tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28699281333265460252024-03-18T13:32:52.319+00:00The Queerstory FilesLgbt (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) history for everyone. No academic gobbledigook. No deep analysis. Just queer facts. There's still a lot of bigotry around but there's also lots to celebrate.Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.comBlogger1144125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-85019712398346722182024-03-01T09:17:00.002+00:002024-03-01T09:17:56.476+00:00City Pride: Singapore<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I haven’t done a “City Pride” for a long
time. In fact, I think the last one I did was for Paris to celebrate the Gay
Games in 2018. So, last year I decided it was time to highlight another city
and its lgbt+ heritage. The question was, which city? Then I noticed I had a
lot of readers in Singapore, and I realised that I knew hardly anything about
its lgbt+ community, except for Pink Dot. So, after months of looking for
appropriate points in Singapore’s queer history and culture I have selected the
following. The main task was to find places that are grouped together which are
as diverse as the community itself.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If you’re from Singapore I doubt any of
these will be unknown to you, and I hope I have done my research correctly.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As before, the map is not intended to be
used as the means for you to get from one location to another. It is intended
purely as a rough guide to where the locations are situated. Many roads and
streets are omitted, but I hope there is enough information for you to find
them on proper maps.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfDtLSZTjQZyS2TLU2VUv4XA1g01CFSwBC1Apu7o3NOkgwvStn3QUII8OYyJDIxSl8SZFd_rUP8OufQxPM1Y17WQbRMnulPKOwu9dxeE7bH9RnbgcQMtZc0EvlgJTdTVmZdKzlI7YHuRzvYqT66lvRHnlO0mhwqMqGiCT7yUfMN2ltHBpUXyrsPUSSa8/s1304/Singapore.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1140" data-original-width="1304" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyfDtLSZTjQZyS2TLU2VUv4XA1g01CFSwBC1Apu7o3NOkgwvStn3QUII8OYyJDIxSl8SZFd_rUP8OufQxPM1Y17WQbRMnulPKOwu9dxeE7bH9RnbgcQMtZc0EvlgJTdTVmZdKzlI7YHuRzvYqT66lvRHnlO0mhwqMqGiCT7yUfMN2ltHBpUXyrsPUSSa8/w440-h385/Singapore.png" width="440" /></span></a></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><u style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">1) Crocodile Rock, Scotts Road</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"> -</u> The oldest and longest-running
lesbian bar in Singapore, operating between 1992 and 2007. Alternatively known
as Croc Rock.<u style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: underline;"><o:p></o:p></u></span></p></span><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">2)
KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Bukit Timah Road - </span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">More Singaporians have been born here
than in any other hospital in Singapore, so naturally this would include a lot
of lgbt+ people. However, the reason I put it on this list is because it was
also the hospital which performed the first male-to-female sex-assignment
surgery in the country in 1971.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">3)
Pelangi Pride Centre, Rowell Road</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - This is the original location of
Singapore’s first lgbt+ centre. It was founded in 2003 by the city’s Action for
AIDS (AfA) charity in the offices above their headquarters. Both the Pelangi
Pride Centre and Action for AIDS have moved to other premises (see number 4).</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">4)
Action for AIDS (AfA), Kelantan Lane</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - The charity’s present location. AfA was
founded in 1988 by dermatologist Dr. Roy Chan (b.1955) who is still it’s President.
Dr. Chan competed for Singapore in swimming at the 1972 Olympics.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">5)
The Substation, Armenian Street</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - The first independent contemporary arts
centre in Singapore, founded in 1990 on the site of a former power station. It
has organised many exhibitions of lgbt+ artists and interests. It was the venue
of the monthly forum of People Like Us (PLU), 1993-4, an lgbt+ lobby group
formed in 1993.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">6)
Suntec Singapore International Conference and Exhibition Centre</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - Venue of Singapore’s first National AIDS
Conference on 12 December 1998. At this conference Paddy Chew became the first
person in Singapore to come out publicly as having HIV. He died the following
year. His life was the basis for the play “Completely With/Out Character” by
Haresh Sharma. More recently, it was the venue for the wrestling competition at
the very first Youth Olympic Games in 2010 (see number 8). Here, the oldest of
the 9 lgbt+ athletes, 17-year-old Jenna Burkert, competed for the USA.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">7)
Rascals, Pan Pacific Hotel</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - Rascals was a club that organised a gay
night at the Pan Pacific Hotel every Sunday. On 30 May 1993, Singapore police
raided the club and interrogated its customers. It is regarded as Singapore’s
“Stonewall”, an event which had a significant effect on the lgbt community and
its future.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">8)
The Float, Marina Bay</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - With my specialist interest in the
Olympics it comes as no surprise that I mention it several times. The very
first Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore in 2010. The opening ceremony
was held at The Float, and is the first Olympic opening ceremony to be held on
water, despite what Paris 2024 thinks. The Singapore Youth Olympics were also
significant for currently having the most known lgbt+ athletes, 9, though none
of them were publicly out at the time. Among them was British diver Tom Daley,
the only one of the 9 who had competed in a previous Olympics (Beijing 2008,
aged 14). If Tom makes it to Paris 2024 without injury, he will equal US
equestrian rider Robert Dover’s record of competing at 6 Olympics. Only one
lgbt+ Youth Olympian won a medal in Singapore 2010, a gold for Austrian sailor
Lara Vadlau. She, like Tom Daley, has qualified for Paris 2024.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">9)
Pink Dot, Speaker’s Corner, Hong Lim Park</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - Location of the annual Pink Dot Pride
event. The first was held here on 16 May 2009, when it attracted the largest
attendance for any gathering at Speaker’s Corner up to that date. The only
years it was not held here were during the covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 when
they were held online. Pink Dot events have been held in other cities around
the world, all following the same signature format of attendees wearing pink.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">10)
Boat Quay</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> - Before this area was redeveloped in the
1990s, the streets around Boat Quay were popular cruising grounds for gay men.</span></span></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-17184353757907301832024-02-01T08:36:00.001+00:002024-02-01T08:36:10.424+00:0024 for '24<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">LGBT History Month UK is
with us again. Following on from my previous post about the number 24 being
regarded as homophobic, I will reclaim the number for our community and present
24 facts and trivia about the lgbt+ community and culture. You may even already
know about some of these, and some of these come from posts and articles I have
written in the past.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1) The first AIDS
awareness ribbon was created by Barnaby Miln (b.1947), an openly gay member of
the General Synod of the Church of England, who distributed small pieces of
rainbow ribbon in 1986 through his charity Christian Action on AIDS. Miln also
