and driving masses of people into refugee camps.

But violence and military might isn't the only way that the American Government has taken innocent lives in the Middle East Due to US imposed sanctions on Iraq, 12 children die a day from a lack of food and medicine.

These people are invisible in our lives. They have never made it to our lounge rooms. We have not seen their tears, shared their tears We have not seen or shared their terror. Their suffering hasn't evoked passionate, emotional speeches from Australian politicians Their loss hasn't pulled flags down half-mast across the globe in mourning Their determination and resolve to survive hasn't inspired us to fly their flag at footy matches in solid arity or lay wreaths at their embassy steps

We need to know about all of this , not to justify the attacks on America and to make us feel guilty - but to recogn ise what justice reall y means. We can not have justice with out th e truth It is only with this understanding that we can move towards a wo rld that re ally resp ects the va lu e of human life, freedom an d dignity The only way t o achieve peace and compassion in this world is to practise it

The US Government is responsible for arming an d setting up some of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the Middle East, including Suddam Hussein in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The US's prime suspect , Osama bin Laden was first set up, trained, paid and provided with weapons of war by the CIA, when t he US

Photos by Geoff Boyce

1 Ayaz Amir, 'T he Fury of Despair' , Daily Dawn Newspaper, Pak istan , 14 September 2001.

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1 x 250g packet of plain, sweet biscuits

2 x 100g packet of marshmallow, chopped

1 x 200g packet of dried apricots, chopped

1 Cup chopped mixed nuts

1 x 400g can of condensed milk

1/2 Cup coconut

Mix all the ingredients except the coconut. Spread the coconut onto a board. Shape half the mixture into a log and roll in the coconut to coat. Wrap in foil and freeze for 15 minutes. Cut into slices to serve. Repeat process with the other half of the mixture. You can get yourself into a sticky situation with this mixture!

Cheese Surprise Puffs

250g butter

2 Cups grated cheese

1/2 tspn salt

1 tspn paprika

Dash of pepper

1 Cup self-raising flour

50 small stuffed olives

Blend the butter with the cheese, salt, paprika and pepper. Stir in the flour. Mix well and then mould spoonfuls of the mixture around an olive. Chill until firm. Arrange on a baking tray. Allow for expansion . Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve these stuffed morsels hot.

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Chocolate Fairy Cakes

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1/2 Cups cocoa

2 Tbspn boiling water

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Cocoa dust (equal quantities of icing sugar and cocoa)

Patty cases

Beat eggs and add the sugar until the mixture thickens and turns white in colour Fold in the flour and cocoa. Add the boiling water and fold in Spoon into patty cases and bake at 180 degrees for 12-15 minutes . Allow to cool. Cut a circle out of the top of each cake. Spoon cream onto the centre of each cake. Cut the circles to form butterfly wings. Place in top of the cream. Dust with cocoa dust and decorate with a piece of strawberry.

Reviews [music]

really makes this song . 'You Give Me Something' is a pop/funk gem that should warrant a single release, while 'Love Foolosophy', 'Main Vein' and 'Twenty Zero One' are some of the funkiest post TWM works from the band.

Since 1996's 'Travelling Without Moving', and more so since 1999's 'Synkronized', Jamiroquai have unwittingly made a habit of causing divisions amongst their many fans Seemingly gone are the organic, jazzy funk grooves of their first two albums- in its place is a more contemporary (yet still . typically Jamiroquai-retro) electronic dance sound that appeals , to the masses. A sound that continues with their new album A Funk Odyssey.

And this is where the division lies. Many fans have complained that •Jamiroquai have sold out' or that 'the new electronic sound is not the •reat• (read: Jamiroquai of 1992-1994) Jamiroquai' Other fans are just happy to go along for the ride and see where Jamiroquai take them. They tend to like the new Jamiroquai as much as the old Jamiroquai. I'm of the latter opinion, and find that A Funk Odyssey is as good a dance I funk album as we'll see this year.

The first single 'Little L' is an anthemic ?Os retro disco stormer that is reminiscent in parts to Michael Jackson 's 'Rock With You'. The infectious chorus

The new album also contains some acoustic ballads that also work to great effect. 'Corner Of The Earth' is an introspective, spiritual bossa-nova track that has become a fan favourite, while 'Picture Of My Life', a favourite of mine, closes the album with some achingly honest lyrics Meanwhile 'Black Crow' features some very poignant words in light of the events in New York

About 30 seconds after that track is a hidden track 'So Good To Feel Real .' , a nod to the fans of their earlier, more organic funk sound.

