March 10th, 2012
Diva’s childhood call not nunsense
Carmen Rupe 1936-2011
”I went home and told my mother, ‘I’d like to be a nun’. And she said, ‘Oh no, you can’t be a nun, dear, little boys don’t become nuns’.”
Campaigner … Carmen Rupe at home in Sydney. Photo: Edwina PicklesCarmen Rupe was a leading figure of the antipodean lesbian gay bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) community, known as much for her achievements in gay rights as for her flamboyant style and, in later years, her brightly decorated sidewalk scooter. She was many things in her life: a Maori farm boy who dreamt of being a nun; embattled, self-described drag queen and victim of police brutality; exotic snake dancer; cafe and brothel owner; mayoral candidate; well-loved bon vivant.
She was born Trevor Rupe on October 10, 1936 in Taumaruni, New Zealand, the fourth of 13 children to John Edward Rupe, a farmer, and Elsie Kahukete Wilson, who taught first aid.
It was clear to Trevor early on that her gender identity did not match her assigned sex. In a 2010 documentary, Rupe told filmmaker Lucy Hayes she was fascinated by the nuns at school. ”I went home and told my mother, ‘I’d like to be a nun’. And she said, ‘Oh no, you can’t be a nun, dear, little boys don’t become nuns’.”
December 24th, 2011
Australian Psychological Society urges support of gay marriage as beneficial to mental health (2011-12-23)
澳洲心理學會支持同性婚姻, 認同同性婚姻促進同志心理健康. 較早前美國心理學會已發表相同立場.
Psychologists urge support of gay marriage as beneficial to mental health (The Australian, 2011-12-23)
by: MILANDA ROUT
From: The Australian
December 23, 2011 12:00AM
THE Australian Psychological Society has urged federal parliamentarians to change the law to allow same-sex marriage on the grounds of mental health and wellbeing.
The body, which represents 20,000 psychologists across the country, yesterday urged a change in the Marriage Act, citing evidence that marriage is beneficial for an individual’s mental health and that harm is caused by social exclusion and discrimination.
The APS is the latest entrant into the political debate over same-sex marriage, which will resume when Labor MP Stephen Jones introduces a private member’s bill into parliament in February for marriage equality.
Labor’s national conference this month controversially passed Julia Gillard’s motion to allow a conscience vote on same-sex marriage, with the focus of the debate now shifting to the Coalition.
Tony Abbott is expected to come under pressure over the summer, after he rejected calls by frontbenchers Malcolm Turnbull and Simon Birmingham for a conscience vote on the issue.
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The frontbenchers say the Coalition has always been allowed to participate in conscience votes in the past, but the Opposition Leader says the Coalition will not change its election policy, which stipulates that marriage is between a man and a woman.
APS president Simon Crowe said the society was following in the footsteps of its US counterpart, the American Psychological Society, which backed same-sex marriage in August.
“Decades of psychological research provides the evidence linking marriage to mental health benefits, and highlighting the harm to individuals’ mental health of social exclusion,” he said. “The APS supports the full recognition of same-sex relationships, on the basis of this evidence.”
Australian Marriage Equality spokesperson Rodney Croome welcomed the statement.
“The APS statement sends a clear message to all federal MPs: if you support better mental health outcomes for Australian families then you must support marriage equality,” he said.
“It shows marriage equality is not an abstract issue but a reform that will have concrete benefits for a significant number of Australians.”
December 10th, 2011
Marriage remains sacred even if gays are allowed in
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Marriage remains sacred even if gays are allowed in
Joseph Wakim
December 8, 2011 – 6:43AM
Opinion
Religious rejection of same-sex marriage is wrong.
The empowerment of ”people of the rainbow” need not represent Armageddon for ”people of the book”.
I dreaded the vision of a rabbi, cardinal and mufti standing shoulder to shoulder to block the prospective passage of same-sex marriage laws by the Australian federal parliament.
I dreaded even more the abandonment of the Catholic voice left to fly the monotheistic flag alone.
Theologically, Jews, Christians and Muslims share a homogenous heterosexual definition of marriage, based on their sacred scriptures and their human interpretations.