came up with the idea of World AIDS Day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2) The door of Freddie
Mercury’s garden lodge was sold at auction in 2023 for £400,000 ($508,160). It
was covered in hand-written tributes and messages left by fans following his
death in 1991.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3) Ukrainian lgbt+
soldiers have taken to wearing a unicorn badge on their uniform in defiance of
Russia’s homophobic laws. Russia has claimed that lgbt+ soldiers don’t exist in
their own army, so the Ukrainian soldiers adopted a non-existence animal to
represent themselves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4) Scientific studies have
shown that there is a higher percentage of left-handed people (like myself) in
the lgbt+ community than in the non-lgbt+ community.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5) In 1967 the state of
Illinois became the first in the USA to decriminalise homosexuality.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">6) Following the accession
of King Charles III, Ellen Lascelles (b.1984) became 74th in line of succession
to the UK throne (merely a hypothetical list beyond the first 3 or 4). Ellen is
currently (Feb 2024) 76th, and the highest placed member of the lgbt+ community
on the list.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">7) The clownfish can
change gender as it grows older. All clownfish are born male, and some change
gender when there is a shortage or absence of female clownfish. It makes you
see the Disney film “Finding Nemo” in a new light!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">8) Noel Currer-Briggs
(1919-2004), one of several gay World War II codebreakers who worked at
Bletchley Park with Alan Turing, was a prominent genealogist of the late 20th
century, and a leading authority on the Shroud of Turin, the suppose shroud of
Christ.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">9) Nicholas Cherrywood
(b.1996) of Dallas, USA, a gay model and make-up artist, holds the current
Guinness World Record for owning the biggest collection of Care Bears
memorabilia and items. He has collected 1,234 items with an estimated value of
£120,000 ($152,379). Incidentally, Nicholas Cherrywood is also the name of one
the villains in the Care Bears franchise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">10) This week in Venice
they are halfway through their annual carnival. Cat masks, called “gnago” or
“gnaghe” are popular, and were once a sign of homosexuality. In the 16th
century male prostitutes wore cat masks during the carnival to approach
prospective clients. Homosexuality was illegal, but Venetian law said that
wearing a mask during carnival meant you were playing a character and not
yourself, so you couldn’t be arrested. However, female prostitutes complained
that their business was being taken away, so…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">11) …in 1511 the Venetian
authorities added female prostitutes to their list of commercial enterprises
who were required by law to display their wares in public. Female prostitutes
were thus allowed to lean out of windows with their breasts exposed. That’s why
modern Venice has a Street of Breasts and a Bridge of Breasts. And all because
male prostitutes were taking their business away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">12) Neuschwanstein Castle
in Bavaria, built by the gay King Ludwig II (1845-1886), became familiar to
millions of children after 1968 when it featured prominently in the film
“Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang” as the castle of Baron Bomburst.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">13) The first player in
the Ladies Professional Golf Association to come out publicly while still a
competitor was Muffin Spencer-Devlin (b.1953) in 1996.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">14) Figures originally
published by the Office for National Statistics based on the 2021 UK census
mistakenly overestimated the number of people self-identifying as pansexual due
to a faulty census code. The figure was originally published was 112,000. The
corrected figure published in October 2023 is 48,000.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">15) The oldest known lgbt+
couple to get married did so on 6th September 2014. Vivien Bazack (1923-2016)
and Verona “Nonie” Dubes (1924-2022) married in the First Christian Church,
Davenport, Iowa, USA. Vivien was 91, Nonie was 90.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">16) The urban
rainbow-painted road crossings that are popular in some cities around the world
are thought to have originated in Taiwan in June 2008. The first was part of a
gender equality campaign created by Prof. Jerry H. Hsia and the Graduate School
of Fine Arts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">17) The longest surviving
rainbow crossing is in West Hollywood, California, USA. It was created to
celebrate Gay Pride Month 2012.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">18) The gay Baron Franz
Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás (1877-1933) has been called the Father of
Palaeobiology because he tried to work out how dinosaurs lived and theorised
that they are the ancestors of birds. Scientists mocked him, but his ideas are
now considered standard knowledge.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">19) Deborah Sampson
(1760-1827), who served in the American Revolution dressed as a man, is the
only historical lgbt+ female to feature on a flag. She appears on the town flag
of Plympton, Massachusetts, USA, where she was born.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">20) In 2012, military
historian Gavin Menzies wrote a book claiming that Zheng He (1371-c.1434), a
Chinese admiral and eunuch, “discovered” the American continent in 1421. The
claim is generally regarded as pseudo-history without genuine evidence, though
Zheng He was a great explorer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">21) In 2019, Otis
Francis-Smith became the first baby to be carried by both female parents.
Lance-Corporal Donna Francis-Smith is the biological mother whose egg was
fertilised and then implanted into her partner Jasmine Francis-Smith, who gave
birth to Otis. The procedure has successfully been carried out only once more
since then.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">22) Von Steuben Day is
celebrated in mid-September every year in several cities across the USA,
primarily in New York City and Philadelphia. It commemorates Baron Friedrich
von Steuben (1730-1794), a Prussian officer regarded as the Father of the
American Revolutionary Army. He fled from Europe to escape accusations of homosexuality.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">23) New Zealand was the
first country to legally recognise gender-diverse identities in 2015. Technically,
the law includes anyone who identifies as a straight drag performer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">24) Clatterdevengeance is
a derogatory slang term for the penis which appears only twice in print (other
than slang dictionaries). It appears in two satirical broadsheets called
“Mercurius Demoncritus” by John Crouch in 1659 and 1660. They were published at
the end of the Protectorate, the period when England was a republic, and just
before the restoration of the monarchy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-19215054315993385472024-01-15T08:51:00.001+00:002024-01-15T08:51:54.126+00:00The World's Most Homophobic Number?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqcP11Aa2JBr6srWMXvihndXI5GZTXLZNAJ0fIeJ0NNCxvnIWLkQBmPQTC4E6eSwmTavTDaXj6nk5BUBO-DJoZU8n3VgiFQ5j1Bkz15N6n2G6pligpUY7mOEvqAL9hGKzCgPzQkA1LlpdMvDwTO4e3ixIHwmRBQb61HZut3XCPVYj1Kl2-XYwE0b1oeE/s628/23+1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="628" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqcP11Aa2JBr6srWMXvihndXI5GZTXLZNAJ0fIeJ0NNCxvnIWLkQBmPQTC4E6eSwmTavTDaXj6nk5BUBO-DJoZU8n3VgiFQ5j1Bkz15N6n2G6pligpUY7mOEvqAL9hGKzCgPzQkA1LlpdMvDwTO4e3ixIHwmRBQb61HZut3XCPVYj1Kl2-XYwE0b1oeE/s320/23+1.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>It’s not a pleasant note to begin the
New Year with, but 2024 may be regarded by some as a year to avoid because the
number 24 is considered as unlucky as the number 13, particularly in Brazil.
