Make Love Not War

Photostory by Steven Meisel in Vogue (Italy)

*via me-me-me.tv

see Unzipped

Neo-nazi in Israel. A call for actions in Armenia

Israeli police have broken up a gang of neo-nazi who are accused of carrying out attacks on foreigners, gay people, the homeless, drug addicts and religious Jews.

It is hard to believe that a group of Jewish neo-nazi may exist, but shocking weekend news proved seemingly impossible. What an irony! A group of neo-nazi in a country which was founded in the wake of Nazi Holocaust!

This should have implications for Armenia too, taking into account recent resurgence of hate graffiti and other signs of intolerance.

For more details, see Unzipped

Teenage boy who gave Nureyev the first lesson in gay sex

Fascinating reading from biography of one of the world's greatest dancers - Rudolf Nureyev

***
Vadim Kiselev was a young ballet fan who first spotted Nureyev throwing snowballs. “Even then I could see the beautiful catlike plasticity of his movements.”

Five years older than Nureyev, with wavy blond hair and Cupid’s-bow lips, Kiselev was “an exotic” by Leningrad standards, one of a coterie of homosexual friends who, he says, were already aware of Nureyev’s true sexual orientation. “We understood that his volatility came about partly as a result of this.”

One night Kiselev invited Nureyev to his apartment. With seduction in mind, he had bought a bottle of Armenian cognac and 200 grams of caviar, which he served on bone china. But the evening did not go according to plan.

His delicate sensibilities already affronted by the young Tatar’s gross table manners, Kiselev then found his advances rudely repelled. They parted “almost enemies”, and had no further contact until Nureyev turned up one day, saying: “I think I offended you.” He apologised, and while continuing to flirt with Kiselev (addressing him as “Adonis”), resumed an acquaintance free of sexual ties.

*A teenage Rudik displaying his innate, unconfined elevation in an Ufa, capital of Bashkiria (Russia), ballet studio

He was not yet willing to consider male love as an option for himself. (Years later he told a lover in London that when he had found himself attracted to a boy on a Leningrad bus he had felt so ashamed that he got off at the next stop.)

When Nureyev met Teja Kremke, however, his attitude changed. Not only that, their relationship would lead to his defection from the Soviet Union.

Teja was a 17-year-old East German boy with an erotic presence as visible as a heat haze. A student at the Vaganova ballet school, he had shiny chestnut hair, pale skin, full lips and intense grey-blue eyes.

He was invited to the apartment of his teacher Alexander Pushkin, where Nureyev – already a star with the Kirov Ballet – still lived. Pushkin’s wife Xenia, who had already seduced Nureyev, was instinctively drawn to this beautiful youth. She adopted him as a new protégé, shaping his thoughts and tastes. Pushkin, whom Teja worshipped, soon became a father figure for him, too. A deep bond developed among all four. “It was a liaison à quatre. They were kind of bound together,” said a friend of the Pushkins.

Like Nureyev, Teja had no interest in contemporary politics but hated the constraints of communism. One evening they were talking in the Vaganova student kitchen while Ute Mitreuter, another East German, was brewing coffee.

She remembered: “Teja was telling Rudolf that he should go to the West. ‘There you’ll be the greatest dancer in the world,’ he said. ‘But if you stay here you’ll be known only to the Russians’.” “‘Yes of course I know that,’ answered Rudolf. ‘It’s how Nijinsky became a legend. And I’m going to be the next one’.”

Teja confided to his sister that he and Nureyev had become blood brothers, cutting themselves to mingle their blood. But their growing intimacy was too risky to reveal to anyone at the school, even to Mitreuter, to whom Teja had always confided his sexual history in the past.

“Teja talked to me about all the things he did with girls. There were many of them who were mad about him. I heard he was a very good lover and that’s why I didn’t think there was anything more than a friendship between him and Rudolf. It was only later that I knew it was a love affair.”

Teja had been only 12 when he was seduced by a 35-year-old woman, an encounter that left him with a far from conventional sexual outlook. At school he had been caught in the shower with a boy. (In the mid-Sixties he would persuade his adoring Indonesian child-wife to live in a ménage à trois with a beautiful Aryan youth with whom he was having an affair.)

“Teja was always open to new experience,” said someone who knew him at the time. “There was a perverse strain in his character. Something other people didn’t find normal was very exciting to him.”

When Konstantin Russu, another student from East Germany, went to the ballet school shower room one day, he found that Nureyev and Teja had locked themselves in and were refusing to open the door. It confirmed what he had suspected for some time: often, when he came back in the evening to the room he shared with Teja, he had seen Nureyev climbing out of the window. (Nureyev would one day tell a mutual friend that it was Teja who first taught him “the art of male love”.)

At the same time, Teja was constantly goading Nureyev to leave Russia.

“He’d say, ‘Go! Get out! At the first opportunity you have. Don’t stay here or no one will hear of you!’” said their friend.

Earlier in the winter of 1960 Janine Ringuet, a 20-year-old assistant impresario who worked for a Parisian organisation specialising in artistic exchanges between France and the Soviet Union, came to Leningrad for several weeks to observe the Kirov Ballet. She reported back that Nureyev, almost unknown in the West, was “the best male dancer in the world”. He was engaged for a Kirov visit to Paris.

Only days before he was due to leave, Nureyev and a colleague were taken before the special committee responsible for vetting dancers for the tour. Why, the KGB officer chairing it demanded, had neither of them joined the Komsomol, the young communist organisation?

“Because I’ve far more important things to do with my time than waste it on that kind of rubbish!” exclaimed Nureyev impulsively.