Australia is also treated to a limited edition bonus disc which features the amazing 7 1 /2 minute funk jam 'Do It Like We Used To Do', my favourite track on this album, as well as the Titan AE soundtrack cut 'Everybody's Going To The Moon' and an enhanced CD component featuring the Little L video and other multimedia features

On the whole this is another gem from the band and has been well worth the wait Sure, they'll still receive comparisons to Stevie Wonder and other ?Os funk artists, they'll be labelled 'unoriginal' and ' derivative', but really, who • is• original these days? Just enjoy the album for what it is and that is all that matters

David Packer

• THE CHECKLIST"

NAME : Jessica Simpson. DOES SHE LOOK LIKE BRITNEY? She's mastered the Britney look so well you just about can't tell one from the other. But going by the album cover, she's mastered the 'rabbit caught in the headlights ' look a little better.

CAN SHE SING? Without a doubt. She's less ove r bearing than Ms Aguilera, but is rather more like a more subdued Mariah - when she •a ctually • sang BALLAD TO UPTEMPO RATIO?

About 50/50. Just wait for the overblown Marc Anthony collaboration 'There You Were' to be the big love theme for the next blockbuster movie And Diane Warren had diddly to do with this song!

HAVE THE LATEST POP FADS BEEN INCORPORATED?

Absolutely. We have the Swedish produced uptempo (the title track), a Latin flavoured track (Forever In Your Eyes) and R&B super-producer Rodney 'Darkchild ' Jerkins contributes 2 tracks (Imagination and I Never) that sound like every other Jerkins track.

FINALLY, DOES JESSICA OR HER NEW ALBUM HAVE ANY PERSONALITY? None whatsoever to speak of However she does look damn sexy, in an airbrushed kinda way. Isn't that all that matters here?

David Packer

Jamiroquai

•A Funk Odyssey'

Jessica Simpson 'Irresistible'

Hooverphonic

'The Magnificent Tree'

Never heard of Hooverphonic before? Yes you have, these guys are the chameleons of the music world. If you haven't heard the first single, "Mad About You", or been disturbed by the film clip of vocalist Geike Arnaert in bed with the 'not so upbeat' love child of "The Little Shop of Horrors" plant, you would have experienced them in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or the sequel or numerous other films and TV soundtracks including, wait for it "Baywatch". A trip-hop tag looks funny on this band like little kids in high-heels, yet nothing else sticks either, maybe if you bamixed trip-hop and electronica with an orchestra conducted by Mike Patton, it might be close. The best part of this album is the diversity of each and every track without ever seeming overdone or extravagant. If you like an album that sets your mind wanderin' and foot tappin', this is it. Every track on this disc is mesmerizing / and rich, with an 'otherworldly' feeling to it. At times the lines between voice and instrument and equipment blur, leaving layers of a lush soundscape. So if your copy of Mezzanine's getting tatty or your Portishead CD has actually developed a record scratch find a place for Hooverphonic in your collection. Their website perhaps describes it best, "Each Hooverphonic track seems a miniature soundtrack to an imaginary movie, yet to be made, or existing in a parallel universe". Tim

adam said galore "the driver is red"

Unfortunately for adam said galore, when they were ready to start playing gigs, they were only 15. Fortunately for us that meant they had to go away and practice for 3 years, before able to 'lie convincingly enough' to play their first gigs. This, their second release on Redline, is brimming with fractured time signatures and a rhythm section - on overtime. You have to wonder whether Perth's the best place for adam said galore, given their understated intensity and almost painful restraint that is unavoidable throughout the album. Not yet receiving much support, they are part of Australia's ever growing (insert label here) scene that has already sprouted bands such as 2 Litre Dolby and Art of Fighting. There's no sh'ortage of melody or atmosphere here but it's not necessarily thrown at you with 'na na na na's', you almost have to exercise patience to appreciate it. Quite happy to produce instrumentals, adam said galore make you think about what you're hearing rather than telling you. Given this, there's sure to be those who label them plain boring, but I don't think adam said galore about to include catchy choruses for Saturday mornings. Most recently in Adelaide with Something for Kate in May, they showed themselves to be capable of capturing the attention of a crowd who wasn't there to see them. In the process they've gained recognition as a band worth following.

Ben Folds 'Rockin' The

Suburbs'

Relatively new Adelaide resident Ben Folds, frontman of the now defunct Ben Folds Five, is now doing the solo thang. Following on · from his Fear bf Pop side project of a couple of years ago, Geoff Ha.rvey's favourite piano man has put out his first solo album under his own name. And a damn fine album it is too.

