Out in Australia’s armed forces

While the United States only recently ended its Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy on gays in the military, Australia has allowed gay men and lesbians to serve openly since 1992.

Over the years, the Australian Armed Forces are becoming more and more socially accepting of those who are part of the queer community, active service people tell us. A tough battle for acknowledgment and equal treatment has finally resulted in a happier and healthier working environment.

Three service people of the armed forces who are members of DEFGLIS, the Australian Defence Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex information service, were kind enough to open up to Same Same about their time serving the sunburnt country thus far.

Born in Brisbane, Flight Lieutenant Nathan White (pictured above) has been in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) for just under a decade and hasn’t yet reached his highest potential. He tells us he has big plans for the coming years on the job.

White has wanted to fly since childhood, he explains. “I have since I flew the first time when I was seven years old and then I found out about Defence at about age 13 or 14, so I knuckled down, studied hard and got in.

“I did three years at university and then two years of flight training to get my wings. From there, operational conversion is six months. So, total that up and 5 ½ years later and you’re a qualified pilot,” he explains.

“I would like to be a flight commander. I think that would be really rewarding. I guess that’s my goal for the next five years with the next promotion.”

What if the royal baby turned out gay?

Just as marriage equality and gender equality have been pushed in recent times in Britain, parliamentarians are considering updating a law that would affect the royal family’s line of succession.

The parliament is debating a bill that will introduce legislation to allow the first-born child of Prince William and Kate Middleton to rule as monarch regardless of their gender. Labour MP Paul Flynn is now pushing for an extension to this new law to provide the same opportunity for a child if they become a gay or lesbian adult.

If Flynn’s own stance on the issue is taken seriously and becomes law, there may very well one day be an openly gay or lesbian ruler of the Commonwealth in a same-sex relationship with legal recognition as partners.

Pink News reports, “Any children born to the couple through artificial insemination or surrogacy would succeed to the throne so long as the couple are in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership.”

However, any children that may be adopted by the couple would not be illegible for succession based on current laws that MPs might not care to change.

First and foremost, the speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow would need to accept the amendment in order for a full debate to commence. As a strong supporter of LGBT rights, Pink News writes that it’s “almost certain” and “is expected to have the support of many Labour, Liberal Democrats and most Conservatives that back David Cameron’s plans to introduce same-sex marriage.”

In a similar move for a fairer ascension to the throne, the only remaining obstacle is altering the law so that royals could marry a Catholic, despite the religious and legal complexities of this issue. The royal monarch has been the Supreme Governor of the Church of England since the time of King Henry VIII, and the church are officially opposed to same-sex marriage.

Same Same wonders what Queen Lizzy II’s stance on all of this is…?

Originally published at SameSame on 24/01/2013

Gillard makes deal with Christian Lobby again

The Prime Minister has assured conservative faith-based institutions that they’ll still be able to turn away gays and lesbians under proposed new anti-discrimination laws.

Under current law, government funded religious schools and hospitals have the privilege to turn away teachers and students from their institutions for not sharing their beliefs.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Julia Gillard and her Labor Party cohorts met up with the head of the Australian Christian Lobby, Jim Wallace.

“She has no intention of restricting freedom of religion,” says Wallace in regards to the legal rights of religious groups when hiring and firing.

The PM previously promised Wallace she would protect the institution of marriage as being between a man and a woman, as discovered in a filmed interview prior to her election in 2010.

The NSW Government has made a submission to the Human Rights and Anti-discrimination Bill 2012that proposes that the current law remain intact, continuing to provide a religious exemption for institutions who wish to dismiss staff and students who don’t stand on the same moral ground.

Sydney MP Alex Greenwich has announced that he will write to the PM “seeking her justification for allowing publicly funded religious providers free-range to discriminate against groups including gay and lesbian Australians.”

“The Prime Minister has a duty to protect those affected by discrimination, not those practising it,” he says.

“By allowing hospitals and schools to practice discrimination, the Prime Minister is supporting breeding grounds for homophobia.”

Greenwich will also request that Gillard meet with any who are suffering “as a result of the discriminatory practices of tax-payer funded religious service providers.”

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon released the draft bill late last year and received more than 3,000 submissions in response. The bill will mesh together five separate pieces of legislation into a single Act, aiming to strengthen protections for sexual orientation and gender diversity under federal law.

Openly-gay federal Finance Minister Penny Wong will push the bill through parliament. Once the bill is passed, older LGBTI and gender diverse people will no longer be discriminated against and refused refuge in aged care homes based on their sexuality and gender orientation.

Jim Wallace has made the Australian Christian Lobby’s view clear, but a wide range of other religious denominations have not yet stated their position.

 

Originally posted at SameSame on 16/01/2013

Hating on NOH8

There seems to be an awfully large number of campaigns out there that are pushing for marriage equality and fighting against discrimination. But to me, they’re nowhere near as successful as they could be without whirlwind community action.

Take the internationally recognised NOH8 campaign for example. Featuring a bountiful amount of celebrities and well-known faces, they put on a little light makeup and jump in front of the camera for Adam Bouska. Whether it’s a finger to their lips, or a subtle f**k you stare into your soul, Bouska’s magic always fails to strike a chord here Down Under.

