LGBT History Month Issue

T B Y G L TOR H S T I H MON 5 1 0 2 YO

INE Z GA GBT A M SUL E E FR #SU R U

Welcome

TAHLIE COOPER Editor - Wessex Scene

REBECCA JAMES Editor - The Edge

KERRY SCLATER

Deputy Editor - Wessex Scene

MEGAN DOWNING SUSU Vice President Democracy and Creative Industries EDMUND BAIRD Project Coordinator Assistant Designer SAM BAILEY Equality & Diversity Officer Creative Director

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Welcome to this very special magazine for LGBT History Month 2015.

Over the last few months, the Wessex Scene, The Edge, SUSU LGBT Society and the SUSU Equality and Diversity Committee have worked hard to put together this unique project. We hope you’ll find some of the articles thought provoking, some of them moving, some intriguing and you’ll learn a little bit more about LGBT life and community.

The articles are all written by students at the University of Southampton, some of them regular contributors to student magazines and some of them writing articles for the very first time. From film reviews to faith and sexuality, our magazine covers a diverse range of topics, perhaps beyond what you’d expect!

LGBT History Month is a time to celebrate the unique stories and contributions of LGBT people and the community, as well as looking to the future and the next generation. We have a wide variety of events going on over the entire month, so check out the back cover for more details. This project has been made possible thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of all the people involved, and we hope that this sets a precedent and legacy for future projects celebrating diversity.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed articles and illustrations to the magazine, we hope you enjoy it!

Your student magazine covering all the latest news and stories around Southampton. Created entirely by students, for students. www.wessexscene.co.uk @WessexScene fb.com/wscene

SUSU’s very own entertainment magazine, covering everything from live music events, to theatre, films and television. www.theedgesusu.co.uk @theedgesusu fb.com/theedgesusu

SUSU LGBT Society provides a safe space for LGBT students to socialise.

Everyone is welcome to join our society, whatever your sexuality or gender identity. www.lgbt.susu.org @SUSU_LGBT fb.com/susulgbt

SUSU Equality and Diversity Committee aims to make SUSU as inclusive as possible for students of all backgrounds by promoting equality and celebrating diversity. @SUSUEandD fb.com/susueanddcommittee

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

Welcome

Contents 04 PEOPLE

Stories and experiences from students at the University of Southampton 04 The Harder Truth Coming out to yourself 05 Bethonie Waring Coming out again and again 05 Katie Gain Coming out to my two ‘Mums’ 06 Stoicism and Repression Sexuality and the 06 British Boarding School System 08 A Case of New Found Gender Fluidity

09 COMMUNITY

LGBT people, campaigns and events around the world 09 Homosexuality in Sport Widely accepted or still a taboo subject?

10 Gays Who Hate Gays Stereotypes within the 10 LGBT community holds everyone back 11 Faith and Sexuality The Story of MySilentHalf 12 LGBT Life Around the World 14 Pride in Science How do LGBT people fit into the 14 scientific community?

15 Look to the Vloggers The importance of gay role 15 models to young people

16 CULTURE

Representation of the LGBT community and people in the arts 16 LGBT on the Small Screen Still a long way to go 17 Review: Lilting 18 The Imitation Game Sexuality: hidden or hidden 18 in plain sight?

20 Review: Blue Is the Warmest Colour 21 Role Models on TV Are there any LGBT role 21 models on TV? 22 Bioware: Bastions of Gaming Equality

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People

THE HARDER TRUTH Coming out to yourself

BY LIAM DYER

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doesn’t matter if no-one else hears it, if no-one else knows, but as long as you do, then there’s that element of completion, in looking beyond the mask, in fixing an identity beyond the expectations placed upon you, and simply existing.

Gender identity and sexual orientation, despite all the progress made in the last few decades, especially in this country (and for that we should be thankful), are still aspects of society that are either not understood, are misinterpreted, or are seen as some kind of curiosity. The former two, especially. Gender identity is itself very hard to define because there are so many facets in which it can present itself, and so gives off the presence that it is a divided identity, seeming to someone who’s trying to grapple with their own sense of self, that there’s no true core, that there’s no label that defines them. It’s the same in sexual orientation. While the headers of lesbian, bi-sexual or gay might preserve a certain oneness, none can adequately determine the whole of a person.

We might wish for the many definitions of the LGBT spectrum to find some meaning, some sense of inclusion, so we can say: “I’m gay,” or “I’m transgender.” I myself spent hours scrolling through websites on such matters as I was trying to come to terms with the possibility that I might be transgender, but then I realised that it didn’t matter what I identified as.

I was me. There was no label stamped upon my forehead, no dictionary with my name in it, all of me summed up in a paragraph of words, and in realising that I found a measure of peace. I was comfortable with myself and I knew that I could trust myself to be who I wanted to be. That truth is a hard one to face, perhaps the hardest, and it takes tremendous fortitude to take that leap into the depths of the mirror, but once taken, wherever the landing may be, it can only ever be for the better.

This want for definition was something I battle with myself, asking myself: “What am I?” in the silence of the night, away from anyone who might hear. I thought myself different, weird, an outcast forced to play the part, to wear the mask. I didn’t want to tell anyone because I didn’t want to tell myself.

I was the last person who wanted to hear, but also the first person who needed to. It took years for me to realise that I was actually wearing that mask in the first place, and even longer to work up the courage to take it off, but that’s where the true strength lies, in the ability to say to yourself: “This is me.” It

I was fifteen when I came out as possibly bi-sexual, after about five years of confusion and self-degradation. I was eighteen when I came out as gay, and then, at twenty, I came out as transgender. While I may not have physically changed, the mental battles I have fought have made me stronger. Anyone who fights them will know of the hardships, the stinging defeats, but also the final, sweet, inevitable victories. In darker times, it may seem as though they may never come, but they do. Look in the mirror and summon the strength to take off the mask. Grasp your victories, and live them.

e’ve all heard of the stories of people having to come out to their friends and families, the good stories as well as the bad ones, but there’s one story that isn’t often told, and that’s the story of the person coming out to themselves.

I realised that it didn’t matter what I identified as. I was me.