He got away with it but it was clear he had to leave. “In Russia,” he later told a friend, “I did not belong to myself. I had a feeling that I had a big talent which people would recognise anywhere.”
It was hard for Nureyev to accept that his dream of seeing Europe was about to be realised. His defection was “prepared inside”, but he felt that he needed to gauge the reaction of his friends. During a long walk with one of them a few days before his departure, he asked: “What would you think if I stayed in the West?”

The friend reminded him of the lifestyle he loved and would be leaving behind – Leningrad’s “kitchen culture’, where a gathering of friends around a table had come to mean more to him than his family.

But Nureyev felt increasingly trapped at the Pushkins’ apartment. Now that Xenia could see how much of a hold Teja had on him, she had reverted to being jealous and contentious, going out of her way to cause trouble between them. But at the same time she found herself involuntarily attracted to Teja.

If Rudolf sensed the growing sexual chemistry between them he would have felt the kind of distaste and disenchantment experienced by Chinko Rafique, a student taken up by the Pushkins a decade later: “Xenia was predatory. She was sexually predatory.”

Liuba Romankova, Nureyev’s close friend, has always believed that his involvement with Xenia was a key reason why he “escaped to the West”. Ninel Kurgapkina, a Kirov dancer and confidante, agrees that it was a situation from which he badly wanted to extricate himself. “He was not very proud when he talked of Xenia. He didn’t feel good thinking about her.”

But even more of an incentive to leave Russia was the realisation that he would never be free to follow his true sexual instincts while he was there. As he said himself: “I did not have the possibility of choosing my friends according to my taste. It was as if someone battered me morally. I was very unhappy.”


*Rudik sits on his suitcase for a moment. It is an old Russian superstition.

Teja stayed in Russia. Even a decade later, Pushkin remained afraid that he would have the same malign influence on the budding new star Mikhail Baryshnikov as he had had on Nureyev. If Teja happened to drop in, Pushkin would usher the young Baryshnikov into another room, keeping him hidden until the East German had left. Baryshnikov nonetheless defected.

*The Sunday Times

Declaration of civil society organisations on the recognition of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in the OSCE

This Declaration will be presented within the framework of the next meeting of the Human Dimension of OSCE, in Warsaw (24 September 2007–5 October 2007)

We, the undersigned representatives of civil society, call upon the OSCE participating states to recognise sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression explicitly as grounds of discrimination, intolerance, hate-motivated crimes and human rights violations in the OSCE commitments.

There is substantial evidence that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities are especially vulnerable to hate crimes, and therefore have a particular need to be included in programmes addressing this issue. We therefore commend the inclusive and comprehensive approach of ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] in its work on hate crimes, data collection, police trainings, which includes awareness raising and promotion of measures to fight discrimination on all grounds. We call upon the OSCE participating states to continue supporting this work and provide adequate resources.

We recall the participating states of their obligation under various international treaties and national constitutions to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the human rights of all persons without discrimination. It is therefore our great concern that the OSCE participating states do not have a consensus on interpretation of “all people” and exclude certain social groups from exercising their human rights, such as the right to life and physical integrity, freedom of assembly and association, right to private life, and freedom of expression. These rights, if protected, ensure the dignity of all people, and there can be no justification for exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons from enjoyment of these rights.


Signed by:

European Social Platform
Human Rights First, USA
International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE)
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, USA
European Women’s Lobby
European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA-Europe)
Amnesty International EU Office
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
NGO Platform “Coalition Europe”
European Humanist Federation
European Network Against Racism (ENAR)
European Organisation for Human Rights (EHOR), Strasbourg
European Roma Rights Centre
Youth for Human Rights International, USA and Austria
Quaker Council for European Affairs
World Organisation Against Torture – Europe (OMCT Europe)
European Anti-Poverty Network
Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Switzerland
Ascedent, Romania
OSCE-NGO Network
Conseil de la Jeunesse Pluriculturelle (COJEP International)
Organisation Sociale de St. Petersburg «Union Africaine», Russia
Jewish Cultural Centre “Menora”, Armenia
Roma Education Fund, Hungary
Romo Amaro, Belarus
Memorial of Saint Petersburg, Russia
TransGenderEurope
Spanish LGBT Federation (FELGBT)
Movimiento contra la Intolerancia, Spain
The Islamic Commission of Spain
GlobalSIDA, Spain
SOS Rassismus Deutschewerz, Switzerland
Swiss African Forum, Switzerland
RFSL, Sweden
Campaign Against Homophobia, Poland
Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Georgia
NGO Nash Mir (Our World), Ukraine
Coalition of HIV-Service Organisations of Ukraine
Information Centre GenderDoc-M, Moldova
National Roma Centre, Moldova
LADOM (Moldovan League for Human Rights Protection), Moldova
National Youth Council of Moldova
NGO Labrys, Kyrgyzstan
NGO Gaudeamus, Moldova
AntiAIDS Association, Kyrgyzstan
Resource Centre for Human Rights in Moldova “CReDO”, Moldova
Association ACCEPT, Romania
Centre for Legal Resources, Romania
Metropolitan Community Churches, USA
Crisis Centre for Women, Kyrgyzstan
Inclusive Foundation, Georgia
NGO “We for Civil Equality”, Armenia
NGO “Gender and Development”, Azerbaijan
Ursari Roma Association, Romania
NGO “LIGA”, Ukraine
Gay Forum, Ukraine
Latvian Centre for Human Rights. Latvia
NGO LBL, Denmark
Institute for Peace and Democracy, Azerbaijan
Gay Alliance, Ukraine
SOVA Centre, Moscow, Russia
Magenta Foundation, the Netherlands
African Caribbean Leadership Council, London, UK
“Never Again” Association, Poland
AIDS Network, Moldova
Youth Union Siin, Estonia
Homosexuelle Initiative (HOSI) Wien, Austria
Lesben und Schwulenverband Osterreichs, Austria
Croydon Area Gay Society, UK
Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), Ireland
Helsinki Human Rights Committee for Serbia
Women’s Initiative for Equality, Georgia
NGO ADALI, Kazakhstan
NGO “Tais +”, Kyrgyzstan
Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group, Georgia
Donetsk Law Initiative, Ukraine
All-Ukrainian Youth Organisation “Foundation of Regional Initiatives”, Ukraine
Youth Organisation “Bizim Qirim”, Crimea, Ukraine
TV Antena 1, Romania
Alianta Nationala pentru Unitatea Romilor (National Roma Unity Alliance), Romania
Association of Nordic LGBT Student Organisations (ANSO), Sweden
The Federation of Swedish LGBT Student Organisations (SFG), Sweden
Youth Group for Tolerance “ETHnICS”, Russia
Open Viewpoint Public Foundation, Kyrgyzstan
NGO “Transformation”, Sweden
Gender Group of Gothenburg University, Sweden
International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC), UK
Union “Century 21”, Georgia
Canadian Arab Federation
Kulturburo Sachsen (Cultural Office), Germany
Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe (CEJI)
Youth Against Intolerance and Discrimination, Georgia
Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Advocates for Lesbian and Gay Rights International (ALEGRI), UK
LSVD, Germany
Qendra per Emancipim Shoqeror (Center for Social Emancipation) QESh, Kosovo
The Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan
Democracy Monitor, Azerbaijan
Malta Gay Rights Movement, Malta
COC Haaglanden, the Netherlands
Informational Medical-Psychological Centre Tanadgoma, Georgia
ILGA Portugal
International Gay and Lesbian Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO)
YouAct, the Netherlands
GAT - Grupo Português de Activistas sobre Tratamentos do VIH/SIDA, Portugal
The Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG)
National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Centers, USA
RFSL Ungdom - The Swedish youth federation for LGBT rights, Sweden
Hudson Pride Connections, USA
The National Council of German Women's Organizations, Germany
Centre for Legal Resources, Romania
ALEAS Izquierda Unida La Rioja (Spain)

