PRISM Magazine - Spring 2013

PRISM PRIDE MAGAZINE FOR THE SECOND LIFE® VIRTUAL WORLD . SPRING 2013

NEW

!

ON I T I D E

the faith issue DOES GOD HATE CHRISTIANS? FINDING FORGIVENESS BREAKING BREAD

• www.second-pride.com • Second Life® is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc.

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NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ░ AN ARGUMENT FOR GAY MARRIAGE ░ THE GYC ░ ARTIST VINN WONG

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ED

If you’re reading this, you must be gay Or bi. You know, maybe you like both because you’re greedy, experimenting or misunderstood right? Lesbian then? Pan-sexual, Asexual, or straight? No seriously straight? I guess it’s not a choice...

Kere Delcon editor

Maybe you’re reading this simply because you’re interested. Because you identify as or with; men, women, transgender, or furries of any sexuality, political persuasion or faith. Maybe you already realize that humanity doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all modus operandi, and that the more we celebrate this fact, the more others may come to realise it too.

That’s why Pride is important. In any movement in any form, organisations that promote acceptance and equality are those worth investing in because they are the face of humanity. Boring and normal don’t really exist - no matter who or what you are*.

So PRISM is a Pride magazine - specifically for the Second Pride movement in the Second Life® virtual world - but more importantly, a publication where the boundaries between our virtual and real worlds are blurred by a bond we share in common: an appreciation that humanity, in its diversity is worth celebrating.

It is a mouth-piece if you will, with snippets, thoughts and opinion-pieces from around the globe. Second Life® as a virtual world allows us the freedom to escape and to express ourselves in a user-created world. What most of us reading PRISM will have in common is that we already know this. We’ve expressed ourselves in one way or another, within its pixeled places and made friends the world over.

What we sometimes take for granted however, is that as an international community, the friends we make are not always subject to the same rights and freedoms their avatars enjoy - frequently for political or religious reasons.

That in a sense, is why Second Life® is important. It is why Second Pride is important, and it’s why PRISM has been resurrected. It’s born-again to act as a vehicle for our stories and to celebrate expression, freedom, and diversity in adversity.

So go on then. Read on and express yourself. The spirit may even move you.

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*Not entirely true, I do in fact, know some very boring people.

spring a season of new growth and rebirth. How fitting that PRISM is reborn in spring, like a lamb bounding through a field of daffodils, or a butterfly dancing with a humingbird against a pink sunset.

This is also our faith issue, featuring some personal stories, insights and opinions on themes of acceptance and forgiveness from a gay Christian, and a Pagan minister.

The spectrum of faith is more colorful than what is featured in this issue, and we long for a world in which anybody, regardless of their religion and sexuality, would feel safe and comfortable to share their story without repercussions.

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We hope you love the new PRISM - it’s for all of us. If you want to get in on a bit of PRISMING yourself, let us know.

PRISM SPRING 2013 THE WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS FOR PRISM ARE REPRESENTED BY THEIR SECOND LIFE® AVATARS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. PROCEEDS FROM ADVERTISING, SUPPORT THE SECOND PRIDE ORGANIZATION IN THE SECOND LIFE® VIRTUAL WORLD. EDITOR: KERE DELCON MARKETING AND SALES: TYLO MABELLON SECOND PRIDE CHAIR: DOC SPAD

CONTRIBUTORS: KERE DELCON, DAK, DEXTRUM BOUCHER, DOC SPAD, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: BILLY BLAYLOCK, DANDY AXELRADD, DYSIS, EDDI HASKELL, ENVEE KNOX-GAULTIER, PSYCLON, VINN WONG, TYLO MABELLON, THE ADVERTISERS WHO’S SUPPORT ASSISTS THE SECOND PRIDE ORGANIZATION COVER NOTES: KERE WEARS DENIM JACKET (MESH) IN BLACK BY SEY

GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? WE’D LOVE TO INCLUDE YOUR VOICE IN PRISM!

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TO CONTRIBUTE: VISIT WWW.SECOND-PRIDE.COM

Second Life® and Linden Lab are trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. This publication is not affiliated with the aforementioned parties, nor affiliated or sponsored by Linden Research. Views and opinions remain those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of PRISM, the Second Pride organization, its committe, staff or volunteers.