There was no label stamped upon my forehead 04

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

People

Bethonie Waring: Coming Katie Gain: Coming out out again and again to my ‘Mums’ For all my mother’s love and understanding, I knew there was one thing she would never accept. Being a Villa fan.

Thankfully, I was only coming out as “not as straight as I told you”.

From the moment I realised myself that it was OK to not fall nicely into the “gay” or “straight” label, I knew telling my family was going to someday come. For all the horror stories I’ve heard about negative reactions, though, I wasn’t really scared.

My mother was never going to be a problem. For as long as I can remember, she’s prided herself in telling us that she didn’t care what we, her children, were as long as we were good people. So when I told my mother, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t get a reaction at all, and actually had to tell her again just to make sure she’d heard me.

Still there was no reaction. In her eyes I’m no different.

In reality I’m not different, and there is no way I can be disappointed by the lack of reaction.

One down, one to go.

There were two ways I figured the conversation with my father and step mother could go. Either I could be told I was too young to know about myself or my step mother would start an hour long rendition of “I have a gay family member so I know everything there is to know about you”. Even now, I don’t know which path would be the worst.

I wound up sitting through the second option and having to try to explain that the world isn’t as simple as gay and straight to somebody who isn’t entirely used to listening to other people anyway. For some reason, I thought I might know a little more about myself than my step mother did but I was wrong, of course.

Coming out is not one moment. According to a friend who has told some member of her family she’s bisexual, I have started the long (apparently never ending) process of telling people that, actually, I’m not that straight and having people try to explain to me who I am (I’ve already had two people try to explain to me what bisexual means). I can only hope it continues to go well.

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“Dad, what’s a lesbian? Is it a chameleon?”

When I was eight, my mum came out. I had no idea what a lesbian was, I thought it was something from the reptile kingdom!

As a kid, my sister and I moved around with my mum and her new love pursuits. There is a saying in the lesbian world that after two successful dates you ‘U-Haul,’ i.e. you move in together.

When I first joined SUSU LGBT in 2012, I was asked if I was gay. I had not said it out loud yet and I was still uncomfortable with forging an identity. When others discovered that my mum was gay, they were unsure why I was so reserved. It is true that I am fortunate to not be faced with disapproval by my immediate family, yet I grew up facing a lot of internal disapproval of myself.

Our houses tended to be pinpointed as the ‘lesbian house.’

I was raised in homes that were painted with eggs on the outside. Hurls of abuse, slashed tires and a dismembered garden were my normality. Initially I did not understand why I would be looked at differently, or why my school would have to explain why two women came to pick up their child from class. Wherever we moved, the reception was mostly the same. I came to understand that in order to live a ‘normal life’ we had to keep quiet and not cause too much commotion. I would not tell my friends about my mums unless I felt sure they would not bully me for it.

I was 18 when I could no longer run away from my sexuality.

Even then, I kept quiet until I was 19 because I was incredibly scared, not about how my family would react, but how society would. All I knew about being gay was bullying, court dates, and suicide. Coming-out is supposed to be liberating, but sometimes it can be a whole new kind of torment. SUSU LGBT finally gave me an environment where I felt safe to be myself. Sexuality is something you cannot process by yourself.

You have to find a place of understanding and you have to know that you are not alone in how you feel and that things will get better.

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People

STOICISM AND REPRESSION Sexuality and the British boarding school system

BY CHRIS RILEY IMAGE BY SAMANTHA BURSTOW

I

have never been in a relationship, and I have never been in love. I first had feelings for someone – another man – at the age of 20. This was when I realised I was not heterosexual. If I had been asked two years ago what my sexuality was, I would have answered ‘straight’, and I would have believed this to be the truth. It’s not something I ever paid much thought to. Is this normal? I have no idea. But what I do know is there must be a reason for this, since it is not by choice. Is it bad luck? Luck is a concept with no meaning in the real sense, and so reasoning my situation with luck would be pointless and meaningless. Is it lacking in self-confidence?

I’ve never really had an issue with confidence. From the title you may have already worked out where this is heading.

I must make it quite clear from the outset that I hold my school in the highest regard, and have the utmost respect for its staff. However, there are numerous effects sending a child to boarding school has, all of which are difficult to qualify and impossible to quantify. Boarding school is quite a complex concept for a child to grasp at such a young age. It is only natural for a child to be homesick during their first few weeks of boarding school. There would be absolutely no shame at all if they were to cry. But to the child, they believe this would be seen as ungratefulness. They are aware of the efforts their parents make to send them to a prestigious school. Therefore it is of the utmost importance not to show your feelings. You learn to hide your emotions straight away. This is a theme which is continuous throughout the most important years of a child’s development. To show emotion is to show weakness.

It just isn’t done.

This does not mean however that people did not have relationships at school. They did. As for homosexual relationships, the thought of one happening at a boarding school is beyond my imagination. Quite simply it could never have happened. To my school, homosexuality did not exist. I think it says a lot that in a school with over 700 students and staff, there was not a single openly gay person. The reason for this is perhaps the institutional nature of British boarding schools. It was assumed that everyone was straight. Even if we had our suspicions, we never believed anyone could actually be gay. I never once questioned my sexuality, something which now, when I look back on how I felt at certain times of my life, should have been blindingly obvious. But of course, questioning my sexuality would have involved emotion, a distasteful subject in the world of boarding.

And so I left boarding school at the age of 18 with the ability to not show emotion or feelings. I in fact had a fear of showing my emotions. On the very few occasions I did, I felt greatly embarrassed and flawed. Not great qualities to have as far as relationships are concerned. It would therefore not come as much as a surprise that the first time I had feelings for someone, I could not cope. My lifetime of stoicism and repression resulted in my cup finally overflowing.

The silver lining in this would be if I had finally learnt how to show my emotions. Alas no, I have not yet learnt how to have feelings for someone. A symptom of boarding school? Perhaps.

A symptom of being gay at boarding school? Certainly.

Therefore it is of the utmost importance not to show your feelings. You learn to hide your emotions straight away.

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LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

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People

A CASE OF NEW FOUND GENDER FLUIDITY

BY CAITLIN DOYLE

This year I had a life changing epiphany. I came to the realisation that I am gender fluid.