In much of the heated online chats about this issue, I sensed a vindictive tone against Christians, blamed for centuries of homophobia, blamed for condemning fellow humans to a loveless life and lonely death, blamed for blaming fellow humans for their sexual orientation, blamed for playing judgmental god but neglecting godly compassion. The temperature is so high that Christians are better off praying rather than saying, otherwise they will be spat out like popcorn in boiling oil.
For those making most noise about this issue, it is a no-brainer. It has been successfully rebranded as a question of voting yes for equality and no to discrimination. It has been couched in a string of historic human rights struggles for minorities, be they black, indigenous or disabled. There are no logical counter-arguments, and anyone who dares will risk being rendered an endangered minority.
The debate is not about what the religious institutions can and cannot do. Their status and sanctity of marriage remains sacred and untouched. They can ”value add” to the marriage certificate that is issued by the state.
In churches, synagogues and mosques, marriage is far more than a civil union. It is a holy sacrament, with a divine blessing. It is not just a vow between two but three entities, including God. Anyone who has ever attended religious wedding ceremonies will be aware that it is steeped in rich layers of tradition, rituals, symbols, liturgy and songs. These sacred aspects may explain why ”people of the book” are precious about the word marriage, and prefer that it be reserved and patented exclusively for religious ceremonies.
The religious value-adds do not render their marriages more fail-proof. Pre-marriage classes are increasingly compulsory to test the lifelong commitment ”until death do us part” before it is made.
Standing in the path of these laws on religious grounds is neither courageous nor moral. It is foolish. For a start, most of those supporting law reform are heterosexual. For those who have dared to juxtapose the law of God against the proposed law of the land, their weak arguments and ”thou shalt not” quotations have reinforced the black-and-white backwardness of ”people of the book”, rather than the universal and embracing love that emanates from the creator.
For example, Jesus literally embraced many marginalised minorities in his short life, such as prostitutes, tax collectors, Roman soldiers and lepers. How can we be so sure that he would not have embraced others of pure heart? When challenged by Pharisees about the law of Moses and ”it is written”, Jesus often redefined priorities and proclaimed new laws, such as love prevailing over the 10 commandments. How can we be so sure that he would have drawn the line in the sand about marriage?
Even Jesus respected and accepted the laws of the Roman Empire, but asked his followers to give to God what is God’s. The healthy separation of ”church” from state means that citizens have the right to obtain two marriage certificates, one from church and one from state. They can choose to observe all the sacraments of their faith, such as baptism, bar mitzvah and male circumcision, and the state does not interfere. The state can choose to expand its definition of marriage, and the clergy should not interfere. After all, it is becoming a decision of conscience.
In an age where defactos, affairs and divorces are on the rise, it is ironic that marriage is sought by those who ”bat for the other team”.
I recently saw a neighbour whose partner died. When I shared my story about my wife and being a widower, it was clear that there was no ”other team” when it came to things that mattered most. Who was I to judge or dismiss his profound pain as a fellow human being?
Like creation, none of us are born black and white. Even us people of the book should step aside for the rainbow to reign, and love to reign over fear, and leave the rest to conscience and the creator.
Joseph Wakim is a freelance writer. He is a former Victorian multicultural affairs commissioner.
© 2011 SMH
June 6th, 2011
Gay safe sex ads in Brisbane reinstated after uproar by Christian lobby group
Source: Fridae.com
The “Rip & Roll” safe sex campaign posters which feature a real-life gay male couple in an embrace will be reinstated across Brisbane bus shelters after it became clear the complaints were part of a concerted campaign by the Australian Christian Lobby.
ABC reported on Jun 1:
Ad company Adshel has reinstated a safe sex campaign for gay couples after it became clear a barrage of complaints about the ads were orchestrated by the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL).
Michael O’Brien (left), 25, and his partner of six years, Anthony, were selected to appear for the Queensland Association of Healthy Communities in an advertisement about safe sex for gay men. Download poster. A Facebook page created by O’Brien had attracted over 50,000 ‘Likes’ on Wednesday. Jun 1.