The only difference is that 24’s reputation stems from its association with
homosexuality. Is it the world’s most homophobic number?</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So many numbers are considered as either
lucky of unlucky. Most of these beliefs are based on superstition or
pseudo-numerology.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We don’t have to go that far back to
discover why. To 1892, in fact. That’s within the lifetimes of two of my
grandparents, both of whom lived into the 1980s. The story behind it involves a
monkey farm, a zoo, and a lottery.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We’ll start with the monkey farm.
Despite first impressions, the monkey farm, or the Fazenda do Macacos, was a
complex of fruit orchards, gardens and sugar cane plantations in Rio de
Janeiro. Once owned by the Franciscans, it got its name because it was over-run
by monkeys in the harvesting season, all eager to snatch some fresh fruit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Fazenda passed from the Franciscans
to the Portuguese crown, of which Brazil was still then a colony, in the 1750s.
After independence in 1825 the first Emperor of Brazil, as the King of Portugal
became, visited the Fazenda from Portugal for hunting and riding. After several
years the emperor stopped visiting Rio and the Fazenda began to be neglected.
By the 1870s the Rio municipal authorities were developing the area around the
Fazenda. João Batista Viana Drummond, Baron Drummond (1825-1897) bought the
Fazenda in 1872 and decided to create Rio’s first zoo on the site in 1888.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Entry to the zoo was free, but the baron
received tax rebates and subsidies from the city council. This financial
arrangement soon vanished the following year when Brazil became a republic.
Income and attendance at the zoo fell, so in 1892 Baron Drummond came up with a
lottery to raise funds, basing it on animals in his zoo.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The lottery was called the Jogo do
Bicho, or Game of Beasts. Everyone visiting the zoo could buy a ticket upon
which were printed the name of one of 25 different animals in the zoo. At the
start of each day the baron would chose which animal would be the winning
ticket. A picture of the chosen animal was revealed later that day, and holders
of the winning tickets won the prize money. The winning animal was publicised
in the Rio newsagents.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Very soon people were asking for tickets
of their favourite or lucky animals. Then people began buying tickets without
entering the zoo, and the whole thing blew up into a big gambling racket.
Within four years some people were buying tickets in bulk, and these
“intermediaries” began re-selling them on the streets for a profit. The lottery
gradually evolved. Numbers were allotted to each of the 25 animals, and soon
people began betting on their favourite number as well. Bets were taken in
newspaper kiosks, on street corners and anywhere the “intermediaries” could
attract custom.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By this time Baron Drummond was dead,
and most of the money from ticket sales that should have gone to the zoo was
going into the pockets of the “intermediaries”. In the 1890s the Brazilian
government tried to crack down of gambling, but the Jogo do Bicho survived because
police and local authorities turned a blind eye, and were probably being
bribed. Officially the Jogo do Bicho was banned in 1946, but it still survives
as an underground lottery, which everyone, including the government, knows
about.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, why did the number 24 in the Jogo do
Bicho lottery become associated with the gay community and become so
homophobic? It’s all about one of those animals featured on the tickets,
specifically the animal that was numbered 24, a deer. In Portuguese this animal
is called “veado”. In the mid-20th century the word “veado” began to be used as
a derogatory term for gay men in Brazil, first appearing in print in 1956.
Because the Jogo do Bicho was such a huge part of Brazilian culture, it wasn’t
long before people were linking the number 24 with homosexuality purely because
it was the number assigned to a deer on the lottery ticket.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The link between 24 and the deer may
even have been a misunderstanding of the word “veado”, because there is another
theory that says that “veado” is short for “transviado”, which means “deviant”
or “immoral”. There may be no connection to a deer at all. But this hasn’t
stopped 24 from being regarded as both unlucky, and unmanly. In Brazilian sport
there are many sportsmen who refuse to play in a team (e.g in football) if
their shirt number is 24. There have been a few cases in recent years of male
footballers defiantly wearing 24 on their shirt, regardless of the homophobic
abuse they receive from fans during a match because of it. Other people
renumber their house if it is number 24, changing it 23.5. There are people who
would prefer not to celebrate their 24th birthday, and celebrate being 23+1
instead. There’s even 23+1 birthday candles (pictured above).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Even though gambling in Brazil is
illegal (mainly applying to casinos) the Jogo do Bicho still exists, though its
20th century history was polluted by the involvement of crime gangs and money
laundering. But two surprising outcomes of their involvement is the formation
of local football (soccer) clubs, and the growth of the carnival parade culture
in Brazil.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although crime gangs weren’t the only
influence on carnival culture, the money they accumulated through their use of
“intermediaries” to sell Jogo do Bicho tickets at a profit went towards keeping
the local citizens on their side, so to speak, without having to make overt
threats. To do this, the crime bosses gave money to local communities to set up
football clubs (and we know how much Brazilians love their football) and samba
dance schools (samba being a vital part of the carnival culture, which the
Brazilians love just as equally). This was more effective in the larger
Brazilian cities. It could be claimed that the famous carnival parades in Rio
de Janeiro or São Paulo only became so big through the money given by crime
gangs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Back to the number 24 and homosexuality.