PRISM © Second Pride, 2013

ORDER OF SERVICE

12

WHAT’S UP DOC? DOC SPAD: NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT

14

FULL FRONTAL LGBTQ NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

18

AN ARGUMENT FOR GAY MARRIAGE RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE VS CIVIL RIGHTS THE FAITH ISSUE

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REAL SALVATION DEXTRUM BOUCHER SWORE HE’D PISS ON HIS GRAVE, AND INSTEAD FOUND REAL SALVATION THROUGH LOVE AND FORGIVENESS INSTEAD OF FEAR AND HATRED

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HATE THE SIN, LOVE THE SINNER KERE DELCON CHALLENGES THE CHRISTIANITY OF “CHRISTIANS” AND QUESTIONS ACCEPTANCE

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SPREAD: BREAKING BREAD MODELS CHOOSE THE OUTFITS THAT REPRESENT THEM FOR A “LAST SUPPER” OF FASHION

46

CANVAS ARTIST TURNED SL FASHION DESIGNER, VINN WONG

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CLUB INSIDE THE GAY YIFFY CLUB WITH DAK PRISM SPRING 13 • 9

Chill Out in Style, @ Adonis Heights Come home to a premier atmosphere reserved just for you.

Social | Education | Entertainment Be part of our community group:

Adonis Heights Boys Academy

h me

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@ Adonis

GROUP

Concept

Store

www.adonisboys.me

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| www.facebook.com/adonisheights

WHAT’S UP DOC?

what’s up doc?

Nothing to complain about When people ask me how I’m doing? I usually respond with “Nothing to complain about....I’m breathing” or “Glad to be on the right side of the grass”.

Many might think that these are just glib retorts to their question or one of those non-thinking automatic responses. They are not.

Doc Spad chairman, second pride

I’m the eternal optimist. After surviving three tours in Iraq and almost “buying the farm” on several occasions, I really mean it. Last month I was in a car wreck that could have ended way worse than it did. And if I’m honest, all through my life my fate could have turned on a dime and I might not be here today. It’s the same for all of us.

If any of us look back on our lives, I’m sure most of us could find many situations that could have resulted in our demise. Most are brushed aside and later forgotten, some leave a more profound impact on our psyche. My Mom passed away when I was 15 years old. Her life was cut short from cancer, so we had the luxury of “knowing”. We had the time to say the things that needed to be said. She passed away knowing that I loved her and would miss her and more importantly that she loved me.

What I’m trying to get at is that any of us could be plucked from this world at any time. Most of us will never know that it’s coming. Tomorrow? Next year?

Ten minutes from now or decades away? Point is, none of us know when it will happen.

Take the time to tell the people in your life that you love them...as often as you can. You may never have another chance.

Rebuild those damaged relationships now, many different people in your life are important, even if you don’t agree on everything.

Look for the beauty around you...it’s everywhere and free for the taking.

Be a positive part in peoples lives and be the person that people look to as a happy, positive part of their life. A person they like to have around and a person that is uplifting rather than a drag.

STOP waiting for good things to happen in your life and go MAKE good things in your life - and most importantly realize that happiness is not achieved by having, being, doing, owning, or making anything.

Happiness is a state of mind. A place that you create

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Be happy in the moment...each and every moment... you never know if there will be another.

PRISM FULL-FRONTAL

UK LAW-MAKERS VOTE TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE They debated the issue for six hours, before the British Parliament’s House of Commons voted overwhelmingly for a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage.

Prime Minister David Cameron said that allowing “gay people” to marry, would ultimately make society stronger.

The vote passed by 400 to 17. Same-sex couples in Britain have had the right to live in civil partnerships since 2005 but cannot marry.

SO DOES NZ New Zealand’s parliament has moved a step closer to legaliZing gay marriage after a resounding vote in support of the law change.

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The country’s law-makers backed the Definition of Marriage Amendment bill by 77 votes to 44 in its second reading.

Before it can be passed into law, a committe will now review the bill which seeks to amend the Marriage Act of 1955 and ensure that all people, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity will have the opportunity to marry if they so choose.

“WE ARE NORMAL AND WE ARE ENTITLED TO THE SAME RIGHTS AS EVERY OTHER CITIZEN” LOUISA WALL, NEW ZEALAND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND CHAMPION OF THE MARRIAGE DEFINITION AMENDMENT BILL

FRANCE VOTES FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND ADOPTION France's National Assembly has approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, handing a major legislative victory to socialists on a divisive social issue.

After days of intense debate, the bill was passed by 329 votes to 229. It must now win final approval in the Senate.

Polls show most French support legalising gay marriage, though that backing softens when questions about

the adoption and conception of children come into play.

“This law is going to extend to all families the protections guaranteed by the institution of marriage,” Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said before the vote.

“Contrary to what those who vociferate against it say - fortunately they’re in the minority - this law is going to strengthen the institution of marriage.”