The bus shelter poster campaign spruiking the message “rip and roll”, features a gay couple hugging while holding a condom packet.
The offending ads were taken down from around Brisbane yesterday after Adshel, Brisbane City Council and the Advertising Standards Bureau received 30 complaints about the ads.
But the ads’ removal also caused an uproar on social media sites, with many furious the posters were brought down.
In a statement issued this afternoon, Adshel said many of the complaints were part of an ACL campaign, and that it has reinstated the ads.
“It has now become clear Adshel has been the target of a coordinated ACL campaign,” Adshel chief executive Steve McCarthy said.
“This has led us to review our decision to remove the campaign, and we will therefore reinstate the campaign with immediate effect.”
Read full story on ABC here.
Queensland Association for Healthy Communities:
Rip & Roll – Queenslanders Stand Up to Australian Christian Lobby
Media Release 1st June 2011
Healthy Communities Welcomes the Return of ‘Rip & Roll’ and Thanks Our Supporters
Healthy Communities welcomes the decision of Adshel to reinstate the ‘Rip & Roll’ campaign to bus shelters across Brisbane with immediate effect.
In a statement released today, Adshel CEO Steve McCarthy stated “It has now become clear that Adshel has been the target of a coordinated ACL campaign. This has led us to review our decision to remove the campaign and we will therefore reinstate the campaign with immediate effect.”
“We thank Adshel for coming to the correct decision and look forward to working with them in this and future sexual health campaigns” said Paul Martin, Healthy Communities Executive Director.
“We’d also like to thank the tens of thousands of supporters who lent their voice, mainly via Facebook and Twitter, to getting the adverts reinstated. Special appreciation must also go to Michael and his partner who appear in the advert and have been such great advocates for the gay community.”
“The response to the removal of the campaign shows that the overwhelming majority of Queenslanders support the need for sexual health promotion, support the gay community and reject stigma and discrimination.”
Complaints about the ‘Rip & Roll’ campaign are still to be assessed by the Advertising Standards Bureau in the coming week.
Read the Media Release from Adshel
Healthy Communities executive director: Campaign to have the ads removed was about trying to have gay people “erased from the public sphere”
Healthy Communities executive director Paul Martin said it was disheartening that Adshel had buckled so quickly to the complaints and the response to the Facebook page had shown the people who complained were in the “extreme minority”.
“Those of us who have been around fighting HIV in Queensland for a while will remember this kind of reaction from days gone by. We certainly don’t expect it in 2011.” Martin was quoted as saying on news.com.au.
He said the campaign to have the ads removed was about trying to have gay people “erased from the public sphere”.
Related Links
June 6th, 2011
Parliament passes Brodie’s law on bullying
Justine Longmore, ABC with Yahoo!7 May 31, 2011, 5:57 pm
Source: AU.News.yahoo.com
The Victorian Parliament has just passed historic anti-bullying legislation called Brodie’s law.
Workplace bullies across the state will now face up to 10 years in jail under changes to stalking laws introduced by state parliament today.
Brodie Panlock, 19, took her own life in 2006 after enduring daily bullying from colleagues at a Hawthorn cafe where she worked.
Four men were convicted and fined between $10,000 and $45,0000 each, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The owner of the cafe was fined $220,000.
The teenager’s death has prompted the amendment to the state’s stalking laws, known as Brodie’s law.
The change will mean serious workplace and online bullies can be sent to jail for up to 10 years.
The teenager’s mother, Rae Panlock has welcomed the criminalisation of bullying.
“You can’t play with people’s minds and treat them like that and expect not to have some serious consequences,” Mrs Panlock said.
“I think it sends a clear message that bullying is a cowardly act, and it won’t be tolerated and if you’re going to engage in this sort of behaviour, you’ve got the consequences of ending up in jail.”
Children who use online social networking sites to seriously harass or torment could also be punished under the change, although those under the age of 10 cannot be brought before a criminal court.
Ms Panlock jumped off a building in 2006 following months of persistent torment at the Hawthorn cafe.
She was both physically and verbally abused.
A court heard the co-workers even offered her rat poison after they had discovered her attempt at suicide.
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