Just like the Nazi pink triangle the lgbt+ community has begun to “reclaim” the
number 24 and use it to help the cause of democracy. This was seen during
Brazil’s municipal elections in 2012 when over 100 lgbt+ candidates stood for
election. All candidates receive an official electoral number, without which
they could not legally stand for election. Many of the lgbt+ candidates
included the number 24 in their electoral number.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The 2012 election saw the largest ever
number of lgbt+ candidates in municipal election in Brazil up to that time. According
to Associação Brasileira de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais
(ABGLT), a leading lgbt+ rights organisation in Brazil, there were only 78 in
the previous election in 2008.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the 2012 candidates was </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bia Ifran Oliveira (1969-2019)</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, a
transgender candidate for the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker’s Party) in the
election to the city council of São Borja, her home city in the southernmost
province of Brazil. The 2012 election was taking place several years before
Brazil passed the law recognising non-reassigned transgender individuals’ right
to legally change their gender on their birth certificates, so Bia was
registered as a male candidate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bia was a hairdresser and stylist as a
profession and was well-known figure in São Borja. She was president of the
city’s prestigious samba school (not founded by Jogo do Bicho crime gangs as
far as I can discover), which is also one of the biggest participants in the
city’s annual carnival parade. Bia was also an lgbt+ activist. She was the
first transwoman to run for municipal election for the Partido dos
Trabalhadores. Below is one of her campaign adverts in which you can see her
election number containing 24. In the election Bia won 339 votes, placing her
35th, which isn’t bad when you consider that she was up against 102 other
candidates.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NS8cKYbik4pjgMhaH-t6vCXiMAN0GhEUz55adNMu-gL2K22ln2-GNAmolF8hM8pK9Nf_VkMneIFj9eaeupr_KYFj6RQiL01Kee9DsvXKWb8lZ_fqRIpTNmUCDI4bHLHdq7UA1dHCWLFMXlcWWSd5oKZ6axUCnoX3i_oh8-_rwOOwLsPVWxsDjsqf7hw/s1600/Sem%20t%C3%ADtulo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5NS8cKYbik4pjgMhaH-t6vCXiMAN0GhEUz55adNMu-gL2K22ln2-GNAmolF8hM8pK9Nf_VkMneIFj9eaeupr_KYFj6RQiL01Kee9DsvXKWb8lZ_fqRIpTNmUCDI4bHLHdq7UA1dHCWLFMXlcWWSd5oKZ6axUCnoX3i_oh8-_rwOOwLsPVWxsDjsqf7hw/w400-h200/Sem%20t%C3%ADtulo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>It remains to be seen whether the stigma
attached to 24 in Brazil will finally disappear during 2024. After all, it’s
the first time that the number has been part of the year number since it became
a derogatory term. Brazil is one of those contradictory places – you hear so
much about homophobia and transgender murders, yet at the end 2023 Brazil was
placed higher than the UK and the USA in many equality indexes (I’ve never
understood the USA’s self-declared place as a champion of lgbt rights anyway).
Just in case you question Brazil’s placing, you can do what I did and look
online (organisations which publish figures include the UN, World Population
Review, Human Rights Campaign, Amnesty International, Equaldex, and many more).</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But let’s forget about the stigma and
homophobia of the number 24 and follow the example of Brazil’s lgbt candidates
in 2012 and make 2024 the year in which we can all show that it is a year of
hope, acceptance and enlightenment for all communities of every race, gender,
politics, faith, non-faith, age, ability, culture, and opinion.</span></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-61711636558749581812024-01-03T08:34:00.000+00:002024-01-03T08:34:17.848+00:00What's in Store for '24<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Happy New Year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This year is going to be
busy for me. This is an Olympic year, with the summer games being held in Paris
this coming July and August. There’s also the Olympic Youth Winter Games later
this month. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My Olympic research has increased in the past months as I have been
tracking over 200 lgbt athletes as they compete in Olympic qualifying and
ranking events, of which there are over a dozen each week. The all-time lgbt
Olympian list currently stands at 710. I doubt if it’ll get up to 750 before
the games begin in July, but you never know.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On top of all that, I
still have a “proper” job to go to five days a week. What this means is that I
have less time to research other subjects. But I don’t want to neglect covering
the diversity of topics that I have for the past 12 years. They will be less
frequent this year. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have produced a schedule of what I am planning to post in 2024. The
list below is purely provisional. If any significant event or subject crops up
I may have to reschedule some articles. There may be additional posts that are
just links to YouTube videos or other articles, whatever I think you might be
interested in.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here is my provisional
calendar for the first half of 2024.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">January 15 – The World’s
Most Homophobic Number?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">February 1 – LGBT History
Month UK - 24 Fax for ‘24.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">March 1 – City Pride (an
Asian city).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">March 27 – Spy Wednesday:
Covering Bond.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">April 26 – An early French
Olympian.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">May 17 – Game of Gay
Thrones 9.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">June 10 – Heraldic
Alphabet 2024.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">July 1 – (Not Quite) 80
Gays Around the World: Part 6.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">July 24 – Eve of the
Olympics.</span></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-35570567779495813702023-12-24T08:44:00.002+00:002023-12-24T08:44:26.518+00:00Advent 4: Away in a Manger<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiff6pD-6ecNKiFccZVxSK9V8pR6gQEvsukKqvgZ4zXyzq_uuQrvm73x3nPqHgtZgwOcT-DjcmMincBt92-6T-xFyfVSEDdzJVEFOq8XNpC4LXfhLX-nsRByeBB8Tho40h_jSndH6O3-M2gS6eyxHU3ZrGPqXb7_wxkobohzVfX9SflqZeOk4-5gYqbohI/s1280/christmas-crib-figures-1905869_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="1280" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiff6pD-6ecNKiFccZVxSK9V8pR6gQEvsukKqvgZ4zXyzq_uuQrvm73x3nPqHgtZgwOcT-DjcmMincBt92-6T-xFyfVSEDdzJVEFOq8XNpC4LXfhLX-nsRByeBB8Tho40h_jSndH6O3-M2gS6eyxHU3ZrGPqXb7_wxkobohzVfX9SflqZeOk4-5gYqbohI/s320/christmas-crib-figures-1905869_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>Something short and sweet
today, because it’s Christmas Eve and I’m sure most of us will be busy doing
last-minute shopping and preparations for tomorrow. I know I do.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Away in the manger” is
one of the most popular Christmas carols in the English-speaking world. It sums
up the atmosphere of a stable with a family celebrating the birth of their new
born baby son. This year we celebrate 800 years of the Christmas crib scene,
those models and representations of the birth of Jesus in the stable. They come
