In 2005, the world said farewell to Pope John Paul II and a new guy was chosen to look pretty in white. Now when Benedict XVI was elected it had been a pretty drunken week and I was recovering from the celebrations a friend of mine held for the wedding of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. We'd been to Windsor for the day, got a quick handshake with the bride and groom and then we returned to Kennington for a 2 day bender in which we drank everything but Mr Sheen. I stayed on a few days and as we enjoyed a cinzano and prepared for 'Flog It', the BBC announced white smoke had been seen coming out of the Vatican. My first thought was that someone had left their rock cakes in too long but the bells confirmed that the world had a new Pope, "Habeamus Papam" as the Latins have it. Maybe it was the spirit of the occassion, maybe it was the half bottle we'd downed but when we were introduced to Joseph Ratzinger we immediately started clapping and went on an hour-long session of handing out compliments to someone we'd only just been introduced to. In 2008, I can safely say that the compliments I handed out to the German Shepherd ("Look at his lovely little hat" not withstanding) were booze induced because during his papacy we have seen the Catholic Church simply reinforce it's hypocrisy.
My relationship with the Catholic Church is a rocky one. When I was about 13, I discovered the joys of Catholicism and I truly threw myself into it with heart and soul. I decided I would become a priest, more than that I wanted to be a Saint and I was absolutely determined to live by the rules of the Church. I attended Mass every single day before school at the local convent and I prayed the rosary religiously (no pun intended) with a very sincere belief that this was going to get me to heaven. Fast forward a few years and I accepted my homosexuality. I decided that I had to learn to live as a gay catholic and so after my weekly class of religious instruction on the RCIA scheme, I told the priest that I wanted more information on gay catholic organisations. The upshot of it was that he told me I was going to hell, the Church doesn't support any aspect of the gay lifestyle and that he would retract his letter to the Bishop recommending me for baptism.
Fast forward again to the 20 year old me and you find me converting to Judaism. I'm extremely comfortable in the local Jewish community who are accepting, welcoming and laid back when it comes to matters of sexuality, so I've switched off from the homophobia that is inherent in Catholicism. Homophobia is bad enough anywhere but when it's institutionalised and enforced in an organisation that has such a prevalence of gay priests and when there's no legitimate backing for the claims that homosexuality is an evil preference, it becomes intolerable. The Pope is currently on a visit to the United States, a country that has yet to bring in civil partnerships and that still has "Don't ask, don't tell" as a military policy which for those who don't know is the
dictat that gays can't openly serve in the American military. The Pope has apologised for the sexual abuse of minors in the American Catholic church and he's spoken of his great shame over the whole issue of paedophile priests. I applaud his comments but where is his apology to the LGBT community for his continued hypocrisy and double standards on homosexuality? Where is his great shame over that?
The Catholic Church's ruling on being gay comes from this little gem from the Torah; "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is an abomination". In the same chapter (Leviticus), the kosher dietary laws are clearly spelled out. Catholics in 2008 are still told that being gay is an abomination yet the Pope sits down to roast pork on a Saturday. If the Church still holds to the laws of Torah, then why do the Kosher laws not apply to Catholics? Why do they not apply to any Christian who uses Leviticus as a justification for the exclusion and condemnation of gay people? At no point in the New Testament does Christ say that gay people should be treated any differently to heterosexuals, indeed, his main message was to "Love thy neighbour as thyself". Well, a gay man is a Catholic's neighbour and the contempt the Catholic Church has for homosexuals clearly goes against the teachings of their prophet. You could play devil's advocate and say that Liberal Jewish communities are also hypocritical because of their acceptance of gay people despite Torah telling them to do otherwise but that's a matter for another time.
I respect every man's right to believe in his own God and to practise his own faith but what I don't respect and can never accept is the DIY religion that is Roman Catholicism. The institutional bigotry that it holds so dear is offensive and totally unacceptable in this modern age. It's also deeply hypocritical and needs just as big a change in Church policy as the neglect of dealing with sexual abuse because when the Church excludes anyone it directly contradicts the teachings of the man they call God. That to me is 100% ridiculous and any religious community that has that in it's foundations is headed for a fall. I am in no way suggesting that two men should be allowed to fuck each other on the altar on Palm Sunday, what I'm suggesting is that two men in a loving relationship should be allowed to stand side by side at the communion rail and be treated no differently to the man and woman behind them. The Pope could be going to the United States with a message to Mr Bush to end the homophobia inherent in his government but instead, the Pope is as big a hypocrite as Bush and that's why this papal visit will only be anything but a farce. Keep it glam gals. xXx
Showing posts with label Homophobia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homophobia. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Thursday, 10 April 2008
In your face...