*source: ALEAS IU Rioja

***
The term "human dimension" describes the set of norms and activities related to human rights, the rule of law, and democracy that are regarded within the OSCE as one of the three pillars of its comprehensive security concept, along with the politico-military and the economic and environmental dimensions.

Every year in Warsaw, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organizes a two-week conference, the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM). The HDIM is a forum where OSCE participating States discuss the implementation of human dimension commitments that were adopted by consensus at prior OSCE Summits or Ministerial Meetings.

These commitments are not legally binding norms; instead, they are politically binding - a political promise to comply with the standards elaborated in OSCE documents. Follow-up meetings to review the implementation of the commitments are based on the principle that the commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the state concerned.

*for more info about ODIHR and Human Dimension of OSCE, see here

Georgia Gay Guide

country overview, useful info, gay institutions and venues

*last reviewed: 18 July 2010

As I already mentioned on this blog, even though homophobia is widespread in Georgian society, the attitude towards gay people in Georgia, especially Tbilisi, is more open-minded and gay scene is more developed than in surrounding countries. This was rightly pointed out by Spartacus International Gay Guide (2007). In fact, Georgia was the first country in South Caucasus to decriminalise gay male sex in 2000.

However, recent events in Georgia (here and here) surrounding failed attempts by Council of Europe to promote "All Different - All Equal" campaign which was considered by some as 'gay rally' and, therefore, forced to get cancelled, show that Georgia has a long way to go in terms of human rights / gay rights and equality.

For more Georgia related news and posts, click on Georgia or Tbilisi labels.

I decided to publish this Guide on my blog since the on-line resources on LGBT life and gay scene in Georgia are scarce. There is a sizable Armenian community there, and many gay Armenians visit neighbouring Georgia for various reasons.

Unlike Armenia (Armenia Gay Guide), I do not have much personal insight into the gay scene in Georgia. This Guide represent mainly the information taken from the Spartacus (+ Gay Batumi), with some input/additions from me. I will update this Guide as soon as I learn new info. For convenience, I put easy access link to Georgia Gay Guide under 'South Caucasus LGBT Links' of this blog.

Country overview

"Even under the Soviet Union, Georgia was known to be one of the "gayest" regions. However, a gay scene in the western sense of the word hardly exists. Even in the capital Tbilisi the venues that are listed in this guide are mixed, but they are popular with the community as well. Gay behaviour like holding hands and kissing is accepted in the larger cities only [I would be particularly cautious with this suggestion by Spartacus - even in larger cities you may encounter more than problems with the open display of same-sex affections. As in case of Armenia, although you will see men (and women) holding each other's hands in public or kissing each other when they meet or part, this is not necessarily an indicator of sexual orientation but rather established tradition].

On the other hand, gay related violence still exists, notably in the countryside. In September 2001 a journalist was killed by the mafia because of his alleged homosexuality. We also advise to be cautious with cruising: most of the areas in this guide are observed by police cameras. The recordings are said to be used to force gays to work for the police. Unfortunately, the current government has more urgent matters to deal with than the acceptance of sexual minorities."


TBILISI

Bars

Success
Street: 3, Vashvlovanis Street
Description of Location: In Perovskaia district
Commentary: Once very stylish place, nowadays casual cruising bar, frequently visited by straight people.

Unique
Street: 18, G.Akhvlediani Street
Postal Code: 0108
Description of Location: Former Perovskaia St.
Phone: 93 53 83
Commentary: DJ bar, with very friendly staff and visitors. Open until the early morning.