An argument for gay marriage - page:

ONE BILLION RISE February’s One Billion Rising, with events in 203 countries, was the largest day of mass action to stop violence against women and girls ever.

Transgender women’s rights group GANDA Filipinas joined the day of protest calling for an end to violence against women, at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

‘The number of transwomen around the world who have been brutally murdered has been steadily increasing in the past decade.

CHANGING POPE When Bennedict XVI resigned as Pope of the Catholic Church citing mental and physical infirmity, the hunt began to choose a new one. The 85 year-old pontiff who repeatedly denounced same-sex marriage as a threat to human dignity and humanity itself, shocked followers with his announcement in February.

new leader, a pope for the people and a pioneer. He is the first pontiff from the New World and the first non-European since the Middle Ages.

As Buenos Aires’ cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina’s capital.

Bennedict XVI is one of only five popes to step down in the past 1000 years.

The One Billion Rising campaign was started by Vagina Monologues creator Eve Ensler.

GANDA Filipinas co-founder Naomi Fontanos said the group joined One Billion Rising to show that transwomen’s issues are women’s issues.

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The new one is described as having the “common touch”. Argentine Cardinal, Pope Francis I is touted as a surprising

powershop.co.nz

The gathering at the University of the Philippines was organized by the department for women’s studies and Gabriela, the Filipino women’s rights group and political party.

PRISM FULL-FRONTAL

“YOU’RE MUNTED MATE. YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT. YOU’VE GOT THAT GAY RED TOP ON.”

347,600+ A petition calling on the United States Government to officially label the Westboro Baptist Church a hate group has become the most popular on the White House website, with more than 347,600 people signing on.

shooting that killed 20 pupils and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church is infamous for picketing the funerals of soldiers and victims of hate crimes. The petition was created 14 December 2012, the day of the mass

The group had threatened to protest at the funeral of Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, but it was headed off by a counterprotest of motorcyclists.

JOHN KEY, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand’s PM John Key, was sent a strong message to watch his language in the wake of a bizarre quips on national radio.

Infamous for his careless comments (including labelling soccer star David Beckham as “thick as bat-shit”) the leader of New Zealand’s Government told a radio show host that he would not do well in a charity golf event because he was wearing a “gay red top”.

Criticsm intensified when Key defended himself by later saying he meant “weird” and didn’t intend to disparage LGBT people.

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In protest over his comments, a “Gay Red Shirt Day” was held to show him - and others - that “gay” means neither weird nor stupid.

Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that vitriolic anti-gay speech in flyers distributed by a Christian activist is not protected by its charter and has removed vague wording that prohibited the distribution of material that “ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity” of people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

It more than reached its goal of 25,000

by Januray 13.

UNTIL DEATH DO US PART...

Gay men in same-sex marriages are living longer, according to a new study that looked at the Danish population.

The study, published 11 March in the International Journal of Epidemiology, looked at the mortality rates of 6.5

million Danish adults from 1982 to 2011 who were in relationships during that time. The rates of mortality for married gay men has is lower than that of unmarried or divorced heterosexual men. Denmark was the first country to allow same-sex partnerships in 1989.

Researchers used information from the Civil Registration System, which gives out identification numbers similar to Social Security numbers in the United States.

RIVIERA BIDS GOODNIGHT On March 7, The Gay Riviera said goodnight. A popular LGBT destination for the past two years, it hosted events and gatherings in the heart of the Gay Archipelago, along with shopping and a clothing-optional beach.

The sim also hosted residential villas and the ADONIS bath house.

Image: Eddi Haskell eddihaskell.blogspot.com

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Owner Baz Ceawlin thanked everyone for their support and said closing the sim had been a difficult decision to make. “But after four years of running clubs and sims, I feel like it is time for me to focus my energy elsewhere... As we celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Gay Riviera, it seemed that this was the most appropriate time to announce the sim’s closing.”

OPINION

On a serious note: An argument for Gay Marriage Writer Doc Spad

T

hroughout history, marriage as an institution, has existed in cultures throughout the world and has been supported through religious doctrine and legal decree. It has been so important to maintaining social order and advancement that it has been a cornerstone of most social systems worldwide and through time.

Marriage, in one form or another, has existed from a time before we organized religions, before we codified laws and before we came together in social settings. Originally, it was a means of a man “staking his claim� of a mate and securing his offspring as his own labor force.

As religious doctrine developed, marriage became an important part of all religious belief systems and later the body of laws and regulations made by or adopted by ecclesiastical authority.

As civil secular institutions grew and developed and civil law was codified, once again, marriage was established and defined by as a cornerstone to civil society. Keep in mind that in most cultures, which were paternalistic in nature, men were established as the head of the family and women were put in a subordinate position.

