Camden LGBT Forum launches advice and safety project (C.L.A.S.P) to welcome the worldwide LGBT community travelling to London this summer

London based LGBT charity, the Camden LGBT Forum is today celebrating its 10^th year anniversary by launching the CAMDEN LGBT ADVICE AND SAFETY PROJECT (CLASP), the first of its kind in London. 

THE BIG GAY SUMMER
Ahead of what LGBT London is calling “The Big Gay Summer” with millions of LGBT people coming into London for celebrations including WorldPride, the Cultural Olympiad and the Olympics, the Forum is urging businesses and organisations in the London Borough of Camden to be ready to welcome LGBT visitors (and London residents alike) to the area.  

This pioneering initiative aims to extend the network of safe and welcoming spaces for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people who live, visit and work in the Borough of Camden. By promoting visibility of “LGBT friendly” organisations in the area, CLASP will provide welcoming environments, focus points and sanctuary (in the event of any homophobic or transphobic bullying or attack) for LGBT people on the streets of the London Borough of Camden – not forgetting that the borough’s borders extend beyond Camden into Hampstead, Kings Cross, Russell Square and parts of Bloomsbury – all areas with a high number of LGBT visitors and residents.

“The point of this programme is firstly to show the world that Camden is an open-minded, safe place for LGBT visitors and that businesses and organisations, gay or straight owned, in Camden welcome LGBT people and and are proud to say so by displaying our CLASP stickers in their windows.

Secondly, if necessary, we provide training to all organisations and businesses to help them understand LGBT culture, including the discrimination that LGBT visitors may face and the support businesses and other organisations can provide if this does happen. This project brings different sectors of the communities in Camden together in a way that has not been done before.  It shows how supportive organisations and businesses in Camden can be to each other and to LGBT people in particular and helps to bring awareness and understanding about LGBT issues whilst making Camden a safer place overall.

I am encouraged and proud to say that many businesses and organisations , including faith groups, have signed-up already, most of them what we call “straight-allies” (non-LGBT businesses and organisations);  which sends out a powerful signal that the people of Camden reject prejudice.

I’m confident that support for this programme will extend beyond the Big Gay Summer in London to other businesses, voluntary & community groups and organisations in Camden and perhaps even beyond by becoming a London-wide initiative” – Lou Hart, Director of Camden LGBT Forum

The scheme, which will see over 70 organisations take part is launched with input and support from the Metropolitan Police, Camden Council’s Community Safety & Camden Businesses Against Crime, Crime Reduction Initiative, Camden Town Unlimited, the British Transport Police and other partners.

Participating organisations will proudly display a CLASP sticker (image attached) at their place of work and also distribute a CLASP booklet that will provide useful information to LGBT visitors to the area.

There will also be a launch event for the scheme in June, where you’ll get to meet members and advocates of the scheme and talk to them personally - invitations will be issued shortly.

Camden LGBT Forum: http://camdenlgbtforum.org.uk

Girl hair: it’s there; get used to it!

Photo source: HolyTaco.com

Last week, in line to see a film, half of my mind was in conversation with my friend while the other half sized up a cute, effeminate, young man: dark hair flopping around his deep, brown eyes; thick, post-pubescent fluff on his upper lip; olive skin accented by his black jacket, skirt and tights.

Hang on.

Back up. 

Yep, I’ve noticed this lately: women with facial hair.  Mostly moustaches.  And I like it.

Sideburns and goatees: no.  Ms.tache: yes.  (Double standards based purely on subjective preference: yes.)

I am a fan of the androgynous look.  A full-lipped, fine-featured man will usually catch my eye, especially when those features are framed with floppy hair.  And I feel more than a tingle of appreciation for Drag Kings, with their paradox of butch persona and soft skin.

But, why would I be attracted to something so anomalous to the norm as female lip-fuzz?

I could cry social activism and claim the appeal lies in its feminist stance - as is purely the case with armpit, and leg hair, I promise you. But the fe-mo: I actually find it sexy.

Photo source: HolyTaco.com

It’s widely accepted that ‘excess’ hair is the domain of the male, symbolizing physical strength, power, and protection.  The myth of Sampson and Delilah is testament to that assumption spanning centuries and cultures. Less than a hundred years ago, bearded ladies were freak show draw-cards.  Hair on women’s pretty, little faces is just not right!

Right?

Well, hold on to your handlebars, because cultural convention has been challenged.

Early last century, Frida Kahlo proudly sported her au-naturale Ms.tache.  More recently, in Summer ’05, Kate Moss donned a full faux beard for the cover of New York “style bible”, V.  Sure, maybe that one was just a fashion stunt...  Except, the female facial-hair friendly movement has since gathered real momentum.

There’s support in campaigns like Hairy Awarey and We Can Face It, articles in respected publications, celebrity backing, documentaries on mainstream TV, plus social media and, perhaps most visibly, public pride and acceptance.

So, is the appeal of the female moustache an extension of my physical attraction to androgyny?  