Cafes

Cafe Cala
Street: 8-10, Erekle II Street
Postal Code: 0107
Description of Location: In Chardin area
Commentary: Good Georgian food, many artistic people hanging out, live jazz performances, frequented by gay people.

Le Cafe
Street: 4, Vashlovani Street
Description of Location: Opposite the Success bar in Perovskaia district
Commentary: Quiet place with European cuisine. Friendly staff.

Rue Chardin 12
Street: 12, Chardin Street
Postal Code: 0108
Description of Location: In old town Chardin area
Commentary: One of the most popular dining out places. A place to sit and be seen in the heart of old town. The smallest street in Tbilisi is home for number of upscale places that attract many community people. One can also find many other cafes in this area.

Restaurants

Meidani
Street: 2, Right Bank
Postal Code: 0108
Description of Location: In Chardin area
Phone: (reservations) 32 30 30 30
Website: mgroup.ge
Commentary: Upscale restaurant, very friendly. Offers traditional and fusion cuisine. Has chillout section with Kalian.

Kopala
Street: 8-10 Chekhov st. (On the left bank of old town)
Phone: (reservations) 995 32 77 55 20
Website: kopala.ge
Commentary: Belle-view terrace. Hotel restaurant with extensive menu and good service. Tarace offers one of the best views of old town.

Saunas/Baths

Coloured Bathhouse
Street: Square in front of the Sulphur Springs
Description of Location: In Abanotubani (Bath district)
Opening hours: 10-20h
Commentary: Number of traditional bathhouses with natural sulphur spa. Traditional massage and scrub with traditional gloves (Kisa). Public section is very cruisy especially by evenings. People basically pick up each other and leave together. For more discreet acts one can rent a cubicle. Coloured baths were favourite of A. Pushkin and A. Dumas.

Fitness Studios

Vake Fitness
Street: 49b, Chavchavadze Avenue
Website: vakefitness.ge
Commentary: Huge fitness complex with gym, olympic swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnastics, solarium etc. Upscale workout place.

Hotels

Sheraton Metekhi Palace
Street: 20, Telavi Street
Postal Code: 0119
Phone: 77 20 20
Fax: 77 21 20
Email: smpht@sheraton.com
Website: www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton
Commentary: Luxury hotel with 182 rooms with data port, safe, TV, phone, mini-bar and bathroom phone. Cruisy sauna.

Marriott Tbilisi
Street: 13, Rustaveli Ave.
Phone: 77 92 00
Commentary: 5 stars luxury hotel.

Cruising
- Underpass in front of the circus (dangerous)
- Rustaveli Ave. daytime cruising.
- Central station (Metro Vagzliss Moedani)
- Tchelouskin bridge (In the centre of the city, between central station and the
circus)
- Blumentrasse (Boulevard between central station and the circus)
- Underpass in front of the circus (Dangerous)
- Pushkin park (Metro Thavisouphlebis Moedani)
- Exit Metro Rustaveli
- Baratachvili bridge (first level, Mutual masturbations, Piss and Scat)
- Between Liberty Square, “Thavisouphlebis Moedani” and Avlabari street
- Metro Issani (near the military barracks, ideal for those who like soldiers)


BATUMI

Batumi gay life is most active during high summer season. There are no dedicated gay bars or clubs in Batumi, but most of them (especially on a boulevard) are gay friendly.

Cruising
- Alley between boulevard and beach (the best)
- Beach close to the lighthouse in pishcheviki area
- Around old railway station


KUTAISI

Bars

Theatralouri (opposite the National Theatre)

Cruising
- Park opposite the National Theatre


ZUGDIDI

Cruising
- Lenin park


National Groups

Inclusive Foundation (in English and Georgian)
website
The first openly LGBT rights organisation in Georgia and in South Caucasus, ILGA member. Main areas of work is advocacy and lobbying information and public awareness campaigns, study and research, empowerment of LGBT community, HIV/AIDS and STI prevention.


National publications

"Me" magazine (quarterly; in Georgian, with English summary)
Available to download here

Georgian National Gay Resource (in Georgian)
website


Other useful links:

ILGA-Europe: Georgia Country Guide
website

Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA)
Advocacy, lobbying, individual legal counselling, surveys
website

Information and Counselling Centre "Tanadgoma"
Psychological and health counselling, HIV/AIDS/STI prevention measures, surveys
website

Centre for Training and Consultancy (CTC)
Organisational development, trainings for organisation staff and volunteers
website

Women Initiative Support Group (WISG)
Women programme, surveys
website

*source of pictures: Spartacus (cover page); Lonely Planet (map of Georgia); Wikipedia (flag of Georgia)

anti-Quote of The Day

This is just hilarious. I would not normally waste my or anyone else's time to read 'defending marriage' (read homophobic) publications from the National Catholic Register (never heard about its existence before), but this quote taken from their editorial is just too 'good' to miss:

"Doctors advertise heavily in homosexual publications, because male homosexual sex routinely injures its participants."
National Catholic Register (USA)

No comments indeed... I just can't help myself but wonder what sort of gay publications full of doctors' adverts these religious guys read?

First hate comment for this blog

Unzipped: Gay Armenia

Today I received the first ever hateful comment for this blog. It was made by ‘anonymous’ in relation to re-publishing Hetq article with my commentary. I decided to publish this comment here as a separate post, without any moderation, for the first and the last time:

DIE MOTHERFUCKER! ARMENIA WITHOUT GAYS! KEEP THE CHRISTIAN IDENTITY!

Just to make my point clear to all you hateful out there. This blog is open to opinions, however controversial they may be. However, there is ZERO TOLERANCE policy to hate in this blog. Do not even bother, all hateful comments will be trashed and certainly not published. If someone wishes death to someone else, the talks about "Christian Identity" sound as pure rubbish. I can't hear you...

