11/4/2002: Gay Games open

[Nic Name]

Gay Games, Gray Games, the Aussies keep rollin' after the 2000 Olympics.

[juju]

Originally posted by lawman
You don't see the 'caucasian games' or 'hetrogames'. There is nothing stopping either of the two afore mentioned groups from partaking in mainstream athletic competition.

Caucasians and heterosexuals haven't been abused and ostracised like gays have been. Gays need to do these sort of things to reinforce their own community, sometimes the only community that will accept them.

[jaguar]

Should be in melbourne, we've got the highest rate of same sex couples in the world. I donno it all seems silly to me, madi gras etc fine but do we need a seperate everything for every bloody minority? I mean you're not going to find much antigay sentiment here (even one of our high court judges in openly gay and works for gay rights) and europe is equally if not more liberal and most of asia doesn't give a damn i mean it seems a tad pointless. On the other hand someone needs to make use of the billions in infrastructure sydney built.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by Zorg
Perhaps it would be better to communicate the idea that not all homosexuals are potential child-molestors who talk with a lisp.

Well, the drag queen in the picture is neither molesting children nor lisping. I'm assuming he's a DQ as opposed to a transvestite based on the rather overboard makeup job.

GLBT folks have their own events because mainstream culture is still pretty oppessive. There's one hell of a big gap between "not finding much anti-gay sentiment" and having a space where it not only physically *safe* to be queer, but where various forms of queerness are actually routinely accepted.

[jaguar]

Is there still much? Really? I'm mean pubicly its not going to be tollerated, lots of guys are a bit but thats just insecurity and generally predictable male behaviour, i'd say 1/5 at most. Its no PC, its not accepted i'd somehow doubt at something like the olympics it'd be tollerated at all. The only guys i can think of that are actually antigay as such are military types

[elSicomoro]

Sadly, there is still quite a bit of anti-gay sentiment in this country...the 90s helped usher in more tolerance, but the hate is still there. Just less overt...like racism.

[Nic Name]

the gay world according to Jag

I'm mean pubicly its not going to be tollerated ...

So long as you keep it in yer pants laddies. No, not you ladies!

[Zorg]

Originally posted by MaggieL

Well, the drag queen in the picture is neither molesting children nor lisping. I'm assuming he's a DQ as opposed to a transvestite based on the rather overboard makeup job.

GLBT folks have their own events because mainstream culture is still pretty oppessive. There's one hell of a big gap between "not finding much anti-gay sentiment" and having a space where it not only physically *safe* to be queer, but where various forms of queerness are actually routinely accepted.

The point I'm trying to make is that holding "Gay Games" set apart from simple mainstream events like the Olympics, all the organizers are doing is promoting the factionalism and tribalism that prevents mainstream acceptable of gays and lesbians. Think about what Joe Sixpack sees when he hears about the 'Gay Games' and sees some crossdressing skater? Does he thing "Gee, homosexuals are human beings, just like me."? Or does he think "Damn queers are a bunch of deviants"?

I think it's better that homosexuals be accepted as fellow human beings, rather than being accepted as strange aberrations.

[TenderMuffin]

> Caucasians and heterosexuals haven't been abused and ostracised like gays have been.

you don't play basketball, do you?

[juju]

No, I hate sports. :)

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by jaguar
Is there still much? Really?

Yes.

And "insecurity typical male behavior" is hardly an excuse. God, listen to yourself: "Well, there really isn't *much*, it's not done in public, and of course boys will be boys, they're just insecure..." .

No, it isn't done in public in the West, they just find your body in the morning. Not to mention the other countries where you can be publically executed for being queer.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by Zorg
The point I'm trying to make is that holding "Gay Games" set apart from simple mainstream events like the Olympics, all the organizers are doing is promoting the factionalism and tribalism that prevents mainstream acceptable of gays and lesbians.

Oh, it's <b>factionalism</b> that prevents the mainstrem from accepting queer folk! And here I thought it was homophobia. Silly me, I should have realized it was just those damn queers being factionalist...obviously it's their fault. Why can't they just be normal and blend in like everybody else?

Think about what Joe Sixpack sees when he hears about the 'Gay Games' and sees some crossdressing skater?...I think it's better that homosexuals be accepted as fellow human beings, rather than being accepted as strange aberrations.

Well, I would imagine that offering that one image as representative of the games was done by a Joe Sixpack photo editor. There's no shortage of normal-looking athletes at the Games, but that's not interesting to Joe, and doesn't sell any papers.

When gay pride events occurr in SF, manstream press coverage is guaranteed to include 1) The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who rollerskate in nuns habits, 2) the NAMBLA contingent, who have since been disinvited from the parades, 3) the leather afficionados. Queer folks just being people isn't worthy of coverage. Those of us in the <a href="http://www.pinkpistols.org">Pink Pistols</a> locally have gotten a fair amount of press being photographed shooting at things, with emphasis on our female members....lesbians with guns has serious erotic potential for some guys.

[Beletseri]

I dunno, there is just something endearing about a drag queen.

[warch]

A tale of closed closets in the NFL locker room....

[jaguar]

Reality check. Any minority anywhere is going to get a bit of persecution. Simple as that. People fear things they don't understand or are not familiar with, doesn't matter whether its the chess club, gays, furries, white bball players the list is endless. I think the short and sweet of it is get the fuck over it. From what I’ve seen gay bashings now are about as common as KK killings and other extremists movements, that is not going to change and I think zorg does have a point that establishing separate events where it is highly debatable they are needed does alienate people which certainly is not going to help. There is a huge difference between a bit of insecurity and killing people. One of my best friends is a lesbian, she’s been abused verbally for PDAs in public by strangers, big deal, anyone who stands out and is different is going to cop crap, I’m sure we all have at one point in our lives or another.