Both religious and civil law have supported and encouraged this arrangement, giving the man the advantage in religious marriage doctrine and civil law. Certainly, there have been exceptions to this in maternal societies, but they are the exception and not the rule.

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How we define marriage, however, has changed considerably through the ages.

Marriages were generally arranged by families. The groom and the bride had very little say in who they married.

This later changed to men choosing a bride, regardless of whether she wanted to marry or not. Through many cultures it was a woman’s duty to find a husband “to take care of her” and men were supposed to make sure their blood line was maintained. As women’s rights have developed, primarily through Western culture, women now have a voice in who they marry and generally have an equal stake in the marriage bond.

The concept that one would love their mate is a relatively new idea. Romantic attraction now has become the basis of marriage. Even though religious scripture is full of examples of arranged marriages, many orthodox Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other religions still cling to these beliefs, most religions today view marriage as a “partnership” based on mutual love.

Loving one’s partner has now become the generally accepted basis of marriage. Children, establishing social order, the establishment of the basic family unit, have all taken a backseat to love.

Today marriage runs on two separate tracks, religious marriage and civil legal marriage. As secular institutions have grown and the rule of law developed, a definition of marriage was required for societal order to be maintained.

It was needed to define “who got what” upon the death of a spouse or parent. Lineage, and laws to manage inheritance, were needed to insure social order.

In the past the “church” used baptismal and marriage records to establish lineage, Civil law adopted the legal instrument of a certificate as well. Today one can be married civilly but not be recognized by a religious authority.

A marriage conducted by a justice of the peace is NOT recognized by the Catholic church and the bride and groom are considered committing adultery if they are not married in the Church.

One can also be married by a religious institution and not petition for civil recognition. Although religious institutions have changed how they define the basis of marriage, love, they still cling to ideas based on religious scripture where love had very little to do with the institution.

The great controversy today concerns civil law, not religious law. Civil unions are one thing. Religious marriage is another.

Today’s debate, though, has little to do with religious interpretation or belief. I would not expect religious institutions to change their beliefs or canon law to accommodate changes in social mores and social evolution. The great controversy today concerns civil law, not religious law. Civil unions are one thing.

Religious marriage is another.

Civil law gives married people certain advantages. Civil marriage provides for advantages of tax policy, spousal rights, inheritance and many other legal advantage shared by married people.

If the basis of marriage is generally accepted as two people being in love,

than we no longer can define marriage on the basis of religious doctrine. Civil law does not even require two people to be in love. All they need is mutual consent to enter the “contract” of marriage.

For civil law to cling to a religious definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman, it ignores the rights of individuals that define a “bonding” relationship otherwise. In the US, the equal protection clause of the constitution, should protect these “other” belief systems. Religious law should have no bearing on secular civil law. If we had used religious law as a basis of our civil law, we would still be stoning people in the streets, cutting off arms and tongues or “banishing people to the wilderness”. Civil law has grown beyond the confines of religious interpretation and it’s about time our definition of marriage grew beyond the archaic and ancient ideas of the past as well.

In the United States several states have enacted laws allowing for gay marriage.

There are several cases coming before the Supreme Court on the question of gay marriage. My guess is that this court, based on 14th amendment reasoning and precedents established like Loving v. Virginia and other precedent based on the 1964 civil rights amendment, will force all the states and the federal government to accept gay marriages and extend all advantage to gay couples afforded by are enjoyed by ALL married people.

The solution will not come from legislative bodies, but from The Court. ░ Doc Spad is a US Marine with a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies based in the USA.

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THE FAITH ISSUE

Real Salvation Writer Dextrum Boucher

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I was, standing over the grave There of the man who had done terrible

damage to me and other children.

I stood in silence contemplating my next move. I had sworn I would piss on his grave and celebrated when I had heard the news of his passing. The summer sun shone brightly overhead and a light breeze rustled through the trees, creating a scattered mosaic of shadow and light on the ground. An

odd serenity washed over me like I had never felt as I leaned down and wiped a bit of moss from the stone. I did not realize it until a moment later, but this was the end of a journey, a painful journey that would teach me about real salvation.

It had all started when I was a child.

My parents attended the Pentecostal church where he was the minister. He

was a tall, rotund man, with a strong voice and a Texan accent that rang out to the rafters of the building. He always wore nice suites and drove a Cadillac that was replaced every other year at the expense of the church.