Or my psychological attraction to a good, ol’ genderfucking and culture jam?

In a way, I’m glad I don’t have an answer because a little mystery keeps things interesting.  I’m also glad that, like my proud, hairy sisters, I’m OK to give social convention a two-fingered salute.

Then use those two fingers to smooth out their sexy ‘taches.

By Raegan Krista.

NO.NO Fest :(

We are disappointed today to hear the GO.GO Fest 2012 has had to be cancelled.

Despite a long run at promotion, offers and a fantastic line up that included acts such as Uh Huh Her, Betty and Jill Jackson, and a much more accessible venue for Londoners, it appears that not enough women were drawn to the festival billed as a non stop 72 hour party for women.
GO.GO have commented via email and on their website that

"2012 has proved to be a very challenging year, and due to this we do not feel we would be able to deliver a festival to the standard that our artists and audience deserve. We have fought very hard to keep GO.GO Festival in the 2012 calendar and have tried everything imaginable to find a solution to make the festival go ahead, but this has proven to be an impossible task."

Ticket prices will be refunded, however it is unclear whether this includes the booking fee or how to retrieve glamping ticket fees.

The news shortly followed the announcement of cancellation by LadyRock a manchester festival also aimed at Lesbians and Bi women and the news in late April that Pride House would also not be taking place during the Summer Olympics following financial difficulties in getting funding and sponsorship together.
So why did lesbians decide not to go this event? Feedback in our recent survey (http://bit.ly/v26de) suggests there is a demand and interest for this kind of festival, and that women are prepared to travel and spend money for good value. Perhaps just a sign of the current economic situation in the UK, which will hopefully improve and see the return of Go.Go, Ladyrock and other festivals in 2013.

We've been assured that LFest will be going ahead, and we're also hoping that World Pride will also survive this tough year.

For more information visit http://www.gogofestival.com

London Mayoral Elections 2012

So hands up those of you that knew about the Mayoral elections on the 3^rd May? Now hands up those of you that understand politics and what the role of the London Mayor is?? If like me, you find politics confusing, boring and just switch off at the mere mention of it, well think again!!! Hopefully by the time you've read this article, you will be converted and be treating politics as your new best friend.

What is the role of the Mayor?

The Mayor is responsible for a wide range of issues in London that affect everyone of us on a daily basis. This year also brings in a new responsibility of having control over the Police. The Mayor and the London committee are responsible for:

•                     Transport

•                     Health

•                     Culture

•                     Housing

•                     Fire and Emergency Planning

•                     Economic development and regeneration

•                     Planning and Development

Who are the candidates?

There are seven candidates in total, two of whom have been previous elected Mayor of London. The seven are Siobhan Benita, an independent candidate, Carlos Cortiglia for the BNP, Boris Johnson for the Conservative Party, Jenny Jones for the Green Party, Ken Livingstone for the Labour Party, Brian Paddick for the Liberal Democrats and finally Lawrence James Webb for the Fresh Choice for London.

Of these seven candidates, four are seen as the front runners and it was these four that attended the recent Stonewall Mayoral Hustlings. The current Mayor Boris Johnson along with Ken Livingston, Brain Paddick and Jenny Jones each pitched their manifestos and undertook a question and answer session from the LGBT community hosted by Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill.

You can view the full Stonewall Hustings here - hopefully it well help inform your decision when it comes to the big vote on Thursday.

If you've lost your polling card, you don't actually need it, but you do need to be registered to vote at your current address and will need ID if not the polling card to be able to vote on the day. Most polling stations open at 7 and shut late in the evening. Your local council's website will have details of polling station addresses.

More details can be found on the London Elects website. http://www.londonelects.org.uk/
by Lisa Lindsey http://flirtybertiedragking.weebly.com

Not so out and proud at the Olympics

This morning we learned that Pride House, offered as one of the official Olympics Houses specifically for the LGBT communities and set to take place on Clapham Common, will no longer be taking place due to not raising enough sponsorship or attracting artists. The news was leaked by Pride House Director Chad Molleken to Your Local Guardian.

The event promised 2 weeks of a wide ranging programme of music, culture, health clinics and LGBT visibility.

The music stage and events had been contracted to established events company LoveBox and as such we have to question what they have been doing all this time to have not attracted enough interest from artists?

As for not attracting enough sponsorship, this is a real shame and missed opportunity but perhaps the failure could be due to only targetting corporations and the lack of grass roots community involvement in the project and attracting funds. Who did they approach for sponsorship? There has been little transparency and it appears an assumption that the UK would be a similar experience to the Vancouver games was wrong.

A spokesperson for Lambeth Council said:

We're obviously disappointed that the organisers of Pride House feel they cannot stage the event on Clapham Common, but we respect and understand their decision. This is a purely commercial decision, and we are grateful that the organisers have thanked the council for its support with the plans and noted the professionalism of the council's events team throughout.

The initial interest was good, and there were many high profile supporters including Stephen Fry and the Mayor's office, but the momentum since December has been lacking and information missing.