in all shapes and sizes and are mainly set up in churches but they appear
almost everywhere at this time of year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I remember a special one
from my childhood. It was a scene of the Nativity, made in brown plastic about
6 inches high. It was clockwork, and when you wound it up it played “Silent
Night”, and a circle of plastic donkeys would revolve around the central scene
of Many, Joseph and the baby Jesus. It got wound up a lot, and I’m surprised it
lasted so many years. I wonder if my brother still has it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The person we have to
thank for coming up with the idea of having a scene of the Nativity to
celebrate Christmas is a famous queer saint I wrote about earlier this year –
St. Francis of Assisi.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fortunately, I don’t need
to write about today it because I did so several years ago in my Advent series
of 2019. So, I’ll direct you <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2019/12/deck-halls-4-setting-scene.html" target="_blank">there.</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Thank you all for
following me throughout 2023. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, Happy
Holiday, and all my seasonal best wishes to you all.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-88992216691951578982023-12-17T08:48:00.000+00:002023-12-17T08:48:06.993+00:00Advent 3: A Swedish Spirit Of Christmas<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6YGyHX9jyZ74UdbWC12G2lh8U_wclASnJxn5OsBYcPs6-jHiBdcAYIKzhX1tGNZUFrEB4GwnQjKcYb9wzO6u2BMRYpp3kAeUiR7ErEpTFBCcAlLO1R3SdIV52rd2ON0dSXqd43SfCIf0kMFo9pP9LGHWooThtLYOM5BbMBG6RQhSmZ-OQqHEiyLRc4E/s617/rod181686_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh6YGyHX9jyZ74UdbWC12G2lh8U_wclASnJxn5OsBYcPs6-jHiBdcAYIKzhX1tGNZUFrEB4GwnQjKcYb9wzO6u2BMRYpp3kAeUiR7ErEpTFBCcAlLO1R3SdIV52rd2ON0dSXqd43SfCIf0kMFo9pP9LGHWooThtLYOM5BbMBG6RQhSmZ-OQqHEiyLRc4E/w414-h640/rod181686_0.jpg" width="414" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>Most people are aware that
the familiar character of Santa Claus got a big boost in popularity after the
publication of the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas”, popularly known by its opening
line “Twas the night before Christmas”. More than anything else, this poem
cemented the idea that St. Nicholas and Santa Claus are the same character,
even though they’re not.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Actually, this Christmas is
special for two special reasons. You’ll have to wait until next Sunday for one
reason, but the other is that this year is the 200th anniversary of the
publication of “A Visit From St. Nicholas” on 23rd December 1823.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the many nations where
Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are not really part of their heritage, there are
other gift-givers, as I’ve highlighted a few times in various past Advent
series. One of these other gift-givers is the Scandinavian tomte (mentioned
briefly last week in relation to modern St. Lucy Day processions).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Christmas tomte
evolved from ancient (probably pagan) house spirits, and every home had/has
one. These spirits are known across Scandinavia under various alternative names
– in Sweden the name is tomte, but they also use tomtenisse and jultomte (the
latter literally means “Yule/Christmas tomte). They often appear like elves at
Christmas celebrations helping out Santa or joining in the St. Lucy processions.
Modern representations of the gift-giving version follow the 19th century image
that resembles a garden gnome. (A big digression here, but the animator who
drew the dwarves for the Disney classic “Snow White” was Swedish, so probably
based them on the tomte).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Just as Santa Claus became
more popular after the publication of “A Visit From St. Nicholas”, so the tomte
became popular in Scandinavia through a poem. The poem was called “Tomten”,
which is also known by its opening line. The poem was written by a gay
folklorist and writer called </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Viktor
Rydberg (1828-1895)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and was first published in a weekly newspaper
called “Ny Illustrrerad Tidning” (New Illustrated Newspaper) on 19th February
1881. The tomte was illustrated on the front cover (pictured above).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To say “Tomten” is a poem
for children would not be entirely accurate, though it is now a family
favourite in Sweden at Christmas time. In the poem the tomte is presented as a
lone figure on a cold, snowy night, standing by a barn door. He shakes off
thoughts about a difficult question he is pondering so he can do his rounds of
the farmstead, checking that all doors are closed, and that the farm animals
and equipment are safe and secure.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lastly, he checks that the
farm owner and his family are warm in their beds. As he does so he finds that the
difficult question comes back into his mind. He has been looking after this
family for many generations, but he wonders where all the older generations
disappear to. He ponders on the passing of life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The poem has been labelled
an existential comment on the meaning of life and death and the passing of
time. I’m sure we all think about how things change in our personal life, and
the people who are no longer with us at Christmas. This could be why the adults
who read it felt how it resonated with their own thoughts of loved ones missing
at Christmas.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Despite the poem “Tomten” becoming
such a Christmas favourite, it wasn’t set during that celebration. It was just
set during winter. However, Rydberg has quite a strong association with
Christmas apart from this poem. Back in 2018 I included him in my Advent series
when I mentioned his support for the suggested </span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2018/12/advent-4-date-to-reckon-with.html" target="_blank">year</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2018/12/advent-4-date-to-reckon-with.html" target="_blank">
of Christ’s birth</a>. Rydberg had already written a Christmas story the previous
year called (in English) “Little Vigg’s Adventure on Christmas Eve”. I won’t go
into “Little Vigg” today, but I’ll try to include it in next year’s Advent
series.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Later editions of both
“Little Vigg” and “Tomte” were illustrated by Jenny Nyström (1854-1940). She
and Rydberg became close friends. Jenny’s illustrations of the tomte in this
and many illustrations and greetings cards, helped to create a standard image
of the tomte in much the same way that <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-four-santas-of-advent-1-ultimate_3.html" target="_blank">J. C. </a></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-four-santas-of-advent-1-ultimate_3.html" target="_blank">Leyendecker</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
did for the modern Santa Claus.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Today, the tomte is
everywhere in Sweden. As well as being incorporated into St. Lucy Day
processions on 13th December, he appears several weeks before that, giving out
presents on the day before Advent. This year that fell on 2nd December. This
date is called Lilla Jul, or Little Christmas, and is celebrated mainly by
Swedish-speaking Finns. On this day tomte leave little gifts for children.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The popularity of the