F

irst, let me explain gender fluidity. Gender fluidity is a non-binary dynamic gender; picture it as a scale of 0 to 100, with man at 0 and woman at 100. Imagine standing at any point along the scale and moving up or down the scale every day; some days you feel like a man, others you feel like a woman, some you feel like both and others none of the above.

My ‘holy crap’ moment was in the last place I imagined it would ever be. In February of this year I was sat on the bus when an old man asked me for directions. He opened with the phrase “excuse me sir”; it wasn’t the first time I had been mistaken for a man but this time, for the first time, it didn’t bother me. This seemingly insignificant event caused me to look at my own gender for the first time.

I began researching gender and decided that how I felt was best reflected by the term gender fluidity. I still associated with being biologically female, and still use female pronouns, however this new term opened up a realm of possibilities and answered a lot of questions.

In hindsight a lot of events from my childhood now made sense, and I realise now that because I lacked any education on gender, my own was repressed. I was taught that gender determined how you are supposed to look and act in public; my mother was insistent that it was socially unacceptable for me to prefer what she perceived as ‘boy things’ over ‘girl things’ without any rational explanation why; what she had to say though made very little difference in how I dressed or acted, and I explored my childhood gender identity in an entirely subconscious way, and without a label.

I went to a private girls’ school, which was an environment dominated by female energy. I was taught the value of being independent and that your integrity is defined by your talent 08

and motivation, not your gender. I learnt the value of being a woman entwined with an intrinsic ability to excel in life and it turned me into the feminist I am today. But having never received a formal education on gender identity the only thing I ever knew was how to be a woman.

When I was 15 I worked out that I am exclusively attracted to women, yet I could never connect to the words ‘lesbian’ or ‘gay’ despite being biologically female. It became obvious when I began understanding my gender that the reason I can’t connect with the term gay is because I don’t feel entirely female. In hindsight a lot of feelings I had as a child now make sense. My fluidity is probably the root of the gender dysphoria I briefly experienced as a child and explains my utter hatred of wearing dresses, although I still insisted that my bedroom walls were a pale shade of purple.

What I understand about myself now is that although I am biologically female and prefer female pronouns, I am gender fluid. I know that most of the time I feel like neither a woman nor a man and sometimes feel like some combination of both.

In terms of my gender expression it tends to linger around androgyny; it makes me feel powerful that I can manipulate my output to the world in such a way that a subtle change of body language can control something as seemingly significant as gender.

Coming to terms with my gender was a slow process that involved a huge amount of self-reflection; it has been incredibly confusing and at times very scary. I now understand myself better as a person, and not just my gender, but also my general perspective of the world. I believe that this process of discovering who we are never ends, and it wouldn’t surprise me if in the future I identify as something else, but right now, in this moment I am gender fluid.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

HOMOSEXUALITY IN SPORT

Community

Widely accepted or still a taboo subject?

BY JACK PETHICK IMAGE BY BETHANY WESTALL

I

t is perhaps unquestionable that homophobia in this modern era is still a major issue in sport- especially in football. Many footballing bodies make what could be described as ‘half-hearted’ campaigns to tackle the issue, many players still fear to come out and echoes of homophobic chants can still be heard around many grounds. The big question that arises then, is why?

We claim to live in a modern generation, where everyone is accepted regardless. So why does the sporting world still seem to be trapped in the mentality of previous generations? This suggests then that such a topic is a complicated issue, and hopefully this article will shine some light as to why.

The recent rainbow laces campaign -backed by the bookmaker’s Paddy Power- in football last year aimed to show support for gay players, by all professional and amateur players alike wearing a pair of rainbow laces.

The campaign achieved good success with a majority of top-flight clubs and players supporting the cause, with the campaign also receiving huge support on twitter. Yet despite this reasonable success, many within and outside of football have criticised the campaign. The most recurring issue being that although overall the message of the campaign is good, it lacks consistency and some of the slogans used by the campaign could be interpreted as homophobic too. For example, Football v Homophobia (FvH), a body aiming to improve education on the subject and who rejected the chance to work on this initiative, said slogans used such as ‘Right Behind Gay Footballers’ that were used in the campaign, reinforced “stereotypes that ensure homophobia exists” and “blurred the territory” between homophobic language and football banter. FvH said a number of people had already written innuendo-laden phrases on bookmaker Paddy Power’s Facebook page. The organisation went on to state that “It is incongruous to run a campaign aiming to change football culture whilst using language which reinforces the very stereotypes and caricatures that, in the long term, ensure that homophobia persists.”

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

In addition to this lack of consistency and arguable sincerity behind the campaign, it can be questioned as to whether such a campaign is truly big enough to deal the issue and indeed whether it was more of a token gesture by the FA rather than a true commitment to tackling the problem: Laces are hardly the most visible item of clothing that a footballer wears when playing, and for those watching the games either at the grounds or on TV the laces would be barely visible. With regards to the FA, the perhaps limited nature of the campaign does not mean that the FA is homophobic, but perhaps they could do more to visibly advocate this issue in football.

However, it could be difficult for the FA to do much in dealing with the root of the problem, which is arguably the fans themselves and the language they use. Sure,

they can stop those who make homophobic chants from entering the ground, but they cannot change the people themselves. That would require the FA to change the behaviours of people, something they are unfortunately not able to do.

There can be no doubt that homophobia is an issue which is still rife in sport, particularly in the footballing world.

There have been a number of campaigns and frameworks introduced in footballing bodies around the world which have attempted to tackle and raise support for the issue, however, the effect to which these campaigns have is not really quantifiable. Ultimately, the root of the problem lies not with the sporting associations or professional athletes, but with the fans, which has perhaps been amplified by the development of lad culture. There is a fine line between banter and abuse, and unfortunately a significant majority of fans see no clear difference between the two terms.

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Community

GAYS WHO HATE GAYS Stereotypes within the LGBT community hold everybody back

BY BEN FRANKLIN IMAGE BY PAIGE NICHOLAS

I

n the past, I’ve been called ‘one of those annoying gays’ and ‘defeating the point of being gay by acting like a woman’, but contradictingly, also ‘ashamed of who [I am]’ and ‘deliberately evading gay culture’. When you’re trying to sculpt a personality for yourself, being gay can add stress or it can be a total non-issue. Negative comments like those above, be they about being too gay or too ‘straight acting’ just make the whole thing more confusing. The worst part is, every single comment above was made to me by other gay men.

