File this one under “Things I Don’t Expect At 46”.

I was in a business meeting recently when someone referred to my work with the line: “It’s just… gay.”

I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. I suddenly felt like I was a teenager being called faggot in school. I felt angry. I felt like I’d been personally insulted. I felt voiceless and without recourse. I suddenly felt like the outsider. Read the full story

Recently, very out-of-the-closet and very outspoken actor Sir Ian McKellan slammed professional sports players, organizations, fans and the overall establishment for being homophobic. He made his comments on a BBC radio show a few weeks after Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas came out of the closet.

In the interview, when it comes to homosexuality, McKellan said that sports stars “become little shrinking violets because they’re afraid, probably, of being booed from the terraces, and that must be a horrible experience and shame on people who do it.” While some people might think he’s making queer political hay, he’s actually right on point with his point. Professional sport has a long, rich history of flagrant gay bashing and homophobia and it shows no signs of backing down. To wit: Read the full story

I really wanted cha cha heels er I mean motorcycle boots for X-Mas!

I have been a busy title holder, and as such have not been blogging as much as I would like. So I will attempt a sort of title holder update before getting into the point of this post.

Firstly, we have decided upon our charity for MLT for 2010. We will be raising funds for the LGBT Youthline. This was my first choice, because I think investing time and energy into young people who are just entering or have yet to enter the queer community is something that is incredibly important. By teaching young people self worth and helping them build confidence and creating postive experiences for them regarding the queer community, we make them stronger members. We create the kind of young people who will be volunteers and community leaders. I look forward to what will surely be an amazing partnership over the comming year.

AND (another shameless plug): MLT will be having our first fundraiser of the year on the 2nd of January. We will be holding a Bottle Drive outside the Church St Beer Store just south of Wellsley. We will be collecting bottles and donations all proceeds going towards Youthline. So round up all your empties from New Years and bring em down for a good cause! Special thanks to Devin Thompson Mr Leather Fellowship 2010 who spear headed this iniative.  And as an added bonus there will be complimentary hot chocolate gratiously provided by Northbound Leather!

And now a quick musing on the closet. I have been home since monday for the Christmas holidays. And let me just say its been an incredibly strange experience. I love getting to see so many people I don’t get a chance to see very often. But at the same time I hate having to lie about so much. My extended family doesn’t know I’m a total homo, or atleast we don’t discuss it. And as such all things that stem from me being a total mo have to be covered up. So as far as they know I work in a video store…. (not a complete out and out lie). BUT they don’t know pretty much anything about my writing or MLT and such. When I worked at the tubs I was a bus boy as far as they were concerned. So much of my accomplishments can not be discussed. And even if they knew that I am gay, they still wouldn’t be able to handle the level of my faggotry. So I sit there while they give me sad eyes because they think my life has gone to nothing, and wonder if the city chewed me up and is about to spit me out. I just smile and nod. Such an odd experience to say the least. But tonight I head back to Toronto and those 2 days of extended family don’t return until next Christmas….

The MLT Bottle Drive : A Fundraiser for Youthline will take place on January 2nd all day outside the Church Street Beerstore across from the 519.

When horrible things happen, we react on an emotional level triggered by our perception of the event based on our experiences. Sometimes it’s a global event like a war or terrorist attack or economic meltdown. Sometimes it’s a local event that galvanizes our community.

The past couple of weeks have seen an outpouring of emotions triggered by a very disturbing event that took place on a dark and desolate corner in downtown Toronto. The reaction to this event was quick – and very complex: fear, anger, sorrow and confusion to name a few. Read the full story

A warning: This post plays into stereotypes of both gay and straight men.  I really don’t care. 

I remember watching the news last Sunday night, when a picture of murder victim Christopher Skinner came on the screen, and thinking “he was gay”.  Sure enough, I woke up to media reports about a gay man being beaten and run over by a SUV.  His friends and family immediately questioned whether this was a hate crime.  I am never one to jump to conclusions, so I was skeptical.  That was before the family released more pictures.  That was before we learned that he lived with his fiancé and their dog, Lucy.  That was before the prime suspect was described as wearing a black undershirt and having a “military style haircut”.  There’s little doubt in my mind now; if this incident didn’t start as a hate crime (it probably did),  the driver knew he was killing a queer man.

 Chris’ funeral was Thursday.  According to the Star, his sister spoke of all of the silliness the two of them got up to and his friend said that he was the life of the party.  To be clear, I never met Chris.  Two images come to mind though; him and his sister dancing around the living room, and a guy who couldn’t go ten minutes on Pride Sunday without being hugged.  All of the pictures of Chris show an attractive, well dressed, well groomed man: a gay man.  This wasn’t a “masculine”, “straight acting” guy.  This was an out-and-proud gay man.  I know it, you know it, and his killers knew it.  I can’t understand why the police aren’t naming what is obvious.

 Like many of you, I am attending the vigil for Chris in the village tonight.  I already know I will end up crying and have been reflecting on why over the weekend.  After  all, I’m a news junky; murders never affect me.  The answer is painfully simple; I look at the pictures of Chris and I see my friend K.F.’s poise, D.S. calling himself princess, S.W.’s often changing hair colour.  I see me.  I don’t want to take away from Chris’ death and the hell his family is going through.  The reality though is I’ve been reminded of how vulnerable we are all as gay men.  My biggest hope is that Church Street is mobbed tonight.  Together, we can say that homophobia is not tolerated in our city. 