tomte, in all its names and forms, has spread beyond Scandinavia</span>. <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the shops in the UK this year the
shelves are stuffed full of “gonks” dressed as tomte as Christmas toys and
decorations, replacing the elves that were everywhere last year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Between them, Viktor
Rydberg and J. C. Leyendecker, with their tomte and Santa Claus, have made the
yuletide gay, as the song goes, in a bigger way than it was before.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-64650088113643153602023-12-10T08:47:00.002+00:002023-12-10T08:47:39.219+00:00Advent 2: Lucy Boys<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqZI-DPZzhwdVj7KliRVt5MfF1FLJF3TLda2tve3Q867c-6WbvYARv8kDPsrw3oVq7PMqO0779WDrewy2hmPru46FQ9o57E_z6gQ7fgnYe3qPll8KXdhyjPimqsbxE10xUjGd_CHM31a7ADuSAkRrRbwR9vBahtI4Yy1QGxMlN9gCRh4vAZFKuR4gHKk/s1756/dsc_0049-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1756" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKqZI-DPZzhwdVj7KliRVt5MfF1FLJF3TLda2tve3Q867c-6WbvYARv8kDPsrw3oVq7PMqO0779WDrewy2hmPru46FQ9o57E_z6gQ7fgnYe3qPll8KXdhyjPimqsbxE10xUjGd_CHM31a7ADuSAkRrRbwR9vBahtI4Yy1QGxMlN9gCRh4vAZFKuR4gHKk/s320/dsc_0049-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The participants in a Lucy procession</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This coming Wednesday is the
feast day of St. Lucy, or St. Lucia. In Scandinavia and parts of Italy and
Croatia, this is the day on which children receive Christmas presents. If they’re
really lucky they’ll have had presents on St. Nicholas’s Day (Dec. 6th) and
will get more on Christmas Day itself.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">St. Lucy’s Day is celebrated
with church processions, family meals, and lots of tradition. In 2021 I looked briefly at the history of the<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2021/12/advent-2-how-jesus-became-bride.html" target="_blank"> Lucy processions</a> from their origins in boys’ schools. In
Scandinavia the original processions were led by a boy, originally portraying
the Christkind (Christ Child), but this character evolved into St. Lucy, still
played by a boy.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">With this in mind it seems
strange to historians to hear of several places in Scandinavia where
controversy erupts over the portrayal of St. Lucy by boys in modern
processions. This is invariably the result of the critics’ collective cultural
amnesia and ignorance of its origins. Critics claim to be upholding tradition,
when they probably mean that they don’t want their Lucy processions to be
corrupted by being led by a boy in drag.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Who knows, perhaps before
the internet and social media made it capable of discovering who remote or
little villages chose to play their St. Lucy, there were lots of male St. Lucys
(who I will refer to as Lucy Boys, as opposed to the Star Boys, which I’ll come
to later). There was certainly an increase in the reporting of Lucy Boys after
2008.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">There were three cases of
protests against teenage Lucy Boys in Swedish schools that year which became
prominent headlines. The boys who were the targets of those protests were (with
the schools they attended): Freddy Karlberg of Södra School in Mötala, Johan Gustafsson
of Erik Dahlberggsgymnasiet in Jönköping, and Nils Wiking Furberg of Lillerud
high school.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">All three teenagers were
elected by their respective schoolmates to play St. Lucy in their school’s
annual Lucy procession. However, in two cases the school principals objected to
the election. They stated that it is traditional for a girl to be St. Lucy,
since the saint herself was female. This was echoed by many parents of other
pupils at those schools (no doubt angry that their daughter lost out on being St.
Lucy to a boy).</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I’m all in favour of
tradition, but I also believe that there can be some room for change. We live
in an era of greater diversity of representation. Diversity should not always
have to create division. As I wrote above, St. Lucy was originally played by
boys, so there’s no real alteration in tradition in this case. Again,
collective cultural amnesia is the reason, and that can be harmful.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Early Lucy processions
comprised of only St. Lucy and a group of girls dressed as “Lucy Brides”. Then
Star Boys were introduced. In the last part of the 20th century the processions
expanded to include such characters as gingerbread men and tomte (Scandinavian house
spirits or elves, which I’ll talk about next Sunday).</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">In the cases of Freddy and
Nils Wiking the school principals said that their decision was taken to protect
the boys from abuse. This is quite valid, since they did receive abuse, and it
is the responsibility of all teachers to protect their pupils. However, the
principals stated that that had no personal objection to a male Lucy, if the procession
was just confined to school staff and pupils. The processions were open to the
public, with parents and local people present. The Lucy Boys might “upset the
pensioners”, the principals also claimed.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">There were three different
outcomes to the three cases.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Freddy Karlberg was
prevented from being a Lucy Boy because of his principal’s decision to not
recognise his election. Several students boycotted the Lucy procession in
protest.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Nils Wiking Furberg pulled
out of the Lucy procession before it took place. His principal had actually
backed down and was willing to let him be St. Lucy. What changed the boy’s mind
was the amount of online abuse he received on social media.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Johan Gustafsson fared the
best out of the three. He was allowed to be St. Lucy – with a twist. The
school’s Lucy procession began very “traditionally” with a female Lucy,
Veronica Ahlund. Halfway through the traditional St. Lucy’s carol, Veronica
invited Johan to take her place. Johan had been playing a Star Boy. He removed
his conical Star Boy hat and placed the candle-crown of St. Lucy on his head.
Media reports say that the congregation cheered. Credit should also go to the
school principal, Stefan Claason, for supporting Johan’s election from the
start against much criticism.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Incidents of Lucy Boys
being elected and denied their place in processions continue as does the debate
over what is or is not considered traditional.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">But what about those Star
Boys I mentioned? In the Lucy processions they follow the Lucy Brides who walk
behind St. Lucy. These boys wear white robes and tall conical hats. They
usually also carry a star on a stick (hence Star Boys, obviously).</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">You’d think that there’s
be nothing controversial about Star Boys, but you’d be wrong. In 2012 a
9-year-old girl in a Stockholm school wanted to be a Star Boy. Her school
principal refused to let this happen, again citing tradition. Instead he girl
was offered the role of a tomte, which the girl accepted.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">In 2014, an 11-year-old
girl from Skellafteå, high up on Sweden’s Baltic coastline, was told she
couldn’t be a tomte in her Lucy procession because only boys can be a tomte.