He lived in a large house in a gated community that I had only seen a couple of times when my father made deliveries for him. >

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THE FAITH ISSUE

I was an odd child; I had never really fit into what they thought a boy should be. I hated sports, I was strong willed and stubborn, and I preferred to spend my time creating fantasy worlds or contemplating how things worked. My older brother was a rebel and had been expelled from the church and school. I was also from an impoverished family who could not contribute monetarily to the church.

We were often treated as if we were outcasts by the other members, despite my parents’ strong devotion to the church.

The minister would preach every Sunday about what happened to people who did not obey the will of the church. His sermons were full of violent accidents and the wrath of God. He would call people out by name and threaten them with a life cut off from the church and any hope of salvation. I was stricken with fear at the thoughts of death and Hell. One woman in the church who had been an addict was so taken with his message condemning her that she went home after church and set herself on fire in front of her three daughters. This did not even bring pity from him or the other people of the church who stood by her bedside as she died, scorning her and trying to force her to beg God for forgiveness.

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His views on raising children were just as strict. He instructed parents to whip their children with a belt or a limb from a tree, and to keep whipping them until they stopped crying, because in his view crying was a symptom of rebellion. As a result, I and other children were often beaten so severely that many of us simply lost the ability to cry.

At the age of six, I started at the school run by the minister’s oldest son.

The teachers were all women from the church who volunteered their time. I was smart, hyper and inquisitive; as such I was often bored with the work.

I asked questions about religion and science that the teachers could not

answer. As a result I was punished and made to stand in the hall with my nose to the wall or severely beaten with a paddle by the principal. After such punishment, we were given a lecture on how lucky we were to receive a Christian education. We were told stories about the evil public school system, which taught filthy humanist philosophy.

At the minister’s behest, many of the other kids in the school would bully me. He thought this would pressure me into changing my ways and becoming a good Christian boy. Over time I grew cold. Seeing that I would not change, I was expelled from the school and shunned by the church. Over time, I refused to go, and soon my parents followed me, as it was too much of a burden to try to force me to go with them.

I went through life with a hollow space at the very center of my soul. I carried the scars of the abuse with me. I grew up to be gay, pagan, liberal, and humanist – everything I was taught to hate. I hated myself and the world. My father lost his job and my family ended up living in a cheap motel. I turned to crime to make money and ended up addicted to heroin at the age of 14.

I just wanted to go numb and forget about my life. I would occasionally hear from people from the old church.

Many of my childhood friends had suffered form mental problems, became addicts, or committed suicide.

It seemed as though I was not the only one who was damaged, though this was of little comfort.

As the years passed and I grew into adulthood I had quit using drugs, but I was still filled with the same rage and hatred that had plagued my teen years. I changed careers many times before finally becoming a stylist and taking a job at an upscale salon. The salon was down the street from a historic Victorian era cemetery, and I would often walk there on my breaks as it was hilly, making it good exercise.

Whenever I saw an unusual stone I would often stop to look at it.

One day as I was walking there on my lunch break, I saw an odd stone and walked over to it to read it. As I turned to walk away I looked down and saw I was standing on the grave of the minister from the church. The man who had destroyed my life, who had taken away my childhood, the man who had made me hate myself and the world rested six feet below me. “I guess we are even,” I said as I stood above him.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion and looked to the sky. My thoughts raced through my head as I contemplated my next move. I looked back down to the stone. I had been brought to this place for a reason.

“You gave me a lot of things to carry, and I don’t want then anymore…” I said as I reached down and touched the stone. “And you can have them back.”

With that I felt the pressure melting away. I realized that I had been carrying a weight through my life that was not my own. In touching the stone I had laid all of that to rest with the man it belonged to. He was not an evil man, just a blind man struggling to find truth just as I was. And while I will never forget his actions, I certainly do not have to enslave myself to them.

Life has not been easy since then. I still struggle to find the right paths in life as we all do, and I am far from perfect, but I learned in that moment that real salvation is not the stuff he was selling through baptisms into fear and hatred; real salvation is what is found through love and forgiveness. ░ Dextrum Boucher is a Pagan priest pursuing a BS in psychology, and plans on a career path pursuing social justice issues, based in the USA.

REAL SALVATION

“You gave me a lot of things to carry, and I don’t want then anymore…” I said as I reached down and touched the stone. “And you can have them back.”

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THE FAITH ISSUE

Hate the sin, love the sinner Writer Kere Delcon

I can’t help but think that Sometimes God hates Christians - and then I remember, he doesn’t hate. There are those who think he does, they’re the smug, self-righteous type of “Christian” – not the plain, old, boring, “love-thy-neighbour” type like me.

In short, I’m expected to live an unfulfilled, incomplete life, in God’s name, because to do anything else, would be abhorrent to him as sin.