Recorded in Adelaide and Los Angeles, Rockin' The Suburbs features plenty of trademark piano and equal amounts of humour and sadness. Often he sounds like a less political Whitlams album - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Album opener 'Annie Waits' is a fine example of humour within the music. It features handclaps and an 80s electro 'Casio Keyboard' type beat. It is perfectly cheesy in a tongue in cheek way. The title track finds humour in the lyrics, by name checking Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi, and hilariously taking the piss out of the plethora of rap metal bands.

John McCrea, lead singer of Cake, guests on the effectively depressing 'Fred Jones Part 2', while the 'rollicking' (and I can't believe I used that word) 'Losing Lisa' features some fine layered harmonies.

1've never really followed the career of Mr Folds, but after hearing this album I may have to check out the rest of his work. And with not a dud track on this album, I suggest you check it out too.

David Packer

1 Tim

Haunted Castle (3D)

As a great lover of both computer generated imagery and horror themes I had reasonably high expectations of Haunted Castle. The mere suggestion of being absorbed into a gorgeously prerendered Haunted Castle had me trembling with anticipation, I was quite looking forward to seeing how this could be pulled off on the 'giant screen'. Clutching a sweaty crumpled movie ticket in one hand, and hideously oversized 3D glasses in the other I excitedly made my way towards the dark foreboding entrance of the IMAX theatre

In Haunted Castle the viewer takes on a first person perspective view of the lead character, Johnny (Jasper Steverlinck of the Berlin band, Arid, fame), as he ventures through his late mother's mysterious castle. Upon

.Unibooks

entering the castle, Johnny bumps into the Devil (affectionately called "Mr. D") who tempts Johnny with the offer of fame and stardom in exchange for his, wait for it, soul. From there the plot becomes a tad confusing and even irrelevant as we watch Johnny be led around the cavernous bowels of Mr. D's haunted shanty. I suppose, though, one can't be too critical of the plot considering that a "good plot" isn't what draws the masses to IMAX theatres.

So did the film wet my appetite for the limitless possibilities that 3D animation presents to a story's physical environment? Well, yes and no in many respects.

You see, 3D animation can make or break a film in a number of ways. Whep done well it is incredibly breath-taking, immersing the viewer in beautiful landscapes and visual treats (ala Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within). The majority of 3D films (the same goes for a lot of adventure games which utilise CGI), however, manage to maintain a lot of what makes a great looking film, but then small flaws appear in the animation (or related sound effects), consequently dragging the user from their once immersing experience and causing their subconscious mind to unashamedly question how "real" the situation is.

Haunted Castle did an excellent job of drawing me into the 3D experience, despite its many trivial quirks. In one scene I found myself deep in a torturous cave filled with disturbing and disturbed spectres flying at me from all directions, bringing back memories of nightmares induced by the opening library scene in Ghostbusters. Immediately following this troubling scene I was zooming through narrow caverns on a roller coaster type apparatus which brought about a grisly sense of vertigo. From there, even more dizzying simulatorstyle roller coaster rides through lava pools and rusting machinery. Which, upon reflection, is what this style of film is probably best for, simulators. Coupled with a moving platform this film could really freak out some booty. Consequently once the show was finished I immediately felt like childishly chanting "Daddy I wanna go again!".

No doubt all "joy riders" will enjoy this film, just be certain to surrender to the devil any hope of a good plot in return for an exciting little jaunt.

Before Night Falls

Amid the revolutionary fervour of 1960's Cuba, a young Reinaldo Arenas ran away from his home and his family to find for himself a freedom their restrict would not allow him. As the forces of the revolution took hold, however, it was by the state that Arenas found himself restrained. As a gay man, a poet and a successful novelist, Arenas found himself forcefully persecuted by the Castro regime.

'Before Night Falls' is the screen adaptation of Arenas' memoirs of the same name, first published in English in 1993. Arena's is played beautifully by Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who received the Best Actor award at the Venice Film

Festival for his performance The film does an excellent job of portraying the brutal and torturous hardships faced by Arenas while still representing his ever gentle and sensitive nature. In a sense, this is the contrast ever-present throughout the fiim - that between Arenas and the hostile country around him. A noteworthy and rather entertaining cameo is provided by Johnny Depp as Bon-Bon, a transvestite prisoner which a talent for smuggling contraband.

The images and settings within 'Before Night Falls' are wonderfulfrom the rural setting of Arenas' childhood, with endless fields of long grass and trees just waiting to be engraved with poetry, to the sun-bleached coastal cities with their magnificent heavy stone architecture It's a very stunning film to watch, both in terms of setting and performances which are gritty but tender and uplifting at the same time.