So tonight I was watching 'Celebrity Come Dine with Me' (Yes, I'm single) and one of the contestants made a very blase comment about a fellow contestant which sent me on a voyage of philosophical thought. The fabulous Lynsey de Paul (Sugar me) was dining with the gorgeous blonde one from G4, Tamara Beckwith and a rapper from So Solid Crew. They all seemed to get on well and it was the usual reality-come-cookery fare on offer with most of them following the new Delia technique of buying dry old shit from Tesco and talking about it as if you've studied under Escoffier. In a break between courses, the marvellous Miss de Paul said, "When they said you were a rapper, I went 'Oh no!', I won't have anything to say to him" and then went on to say how he was very sweet and not at all as she'd expected. It got me to thinking; what is we swapper the word 'rapper' for the word 'gay'. I believe we'd be tapping into a fundamental basis for homophobia with the worry of differing cultures breeding ignorance. It's interesting that recently a chap on a forum I frequent has stated that he feels that if you dont 'accept' homosexuality then you're labelled a bigot, a closet gay or an extremist. Part of me agrees but part of me wonders what the alternative is and what exactly he's objecting to.
I could go into the whole "being gay is natural" and "we don't choose at birth" but those arguments have been done to death and I think most people who feel uneasy about gay people (I'm not talking the out and out bigots here) have legitimate reason, that reason being that they simply don't know how to approach the issue. Over the years I've learned that some people can only accept one type of gay man, that being the John Inman assexual stereotype, and so quite often I would tailor my personality to put people at ease. For example, very macho straight rugby players at school suddenly became adoring friends when I camped it up. Why? Because they felt they knew me and were comfortable. If one of their fellow breeders had suddenly said, "I'm queer", they would have freaked because the idea of 'one of them' slipping under the wire and potentially seeing them in the showers was too much to handle. People seem to be comfortable putting people in boxes and if they can do that well enough, they can then ignore those people they don't feel comfortable with. Why else would we have China town and the huge gay focal point that is Soho? The same goes for the sex industry. Put it in Soho backstreets and the rent boys popping off to an MPs seaside apartment don't exist. People can walk past Soho and ignore what they don't want to see whilst the people in Soho can seal themselves off and do what the like.
I'm not a frequenter of gay saunas but once I was talked into it as something I should experience. So off I went. A huge complex with swimming pools, jacuzzis, steam rooms and about 40 small dark rooms for guys to get to know each other. Condoms were free, attendants kept an eye on the proceedings and generally the place was clean and professional. But how many people know they exist? From the outside, Chariots is a health club. Inside there's a very active part of the gay community. A dear friend of mine who lives in Amsterdam recently sent me some gay mags from dear old Holland and the amazing thing was the advertisements for darkrooms. In Britain, we keep a Victorian view of sex that if we don't see it, it isn't happening. Perhaps because the gay community is more used to hiding away, the concept of darkrooms and sex on the Heath isn't so seedy or strange but rather it's a part of human sexuality. But darkrooms are just that - dark - and nobody from the outside world sees what you're upto unless you want them to. There are exhibitionists but they form a small part of the gay community and in no way should be confused with those who take part in pride parades. They aren't exhibitionists, they're simply proclaiming their gratitude and thanks for being able to be ourselves and they recognise that one can be open and proud without engaging in sexual acts on the street.
When it boils down to it, I believe that there's a fine line between showing off to deliberately make people feel intimidated and in showing pride just as there's a fine line between not understanding gay people and being a thuggish bigot. It's very similar to the immigrant communities and the way they've settled into London. By segregating themselves into communities, the Asian, African and Eastern Europeans in my local area have immediately raised a barrier between them and the natal residents of the community, whereas the Chinese, Indian and Afro-Carribean communities have integrated with ease and with flair. Everyone has a local Chinese takeaway, Chinese food markets are always bursting with English people experiencing new things and there simply isn't the divide that exists between people from Nigeria and people from Dagenham. We have African food markets and meeting points but instead of including and explaining what's on offer and making an effort to mix their culture with the pre-existing Essex culture, they've simply built walls around roads and claimed it for their own. The result? Modern ghettos. And Soho has always been a Ghetto in much the same way. The predominance of rainbow flags serves as a mark of territory and man's natural instinct is to challenge the territorial claim of his neighbours.