It seems to me at times, like Christ is no longer the poster-boy for Christianity.

Instead he’s become misrepresented by people who pick and choose which lines in the Bible best fit some flimsy justification for their inherent prejudices. They’re the ones who accept that God himself might have made me as I am - but expects me to

be miserable, because I’m special.

Because I’m strong enough to live with extra conditions.

In my early twenties, I was born-again.

I spent a lot of time with people who considered themselves “Christians”.

It isn’t up to me to judge whether or not they’re right to do so, but it did bother me at the time to be relegated to a life of unfulfilled love because my love was different to theirs.

If I look back, I don’t quite understand how I bought the argument that my gay feelings were wrong and sinful, but also made me special. How could I have been so brainwashed as to forget love doesn’t discriminate? >

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Not that I love all of my neighbours, if I’m totally honest... but I try.

Sometimes I feel like the majority of “Christians” are more than adept at exercising tolerance than acceptance.

They call it acceptance, some even consider it love, but it isn’t. Tolerance isn’t love because it comes with conditions: For example, I don’t get to share any form of physical, ergo, sexual intimacy with the person I love, I don’t get to consider my partnership

on the same level as theirs, one that has legal recognition or protection, and I shouldn’t raise children, care for children, or even teach them (in some cases).

THE FAITH ISSUE

The church that “exorcized” me a decade ago taught me to believe that God made me gay because I was special. My homosexuality in itself was not a sin. Lust, and acting on that lust through fornication with another man is what was going to send me to Hell.

If I was to stay strong in Jesus Christ, abstain from acting on my feelings, and live a good and celibate life - God would reward me. He might even make me straight - he might not. But the challenge was mine because I was special.

I think I felt special. At least at the time I did. The “Christians” I knew appeared different to me then - warm, and friendly, not smug. I trusted them.

Yet what they proposed on God’s behalf was an incredibly isolating prospect. I suddenly felt even lonelier than I had ever felt before.

In a room full of people, I’d sit silent, like some kind of defective human mistake, with a love that could only be considered a shameful fetish – and this is from a church that accepted the act of sex as being designed by God for enjoyment as well as procreation!

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My smile became the thin one. My eyes molested myself in judgement every time I looked in the mirror -a kind of sexual deviant staring back at me. I started to avoid mirrors after a while and got kind of fat which only gave me a whole new set of reasons to hate myself. I prayed hard for God to take it away.

I prayed as hard then as I had when I was eight years old and heard about what AIDS was. Apparently it happened to men who touched penises with others, or even looked at them, and then their penises dropped off, they died and went to hell where the Devil set them on fire – I can’t even remember where I heard that one – something had been going round the playground obviously. It didn’t come

from my parents and it didn’t come from church. Mum always said that I have an over-active imagination, some might even argue that’s why I remain a Christian today, and I don’t mind.

If I could go back, and send a message to that young boy of only eight, I’d tell him he’s alright. I’d tell him to stop crying into his pillow. He’ll grow up to be happy and healthy – and he’ll be loved. By his family, by a wonderful man, and most importantly by his God – and he won’t get AIDS.

In a room full of people I’d sit silent, like some kind of defective human mistake, with a love that could only be considered a shameful fetish.

So where does that leave me now?

Well somehow a message got through.

One day something snapped and I thought, “I’m not broken. I don’t have to be miserable to be special. Jesus Christ wasn’t a bigot, and I wasn’t a mistake or a defect”. I don’t know how that message got through, or even why. I’m just thankful it did because it kept me alive.

It’s so simple that I’m constantly gobsmacked that it isn’t more “out there”. I’m gobsmacked that the guy who came up with it is no longer the face of his own church. I’m gobsmacked by armies of so-called “Christians” whose actions contradict the very essence of everything he taught – and I’m gobsmacked by how hateful they can be whenever things don’t go their way - like me wanting rights equal to theirs.

I don’t deny that it makes me mad as well. They’ve become the very public face for a religion that started with a man who challenged corruption and hatred, who detested bigotry and oppression, and whose very teachings flew in the face of laws designed to control people through division and fear. A man who I happen to think said things so powerful and good, I live by them today.

I recently found one of the most important blogs I’ve ever read.

Emergent faith writer R Jay Pearson (www.rjaypearson.com), puts more beautifully than I have even seen or heard before:

“And I will educate by letting some know that when I tell you “I am gay,” I am not telling you about my sexual desires. I am sharing with you the unique color of my humanity, and the truth that what is in the heart and above is more important to us than what is at the waist and below.”

Here I am, a homosexual man and a Christian. One who believes that Jesus Christ was a real person, and who taught people to love each other and to treat others as you want to be treated yourself.