Dale

Life After George

Post revolutionary, · post modernist and post mortem. This is the story about the women in one man's life. A play by Hannie Rayson, 'Life After George' chronicles the relationships of three different women who each married the same man.

The play cleverly weaves in the relationships of Beatrix, Leslie and Poppy after the tragic death of George This is a play of very strong characters. George is an inspiring professor, lecturing in the history of revolutions. Although he seems stuck in time, reminiscing about his time in Paris during the student demonstrations of the late 1960s, George attracts a loyal following of students as well as women.

In one sense, this is a play about feminism. It is particularly refreshing to have strong (older) female characters. We are presented with three different decades of feminism. Beatrix provides us with the wife and mother of the hippie generation. Beginning as the talented artist in Paris, Beatrix is willing to put her own life on hold for the sake or her husband and her children. Beatrix is the earth-mother, the .woman we all admire. Leslie, George's second wife is that fiercely intelligent, ambitious woman of the 1980s. While starting off as insecure, she makes her mark, ending up as head of faculty Poppy is the new-age, post-modernist grrrl, half George's age, but completely devoted to him.

The play is set against the backdrop of the changing university sector. It travels through a distant time when going to university was about argument and ideals, not up-front fees and vocational courses. While George is in some senses a dinosaur and Leslie is painted as a kind of power-hungry 'Femo-Nazi', there is substance to his argument. Namely, that the very people who benefited from reform of universities (especially free education) are the ones tearing the system apart.

The downfall of the play (apart from the dull set) is that it seems stuck in a middle-aged 'let's all remember the 1970s' time warp. In that sense, it is similar to material David Williamson was writing 20 years ago. That said, this is an engrossing play. The characters are particularly strong, even if the ultimate message is obscured by verbosity (they are academics, after all!).

Candy

What's in a word?

If we are to really understand Queer and sexuality-related issues, it is vital that we have an understanding of the different terminologies used in Queer discussion. This is a list of concise descriptions of some of the more common terms. While in no way exhausitve, it's a nice start. Now take note, there may be a test later!

Bisexual

Attraction to people of either gender. One who is bisexual.

Gay

Another term for homosexual. Commonly used in reference to homosexual men, although can be used to describe lesbians

Gender

A person's identification of themselves as either male or female. This identification does not necessarily coincide with one's sex. (see 'Sex')

Heterosexual

Attraction towards people of the opposite gender. One who is heterosexual.

Heteronormative

The social construction of cultural expressions which seeks to represent heterosexuality as the only legitimate form of existence.

Heterosexism

A system of prejudice and discrimination against nonheterosexual lifestyles An assumption and promotion of the belief that heterosexuality is superior to nonheterosexual lifestyles.

Homosexual

Attraction to people of the same gender. One who is homosexual.

Homophobia

A hatred or fear of homosexuals and homosexuality. The principle cause of violence, abuse, aggression and intolerance towards anyone who is, or is suspected of being homosexual.

lntersex / lntergender

A person whose sexual organs are indeterminate at birth and who is subsequently assigned a sex or gender.

Lesbian

A homosexual woman. From the Ancient Greek poet Sappho, who wrote of love between women on the isle of Lesbos.

Queer

An umbrella-term used to describe people who do not identify as heterosexual. Once used in a derogatory context, 'queer' has since been reclaimed by non- · heterosexual identifying people. Often denoting a more political implication, it is a broader term than 'gay' and 'lesbian', encompassing all non-heterosexual variations.

It is also used in the formation of 'Queer Theory' where Queer is a distinct category of its own, used as a political tool. Often it includes S&M, B&D, sex-workers and the like because of their challenging heterosexual norms.

Sex

The categorisation of people as either male or female based on their physical and biological structure. This categorisation does not necessarily coincide with one's identified gender. (See 'Gender')

Transgender

Person who identifies as the opposite sex or gender to which they were assigned at birth.

Transsexual

Person who has undergone surgical and medical procedures to correct their physical appearance so that it corresponds which their true sex or gender.

Transvestite

Person who wears clothes culturally assigned to the opposite gender ('cross-dressing').

SUPPORT GROUPS, INFORMATION SERVICES ETC IN ADELAIDE

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- GRRRL 'S LOUNGE

Social groups and information for women under 25 attracted to other women.

P.H. LesJ~y 8232 0233

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P.H. 8298 1507

MARDI GRAS COLLECTIVE

Get involved in organising the contribution to the 2002 MG. S.A.

P.H. Di 0409 695 465

David 0414 069 136

LONG YANG CLUB

For men of Asian ongm - Social activities like bowling and karaoke

P.H. Thinh or Kerry 8387 1237 www.longyangclub.org/adelaide/ .i

URANIAN SOCIETY

INSIDE OUT

Free health service for same sex attracted under 26 year old men, Counselling, sexual health screening etc.