I’ll use myself as an example here. I love musicals, I worship Beyoncé, I’m a cheerleader and I slut-drop/twerk near enough every time I’ve been drinking. I am, by the standards of a lot of people, as gay as it gets. On the other side of that, I’m not overtly camp, I’m not bad at sports, I don’t hold hands or kiss guys in public or attend gay rights protests/gay pride events, so I’m a pretty covert gay. If reading those lists of appalling stereotypes offended you, good. That means we’re on the same page.

Being gay is not a lifestyle, it is not a choice, it is not a personality, and it is not a certain behaviour. I’ve been out in drag before, I’ve sung showtunes whilst swinging from lampposts, and I’ve watched every single episode of Sex and the City (twice), but the gayest thing I’ve ever done is had sex with other men. Because that is what being gay is – sexual attraction to the same sex.

It’s bad enough that the expectations of me made me career through all kinds of phases in my teen years, from an affected lisp and mincing, to trying to be one of the boys and calling everyone ‘bro.’ I hoped that once I started making gay friends, I’d be accepted completely as I am. But in my experience, other gay men have been some of the biggest bullies and most discriminative people I’ve ever met. A trawl through Grindr reveals scores of men who ‘Aren’t looking for fairies’ or ‘Don’t want to chat with fems’. It is time we stopped.

If you are genuinely a real man’s man who happens to be gay, great. If you’d give Julian Clary a run for his money in the World Campionships, wonderful. But if you think that either of these personalities is a problem for the ‘gay image’, then you are the problem with gay image. In Mean Girls, Tina Fey says “You have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores, you just make it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores” and that lesson can 10

be transferred to gay culture. If we keep calling each other fags and fems and pigeonholing other gay guys, we just make it seem acceptable for the rest of the world to do the same.

If you are more attracted to guys who share your interest in rugby than ones who’d rather take you to a show, that’s fine. But don’t shame gays that don’t fit your image, because it makes you just as bad as every homophobe out there. Similarly, if you’re at the camper end of the spectrum, don’t assume that a guy who doesn’t enjoy gay bars isn’t being true to themselves. If we all just live and let live, we’d build a genuine community without the gay cliques that many LGBT people find just as oppressive and offensive as homophobia. I am more than the ways I behave when I’m drunk, or when I’m tired, or when I’m with friends. And if you don’t want to get to know all of me because one incarnation might cramp your style, that’s your loss.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

FAITH AND SEXUALITY

Community

The Story of MySilentHalf

BY KATIE GAIN IMAGE BY JOSHUA SAMWAYS

I want to introduce you all to Rae Schneider, a Christian Pastor and a woman who loves women. However, she was not always known by her real name.

H

er journey started out as an anonymous writer, @mysilenthalf.

She would frequently write ‘confessions’ to an online community about her struggles with her faith, sexuality, love and acceptance.

Rae could no longer run away from her sexuality, and she had run out of excuses to ignore it.

Something that deeply frustrates me about society is the belief that faith and sexuality cannot co-exist. Last year at a SUSU LGBT event, a friend asked me if any Christians were a part of our society. When I replied that I wasn’t sure, she immediately assured me that Christians would not want to join an LGBT society. Now, I do not profess to be a devout Christian. However I had a Christian upbringing and I respect my family roots. I also believe in an all-loving God who would not judge His creation.

Rae asserts that the LGBT community has a right to ‘cringe’ at the word Christian, because the Christian community has failed them. I remember at a SUSU LGBT lunch in early 2014, the House of Commons were debating gay marriage on the big screens in the Bridge. For a long time, the Church had been resisting same-sex unions. However, it had gotten to the stage where the Church had to confront its fear of change.

the LGBT community. Jesus wanted to inspire love and union, not social segregation.

I don’t want you to think that I am trying to force religion on you, because I am not. I just want you to be open-minded and to be aware that faith and sexuality can be intimately intertwined.

Rae teaches us not to silent, because if we are silent, it makes us believe that we are alone. Rae asserts that we are not alone, that we are worthy and that we must keep going. Our stories about our sexuality and our struggles are important because they inspire others to find their inner strength. Rae wanted her voice to echo so that others in our community could find hope and that one day they could liberate themselves.

But sometimes, we need a little magic like Rae to help us find our way. Her foreword is written by Tennessee Martin, who also speaks to an online community about her coming-out journey in the Deep South and her dreams that now have her working with Warner Bros in Los Angeles. She taught me to never back down, and to embrace every obstacle, for they present us with a unique opportunity for growth. She embodies everything I hope to become because she has fought, and she has survived. These women are the bravest and most inspiring people I have ever known. They are the reason that I found the courage to come-out and why I do not give up on one day, finding love.

It is an honour to present them to you this LGBT History Month.

Rae: www.mysilenthalf.com

It has to be said that not all Christians interpret the Bible literally.

When Leviticus 18 professes that ‘you shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination,’ some Christians, like Rae place this law in its context. During this time, the Israelites were trying to build a community whereby any ‘wasted seed’ was viewed contrary to the law. This law existed alongside professions against child sacrifice, idolatry and incest. However, society today only focuses on one part of the scripture, the part that seems to suggest that Christianity is utterly against the LGBT community.

Rae understands the Bible as something that ‘grows and breathes alongside us’ and is not stagnant.

Rae sets a revolutionary precedent because she fully believes in Grace and Love. If Jesus were here today, I believe He would love

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

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Community

LGBT LIFE AROUND THE WORLD

BY TAMARA MANTON AND CAMERON RIDGWAY DESIGN BY EDMUND BAIRD

SAN FRANCISCO, USA

LARGEST LGBT COMMUNITY

In the 1970s, the city became a centre of the gay rights movement. Today, in The Castro, the gay and lesbian community is over a quarter of a million strong and holds one of the biggest pride events.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

LARGEST LGBT PRIDE The city of Sao Paulo holds the world’s largest LGBT pride parade, attended by over 4 million people every year. The situation, however, is often difficult for trans people. Although sex reassignment surgery is given free, it’s very difficult for trans people to find employment opportunities, even in major cities.