I believe that, regardless of who we pray to, we have an innate human obligation to care for one another.

And to care for somebody, you have to love them. Free of judgement, but with an open mind and heart. Anyone who doesn’t figure that out is what threatens the moral fabric of our society. Not gay people wanting to get married. Not the lesbian couple next door who want to adopt children.

It might not always be easy to live by, but the philosphy really is that simple.

That eight year-old boy was utterly lonely and cried himself to sleep night

HATE THE SIN, LOVE THE SINNER

upon night. He grew up not knowing why he was different, and in learning why, was taught it was a bad thing to be. In his early twenties, he decided to give up – failed at that thankfully, and turned to a church who, instead of accepting him, merely tolerated him in order to manipulate change in his heart. Even though he’s ok now, his heart still breaks for who he used to be.

I worry for the children still crying themselves to sleep each night. I lament the ones who got ‘fixed’ and live an empty, miserable life. I mourn for those who decide to give up and succeed.

It is not such an outrageous concept to think that the Bible, over the years and throughout countless translations has been twisted, misinterpreted and manipulated for political gain. In fact it is common sense.

Christians aren’t really the problem and God doesn’t hate them. I get frustrated at times that people associate the followers of Jesus Christ with messages of hate and contempt, rather than love and acceptance.

Christianity is all I really know, but that’s ok, because I also know that it is not the be-all and end-all in the spectrum of faith.

Perhaps the more of us who speak up for every color of faith and love, can inflict some positive change – because this is more than a political issue for equal rights. It is about re-instating the value and truth of love in a society that has prescribed conditions to it. Don’t hate the sin and love the sinner. That’s bullshit.

Nobody is committing sin by loving somebody else. ░ Kere Delcon is a publicist and marketing professional in New Zealand.

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PRISM asked seven SLers to choose an outfit that best represents them - the catch: In black and white. Here are the looks they put together. Photography Kere Delcon

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Emvee wears Hair: Damselfly, Astra Hairbase: Remorse, Cassie Eyeliner 1: Pink Acid, Egyptian Goddess Eyeliner 2: Mons, Black Eyeliner Series 3 Lashes: Gaeline Cosmetics, Mysteria Lipstick: Mons, Lipstick Dominant Ombre Red Breasts: Lolas Tango Mesh Breasts Facial Piercings: Pekka, Blind Surface Piercings: Puncture, Dermal Spike Implants (collarbone) Earrings: Bens Beauty, Shiny Cross and Epoque, Holy Hanger Nails: Mandala, Unisex Palette Super Long Bracelets (L): EarthStones - Diamond Tennis Bracelet and Bens Beauty, Shiny Cross Bracelet Bracelet (R - Pg34): Erratic, Leather Chained Right Hand Accessory: Dolly, Cigarette Rings (L - Pg35): Bens Beauty, Shiny Cross Rings (2) Rings (R - Pg34): Epoque, Amen Knuckle Ring Necklace 1: EarthStones, Diamond Tennis Necklace 2: Bens Beauty, Shiny Cross Collar: Luck Inc, Bound Collar Shoes: Whatever, Maria Top: Le Primitif, Tatu Bodysuit Bottom: Vive9, Adisa Skinny Jeans

Billy wears Hair: Exile, On the Job Glasses: Steinwerk, Alphabeat Jacket and Shirt: Entente, Gaston Pants: Ispachi, Executive Chinos Shoes: Fir & Mina, Ashford Brogue PRISM SPRING 13 • 37

Dandy wears Outfit: Beefcake, Kazaky Outfit #2 Glasses: RG, Unisex Sunglasses

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dysis wears Hair: Magika, B&W Sonia Jacket: Gizza, Blazer Suite Make-Up: Damned, Eyeliner M6 Flask: Catnip, Lushy Bracelet: Mandala, Black Pair & White Pair Utamaro Nails: AKA, Black Pair & White Pair. White/Black Long Lashes: MG, Party - Swallow Wings Ring: MG, Love Heart Nose Ring: Dimond/platnum- Ryca Tie: Mandela, Tie Necklace Shoes: Diktator, Envy- Baroque Heels Black Lipstick: Pink Fuel, Purple Frost

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Tylo wears: Hair: Entente, Thibaut Hair - Ash Blond Shirt: Beefcake, Trashed Shirt Pants: Beefcake, Rival Jeans Black Shoes: Beefcake, Sliders White Underwar (Pg 43) Beefcake, Briefs Black