It really is a rarity that they’ll produce a portrait effective enough to move the butterflies that have fluttered together inside my stomach.

Their mission statement says, “The NOH8 Campaign is a charitable organization whose mission is to promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest.”

Without dissing the tragedy of America’s take on the English language, you’d be pushed to read between the lines that they actually do anything except take a few pretty pictures. Where’s the campaigning that ended in rioting? The protesting that had people physically fighting for what they believe in? People have taken refuge behind their glass computer screens and camera lenses in fear of taking any real action.

That there is where campaigning has gone awry, easily differentiated from those activists and political-shakers of yesteryear. NOH8 pins their breed of activism as a “photographic silent protest”, but please tell me what good being silent was for the community.

It may however have something that’s more to do with America’s shifting technological culture – hiding behind closed study doors as opposed to braving the streets for the good of the people. Thinking about the Rally for Marriage Equality that was held on November 25 at Sydney’s Town Hall, I’m always keen to participate in an event that encourages the use of our voices and marching bodies with the emphasis of the almighty megaphone.

Online petitions, ‘sharing’ a few Facebook photos or retweeting someone has become the nitty gritty of campaigning, though they’re relatively unsuccessful and unnoticeable in my eyes.

Being silent isn’t, and never will be, the key to a successful campaign. That much can be credited to our politicians and the newly elected President of the United States. To act boisterous and confident is definitely an Australian thing though – from the footy fields to the queerest of nightclubs, Aussies are the people that know how to use their tongues for good.

To new technology, I reject you – with the exception of my brand new iPhone 5. It’s all useless when you can always get off your arse and make a serious impact – way better than imprinting a dent on your vintage leather sofa.

Personally, I’m all for the wonders of new technology, but I’ll always prefer seeing a drag queen strut down George St to promote gender equality over photos plastered on the internet any day. That’ll get people talking. That’ll get the ball rolling. 

Super Awesome! filmmaking duo for marriage equality

It’s not just LGBTI filmmakers getting in on the crowdfunding craze – these two straight guys are hoping their Super Awesome film gets the green light to help promote marriage equality.

With actress Jane Turner of Kath & Kim fame volunteering her time and talents in support of the film project’s trailer, Australian actors Guy Edmonds and Matt Zeremes have come a long way in their ten years of mateship.

The two contemporary thespians first met when they starred in London and Australian productions of Holding the Man together back in 2002, delving into issues surrounding the love and death of two men with HIV, as based on Timothy Conigrave’s memoir.

They’ve dubbed their forthcoming musical comedy film Super Awesome! and have already been noticed in the USA in various media outlets – their trailer containing mock interviews with A-list celebrity interviewers such as Ellen and Graham Norton was an attention-grabber… there’s even Molly Meldrum.

Utilising crowdfunding giant Indie Gogo, they’ve described the film as “being about a couple of down and out buds, Mark and Gary, given one last shot of achieving their dreams.”

The two oddball characters in the movie are aiming to host the opening night of a massive international film festival on a budget of $250,000.

“It’s Rocky meets SuperBad set against the hilarious backdrop of two straight guys doing their best to write a musical about an issue they know nothing about – gay marriage,” they enthuse.

Speaking of something dear to him after he became close with a number of people following Holding the Man, Edmonds was recently interviewed by UK LGBTI news outlet Gay Star News, stating he thinks gay marriage is “one of the last great human rights issues facing the Western world’ but he and Zeremes decided to deal with it through ‘humour and entertainment as opposed to making a hard-hitting documentary.”

The two-person team has set a budget of $50,000 to be raised by December 31 this year so they can fly to England in January 2013 and commence filming of the final scene in London’s West End. Edmonds and Zeremes have already shot all the Australian scenes.

“The film speak about it’s [Marriage Equality’s] suckiness but does it through humour!”

Here’s hoping these two crazy cats have got some avid fans to help them reach their goal on time.

Watch the goofy trailer starring the actress behind your favourite curly-haired Aussie housewife by clicking here.

 

Originally posted at SameSame.com.au on 05/12/2012

“We’re in the midst of a gayby-boom”

“Kids with gay and lesbian parents are the result of long deliberation, careful planning, a bit of luck, and lots of love,” say Sydney filmmakers Maya Newell and Charlotte McLellan.

“But who are these children? And are they somehow different to other kids?”

Voiceless from the beginning, bar a passionate wail and whinge every now and then as all good babies do, children living in a household with same-sex parents are often left unheard – particularly when it comes to social issues that directly affect them, such as marriage equality and having parents of the same gender.

Over the past 12 months, two young Australians have teamed up with the attempt at providing a vessel through which children like them can finally get a word in.

Their film is to be titled Gayby Baby, a documentary that “will reveal the untold stories of kids in same-sex families and allow the rest of us to understand what it means to be raised culturally queer”.

Silly Billy

Those moments when you decide to throw yourself in the deep end for a better outcome in the long run…. Well, Ah McCain, I’ve done it again.