 One of my heroes, Scottish poet Robert Burns, wrote:

 Then let us pray that come it may
(as come it will for a’ that)
That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth
Shall bear the gree an’ a’ that
For a’ that an’ a’ that
It’s coming yet for a’ that
That man to man, the world o’er
Shall brithers be for a’ that.

 Let it be.  Let it be. 

On the tails of the news that our fair city of Toronto has been named the host of World Pride 2014, terrible news began to spread through word of mouth and the internet. In the early hours of Sunday the 18th, Chris Skinner, a 20 something gay man was attacked and then run over by a group of men in a black SUV. He was taken to hospital and died of his injuries shortly there after. You can read all about the details here, including if you have any information which may help with the investigation. Toronto Police have said they do not feel the murder was motivated by homophobia, but there seems little reason otherwise. The Entertaintment District is well known for its less then open mindedness, and it hasn’t taken long for the conclusions to be drawn.

The bigger issue I want to make here, is that homophobia is terrorism. Attacks like this, or even much less violent more nuanced versions of homophobia act to terrorize queer people. They seek to make us afraid to be who we are. To be afraid to leave our neighborhood. To be afraid to walk home alone at night, lest we fall victim to an attack much like the one that befell Chris Skinner.

From outright hate crimes to systematic homophobia to Prop8, these seek to terrorize us. It is disgusting to think that the same city could be host to one of the worlds largest annual Pride parades,  I for one will not allow myself to be terrorized.

“We must not be free because we claim it but because we practice it.” William Faulkner

As Canadians prepare to gorge ourselves on turkey and carbs, your brothers and sisters to the south prepare for one of the biggest queer rights demonstrations in history. This weekend, LGBTQ activists will march on Washington as part of a demonstration demanding equal treatment under the law. Gay history is a long a complex one, but the most pertinent of it can be seen in the 20th and 21st century. Starting with Berlin, once a gay mecca, plagued by Nazi Germany’s extermination of homosexuals in addition to the Jews, and other “undesirables” who would lose their lives during the Holocaust. To the Stonewall Riots, the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada, and the subsequent struggle for rights for all queer people.

Living in the city, we often forget how transgressive our everyday lives are. My average day involves countless things I would be unable to do had I never moved to Toronto. Ours all would. Our freedom is built on the backs of those who came before us. Were it not for Drag queens and dykes at Stonewall where would the revolution be? More conservative leaning gay people especially it seems in North America seem to not want Drag Queens, Leather people, or any open displays of blatant sexuality (ie topless dykes or gogo boys in underwear) to be part of Parades. But I am quick to remind people that our own Pride Parade (one of the world’s largest), was all the result of the police raids on bathhouses. What place is a more blatant symbol of our communities sexual freedom? Were it not for the sexually adventurous, what would Pride be like in Toronto? Would it even exist?

We must embrace our freedoms, and just as importantly ALL people in our communities. We should be grateful that we can even have a parade. That it is no longer called a march. We no longer have to climb the steps of Capital Hill demanding some of the most basic rights. So this thanksgiving, remember we all have something to be thankful for!

While queer media in the West stares fixedly at its own reflection, government-sponsored death squads are systemically murdering gay people around the world. The latest story is coming out of already war-torn Iraq where hundreds of gay men are being hunted down and killed for the “dishonour” of being gay. Read the full story

In a recent interview with Britain’s Attitude magazine, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe went on a tirade about homophobia and homophobes. “I just loathe homophobia,” he told the magazine. “It’s just disgusting and animal and stupid.”

He’s really putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to his feelings about gay rights. Read the full story

The United States’ National Coalition of Anti-Violence Program yesterday released some shocking news: bias-related violence and murders are at their highest since 1999. To put it in simple terms, more and more queers are being attacked, assaulted and murdered. Spokespeople for the Coalition are also very disturbed by the severity of the violence and nature of attacks against queers.

In the U.S. anti-queer violence and murders are at a 10-year high.

The numbers presented by the New York-based Coalition differ greatly from those of many law enforcement agencies for two very important reasons. The FBI, for example, does not record bias crimes against transgender people because gender identity isn’t covered in federal hate-crime laws. The other reason is victims of violence are too afraid to report bias (read anti-gay) incidents to police because they fear retribution or apathy from police.

Members of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs theorize that the increase in violence against queers – particularly in the past year – is due to the backlash against issues raised during the election including same-sex marriage and the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Also cited was the federal government’s legislation that would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Queers are still targets of homophobes
and violent hate groups.

A couple of things are clear: Queers are still incredibly vulnerable and used as scapegoats for bigots and hate groups who think nothing of killing us because they don’t perceive us as human beings. They vilify then victimize us to justify their twisted ideas that we are threats to family, society, children or whatever fallacy they foist upon us.

Second, this demonstrates with horrid clarity the need for federal anti-hate crime laws that expressly include all queer people: gay, lesbian, bi, trans – every one of us. There have been too many hollow arguments that current laws in the United Sates are enough to protect queers. Clearly, this is not the case.

Queers in the United States are still vulnerable to brutal violence by extremists. They need to be protected by the law. To achieve this, lawmakers and law-enforcers need to be educated or else the cycle of anti-queer violence will continue to spiral upward.