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Dak wears: Hair: Drot, The Andy Leather Jacket (Pg 34): +grasp+, Leather Biker Jacket 2102 Arm Warmers: [SP], V Chain Goth Warmers Leg Warmers - Virtual Furs - Laced Legwarmers Collar: Straps, Rip Tide Neck Band Pants: Straps, Lowrider Leather Pants Bulge (Pg 43): Straps, Sockers Laced Pouch Psyclon wears: Hair: Drot, Vincent - Black Ice Top: Hedo, Feathered Hood Armwarmers: Fiction, No Mercy (full length arm warmers) Harness: TigerEye Designs, Harness T.E.D. Archer/black Net Top: Static, Fishnet Tanktop MALE Legwarmers: Part 1 (Top Cuffs): PixelPaws, Leather pure Digi Legwarmers, Part 2 (Base Legwarmers): Gauze, True Black - Digi Leg Warmer Leg Belts: Davinel, Unconditional - Crawler Belt: Lady Melody Shoes, Open Belt unisex bag, chain & flexy Stripes Thong Pouch: Straps “Sockers” Chrome Plate Pouch Thong (For Chaps) *Texture Mod by Psyclon

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CANVAS

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Vinn Wong

in Hong Kong, Vinn Wong moved to Australia at age seven discovering Born a love of painting in his mid-teens. Growing up, he says his art helped him express himself.

“As a part of growing up, painting has accompanied me and helped me through some tough times as well as the good ones,” Vinn says. “Painting has since become more of a visual diary of my feelings, emotions and perspective of what mattered to me most of the time.”

Vinn says being in touch with his creativity helped him grow, and to be completely honest with himself. He now designs in Second Life for clothing label Shiki, with Shinichi Mathy, using his artwork as inspiration, and has an art gallery at Shiki where digital copies of his artwork can be purchased. ░ www.vinnwong.com

Lamentation “This was a time when I felt like my life was drifting. Not necessarily in a stand still, but I felt like I needed some sort of ‘sign’ to put me back in the right direction. I felt like at that time, I basically lived everyday as it was, I didn’t really have a motivation to change anything... I was really into techno crossed with sacred music for a while. Rather peculiar, I know.”

Hope “I was still dating my first boyfriend at the time and we went to his brother’s house in Melbourne for Christmas.

I wanted to make them something so I decided to paint. Even before meeting them they seemed to have a lovely family... one filled with hope.”

Iron heart “Many moments of my life bring me back to Iron Heart, for me, it represents the strength that I need to overcome for my own challenges... after all, everything that you hold dear is worth fighting for, and you can’t expect to come out of a fight without any scars.”

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VENUE

A Fuzzy Hangout Inside the GYC by Dak off say that being a gay L etfurrymeinfirsta world where most places

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don’t usually accept either can be rather difficult. Some people associate one or the other to some crazy chemical mix up in the brain, some psychological defect or even worse: a blasphemous misrepresentation to what a normal person should be like.

However, there are a few places that openly accept both.

Gay Yiffy Club is one of those places.

More commonly known as GYC, it’s a place where a gay fur such as myself can go to hang out and enjoy the company of others. Of course they’re open to every race, gender, species and sexual orientation but something about it makes me feel accepted.

Maybe it’s the scene, maybe it’s the company of others like me, or hell, maybe it’s even just the music that lets

me get into a groove where otherwise I wouldn’t. With friendly staff and the usual compliment of fellow Huskies, German Shepards, Foxes, Lions and Tigers and even some dragons and sergals thrown into the mix.

I first stumbled upon GYC a little over a year ago. I was lucky enough to fall into the weekly radio show “Underwear or Less” with Zane Khandr, a talented, sexy, and funny green tattooed husky that has a soft spot for sexy furballs and funny news stories and of course, great music.

But as anywhere you go, there’s gonna be haters and trolls and griefers.

Thankfully, GYC has a crack team of security officers within arms’ reach to keep the undesirables out and keep the atmosphere friendly and mature.

They’re very fair and friendly and love

to interact with the crowds, sometimes even cracking jokes in a good nature to keep things lively.

Not to mention the Event staff. They’re consistently working hard to make things fun for everyone by introducing themed events and anything what-have-you to keep you entertained and often times, contests and games to keep lindens flowing into your pockets.

All in all, it’s a fun place to hang out at.

The atmosphere is fun and entertaining.

They even have private rooms for use just in case you meet that special “someone” who you’d like to share a private moment (or few hours) with. So do come on by and meet some new people, meet some fun-loving furries and see what we’re all about.

– Dak

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“With friendly staff and the usual compliment of fellow Huskies, German Shepards, Foxes, Lions and Tigers and even some dragons and sergals thrown into the mix.”