This time however will definitely be advantageous to my future welfare though. I’ve taken on three different editorial positions on top of regular paid work and my university studies, so I’ll be a busy bee this coming semester. I am awfully excited about one of the publications though. It’s titled Querelle and is an annual magazine that coincides with a university-based conference for queer-identifying people called Queer Collaborations. This year at the conference James Wilson and I put in a bid for UTS (my university; University of Technology, Sydney) to run the editing and creative process. Thankfully we won the bid and have now got an opportunity to let our ideas flourish in the public eye!

So, with a fleeting request, I’d love for people to contribute in any way they possibly can. It would be best if you were living in Australia to understand the bulk of content we wish to produce, but we’re looking for international talent as well to provide a voice of what’s happening around the world. 

We’re looking specifically for journalists, writers, artists and photographers to send in their work that is based around queer-identifying people, or illustrates an insight into queer issues. The magazine launch won’t be till July 2013, but we’re hoping to receive timeless submissions within the coming months so the editing process can get underway! If you’re keen and would love to ask any further questions or send in a submission, simply email querellemag@gmail.com

Can’t wait to read some bold and beautiful work focussing on the LGBTIQ community of Australia.

Regards,

Ryan

For those super tech-savvy among us…

SO, first I went out and got a twitter account.
And then I decided to get tumblr.

#winning in the world of social media.
New post in a few days.

Apologies. Almost lost the dream.

Yes, it’s clearly been a while since I last posted anything decent.

Excluding recipes and a few various rants, there’s been hardly any juicy content up here recently and for that I’m deeply sorry.

Motivation has been something missing from my life for a few months now.

I’m not sure whether it’s all this stress from University and work, but I’m feeling as if I’m now back on track with all those lovely dreams of mine.

I’ll try and start blogging again more frequently. I promise.

And just for those people wondering what I’ve been up to…

Nothing much. In all honesty, I’ve just been bumming around procrastinating on doing any uni work wherever and whenever possible.

However, I’ve got something to share with you all that’s made me a tad inspired again with life.

It’s the stars. I looked at them tonight and realised my insignificance on this big, beautiful, vast planet. It’s time that I work my butt off to become someone so that I achieve what I’ve always wanted.

So, off to bed for me, I’ve got uni again tomorrow. Uugh.

Best be trying to get some beauty sleep before tomorrow’s lecture.

Once again,
sorry.
Lots of love,
Ryan

P.S. I’m planning on writing a novel (and the plot shall remain a secret to you all).

Yeah, I like me some food.

1. Abalone
2. Absinthe (Prague, darlings, Prague)
3. Alligator
4. Baba Ghanoush
5. Bagel & Lox
6. Baklava
7. BBQ Ribs
8. Bellini
9. Birds Nest Soup
10. Biscuits & Gravy
11. Black Pudding
12. Black Truffle
13. Borscht
14. Calamari
15. Carp
16. Caviar
17. Cheese Fondue
18. Chicken and Waffles
19. Chicken Tikka Masala
20. Chile Relleno
21. Chitlins
22. Churros
23. Clam Chowder
24. Cognac
25. Crab Cakes
26. Crickets
27. Currywurst (Of course)
28. Dandelion Wine
29. Dulce De Leche
30. Durian
31. Eel
32. Eggs Benedict
33. Fish Tacos
34. Foie Gras
35. Fresh Spring Rolls
36. Fried Catfish
37. Fried Green Tomatoes
38. Fried Plantain
39. Frito Pie
40. Frogs’ Legs
41. Fugu
42. Funnel Cake
43. Gazpacho
44. Goat
45. Goat’s Milk
46. Goulash
47. Gumbo
48. Haggis
49. Head Cheese
50. Heirloom Tomatoes
51. Honeycomb
52. Hostess Fruit Pie
53. Huevos Rancheros
54. Jerk Chicken
55. Kangaroo
56. Key Lime Pie
57. Kobe Beef
58. Lassi
59. Lobster
60. Mimosa
61. Moon Pie
62. Morel Mushrooms
63. Nettle Tea
64. Octopus
65. Oxtail Soup
66. Paella
67. Paneer
68. Pastrami on Rye
69. Pavlova
70. Phaal
71. Philly Cheese Steak (only if Subway counts)
72. Pho
73. Pineapple & Cottage Cheese
74. Pistachio Ice Cream
75. Po’ Boy
76. Pocky
77. Polenta
78. Prickly Pear
79. Rabbit Stew
80. Raw Oysters
81. Root Beer Float
82. S’mores
83. Sauerkraut
84. Sea Urchin
85. Shark
86. Snail
87. Snake (Will never ever)
88. Soft Shell Crab
89. Som Tam
90. Spaetzle
91. Spam
92. Squirrel
93. Steak Tartare
94. Sweet Potato Fries
95. Sweetbreads
96. Tom Yum
97. Umeboshi
98. Venison (Yeah, I ate Bambi)
99. Wasabi Peas
100. Zucchini Flowers

Above is a list of 100 things that people are meant to have tasted before they kick the bucket. I’ve tried 49 of the 100 things on this list and am rather proud that I haven’t ever touched such foods as squirrel or snake meat. God forbid if I must ever eat an anaconda that isn’t made of gummi.

What have you tried? :]