Mixed-race people and racial harmony

Hat Tip to Racialicious!

In Scotland's Sunday Herald, Anvar Khan, who is half-white Scottish and half-Pakistani, offers a thought-provoking report on the realities of being multiracial in today's world.

Khan explains that despite some of the difficulties that multiracial individuals have faced - inadequate boxes on Census forms, difficulties feeling patriotic for only one nation, and a lack of historical role models - mixed-race people embody the "most visible sign of racial harmony" in contemporary society.

Critical of the term "multiculturalism" because "it values those who have a straightforward ancestry," Khan takes race politics to another level and hints that the increasing existence of racial hybrids will eventually undermine the dynamics of racism. For in the distant future, if more and more parents of different ethnic origins make multiracial babies, less and less will there be the facility or the desire to pit one race against another.

According to Khan, mixed-race people are the fastest growing minority in America and the UK, and the future of the world will be "various shades of brown."

Is all this realistic? Will racism fall at the hands of multiracial partners and children? I hope so.

Read more.

Andrew Anthos dies

In Detroit, 72-year-old Andrew Anthos was riding on a city bus and was asked by a fellow passenger if he was gay. The passenger then followed Anthos off the bus and attacked him with a metal pipe. Anthos died from his injuries last Friday night, 10 days after the attack. The gay, biracial Anthos was known in Michigan for his longtime campaign to illuminate the dome of the state capitol in Lansing for one night each year in red, white, and blue lights to honor military veterans and police officers. Read more.

Gay Jews, Queen Esther, and Purim

An article in last Saturday's Washington Post describes how some Jewish homosexuals connect their coming out experiences to the story of Purim, in which Queen Esther confesses her faith to save her fellow Jews in ancient Persia. For some lesbian and gay Jews, this is an allegory for self-revelation not only spiritually, but sexually as well. Some would even like the holiday of Purim (which begins at sundown on March 3rd this year) to officially become "National Jewish Coming Out Day." Read more.

Google removes hateful anti-gay blog

Good news!

Google has removed from its blogger.com service a Jamaica-based blog that called for the execution of gay people. The "killbattyman" site (http://killbattyman.blospot.com/) was shut down because it was in breach of Google's terms and conditions.

Human rights activist Peter Tatchell welcomed Google's decision and stated:

"This is not a free speech issue. Free speech does not include the right to incite the killing of other human beings."

Read more.

George Takei on Tim Hardaway

This clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live shows a mock public service announcement by gay Japanese American actor George Takei in response to the homophobic remarks made by ex-NBA star Tim Hardaway.



I initially thought the clip was quite funny until Takei made reference to Hardaway's "smooth chocolaty head." And then I wondered. Is this still funny?

I wondered if, in this context, Takei's remark was racist. I wondered if the skit would have been just as effective had no reference been made to Hardaway's skin color. As well, I wondered if Takei was somehow confronting a homophobia specific to African American heterosexual men by employing a messy strategy of fighting one form of discrimination (homophobia) with another (racism).

Does Takei's comedic sketch touch upon an ugly societal truth that holds the notion that it is somehow less offensive for a gay person of color to make a racist remark than it is for a straight white person?

One thing I am sure about is that whenever I hear any reference to skin color, the complex question of what racism is emerges inevitably in my consciousness.

AfterElton's Twenty Most Groundbreaking Gay Films

The folks at AfterElton have put together the following list of the twenty most groundbreaking films about gay men that "somehow pushed the boundaries of queer cinema in new and exciting ways."

1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
2. Teorema
3. Pink Flamingos
4. Brokeback Mountain
5. Paris is Burning
6. My Own Private Idaho
7. Fireworks
8. Tongues Untied
9. The complete works of Bruce LaBruce
10. Silverlake Life: The View From Here
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. Law of Desire
13. Boys in the Band
14. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
15. Parting Glances
16. La Cage aux Folles
17. Beautiful Thing
18. The Living End
19. Victim
20. Querelle

I would have added My Beautiful Laundrette (1985, Stephen Frears) or The Wedding Banquet (1993, Ang Lee) for their gay and interracial couplings, or The Crying Game (1992, Neil Jordan) for its exploration of race, nationality, and transgender sexuality, but as AfterElton acknowledges, "Whether you agree or disagree with our selections, we hope they inspire you to debate, discuss and, most importantly, see these noteworthy films." Read more.