UGANDA

ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY LAW Uganda was at the centre of controversy in February 2014 when its parliament and president approved the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Act’. The bill has encouraged the growth of homophobia within Uganda, often expressed violently.

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LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

ICELAND

JÓHANNA SIGURÐARDÓTTIR Sigurðardóttir, the first openly gay head of state, took power in 2009. Advancements made by her government include giving same sex couples equal access to adoption, IVF and surrogacy treatment as well as a department dedicated to the study of gender disphoria in one of Iceland’s largest hospitals.

RUSSIA

PROPAGANDA LAW

Russian parliament recently passed a loosely worded law banning all positive and neutral references to so called ‘non-traditional relationships’ that anyone under 18 might see.

CHINA

INFORMAL DISCRIMINATION Homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997, although legally considered a mental illness until 2001. No laws prevent discrimination on the basis of sexuality or gender, resulting in continued informal discrimination.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

GAY CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE In general, Australia is extremely accepting of the LGBT community, with Sydney named one of the most gay friendly cities in the world. Same sex couples enjoy all of the same rights as non-same sex couples with the notable exception of marriage.

IRAQ

‘HONOUR KILLINGS’ While same sex relationships are legal in Iraq, the majority of the population view such relationships as unacceptable. The LGBT community often suffer ill-treatment and discrimination in everyday life. There have been reports of LGBT people being the victims of ‘honour killings’ for bringing shame and dishonor upon their family.

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Community

PRIDE IN SCIENCE

How do LGBT people fit into the scientific community?

S

BY CAMILLA CASSIDY IMAGE BY KATHRYN SMITH cience and the LGBT community have not always had the simplest relationship; reflecting contemporary attitudes, the field has not always been on the right side of history.

Although illegality of homosexuality was abolished in the UK in 1967, psychological study continued to define it as a mental illness until 1973. This view had been steadily changing in parallel with the larger LGBT rights movement, with Alfred Kinsey’s research in the 1950s showing that the spectrum of human sexuality was more diverse and normal than ever before thought. Following that, Havelock Ellis’ 1963 research suggested that while homosexuality did make you clearly different, its only psychological ill effects arose from people repressing their normal sexual behaviour.

In the modern day, science loves to quantify. Studies have taken a global census of attitudes to homosexuality. In 2013 the Pew Research Centre posed the question: “Should society accept homosexuality?” Britain was the sixth most positive country on the list, with 76% of people answering ‘Yes’, and with increases of 10-20% in positive responses from South Korea, the United States and Canada in the past seven years, attitudes are changing for the better.

But what is it like to be part of both the LGBT and scientific communities today? In science, you are judged first and foremost on the quality of your research as opposed to your personal lives. Scientists are scientists - their gender identity and sexual orientation is irrelevant.

This invisibility is not wholly positive, but potentially damaging, when a lack of communication makes academia an uncomfortable place for minorities, and the field is running on a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.

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This is why role models are so important. University of York chemistry professor David Smith asks, “Does it matter that I am a gay scientist? It certainly doesn’t make me a better or worse scientist, but I believe it matters that people know.” He chooses to actively talk about his sexuality. He has even drawn inspiration for some of his research from his husband’s health problems, developing new chemical alternatives to blood thinning drugs with the potential to save lives.

In this way, there has been huge effort to get people within the scientific community talking about these issues, with organisations including the National Organisation of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (a self-confessed mouthful, which also goes by NOGLSTOP) offering networking and support.

However, perhaps the most important reason why we should try to avoid thinking that nothing except an academic’s scientific output matters is that it undervalues us as individuals.

Science and technology is an increasingly global field.

Researchers work within their own institutions and on a global scale, interacting with diverse scientists who come up with novel ideas and concepts. In our modern world nothing is insular, let alone discoveries and technologies with the potential to affect everyone.

We cannot allow outdated prejudice to prevent their development.

If we care only about the results of science, and not those who do it, we are at risk of forgetting that scientific innovations affect us all, and that they have the ability to bring us closer together than ever before. Science, for all of its facts and figures, is carried out by people.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

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LOOK TO THE VLOGGERS

The importance of gay role models to young people

BY TOM MERRYWEATHER IMAGE BY JORDAN STEWART

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eing part of a minority where other people may still perceive it as weird, wrong and in some cases a choice, makes it even harder. But that is not to say that they do not go it alone. Gay role models form an important part of a young gay person’s life because they act as someone they can relate to. They have been through all the difficulties that they might be going through such as coming out to family and friends or being bullied at school. Gay role models are therefore an incredibly powerful thing for young gay people who may feel isolated because of their sexuality. Not only can they help youths in how to come out, but they also show that it is okay to be gay and that you can be yourself.

One of the most important milestones in a gay person’s life is telling the people closest to them who they are and this can be a scary process. Will my friends continue to like me? How will my parents react? Will they send me to one of those ‘pray the gay away’ camps in Texas? I know for me, all these questions arose at least once. Strangely enough, YouTubers can be great role models in this difficult time.

Coming out stories on YouTube can obviously vary. For the most part they are stories of acceptance with YouTubers such as Troye Sivan or Tyler Oakley talking about how their parents said that they still loved them after they told them. However, there are not so positive stories. For example, Matthew Lush talks about how his mum punched him, threw a mirror at him and sent all his Christmas presents back to the shop just because he told her LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

that he was gay. While most young gay people are not expecting their parents to act like that, anticipating reactions can still cause a great deal of stress. But these YouTubers help people realise that it will all work out. Even Matthew Lush concedes that his relationship with his mum is really strong nowadays and that a couple of weeks later, she gave him all his Christmas presents again symbolising that she had finally come to terms with it. So, even the hardest coming out stories can have a happy ending and this can inspire gay youths to also come out.