Zemfira - Mal'chik

Zamfira's new album is out 27 September 2007

*http://zemfira.ru/

Open letter to homophobes: Gay boy's mama fights back

This letter (below) was written by mother of Vermont's (USA) teenage boy, tired of homophobic editorials in her local newspaper which contribute and promote anti-gay violence and abuse. The situation referred there was in Vermont but it can be recognised by everyone who grown up in an environment filled with homophobia, and therefore universal for that reason.

Many LGBT Armenians will associate themselves with the story of that young boy expressed in this letter. I just hope that at last we will be able to hear courageous voices of parents of gay Armenians who are sick of continuous ignorance and abuse they and their children suffer in everyday life. They should exist somewhere (!), although the examples of contrary are sadly much more evident. OK, if not open voices, at least PROVIDE SUPPORT TO YOUR CHILD, TALK TO HER/HIM, ACCEPT YOUR CHILD FOR WHO S/HE IS! I know quite a few examples of Armenian parents who usually after a short period of confusion and mixed feelings accept their gay children and support enormously. But sadly, in many cases, we evidence ignorance, intolerance and abuse from parents themselves... I know, many would argue that silence may be a safer option in the cirsumstances but there is only one step (half step? no step?) from silence to tragedy. It is essential to break the SILENCE!

This letter needs to be read by everyone:

"Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I’ve taken enough from you good people. I’m tired of your foolish rhetoric about the “homosexual agenda” and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.

My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.

He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called “fag” incessantly, starting when he was 6.

In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn’t bear to continue living any longer, that he didn’t want to be gay and that he couldn’t face a life without dignity.

You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don’t know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn’t put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it’s about time you started doing that.

At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won’t get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don’t know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.

If you want to tout your own morality, you’d best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I’m puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that’s not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?

A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I’ll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for “true Vermonters.”

You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn’t give their lives so that the “homosexual agenda” could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.

He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn’t the measure of the man.

You religious folk just can’t bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.

How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage. You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.

The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 ‘05 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about “those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing” asks: “What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?”

Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?"

*via Queerty; Russian version of this letter is published today in gay.ru

Good News: Meline's bar - the first and the only Yerevan gay bar, is open again!

UPDATE: Last Day of Meline’s bar – 31 July 2008


In June, I posted Bad News that the first and the only Yerevan gay bar - Meline's bar, was closed down for unknown reason.

Now it's time for Good News: I've just learnt (thanks to I.!) that the owner of Meline's bar decided to re-open it, and Meline's has already started working from this Monday!

Truly, the great news for gay community in Yerevan and Armenia. However, the future of this bar is dependent on demolition projects currently undertaken by Armenian Government to pave the way for Northern Avenue. I wonder how many more destructions are on the menu to make sure that we have our own 'Fifth Avenue'?...

Till then, lets enjoy the moment and hope that Meline's old good spirit will be re-established again to re-attract regulars and new customers alike.

There are some further news too - I am aware of at least one new gay-friendly venue in Yerevan, will provide more info as soon as finalise details.

Soho Pride 2007

19 August
Soho Pride differs from London Pride - its main aim is partying, while London Pride, along with parade and fun, delivers also serious political messages. However, Sunday weather - very gloomy, rainy, was a spoiler. It was less touristy, less diverse, and more of a Londoners' affair. I did not particularly enjoy it this time (to be honest, I was not in a mood), but some people managed to have fun.

Pink coloured England flags are becaming increasingly popular during Pride events.

The area at Candy Bar - the main lesbian hangout in Soho, was very popular, lively and quite mixed.


Many used the occasion for various promotional activities. This couple was promoting dating site.


Preparations for another promotional activity - in costumes...

'Objects of desire' - there was lots of beer-drinking going on and long queues throughout the day for "simply loos" (I find this label amusing :)

Kiss of The Day

It's kind of historic, well, at least for US - first same-sex teenage kiss in daytime history of US TV. Luke & Noah's storyline in As the World Turns soap drama has been building up to this moment.

Van Hansis, who plays Luke Snyder, was nominated for a daytime Emmy for "Outstanding Younger Actor" earlier this year.

There is even Wikipedia page devoted to the storyline.

United by Love, Divided by Law

US immigration law discriminates same sex couples: among others, a story of Armenian American Rita Boyadjian

Sebastian Cordoba’s documentary "Through Thick and Thin" received prestigious Freedom Award at last month’s Outfest Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. According to GayWired, "the film depicts the cruel and heartbreaking scenarios gay and lesbian Americans in love with a foreign partner must endure and struggle to overcome due to discriminatory US immigration laws."

Cordoba, who is originally from Argentina, has first-hand experience of this injustice. His own relationship with an American broke up in part because of constant stress over the uncertainty of his visa issues.



Unlike a heterosexual spouse, a gay U.S. citizen cannot sponsor his or her noncitizen partner for a green card

Teresa Watanabe from LA Times reports about this issue and brings about real life examples of broken hearts and struggle for happiness under the target of US discriminatory immigration rules. Among others, there is also a story of lesbian couple - a story of Armenian American Rita Boyadjian:

"Rita Boyadjian, a Los Angeles entertainment marketing executive, is also facing hard choices. Her partner, who is seven months pregnant and asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals by immigration officials, is studying to be a chef in Santa Monica. But her student visa expires next year; unless she can get a work visa after that, the pair will have to move.

Boyadjian said she researched, at considerable expense, different legal ways for her partner to stay in the United States. None panned out. An investor visa requires her partner to put up her own money, not Boyadjian's. An H1-B work visa is difficult to obtain. Boyadjian's partner has turned down offers by men to fake a marriage because they don't want to skirt the law.