Out in Iran: Inside Iran's Secret Gay World

In last night's CBC News: Sunday Night, the documentary Out in Iran: Inside Iran's Secret Gay World, produced by Evan Solomon and Fareed Haerinejad, offered viewers a glimpse of life inside Iran’s gay community. Representatives of the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization (now the Iranian Queer Organization) risked their lives to talk on film about the persecution they fear. The documentary reports that the Iranian government partially subsidizes sex change operations as a "cure" for homosexuality. And some men do undergo the surgery just to be able to be with another man in relative peace.

At the end of the documentary, Evan Solomon informed us that Mani, one of the men that was featured in the film, had just been granted official refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He hopes to be granted asylum in Canada.

Read more about the Iranian Queer Organization, and visit CBC News: Sunday Night for information on potential rebroadcasts of the documentary.

Jamaica, China, homophobia, self-hatred

Violence against gays by straights and gays


In Jamaica, a mob of as many as 2000 people attacked three gay men in front of a pharmacy in Saint Andrew Parish on Wednesday. Human Rights Watch reports Jamaica as one of the most homophobic nations in the world in which reggae and dancehall singers call for the killings of gay men and women and where homophobia flourishes amongst politicians and the police. Yet, with its sandy beaches and tropical weather, Jamaica continues to be a vacationland for many. Read more.


In China, a new study out of Hong Kong reveals that physical and emotional abuse is 60% more likely to occur in gay and lesbian couples than in straight couples. Researchers found that the most common forms of abuse were threats of outing a partner to employers or family members. Read more.

Question - If homophobia didn't exist, would we hurt each other anyway?

Kent Monkman at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I'm not usually into seeing Artist's Talks, often because although I've studied and appreciated art history, rarely have artists inspired me to the point where I can truly relate to their perspectives. But, after attending the Kent Monkman lecture last night at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), I wanted to learn more.

Monkman, a filmmaker, illustrator, and visual and performance artist of Cree and English/Irish ancestry from Manitoba, presented an overview of his work and his most recent film, Group of Seven Inches (a critique of the famed Group of Seven painters and their romanticized notion of the Canadian Landscape). Using historical images that tell stories of European domination and the obliteration of North American indigenous cultures, Monkman challenges the accuracy of the tired representations of Indians as guardians of the earth, as noble savages, and as a dying race. In his visual art, by stepping into the Romantic and colonial idioms of 19th century landscape painting, Monkman subverts from within the canvas and creates pieces such as The Rape of Daniel Boone Junior (2002) and Trappers of Men (2006), which was acquired by the MMFA last year.

Monkman explores, among other things, the colonization of Aboriginal sexuality and the homophobia that originated from Christian European imperialism. Through his artistic interventions, he reminds us that the making of history is a fluid and subjective process that entails constant inquiry and reevaluation.

Kent Monkman is extraordinary. Read more here and here, and go see Trappers of Men at the MMFA.

Valentine's Day

Twin 6’ Hearts, by Jim Dine, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Sculpture Garden. Read more.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Foundation for Ethnic Understanding - International Public Service Announcement featuring Russell Simmons and Jay-Z

This public service announcement features hip hop mogul Russell Simmons and rapper Jay-Z discussing racism and anti-semtisim on behalf of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU).

From the FFEU web site:

"The Foundation is a national non-profit dedicated to strengthening relations between ethnic communities. We are committed to the belief that direct, face-to-face dialogue between ethnic communities is the most effective path towards the reduction of bigotry and the promotion of reconciliation and understanding."

The public service announcement has been translated into German, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Nicaraguan Alvaro Orozco wins deportation delay

The Canadian Justice Department agreed Friday to defer Alvaro Orozco's removal by two months. Orozco's bid for asylum was rejected on the basis that he couldn't prove his sexual orientation. Supporters should continue contacting the office of Canadian Immigration Minister Diane Finley. Read Orozco's story here.