So what's the answer? So we stick a sex shop, darkroom and G-A-Y bar on every corner? No but we do need to open the doors of our community and if Mohammed refuses to come to the mountain, take the mountain to Mohammed. This year's London pride will stick to the same old route and the same people will take part. If the gay community wants to begin breaking down the divide that exists between the straight community and the gay community, we have to take pride to places like Dagenham. We have to get our voice heard in the local press and be a clear presence at local events like town shows and carnivals. We have to become a bigger presence in pubs and clubs instead of sticking to those we know we can pick up trade in. And if we do all those things without ramming our cause down people's throats, they'll come to see that although we unite in one community to tackle homophobia, we remain individuals who still live by the values of decency and politeness, tolerance and that all important motto of "the right thing at the right time". It's a case of give and take and I truly hope that in the future we begin to live as members of a national family rather than members of polar communities. End of sermon. Keep it glam gals. xXx
I could go into the whole "being gay is natural" and "we don't choose at birth" but those arguments have been done to death and I think most people who feel uneasy about gay people (I'm not talking the out and out bigots here) have legitimate reason, that reason being that they simply don't know how to approach the issue. Over the years I've learned that some people can only accept one type of gay man, that being the John Inman assexual stereotype, and so quite often I would tailor my personality to put people at ease. For example, very macho straight rugby players at school suddenly became adoring friends when I camped it up. Why? Because they felt they knew me and were comfortable. If one of their fellow breeders had suddenly said, "I'm queer", they would have freaked because the idea of 'one of them' slipping under the wire and potentially seeing them in the showers was too much to handle. People seem to be comfortable putting people in boxes and if they can do that well enough, they can then ignore those people they don't feel comfortable with. Why else would we have China town and the huge gay focal point that is Soho? The same goes for the sex industry. Put it in Soho backstreets and the rent boys popping off to an MPs seaside apartment don't exist. People can walk past Soho and ignore what they don't want to see whilst the people in Soho can seal themselves off and do what the like.
I'm not a frequenter of gay saunas but once I was talked into it as something I should experience. So off I went. A huge complex with swimming pools, jacuzzis, steam rooms and about 40 small dark rooms for guys to get to know each other. Condoms were free, attendants kept an eye on the proceedings and generally the place was clean and professional. But how many people know they exist? From the outside, Chariots is a health club. Inside there's a very active part of the gay community. A dear friend of mine who lives in Amsterdam recently sent me some gay mags from dear old Holland and the amazing thing was the advertisements for darkrooms. In Britain, we keep a Victorian view of sex that if we don't see it, it isn't happening. Perhaps because the gay community is more used to hiding away, the concept of darkrooms and sex on the Heath isn't so seedy or strange but rather it's a part of human sexuality. But darkrooms are just that - dark - and nobody from the outside world sees what you're upto unless you want them to. There are exhibitionists but they form a small part of the gay community and in no way should be confused with those who take part in pride parades. They aren't exhibitionists, they're simply proclaiming their gratitude and thanks for being able to be ourselves and they recognise that one can be open and proud without engaging in sexual acts on the street.
When it boils down to it, I believe that there's a fine line between showing off to deliberately make people feel intimidated and in showing pride just as there's a fine line between not understanding gay people and being a thuggish bigot. It's very similar to the immigrant communities and the way they've settled into London. By segregating themselves into communities, the Asian, African and Eastern Europeans in my local area have immediately raised a barrier between them and the natal residents of the community, whereas the Chinese, Indian and Afro-Carribean communities have integrated with ease and with flair. Everyone has a local Chinese takeaway, Chinese food markets are always bursting with English people experiencing new things and there simply isn't the divide that exists between people from Nigeria and people from Dagenham. We have African food markets and meeting points but instead of including and explaining what's on offer and making an effort to mix their culture with the pre-existing Essex culture, they've simply built walls around roads and claimed it for their own. The result? Modern ghettos. And Soho has always been a Ghetto in much the same way. The predominance of rainbow flags serves as a mark of territory and man's natural instinct is to challenge the territorial claim of his neighbours.
So what's the answer? So we stick a sex shop, darkroom and G-A-Y bar on every corner? No but we do need to open the doors of our community and if Mohammed refuses to come to the mountain, take the mountain to Mohammed. This year's London pride will stick to the same old route and the same people will take part. If the gay community wants to begin breaking down the divide that exists between the straight community and the gay community, we have to take pride to places like Dagenham. We have to get our voice heard in the local press and be a clear presence at local events like town shows and carnivals. We have to become a bigger presence in pubs and clubs instead of sticking to those we know we can pick up trade in. And if we do all those things without ramming our cause down people's throats, they'll come to see that although we unite in one community to tackle homophobia, we remain individuals who still live by the values of decency and politeness, tolerance and that all important motto of "the right thing at the right time". It's a case of give and take and I truly hope that in the future we begin to live as members of a national family rather than members of polar communities. End of sermon. Keep it glam gals. xXx
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