This was strange, because for the previous two or three years she had been one,
and now she was told she couldn’t because she was a girl. The school
principal’s reason? Again, the girl might scare pensioners who were coming to
watch the procession. Happily, the principal changed her mind.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Who would have thought
that something as seemingly innocent as a St. Lucy’s Day procession could
generate so much gender controversy? Changing gender roles in traditional
customs should not automatically be taken as an attack on that tradition.
History teaches us that Christmastime has always had a large element of
switching gender roles, even within Christian tradition (early portrayals of
the Virgin Mary in church processions were usually played by young male
clerics). True, most of it stems from the historic practice of not allowing
women to take part (except that we must not forget girls played the male
Christkind since the 17th century). What is important is that all participants
and spectators in any traditional custom should be aware that it differs from
previous observances, where cultural attitudes and even technology create
change. That’s how the modern Christmas has evolved, and Christmas traditions
have evolved too.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">There are many other
modern cases of switched gender roles at Christmas customs that have been
accepted. In Spain, where the Three Kings are the dominant gift-bringers and
have their own parades, some of the kings have been played by women – some with
false beards. There have even been some female Santa Claus’s in the USA since
the 1950s, also with beards, and three of them have been inducted into the
International Santa Claus Hall of Fame. There are even drag Santas.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Whether you enjoy
traditional Christmas parades and processions or not, let’s celebrate them all
in their fabulous variety. After all, when you see a Santa or St. Lucy, you
shouldn’t see the person playing that character. As some Christmas films often
say about Santa – once you put on a Santa suit, you become Santa. This can be
said of all benevolent Christmas characters, whether it’s Santa, St. Lucy, the
Three Kings, the Christkind, or any of the hundreds of other Christmas
characters there are around the world. It’s not cosplay. It’s not playing a
historical character, even if it’s based on one. You become a manifestation of
a concept that enhances both the secular and religious elements of an
ever-evolving Christmas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-56720324511599051022023-12-03T08:35:00.003+00:002023-12-03T08:35:52.116+00:00Advent 1: The First Christmas Card<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpNKwBw7rvBRH8qTz9gxYSkiKqPmdhIsKt0DRvrKJMWJUckpCP2HkbYBd8FdT-u3HwRM1KExeQ845pClD8EJ4s8tyOIYxR6gyDTEHe0YHBYM5QmtAFlZ7PTxZINOfC3kYGCujXPOgbdroF8BVjy8Smt4Ot6R2S8_Rg78y5qCIIwAyuc1tVoE91qHQhA0/s2121/diy-christmas-cards-64ee493e4155b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1414" data-original-width="2121" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggpNKwBw7rvBRH8qTz9gxYSkiKqPmdhIsKt0DRvrKJMWJUckpCP2HkbYBd8FdT-u3HwRM1KExeQ845pClD8EJ4s8tyOIYxR6gyDTEHe0YHBYM5QmtAFlZ7PTxZINOfC3kYGCujXPOgbdroF8BVjy8Smt4Ot6R2S8_Rg78y5qCIIwAyuc1tVoE91qHQhA0/s320/diy-christmas-cards-64ee493e4155b.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>It’s the start of Advent
today, and it’s perilously close to Christmas and I haven’t thought about
sending any Christmas cards yet. I prefer sending cards through the post
because electronic means removes all physical connection between me and the
receiver (and is just an excuse to be lazy and imply that I don’t care enough
about my family and friends or think they’re worth the mild inconvenience of
buying a card, writing it and posting it). It’s always better to know that the
card you receive actually has the person’s DNA on it, don’t you think?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The official history of
the Christmas card begins in 1843 when the first modern card was produced. But
did you know that there is something that could be regarded as the first
Christmas card that was sent in 1611? It also has a link to the lgbt+ community
because the person who received it was our old gay friend King James I of Great
Britain (1566-1625).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They may not have had our
idea of a Christmas card in those days, but they exchanged presents, usually
after Christmas Day, and more usually at New Year or the big Christmas feasting
day of Twelfth Night (6th January).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The card King James
received was actually a folded manuscript which may originally have been
presented to him as a scroll. The centre of the manuscript contains the figure
of a rose. This is significant, because it was sent and signed by Michael Maier
(1568-1622), a German physician, alchemist, and advocate of a new religion
called Rosicusianism (or Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross). The shape of the rose
figure is made up of text in Latin forming a greeting to King James and an
acrostic message of blessings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Above the rose is a
greeting, also in Latin. It says “A greeting on the birthday of the Sacred
King, to the most worshipful and energetic lord and most eminent James, King of
Great Britain and Ireland, and Defender of the true faith, with a gesture of
joyful celebration of the Birthday of the Lord, in most joy and fortune, we enter
into the new auspicious year 1612. Dedicated and consecrated with humble
service and submission, from Michael Maier, German, Count Palatine, Doctor of
Medicine and Philosophy, Knight and Poet Laureate.” If that’s doesn’t sound
like a very fancy way of saying “Best wishes, King James, Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year, from Michael Maier”, I don’t know what is.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But why did Michael Maier
send the message? And what is significant about the Rosicrucian symbolism?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What is Rosicrucianism
anyway? It’s not so much a new religion as a new esoteric movement that
combined aspects of several other religions. It included Christian mysticism,
the Kabbala (a mixture of occultism, astrology, alchemy and bit of Christian
and Jewish doctrine), and Hermeticism (the teachings of a legendary figure who
was considered to be the Greek god Hermes merged with the Egyptian god Thoth).