Nicaraguan Alvaro Orozco seeking asylum in Canada

Nicaraguan Alvaro Orozco, 21, faces deportation from Canada because Deborah Lamont, the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board member who handled his case, does not believe that he is gay. He is seeking asylum in Canada claiming feared imprisonment, if not death, in Nicaragua, where sodomy is illegal. This case has opened up a whole set of issues concerning what signifies being gay.

In Wednesday's Globe and Mail, Marina Jiménez wrote, "Soft-spoken with delicate features, wearing a pink-checked shirt, Mr. Orozco certainly looks the part, and says that from a young age he felt and behaved differently."

Lamont denied Orozco asylum apparently because he wasn't sexually active during his teen years after he fled Nicaragua to live in the United States. Orozco made his way to Canada in 2005.

As the situation stands now, Orozco's lawyer is petitioning Immigration Minister Diane Finley to let the young man stay on humanitarian grounds.

Whether or not Orozco's claims are true, at least two things are certain here. First, delicate features and pink clothing do not specifically represent gayness. And second, sexual inactivity has little to do with homosexual desire. Attempting to characterize homosexuals simplistically only obscures understanding the challenges facing gay people across the globe.

Read more.

Constitutional court in Colombia grants property rights to same-sex couples

Colombia's constitutional court has ruled that same-sex couples should have the same property rights as their straight counterparts. The law, which applies to couples who have lived together for a minimum of two years, marks a small step amidst the growing legal acceptance of same-sex unions in Latin and South America. Mexico City, the Mexican state of Coahuila, the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, and the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul have legalized same-sex civil unions. Read more.

Former NBA player, John Amaechi, comes out of the closet

In his upcoming autobiography entitled, Man in the Middle, John Amaechi will make public his homosexuality, a first for a National Basketball Association player. A handful of athletes have come out in recent years, including American football players Esera Tuaolo and Roy Simmons, who both wrote books about their experiences of being gay and in the closet in the National Football League. And while not one National Hockey League player has yet to reveal himself as homosexual, the League and the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team have given legal permission to a production company to use their official logos and uniforms in the gay-themed movie, Breakfast with Scot, set for release in late 2007. Amaechi played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, and New York Knicks, but as Ian Whittell writes, "Nothing in his playing career will compare with the impact he is about to make with the release of his [auto]biography." Read more.

Bio Who? - Public Service Announcement for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA)

It pains me to knock an organization that seeks to promote renewable fuels for transportation through consumer awareness and government liaison activities, but the racism in the "Bio Who?" ad campaign for the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) unfortunately distracts from the group's noble mission.



Why is it that the only person of color in the ad is a black woman who speaks with what sounds like a Caribbean accent when she asks, "Bio who?" This caricature harkens back to the blatantly and racially insensitive Aunt Jemima and the like representations from decades ago that utilized simplistic images of black people to sell a variety of products. While the CRFA ad contains a far more subtle racism than do the Aunt Jemima ads of the last century, it is nonetheless offensive. Wouldn't it be in the best interest of the CRFA and its cause to appeal effectively to Canada's population by truly representing the nation's diversity without resorting to reductive stereotyping?

I have written a letter of complaint to the contact listed on the CRFA web site, but unsurprisingly, I have had no response. Perhaps one of you will have better luck.

South Africa, Civil Unions, Discrimination, and Identifiable Hatred

Sometimes you never know.

When the Civil Unions law went into effect in South Africa on 30 November 2006, a collective cheer for human rights was heard in places where these things matter. Unfortunately, as an article in last week's Toronto Star points out, some black South African gays have opted not to reveal themselves and take advantage of the law for fear of being victimized by homophobic attacks. Despite the new legislation, the majority of South Africans subscribe to religions that identify homosexuality as undesirable. It's unfortunate, but not entirely surprising that it will take some time for the law to be more fully embraced. The hatred towards gays in South Africa, however, at least seems readily identifiable, which is in some ways less dangerous than the hatred behind a smiling person who politely shuts the door in your face. It's then when you wonder. Was it my sexuality? Was it my ethnicity? What was it? And sometimes, you never know.