These YouTubers are also role models in the sense that they show it’s okay to be gay. Mark E Miller walks around town holding hands with and kissing his boyfriend. For a young gay person discovering themselves, this can be a bold statement. These YouTubers are showing that they do not care what other people think. To therefore be shown that you should be yourself and not care about what other people think can change the way a gay person thinks about life. For me, in school, I grew tired of having to hide that aspect of myself and I know that this was in part due to the YouTubers that I had watched. They were happier that they were being themselves and they no longer had to feel awkward when asked by family and friends whether or not they had a girlfriend.

Gay role models then are very important to gay youth because above all, they can show them that they aren’t alone and that they too can be happy.

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Culture

LGBT ON THE SMALL SCREEN Still a long way to go...

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BY REBECCA JAMES

very year GLAAD do a ‘Network Responsibility Index’ a study of all of the American TV channels, and their representation of LGBT, and usage of LGBT plotlines. The index not only assesses the presence of LGBT characters, but also the diversity in their roles and characterisation. In 2014 only HBO, ABC Family and MTV scored a rating of ‘Excellent’ in their representation of LGBT characters, and the highest scoring channels including LGBT inclusive characters on 50% of the screen time broadcast. This statistic, along with the others included in the report (which I encourage you to have a look at on GLAAD’s website) suggests that there is still a long way to go in making the representations of LGBT individuals, particularly those who are transgender, the norm, not something that a show should be applauded for.

There is still the trend in American teenage dramas in particular to use a character coming out, or a character’s homosexuality as a plot point. At the start of American drama Revenge there were no out characters presented. Along the course of the series, it was revealed that one of the central antagonists, Trevor was gay. This singular presentation of a homosexual character as a villain was concerning, and was only a little remedied by the fact that serial character Nolan was revealed to be bisexual with no kind of fuss or fanfare.

For television programming to be representative it has to be diverse. The majority of LGBT characters who are represented on television in general, particularly reality television shows are gay, white males. The inclusion of the same kind of

Here is a trans woman playing a trans character with sensitive authenticity – she is a character with a background, and fully formed personality.

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homosexual character is not enough for a network to claim to be inclusive and representative. Representation needs to move forward from just presenting LGBT characters who are defined by their sexuality, and nothing else, their plotlines need to revolve around things other than their relationships.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel and hope that attitudes on television are changing. Orange is the New Black is a massive step forward in the representation of LGBT groups, more specifically female centric minorities. Lesbianism is presented not for the titillation of an imagined male audience, but with a gritty realism which grounds it completely in the prison setting of the show, and in the female experience as a prisoner. The show is outstanding in the platform that it gives to transgender individuals, though the presentation of Laverne Cox’s character Sophia Burset. Here is a trans woman playing a trans character with sensitive authenticity – she is a character with a background, and fully formed personality.

While she may not be the central character in the show, she has certainly become a star, as the show has given a platform to transgender individuals. Cox has appeared on the front cover of TIME magazine in the last year, and was the first openly transgender individual to be nominated for an EMMY in an acting category.

Similarly, there are television shows which treat homosexual relationships no differently to the heterosexual ones. Grey’s Anatomy and Modern Family both present committed homosexual relationships which have the same kind of troubles and trials as any of the heterosexual characters. Grey’s Anatomy presents two female Doctors in a relationship, one identifying as lesbian, and the other identifying as bisexual.

Pretty Little Liars features openly gay character Emily as one of the central female four characters, and Scandal includes White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beam who is in a committed relationship with a man throughout the course of the series.

Whichever way you look at it however, there is still a long way to go before television truly embraces LGBT representation as fully as it should. Bisexual erasure is still rampant – even in Orange is the New Black central character Piper Chapman is frequently referred to as a former lesbian when she is in a relationship with a man, rather than as a bisexual woman.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

Culture

REVIEW: LILTING Director: Hong Khaou Studio: Artificial Eye Out: On DVD and Blu-ray ★★★★★

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BY VIRGINIE ROBE

ong Khaou's Lilting is by far one of the strongest LGBT release of 2014. First shown in the UK as the opening film of the London BFI Flare after being a critical hit at Sundance 2014, the film had a rather small theatrical release in the country early August, before being released on DVD and Blu-Ray by Artificial Eye at the end of September last year. Delicate, touching and avoiding any over-dramatization of its topic, Lilting is a brilliant piece of cinema offering a reflection on understanding differences, and dealing with the loneliness that follows, and sometimes precedes, the lost of someone dear.

Junn (Pei-pei Cheng), a Cambodian-Chinese mother, mourns the untimely death of her son Kai. Richard (Ben Whishaw), Kai's partner, tries to connect with Junn and help her through her life without her son, in this country she never fully integrated. Without even sharing the same language, Junn and Richard slowly learn how to share and try to get over their pain, whilst getting to understand what the essence of each other's relationship with Kai was.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

Alternating between flashbacks, and sequences that edge between memories and fantasies, the film reconstructs Richard and Junn's respective relationships with Kai, gently guiding the viewer towards an understanding of both's reactions to the death of their loved one. Although brokenly edited, the film never is aggressive in cutting and linking one sequence from another. Every scene seems to lightly flow and lead to the next, the camera almost dancing on the pastel colours of the cinematography, which slowly leads to the final sequence of the film.

Delicately crafted, Lilting's climax tangles Richard - and Kai's - coming out to Junn, with a monologue about loneliness from the mother. This finale works without any explosion, any drama and almost any surprise, avoiding the too-clichéd coming-out sequence usually depicted in films, and leaves place for a cinematic space of freedom, where the characters are finally liberated from too-much unsaid. Junn was tired of asking for attention; Richard and Kai were in love. The circle of memories are closed, we're back to the beginning and the characters are now free to move on.

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Culture

THE IMITATION GAME Sexuality: hidden or hidden in plain sight?

BY MATTHEW COCKS

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ith the recent release of The Imitation Game, the British public has gained an insightful view into the breaking of the German enigma code, an operation that greatly contributed to our success, and was only made public in the Seventies after years of secrecy. It goes without saying that the main focus of the film focuses on the effort to decipher the Axis signals, however much of the narrative features flashbacks into the life of gay protagonist, Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the man who not only defeated the code, but also laid the foundations for modern computers. You’d be correct in assuming that Turing’s sexuality wouldn’t in principle have much to do with his pioneering work during the war, but the windows into his life both before and after this time, although often dramatised, shows that his sexuality, or rather society’s attitudes towards it, haunted him from his childhood until his suicide in 1954.

