Farewell to Gay Sydney--For Now

Sydney, Australia
Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz
November 21, 2009

Saying good-by to this remarkably intelligent city is tinged with sadness for me. For a gay person to live or visit, it doesn't get much better than here.

The LGBT community is vitally alive in virtually every fabric of daily life, from the highest reaches of government (gay deputy mayor) to the frenetic dance clubs on Oxford Street to the highly visible HIV-prevention campaign of ACON to the presence of former high court justice Micheal Kirby launching a country-wide outreach program for LGBT Alzheimer's patients. A recent guest in town, hosted by ACON, was the 'gay prince' Manvendra from India who held various forums in several cities including Sydney to present his work at home on behalf of his fellow LGBT citizens in Gujurat state.

There are organizations for religious, sports, political, artistic and countless other lifestyle interests. Sex is an undercurrent that infuses life here and it is not a nightshade issue. There are legal gay sex clubs here for that specific purpose. Instead of hiding carnal desire underground or into risky places the club owners--and the authorities--have created these safe and acknowledging venues where condoms and conversation are available along with up-to-date information for the newly out guy and about HIV and safer sex.

This harbor city is blessed with one of the world's most beautiful coastal terrains of bluffs and beaches that stretch for miles, each with a village with food shops and promenades for strolling under palm trees along the azure blue waters--with the usual fine lifeguards.

It's a place any LGBT person could live peacefully, safely and within a rich community spirit.

Gay Life Way Down Under - Tasmania

Richard Ammon - GlobalGayz.com
Hobart, Tasmania, November 9, 2009

Gay life is everywhere, as we know, even here in Tasmania.

Some people think of this place as some remote Africa country hardly worth mentioning. But they couldn't be more wrong. Tasmania is Australia's southernmost state, off the south coast of the continent and separated by treacherous seas. But flying in from Sydney is a smooth trip on JetStar Airlines into the modest and tidy airport. Immediately a visitor notices how friendly folks are here--even if recalcitrant legislators here were the last in Australia to acknowledge the presence and legitimacy of homosexuality.

Now, a few short years later it has the best school anti-homophobia programs, Anti-discrimination Act and same-sex relationship laws in the country, all with public support. In 2004 Tasmania became the first Australian State to establish a civil union scheme for samesex and other couples.

The state tourism agency produces a 31-page brochure specific for LGBT visitors (www.discovertasmania.com) with a full history of the struggle for rights and a complete listing of all venues.

Hollywood gossip provided Tasmania with its most famous queer citizen, film idol Errol Flynn of the 1940s and 50s. Famously, one director shouted at Errol: ‘Stop acting like a goddam faggot, you no-good Tasmanian, bum, son-of-a-bitch.’ In this on-set outburst, Michael Curtiz, director of Flynn’s first Hollywood hit, Captain Blood, summed up two major themes of Errol’s life: his Tasmanian origins and his reputed bisexuality. In his autobiography, Flynn reflected happily on trips into the wilderness with his biologist father, Theodore, trapping native animals like the now extinct Tasmanian tiger.

By coincidence, our arrival in 2009 coincided with the annual TazPride Festival, this year from 31 October to 15 November. For this, the GLC Centre produced a 35-page program of events stretching over two weeks, with the state tourism office as one of the major sponsors. Tassie has come a long way in a few short years. TazPride events include a Halloween party, concerts, film festival, family picnic, dances, story telling, radio propgrams and Divine Divas.

In addition to the special events during the Festival, the gay community in Hobart has groups and organizations that offer legal advice services, youth counseling, women's groups, hiking club, social organizations such as Human Rights Week, Coming Out Proud Program and the annual Rainbow Award event--as well as a bar (Flamingos), a gay friendly cafe (Fresh), and accommodations (Huon Bush Retreat).

Overall, gay life is quietly alive here. At a gay day picnic (part of the 2-week gay TazFest) about 50 people showed up for a friendly folksy afternoon of events one might expect at a town fair: pet dog showing, a three-legged race, a drag dressing contest, a potato-sack race and a purse-throwing competition (won by a lesbian) along with tasty lentil burgers, hot dogs, numerous babies and curious neighbors who lived by the Parliament Oval park venue.