The pair has reluctantly decided to relocate to Canada, if necessary, with Boyadjian commuting weekly between there and Los Angeles. But Boyadjian said she resented the specter of having to spend so much time away from her family, possibly missing her baby's first steps and words. It will be costly, too, to pay for weekly flights and maintain two households and offices, she said.

"I'm angry that I'm a U.S. citizen, born in L.A., and I may have to leave my own country as a refugee," Boyadjian said, adding that her parents emigrated from Egypt in 1969 to escape persecution as Armenian Christians. The whole thing has been a nightmare, quite honestly."

According to Human Rights Watch , only 19 countries currently recognise same-sex relationships for the purpose of immigration. The forms of recognition and its particulars vary. Here is the list of these countries:

Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Iceland
Israel
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

*source of picture: Out4Immigration

'Y Tu Mama Tambien' stars promote Human Rights

The stars of Oscar-nominated film Y Tu Mama Tambien ('And Your Mother Too') [one of my favourite films] have said they will use cinema [via making documentaries] to highlight "injustices" in their native Mexico. Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal held a gala dinner as a way of raising money to support human rights causes.

"Each day it's harder to live in this country," said Luna. And Garcia Bernal described how "documentaries show us the injustices in the country where we live, that this problem exists". He added: "We can't escape it."

Proceeds will go to Mexico's Commission for the Defence and Promotion of Human Rights and to Witness, an organisation founded by singer Peter Gabriel which promotes the use of video and film to document human rights abuses.

The actors have vocally backed other social and political causes such as Mexico City's new law legalizing gay civil unions.

(news and picture via BBC)

Thumbs up to you, guys!

Attention seeking bigots say “Thanks” for withdrawal of Hoagland’s nomination as US envoy to Armenia

Armenian Aryan Order, sort of Armenian version of Le Pen’s party, BNP, or say Russia’s neo-nazi and so on, “expresses its gratitude to all the sons of the Armenian nation, be there in Armenia or in Diaspora, who struggled against the nomination of the homosexual Richard Hoagland as US Ambassador to RA.” They continue further by extending their “thanks” to foreign citizens for their efforts which “freed the Armenian nation from the sad perspective of having a sick Ambassador, who was also denying the reality of the Armenian Genocide.” Pay attention that while everyone else stressing the denial of Armenian Genocide by Hoagland, in line with the current White House official stance, as the main (if not the only) reason for blocking his candidature by Senator Robert Menendez and eventual withdrawal of his nomination, a group of Armenian bigots stress Hoagland’s being homosexual and mention genocide issue as “who was also denying…” secondary part.

Interestingly, in a response to my post on White House withdrawal of Hoagland’s nomination, I received a comment from ‘anonymous’ who believes that “the reason that Hoagland was not allowed to be ambassador has nothing to do with the genocide and everything to do with the fact that he is gay”. I still think that the main reason for Hoagland’s eventual withdrawal is the genocide issue, and protests by such light-weight and non-influential figures related to Hoagland’s sexuality would have had no impact whatsoever on White House decision: even though Bush administration is known for its bigotry, Hoagland's sexuality is pretty much known and open fact, and did not prevent his nomination or e.g. his latest appointment as ambassador in Tajikistan, not the most gay friendly country in the world...

I believe that this is just a good occasion for that group of Armenian bigots to turn into their favourite subject, since they are lacking substance otherwise, to make noise and remind others that there is such group in Armenia, and to make it sound that they somehow influenced the whole ambassador saga.

Their ‘fame’ came in 2004 with the ‘outing’ of Armenian MP and threats to make public an imaginary ‘gay list’ which allegedly contained names of gay members of Armenian government, 'supported' by video evidence and other documents. “Our nation can reconcile itself to a life of poverty but it will never allow itself to be ruled by a group of sexual perverts.” – Avetisyan, their leader said back then. According to him, Armenia “is being run by Masons who blackmail homosexual politicians into making laws that suit the Masons’ purposes.” In fact, he had been detained briefly in 2005 for anti-Jewish propaganda. Confronted in ArmeniaNow with whether his actions violate human rights, Avetisyan said national rights are above everything else. Sounds familiar, eh? It does not matter where this kind lives, be it France, Russia, Britain, or Armenia, actions and rhetoric are identical.

However, there was another important aspect of that story from our recent past. As rightly pointed out by Micha Meroujean, President of AGLA France (Association of Gay and Lesbian Armenians of France), it was “revolting that not a single politician, humanitarian activist, intellectual or media outlet has condemned Avetisyan's announcement.” Well, except for ArmeniaNow and Karen Babayan, Chief Physician of Dermatology and Veneral Disease of the Republic of Armenia.

“I don't care what any minister, deputy or any other high-ranking official does after his work,” said Babayan. “If he is a professional in his field but at the same time he is a homosexual then I don't care.
“Why don't they want to publish a list of high-ranking officials, who are straight but they spend their whole day with prostitutes? And who said that it is something better and more moral?”

Or, as Micha Meroujean suggested, what about publishing the list of "Most Corrupted Politicians in Armenia"?

“Avetisyan generally seen by society as a dilettante politician of marginal influence” (ArmeniaNow). I am sure (well, at least hope!) , the overwhelming majority from influential Armenian circles or foreign nationals who campaigned against Hoagland’s appointment and effectively forced White House to give in, would not like to be associated with groups like Armenian Aryan Order and they would certainly not be receptive of their “thank you” note.

I titled this post “Attention seeking bigots…”, and now I realised that at least partly they 'succeeded', they got my attention. However, while ignoring them may be one of the options, exposing hate groups is important in dealing with the problem of hate in a society.