Turing’s experiences linked to his sexuality were not portrayed as a main theme of the film, but nonetheless were an important part of his character and tie into key events in 18

the storyline. This fine balance between overly pressing the ‘issue’ of sexuality, and under-representing it is often very hard to achieve in any media platform, and there will always be those who feel it is wrong or inappropriate to bring someone’s preferences into the equation, and likewise some believe it to be perhaps the highest priority. In this case, however, director Morten Tyldum’s creation incorporates Turing’s orientation in such a way that it could be described as tasteful, as we grow to learn of the mathematician’s close relationship with a fellow boarding school student which not only developed his passion for cryptology, but led him to fall in love for what we can presume was the first time. This relationship plays out like the beginning of any heterosexual love story, which combines with the lack of any explicit comment on the fact that it’s a homosexual attraction, to normalise it, as without the historical context it simply becomes the build up to a typical teenage romance.

Despite this fairly neutral portrayal, Turing’s homosexuality is mentioned more openly during some of the wartime scenes, and the reactions from his colleagues surprisingly reflect modern day attitudes to sexual orientation. The

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acceptance and tolerance promoted in these reactions even goes as far as to pose no consequences for an engagement (and a rather spontaneous one at that) between Turing and his close friend and colleague Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), at least as far as she is concerned.

However, such contemporary-style tolerance isn’t completely widespread, as we later see Turing beginning to suffer the consequences of being part of a sexual minority in the 1950s. This is when we start to see responses that reflect the prevailing point of view, especially when we hear police officers throw about words such as “poofter” and “bloody disgusting”. Although harsh, it could be said that the director has a duty to ensure that the film is historically realistic, and it would not seem logical to say that sexuality would be an exception to this rule. Thus, as an audience, we have to accept what we see on the screen as a fact of the times.

The homophobic discrimination experienced by Turing intensifies and comes to a head towards the end of the film, when we learn that the once respected cryptanalyst has

been offered chemical castration hormones as an alternative to prison. In this heartbreaking scene, the director manages to portray this tragic news in the same historically accurate light as the earlier comments from the police whilst evoking sympathy from the audience as Turing, in pain and delirious, is comforted by his old friend Joan Clark.

Prior to the credits the audience is informed of the many thousands of men that were criminalised before the ban on their sexuality was struck down in England and Wales in 1967, planting a first and final direct comment from the filmmakers.

We can never know for sure exactly how true to life the depicted reactions and attitudes to homosexuality are, but what we can see is that The Imitation Game has done well to provide a balanced perspective of Turing’s life; one that presents us with the often cruel realities of the past yet reminds us that times have changed enough for us to feel sympathy for this man and treat him as equal.

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Culture

REVIEW: BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR Director: Abdellatif Kechiche Studio: Artificial Eye Out: On DVD and Blu-ray ★★★★★

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BY VIRGINIE ROBE

inner of the Palme d’or 2013 at the Cannes Festival, Blue Is the Warmest Colour is definitely a film you should have on your shelf. Based on a comic strip, Abdellatif Kechiche’s adaptation focuses on the main character Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and her sensual and emotional journey. Slightly moving away from the original text, the film solely focuses on the sexual blooming of Adèle and her love for Emma, an art student with blue hair who she first catches a glimpse of Place de la République.

Calling his film La vie d’Adèle (literally, Life of Adèle), Kechiche’s choice is thus completely inherent to the threehour long feature: Adèle is the only one the camera is taking into account. The close-ups are there to track down any single 20

one of her reactions, whether they are to the crude reproaches made by her classmates who are conventionally afraid of difference, or the meeting with her girlfriend’s family. Without giving us a clear answer towards the character’s feelings, the stunning Adèle Exarchopoulos perfectly conveys the complexity of dealing with emotional buildup as a teenager.

The only moments she frees herself from the oppression of the camera are the moments of intimacy with her girlfriend.

Offering a reflection on female desire and sexuality, a friend of Emma will even say it out loud: “a woman’s orgasm is out of her body”, and so it explains the wider shots of their physical love.

Kechiche’s story is built in two chapters which are also essential to Adèle’s journey. In the first part, her models and inspirations come from classical books. She slowly emancipates herself from this influence to discover Emma’s work and fascination for the Beaux Arts. The film is scattered of references to their very different cultural and economic background, which is the weakest point of the narrative, giving it a stereotypical frame. But the characters’ love for arts legitimately poses the question of muses, and somehow puts Adele and Emma at the same level of the statues and literary characters they admire, cleverly clashing with the familiar language used for dialogues. It is thus yours to choose whether to regard Adele and Emma’s relationship as a normal day-today love story, or one of these passionate romances that can only exist in the world of the arts.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

ROLE MODELS ON TV

Culture

Are there any LGBT role models on television?

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BY LIZ HARRISON-KENDRICK

he representation of bisexuality and homosexuality in popular culture is limited, and often reverts to stereotypes – the idea of the “token” gay, the promiscuous gay man, the butch lesbian.

Heteronormativity is widespread, in everything from romantic comedies to dating shows: I challenge anyone to name a LGB romantic comedy. The few characters that do exist on television should be pretty subversive, but instead they’re often pigeonholed into types. The question then emerges: Are any of them worth being role models?

COSIMA NIEHAUS, ORPHAN BLACK Cosima is not only adorable as hell, she’s also a badass scientist.

She’s in a committed relationship with fellow science geek Delphine Cormier, and most importantly, her fellow clones aren’t bothered about her sexuality. It’s never made into an obstacle on the show, with only one character bringing it up casually “so, you’re gay.”