As one picnic-goer said, "we used to be more active and vocal but now that they've made us legal there's not much to fight for", referring to the decriminalization of homosexual behavior in 1997. Gay marriage is a far off dream as is full equality. "But we have it pretty good here. People don't hide but we don't have a parade either. There are no grinding issues."

Love Among the Ruins: USA, an Indian Prince, Love & HIV

Richard Ammon - GlobalGayz.com
November 4, 2009
Sydney, Australia

While America was limping from the loss of two important marriage-rights elections (New Jersey and Maine), across the globe in India there was a cause for celebration of sorts.

Prince Manvendra Gohil, the famous ‘gay Prince’ from Rajpipla state in the western Gujarat area of India announced last night to an audience in Sydney that he had found his “soul mate”. Addressing a forum sponsored by ACON, Australia’s largest community-based LGBT health and HIV/AIDS organization.

During the two-hour conference, Manvendra answered many questions to put him from Andy Quan of ACON and from an attentive audience about his personal life and his HIV charity work in his home state. Some questions focused on his history as the only royal personage to come out as gay, in 2005, and his subsequent rejection and acceptance by his family, the media and the people in his ‘realm’. (His family has headed Rajpipla state for over 600 years and Manvendra is the 39th heir in line to that throne. His father is the current maharaji.)

Manvendra told how he suffered a nervous breakdown and was forced into an unwanted marriage (that failed) as he was coming to terms with his sexual orientation. Fortunately, he said, he was ‘saved’ by two important authoritative figures who helped him to see his sexuality as normal and as something not to hide from. “I was very fortunate in the hospital because my doctor completely understood my condition and told me there was nothing wrong with me... that I was normal and that homosexuality was an acceptable variety of human sexuality...he saved my life.”

The other person of deep influence for the prince was Ashok Row Kavi, India’s bold, colorful and articulate gay rights activist who led the gay movement out of darkness in the 1980s and 90s and is now in Delhi working for UNAIDS, and is still a major spokesperson for LGBT India.

“I love Ashok,” said Manvendra during the forum held at Paddington Town Hall, “he gave me the courage to come out of my closet and be proud of myself. He was my ‘mother’ and nurtured me—he still inspires me.”

The audience applauded the prince’s continuing boldness in spreading the message of gay rights and advocating for LGBT health care in a huge homophobic complex country through his charity work with the Lakshya Trust that he started in 2000.

Lakshya project manager Sylvester Merchant (left in photo) accompanied the Prince and responded to numerous questions about the health and education efforts of the Trust that especially targets MSM at risk people (including truck drivers) many of whom are marginalized or hidden from mainstream health and education in India. Lakshya also welcomes and supports another stigmatized population, the hijras, transgender/transvestites who live outside mainstream society.

Manvendra described a perspective that hijras have played a important symbolic role in his state’s cultural history going back over hundreds of years. “They have been considered as ‘auspicious’ personages” with special powers of wisdom and blessedness at such ceremonies as weddings and births. “So we welcome them and we make sure they have their own programs at Lakshya.”

As the questions opened for the audience, it was inevitable that the question would be asked about his own romantic life. One questioner cautiously asked the Prince if he had a significant other, with the rejoinder that of course the Prince did not have to answer.

With a wide smile and sparkling eyes and without dropping a beat, the Prince took the microphone said “I will answer that question, gladly. I have met someone recently within the past few months and I can say I have found my soul mate,” to which the audience responded with a hearty round of cheerful applause.

It was a special moment for all, to hear this brave and vulnerable royal of high bearing—once isolated by his status and sexuality-- offering his shared happiness and humanity with very supportive like-minded others who know well the difficulty of finding love and compassion in a homophobic world.

It was an evening of courage, wisdom and truth telling. As Manvendra said toward the end, there is a Hindi saying “Truth always prevails”.

Aslso see:
Global Forum on MSM
APCOM (Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health)
(The Prince is on the Board of APCOM)