We tried to make contact with Pride House in January before the official launch at City Hall and their introduction at the LGBT History Month event at Oval.

We've barely heard a word from them, despite our interest and attempts to interact. There website was briefly informative and exciting, but was then replaced with a holding page, giving little information if you didn't already know what Pride House was about.

The word was clearly slow to spread and every person who we mentioned Pride House to had never heard of it.

So are we surprised? not really. Disappointed? Of course. If London can't pull this off, there is little hope for the next Olympics in Russia where it would be needed much more. This could have been a great platform to assist in gay rights and visibility.

Had you heard of Pride House? Does the idea of an Olympic House for the LGBT community appeal to you? What opportunities are there for the LGBT community to get together in a safe, fun, organised space during the Olympics now?

We're still hopeful that this event will take place in some format, we're waiting with baited breath...

http://www.facebook.com/PrideHouseLDN
http://www.pridehouselondon.co.uk/

Being a Same Sex Partner When a Medical Emergency Occurs

I’ve been AWOL from writing any articles for a while now, life certainly does get in the way sometimes and the last few months have been no exception.

My beautiful wife had a health scare recently which meant we both had no choice than to place our futures into the hands of the NHS. 

On that crazy day I experienced firsthand how it feels to be a partner waiting to hear news on their loved ones health and I have been left wondering whether I was treated as well a husband or wife would be as part of a heterosexual couple?

With all the forms that were filled in prior to surgery I was always recorded as the next of kin or listed as the civil partner but I felt throughout the whole experience that I was treated as if I was just a friend. 

As my wife was wheeled off to theatre I was left to stand teary eyed in the corridor until I gathered myself leaving without anybody explaining what happened next.  I had expected to be sat down and told exactly what was happening, shown to some kind of relative’s room so I could wait to hear she was safely out of surgery or even just to have been given a phone number I could call would have been helpful, maybe I’ve just been watching too much Grey’s Anatomy.

After 3 hours of waiting back at home I phoned the hospital for a progress report where I was told that everything was ok but nobody had thought to phone to tell me she was safely in recovery.

When I arrived on the hospital ward I was breathless at seeing my partner covered in wires and being monitored carefully by a hovering nurse, I was told visiting hours were over after just 30 minutes and was swiftly shepherded off the ward.  Thankfully the patient was back at home the next day so I didn’t need to use my plan to evade detection by the nurses to be able to spend more than half an hour with her, it was such a genius plan.

I’m happy to report that after months of healing my wife is back to her usual happy self and I could not be more grateful for the doctors and nurses of our wonderful health system that provided my wife’s care that day. I am however still left wondering whether this is the treatment all partners receive no matter whether it’s a heterosexual or same-sex couple or whether I was treated as less important that day?

Hopefully I’ll never have another event like this that I can compare against, but have you got any stories you can share where you’ve had a great/not so great experience of being the same-sex partner of a patient of the National Health Service?

 By: Katie Doyle

LLGFF Review Pariah

This feature originally aired at LLGFF in 2007 as a short. Writer/Director Dee Rees started Pariah as a feature but whilst interning on Spike Lee’s ‘Inside Man’ and writing her master thesis, she took the first act and shot it as a short – so successful it led to the feature being made.

This contemporary drama is another fine example of the quality of films at the 2012 festival and the highest quality lesbian programming we’ve been lucky to see for a long time. Let’s hope its a turning tide for lesbian films.

The film is set in Brooklyn, New York and is a strong film which has a great soundtrack. The main character Alike is a poet and uses words to explain her feelings and emotions.

Rather refreshingly the film picks up right in the action and from the outset the tone is set. 17 year old Alike knows she is gay and is frequenting the local nightclub with her best friend Laura. Unlike Laura, who has a way with the ladies, Alike is shy and looking for a girlfriend rather than a one night stand.

This film deals with a number of key themes well established in coming of age films, which we can all relate to. From parents fighting over ‘who should talk to their daughter about what is happening to her’, to a mum not liking the friends you keep, the conflict caused by religious beliefs and discovering sexuality, as well as trying to find yourself and your first relationship.

I particularly liked the way Alike was portrayed as having two personas. The one at school and in clubs and the one at home. Using the bus and school toilets to transform, fighting to keep her two lives separate.

I also thought the best friend Laura was a particularly strong character. I was happy to see the two sides of her shown – the external character who charms the ladies and the softer, caring side hidden from prying eyes, hiding below the surface.

Another aspect that rang true for me was the scene where Alike talks to her father about fancying someone. I remember that feeling of ‘trying to talk to my parents about my feelings, and having met someone, and predictably they jumped to an assumption that it’s a boyfriend... which immediately causes you to shut down because it is awkward and they obviously don’t understand as much as you thought’.

Another strand, ultimately with a strong message for me was that ultimately, everyone has their own priorities and puts themselves first. Adolescence is about finding who you are and sometimes the journey to discover this can be painful as well as exciting and fun.