IRENE ADLER, SHERLOCK Some ambiguity lingers as to Irene’s sexuality. Despite her self-identification as a lesbian, she is clearly strongly sexually attracted to Sherlock, with Benedict Cumberbatch stating in a interview that the couple definitely got it on. It’s the writing of Adler that’s the problem: the one LGB character in Sherlock, and she’s shown as a promiscuous dominatrix. Showrunner Moffat has been accused of queer-baiting by fans, who cite both Adler’s sexuality and John’s frequent statements of “I AM NOT GAY!” CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS, DOCTOR WHO/ TORCHWOOD Ah, Captain Jack. A true gentleman who would cheerfully flirt with both the Doctor and his current companion, and who enjoyed relationships with both men and women (and indeed, several aliens), Jack Harkness showed a generation of children that it’s perfectly alright to be flirtatious, fun and gay, LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

as well as inspiring jealousy in thousands for his bromance with the Tenth Doctor. What’s less acceptable is actor John Barrowman’s recent incidence of trans-misogyny, using the term “tranny” with friends on the set of Arrow.

KURT HUMMEL, GLEE Viewers followed Kurt’s struggle with his sexuality, including coming out and his problems at school with closeted bully Dave Karofsky. Glee’s treatment of sexuality has taught teenagers how to cope with their sexualities, showing the importance of a creative outlet to help them cope – in this case, the Glee club.

LORAS TYRELL, GAME OF THRONES Loras is in a committed relationship with claimant to the Iron Throne, Renly Baratheon. Their relationship creates problems for them both, with Renly being forced to marry Natalie Dormer’s character, whilst Loras is betrothed to Queen Regent Cersei Lannister. Loras is sassy and genuinely loves Renly; and while he’s not promiscuous or ashamed of who he is, he is forced into stereotypes: he is known as the Knight of Flowers, and is overly concerned with his appearance.

OBERYN MARTELL, GAME OF THRONES Oberyn Martell is the bisexual TV character that the world has been waiting for. He swings both ways quite unashamedly, stating “everyone is missing half the world’s pleasure. The gods made that and it delights me. The gods made this and it delights me.” The only negative side to Oberyn - depending on your opinions - could be his predisposition to orgies, although this could be more due to showrunners desire to draw audiences.

Bisexuals are often perceived as “promiscuous,” something Oberyn’s orgies plays up to.

And as for that LGB romantic comedy: Imagine Me & You. Check it out.

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Culture

BIOWARE: BASTIONS OF GAMING EQUALITY

BY ALEX MEEHAN 22

Culture

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t’s unfortunate that the gaming industry has had such a turbulent history with the LGBT community. After all, the first ever inclusion of a homosexual in a videogame, for example, was a villainous lesbian in a text adventure PC game entitled Moonmist (1986). The character in question was bitter because her girlfriend had married a man…not a great start.

It didn’t really help matters that Nintendo, the most important gaming company during the late eighties and early nineties, were determined to keep their American audience free from any possible ‘cultural controversy’. Nintendo consistently censored any mention of homosexual, bisexual and trans matters in their games throughout this period.

Since then, LGBT representation has become a louder and louder vocal point within the industry. In recent years, games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) and Saint’s Row IV (2014) have encouraged a much more inclusive attitude towards LGBT matters. It’s a shame that companies like Nintendo of America still remain blind, when groundbreaking titles like Gone Home (2013) and The Last of Us (2013) continue to spread wide the net.

Which brings us to another large publishing company, Electronic Arts; whatever some might say about EA, they cannot deny that they’ve played a pivotal role in helping push LGBT rights. Having won an award for outstanding innovations in diversity this year, the company have established a name for themselves. This is in no small part thanks to their ownership and direction of Bioware; a company of developers renowned for their willingness to include a diverse cast of characters in all of their games. Their sci-fi Role-playing series Mass Effect (2007) for example, has received critical acclaim for its inclusion and portrayal of homosexuals and bisexuals. The ability to romance the alien doctor Liara Tsoni as a woman in the first game, sadly, caused some controversy, particularly over what was a fairly tame sex scene.

LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

Bioware’s other successful role-playing series; Dragon Age, has received possibly even more support for its inclusion of homosexual and bisexual characters. In the first game; Dragon Age: Origins (2009), the player was able to have relationships with the male elf Zevran and the bard Lelianna, regardless of gender. The most recent game in the series; Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014) includes the characters Dorian and Sera; both homosexuals, both treated with respect.

Perhaps the game’s greatest achievement, however, is its portrayal of the transgender character; Cremisius ‘Krem’ Alcassi. The process of Krem’s creation has been lovingly detailed in a blog posted on Bioware’s website by writer Patrick Weekes. Having been praised by the LGBTQ community in the past, the company featured on a LGBTQ panel at the PAX gaming convention a few years ago. The audience’s most popular request was ‘for representation of transgender and/or genderqueer characters in a way that did not make them either a monster or a joke.’ Weekes goes on to describe the many steps Bioware made to bring Krem to life; how his team aimed to place the character into an a role that fit, how they illustrated his body-language effectively, how they crafted Krem’s dialogue so that his trans-identity did not feel shoe-horned in or misrepresented. The feedback received by Bioware was overwhelmingly positive, with the gender-queer community commenting how pleased they were with Krem’s depiction.

This instance spells a change in the representation of the LGBT community in gaming. As Patrick Weekes explained: “The world of Dragon Age has room for people of all backgrounds and identities, and it was a pleasure to show that in one more way.”, a statement which will hopefully be echoed by many others.

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LGBT HISTORY MONTH 2015

WHAT’S GOING ON? LGBT HISTORY MONTH LAUNCH PARTY Wednesday 11th February - 8pm, The Bridge

Join us in The Bridge for the launch of our LGBT History Month magazine, musical performances and a free drink for the first 60 people to arrive.

FREE SCREENING OF PRIDE Sunday 15th February - 5pm, Union Films

BAFTA nominated film inspired by the true story of lesbian and gay activists in London raising money for families affected by the miners’ strikes.

JOIN THE RAINBOW! Tuesday 17th February - SUSU Concourse Come and add your handprint to our LGBT rainbow!

OTHER EVENTS FILM SCREENING - BEAUTIFUL THING Sunday 1st February - 7pm, 58/1007 FILM SCREENING - ROMEOS Thursday 5th February - 7pm, 58/1007 SOUTHAMPTON STONEWALL LECTURE Wednesday 11th February - 6pm, Avenue Campus L/T A FILM SCREENING - ANATOMY OF A LOVE SEEN Thursday 19th February - 7pm, 58/1007 FILM SCREENING - FRIDA Thursday 26th February - 7pm, 58/1007