Armenia’s Animosity Towards Gays (by Hetq; plus some commentary)

As I promised in my previous post (now updated), as soon as English version of Hetq article is available, I will re-post it in my blog.

As frequently happened in translated versions of original Armenian articles, they are slightly flawed. However, overall, it reads OK. In few cases I put my commentary within [].

Here we are, as published by Hetq (plus some commentary):

[August 6, 2007]

20-year old Ruben (the names of our interviewees have been changed to protect their privacy) is a bartender at the only gay bar in Yerevan and also one of only three men employed as strip dancers in the capital's nightclubs. Ruben has not told his family about the nature of his work, only a few of his friends know. And those few friends are also aware of the fact that Ruben is in love with a boy.

“My parents were suspicious of my sexual orientation during my last years of school, and we had many fights about it at home. Now we don't talk about it anymore; they think I've changed. As for my work, they know that I'm a bartender in a club, but they don't know that it's for gays. The mere mention of the striptease job is out of the question,” said Ruben.

Ruben is a student and future economist. He said that he hardly made any money dancing, because male strip shows were organized very rarely. But he also said that making money was not the biggest problem he faced. His greatest problem has been to overcome the period of dispute with his parents and resigning himself to his current situation.

“When my parents found out, they isolated me. They wouldn't talk to me, kept being hard on me and I was in a very bad state psychologically. I was aggressive and behaved badly – imagine what you would do if the world you lived in did not accept you,” Ruben said.

Mistreatment and intolerance of homosexuals, which often then turns into animosity, are typical in Armenian society. A survey we conducted among 100 people of different ages in the center of Yerevan offered further support to this fact.

According to the results, 53 percent of the respondents felt animosity towards homosexuals, 40 percent were tolerant, 4 percent treated them well, and 3 percent were undecided. When asked, “What would you do if your child were a homosexual?” 73of the respondents said that they would disown the child.

Psychologist Davit Amiryan believes that this attitude in Armenian society is actually typical of all former Soviet countries. “Ignorance and misperceptions about homosexual relations have led to its association in people's minds with perversion, which is why many people don't consider that it has a place in Armenian society,” said the psychologist. He also said that homosexual tendencies could arise at different ages and that it was necessary to have correct information about homosexuality in general in order to understand the homosexual population.

The Armenian Apostolic Church has a categorical position on homosexuality. According to Deacon Suren Nersisyan, the Church views homosexuals as people with an illness and does not allow them to partake of the Communion during mass because they are considered to be in sin. Even if they confess, they are considered to be in a period of repentance and are not given Communion then either (all this, of course, “if the church knows about their homosexual tendencies”). “These people are not unclean, but there is an impurity in them, perhaps even from birth [So we are not "unclean", but there is "impurity" in us, we've been sort of 'contaminated' from birth - I think modern science call it "genetics", which determine 'contamination' with 'being born straight' or 'being born gay'. Apparently, we have very progressive clergy in Armenia, who 'support' 'being born' theory.]. We recently wrote an email to a homosexual and asked him to bring himself closer to God and repent,” said Deacon Suren.

As Deacon Suren Nersisyan explained it, the whole Christian world has a similar position regarding homosexuals. The only exception is the Methodist Church in the USA, which performs same-sex marriages and where 40% of the community, gathered at an assembly held in 2000, had expressed approval for the ordainment of homosexuals.

51-year old Gevorg is a successful businessman. He said that now, in a relationship with a 17-year-old boy, he has had the same feelings that he once had for his wife. Gevorg discovered these tendencies within himself years ago, after living with his wife and children for many years.

“I think gay love is more natural, because we are both of the same sex, we understand each other better and act more naturally. I hope the girls who read this will forgive me for saying so, but they are never completely honest in a relationship,” said Gevorg. [Here is another extreme - I re-read several times both Armenian and English versions of the article and could not get it why would anyone consider gay love as being "more natural" than straight one; or what does it mean that "[girls] are never completely honest in a relationship"? - the only explanation I may suggest is that this is the reflection of the influence of traditional, 'macho' mentality and male superiority in our society which affects gay people too.] He agreed to an interview with us in his apartment where I was, he said, according to him, the first “straight” person to set foot.

He explained that he had always had homosexual tendencies but it all came to the surface when he grew tired of family quarrels and sexual dissatisfaction. Gevorg has not had a legal divorce from his wife, but they no longer live together. He sees his children every week. He said that his youngest probably remained oblivious, but the elder children were beginning to have suspicions about his sexual orientation, because they were close and spent a lot of time together.

“I would like to declare all this openly, because I don't think I am doing anything unusual. But there are issues of family, friends and work - I don't want to lose all that I've gained in business, and I can't confide in my old friends,” said Gevorg, adding that he often had parties at his apartment where they would gather together in small numbers and it would remain their secret.

Just five years ago, homosexuality was considered a criminal offense in Armenia and homosexuals were constantly targeted by the police, who made frequent arrests and demanded large sums of money. The police today no longer arrest homosexuals, but they continue to meet in secret and prefer to conceal their homosexuality.

Gevorg said that there were a few clubs where they can feel free, and that many gays got together outside, but in his opinion, these gatherings were not well-organized, so he and his friends preferred to stay away.

“Many are afraid to even go to clubs, they think they will be recognized as homosexuals. But I say that they can go and see the others for themselves. We have no problems in the clubs. We are also on good terms with lesbians,” said Gevorg.

Gay club bartender Ruben said that there would be 10-15 people in the club on a usual day. When there were parties or other special occasions, there would be 50 or more – there would sometimes not even be standing room. Interestingly, there are no officially registered gay clubs in the country, according to the State Registration Agency. They are not registered separately and usually serve a small clientele.