57 Hyde St Adelaide; 6 Gillingham Rd Elizabeth, 50a Beach Rd Christies Beach

BETWEEN MEN PROJECT

Gay Men's Health runs confidential ,meetings for bisexual and homo~~xually activ~ married men. Info and get togethers for guys who are ,i nto beats, saunas a!ld/or casual sex. P.H. Got don Moh-Fri 8362 J 9~1

HYDEOUT

Regular support and social group for young gay men and lesbians under 26, guest speakers, debates.

0233 The Second Story Youth Health Service 57 Hyde Street Adelaide .

P.H. Lesley, Dean or Nik Phillip 8232

LESBIAN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACTION GROUP

Southern Women 's Community Health Service

P : o. Box 437 Noarlunga Centre 5168

P.H 8384 9555

UNI DOS , lnforqiation and support for people

BFRIEl-!D _ }, \, 'ii / {k•,,.: ;t(ith~½:,~~lturally and linguistically , Offers ' support to nev...ly id~ntifying '<' diyer$e ' bac~grounds interested in info gay, lesbian, bisexual people an d their on sexqality 'i:lnd health based issues. parents if they wish.

·•

P.H. Lola , 82171654 (Tues pm and Wed

P.H Des 8362 7931 • ; i ; am)

CHAMELEONS

Support for.au transge11dered PE;'rsons, \ Suppo rt and .inforrTtation for straight particularly ·::;,. newly \;, emerging ·,women am:j men whosit partners are trahsgendered people : .,. coming ouf as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

P.H. 829~ 3700

ef•

A community group discussing gay '· men's culture, meets the last Sunday/of ,;the month ,7. 30pm Darling House •64 Fullarton Road, · Norwood. 8361 3106 (Bus. Hours)

SUPPORT SERVICES, COUNSELLING AND HEALTH SERVICES:

ACSA - AIDS COUNCIL OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA INC

Community based org. providing' information, education &: support for people living with &: affected by HIV / AIDS.

64 Fullarton Rd, Norwood, SA 5067

P.H. 08-8362-1611 www.aidscouncil.org.au

DOWN SOUTH

, Info, education and support for young men under 26 who are living and working in southern areas. Services include medical clinics, sexual health screenings counselling and support, monthly drop in group (Thurs evenings).

The Second Story Youth Service

50 a Beach Road Christies Beach

SA TRANSSEXUAL SUPPORT' · Support and information for :people who'' are about t o change their gender ro.le ·

P. H Jacqui0409 698 462

DIFFERENTLY ABLED _ _

Mee'tings 4tfSunday' of 2-5pm

P.H Pat 8396 '786

LESB'IAN fA~ENTl t:IG SA

For lesQicins who Want to have children and/ or already do have children.

P:H. Veeor Di, 0409 695 46-?

TALKING ABOUT FEMALE SEXU ALITY

A network of gay, lesbian, bisexual ard '\ Lesbian and Bisexual wom~n\ drop in transgendered people with disabilities ~· for 12- 26 years, every Wednesday at and non disabled partners and friends. ;· the Parks Youth Service

P.H. " Rob 82694678 or PO Box 113 ;:

P.H. Belinda 8234 5677 Torrens Park 5062. 0 i

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GAY AND LESBIAN COUNSELLING

SERVICE OF S;A. -· Free peer based information and , counselling via phone or face to fac::e, referrals, library. ··

P H 8362 3223 or ,800 182 233 7pm10pm every night and 2pm - 5pm Sat and Sun.

GAY MEN'S HEALTH

Provides info and support to gay men and homosexually active men in S.A.

P.H. 8362 1617 or 1800 671 582

GEAR' D UP

Service for young gay and same sex attracted men who use dr:ugs intravenously. Confi dential support, info, referral

P.H. Craig 8234 9180

HOUSING AND ACCOMMODATION:

GLASSHOUSE 'HOUSING CO OPERATIVE

Offering long term clnq affordable housing for gay men, tesbians and those who accept the same Halifax St Adelaide, S A. \

P.H. Keith 8340 9067 or P O; Box 6531

HOUSE ONE HOUSING CO OPERATIVE Offers secure housing to gay men. 10034 Gouger St Adelaide 5000

P.H. Stephen 0411 185 11.5 P.O Box

[ furt her co mmuni ty lis t in gs m ay be fou nd in t h e GLBT I st reetpress " Bla ze'1

Somehow what he was doing just didn't feel right ...