All the gay people who spoke with us said that the best means they had to interact was the Internet, where many of them had first established relationships. There are 1,764 homosexuals registered on a social network for Armenian gays – 1,306 of them are homosexuals, 342 are bisexual, 94 are lesbians and 22 are transvestites. They usually post notices looking for someone interested in sexual relations and often mention secrecy as a necessary condition.

We tried to contact a few of them through the posts and wrote them emails. They all replied, and an Armenian from the Diaspora, visiting Yerevan for two weeks, agreed to meet. He told us that his friend had been brutally beaten a few years ago while serving in the army, and then moved out of Armenia and in with him after completing his military service.

“I was called a bad word in the street the other day and pretended not to understand Armenian; it was a very unpleasant moment,” said Daron and added that military service was most difficult for Armenian gay men.

Gevorg also spoke about his friends in the army. He talked about how the problems his friend was facing came to an end when he openly declared his homosexuality and everyone, starting with the commanders, was then very careful to avoid any incidents with him so that they would not be held responsible. “The insulting thing was that they had separated his plate and cup from the rest and would not touch it, but would come to him when they wanted to satisfy their sexual urges,” said Gevorg. He also had friends who have not had problems in the army because nobody has known about their homosexuality.

Our interviewees gave different answers to the question “When will our society become tolerant towards homosexuals?”

“The problems faced by homosexuals will not be solved in Armenia anytime soon, because the authorities prefer the attitude currently held by most people,” thought Gevorg.

Ruben said that Armenia was more or less under the influence of Russia, and if Russia – relatively more developed than Armenia – still continued to be intolerant towards homosexuals and prohibit gay parades, then it was much too soon to think about a solution in Armenia. Daron said that the animosity he faced from his peers was very painful, but he did not care much about the intolerance shown by older people.

Psychologist Davit Amiryan thinks that negative feelings towards homosexuals will change years down the line. Meanwhile, he presented the results of a survey, wherein 86.5% of young Armenians said that they refused to live near or work with homosexuals. [Interestingly, according to gay.ru, recent survey showed that 87% of young Azerbaijanis do not consider homosexuality as sin; while 64% of them regarded themselves as religious. However, I was not able to locate the original source of that survey and I am not sure about its methodology and representativeness]

Deacon Suren Nersisyan quoted the Bible to remind us that God punished the Romans for worshipping the created, instead of the Creator. He condemned them to vile passions –those vile passions were their unnatural sexual needs.

Shushan Harutyunyan

Armenian flag at Amsterdam Gay Pride

My last post was devoted to Q-Hye - Armenian LGBT organisation's participation in San Francisco Pride. Today, via Tommi Laitio, a Finnish journalist in Amsterdam, I learnt that Armenia, along with other Eastern European and post-Soviet countries, had LGBT representatives at Amsterdam Gay Pride, with Armenian flag seen on the the COC (Dutch LGBT organisation) boat during the famous Canal Parade on Saturday afternoon (4 August), which is the highlight of Amsterdam Pride:

"A Finnish friend of mine who works for a gay and lesbian organisation was in town for a seminar and she asked if I would like to join one of the boats of the Dutch gay and lesbian organisation COC [COC is known for its support of LGBT organisations in post-Soviet countries, including Menk-WFCE in Armenia]. I instantly decided to give it a go and did not regret that for a second. It was fun with people mostly from the international projects of COC so the boat was filled with people from Poland, Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Kirgistan, Moldova and a bunch of other countries where being gay is still a risk and a struggle. It was nice to witness how much they enjoyed the boat ride in the sun through a cheering Amsterdam.

I heard from my friend that Amsterdam's Gay Pride is turning again slightly more political without losing its jolly tone. Fantastic event altogether."

Pictures via Geoff Coupe

Q-Hye – Armenian LGBT organisation, in San Francisco Pride 2007

It was 24th June 2007 – the participation of Q-Hye – San Francisco’s Armenian gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organisation, in San Francisco Pride. It became an important regular event for a number of gay Armenians in the area. In fact, it was the 7th year since they first started participating in San Francisco Pride in 2001. Luckily, there are places where gay Armenians can celebrate their Pride and live their lives openly, although based on pictures and video I've seen, very few Armenians have actually marched during the Pride.

As indicated in Q-Hye statement, “all too often Armenian LGBT grow up in communities that are unable to understand and support them. In many cases Armenian LGBT leave their communities to find more supportive environments thus separating themselves from their Armenian heritage and roots. Our goal is to provide a comfortable and safe space where Armenian LGBT, their families and friends can freely express their thoughts, opinions and integrate the two identities.”

According to their website, “Q-Hye’s first meeting took place in a restaurant in San-Francisco in November 2000. Since then we have continued to meet on a monthly basis, generally on the first weekend of the month.” They participate in a wide range of activities, from Armenian community events and the annual commemoration of Armenian Genocide anniversary to meeting up at each other’s homes, restaurants, going on hiking and so on.

To contact Q-Hye and for more details about the organisation, visit here

Krikor, President of Q-Hye, in his statement made before this year Pride, mentioned that their last year placard "Hummusexulality is not Tabooli" definitely got the crowd's attention and they loved it.” Unfortunately, there were no similar placards for this year Pride (the only one is pictured above).

As Q-Hye pointed out, they “consider Pride the highlight of our year when we get to dance Shourchbar (Armenian circle dancing) down Market Street.” You can see more dancing in this year pictures.

A gallery of pictures of Q-Hye in San-Francisco Pride 2007 is now available here. They have more archive pictures on their main site.

*source of picture: Q-Hye

Picture of the Day

YE5 I GAY numberplate up for sale in London

*via PinkNews