Rosicrucianism still exists today, but is more akin to a revival, like neo-paganism
and modern wicca.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">No-one knows when Michael
Maier arrived in England, only that it was sometime during 1611. As far as the
Christmas message is concerned, there’s no evidence that he delivered it in
person, or that he was even still in England at the time. However, Maier was
back in England during 1612 for a very special reason – the signing of the
marriage settlement between King James’ daughter Princess Elizabeth to Prince
Friedrich V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (later the King and Queen of
Bohemia). Maier presented a poem to King James in celebration. Perhaps his
Christmas message was a diplomatic greeting during the marriage negotiations. This
marriage was primarily political, made to cement an alliance between two
Protestant nations, but there has been speculation about another reason for
Maier’s presence, to cement a secret Rosicrucian alliance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the same year that
Maier sent his Christmas message to King James, the monarch published a new
version of the Bible, what is still called the King James Bible. Among many
Rosicrucian historians there is a belief that this new Bible contains many
coded Rosicrucian references, and that many of the men who put the Bible
together were secretly Rosicrucian. This would provide Maier with a good reason
for Rosicrucian elements to be put in his Christmas message. It all sounds very
“da Vinci Code” to me – a lot of circumstantial evidence linked together with
fanciful speculation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Maier himself wrote that
he had only heard about the Rosicrucians when he was in England. This makes it
unlikely that he would put any secret symbolism in his message. So far, non-one
has come up with any evidence that someone else wrote the message and used
Maier as a courier. Why would he sign his own name? So it seems unlikely for
him to be sent on a secret Rosicrucian mission to England as claimed. But, if
he had heard about them early enough in 1611 and got to learn all their teachings
and beliefs he may have put them in his message. Who knows?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">King James didn’t adopt
Rosicrucianism, which was probably a good thing bearing in mind that
Rosicrucianism, even today, is quite homophobic. The last thing King James had
on his mind was getting rid of his “toy boys” to please a German monarch.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Speaking of which, Michael
Maier was involved in the Overbury Murder, the mysterious death of Sir Thomas
Overbury in 1613. King James’ toy boy at the time, Sir Robert Carr, was found
guilty of his murder. You can read a bit more about in <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-ballad-of-murderous-toy-boy.html" target="_blank">this article</a> I wrote a
few years ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While Overbury was
imprisoned in the Tower of London his health deteriorated. Several times he
wrote to the Lieutenant of the Tower to permit Michael Maier to visit him as
his physician. This was denied every time and Overbury died. His death was
treated as natural, though several conspiracy theories circulated. It was two
years later that evidence emerged that Overbury was murdered, and Sir Robert
Carr was one of the people dragged into the conspiracy and found guilty of
murder. To be honest, Carr probably was involved.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, King James’s very first
Christmas card has a lot more behind it than just a seasonal message of good
cheer. There were secret codes and conspiracy theories. If you are still
thinking of sending cards this year, yes, even an e-card, just take a look at
the image and the greeting. You never know, there may be secret messages
concealed in them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-8515676060022418052023-11-23T08:30:00.000+00:002023-11-23T08:30:14.719+00:00Look Who's 60: Part 3<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here are the final 20
names in my list of lgbt+ contributors to the “Doctor Who” franchise.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">41) Scott Handcock (b.1984).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer, director and producer. Handcock
began as a Production Runner of the “Doctor Who Confidential” behind-the-scenes
series (2007-8), then as Production Secretary on the series proper from “A
Christmas Carol” (2010) to “The Wedding of River Song” (2011). He directed all
of the Big Finish audio adventures of the spin-off series “Class” (see Patrick
Ness, no.50 below). During the covid pandemic lockdown Handcock was an audio
editor on the “Doctor Who Lockdown! Doctors Assembled” webcast. In 2022
Handcock joined Bad Wolf, the production company making the 2024 series onwards,
as Script Editor. He also created and hosted the lgbt+ podcast “From Queer to
Eternity” in which he interviewed several people who have worked on the “Doctor
Who” franchise.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">42) Ryan Sampson (b.1985).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Played the young prodigy Luke
Rattigan in the 2-part story “The Sontaran Stratagem” and “The Poison Sky”
(2008). He has also played other characters in a handful of Big Finish audio
adventures.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">43) Gino Gamecho (b.1988).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor (now Gino Fetscher). While
studying at Cardiff University Gamecho played one of the acolytes of Luke
Rattigan (see Ryan Sampson, no.42) in “The Sontaran Stratagem” and “The Poison
Sky”, and later had a bit part in “The Doctor’s Daughter” (2008). Eight months
after filming was completed in 2007 Dino was voted Mr. Gay UK 2008.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">44) David Ames (b.1983).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Appeared in the only “Doctor
Who” Easter special, “Planet of the Dead” (2009). He went on to play other
characters for several Big Finish audio adventures.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">45) Ian Gelder (b.1949).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Played Mr. Dekker throughout the
“Torchwood” series “Children of Earth” (2009). In “Doctor Who” he appeared in
“Can You Hear Me?” (2020), and voiced the Remnants, floating cloth-like beings,
in “The Ghost Monument” (2018).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">46) Peter Hoar (b.1969).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Director of “A Good Man Goes to War”
(2011). He is scheduled to direct at least one episode in the 2025 series.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">47) Sir Ian McKellen (b.1939).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor and lgbt+ icon. Voiced the Great
Intelligence in the 2012 Christmas Special “The Snowmen”.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">48) Bethany Black (b.1978).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. The first out transgender actor
in “Doctor Who”. She played a genetically created human called 474 in “Sleep No
More” (2015).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">49) Christel Dee (b.1992).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Founder and presenter of “Doctor Who:
The Fan Show” on the “Doctor Who” YouTube channel 2015-19. In series 4 (2017)
she hosted the discussion “Lgbtq in the Worlds of Doctor Who” (shown below),
which included Waris Hussein (no.1 on this list).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">50) Patrick Ness (b.1971).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Creator, writer, and executive producer
of the failed (so bad that it wasn’t even good) “Doctor Who” spin-off series
“Class” (2016).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">51) Juno Dawson (b.1981).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer. The first out transgender
writer for the Big Finish audio adventures, starting from 2017. She was also
scheduled to write episodes for the cancelled series 2 of the spin-off “Class”.
Dawson wrote the first new adventure novel of Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor.
She was the lead writer of “Doctor Who: Redacted”, an audio serial broadcast by
BBC Sounds in 2022.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">52) Pearl Mackie (b.1987).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Played Bill Potts, the Doctor’s
first out lesbian companion during season 10 of the revival era (2017).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">53) Rebecca Root (b.1969).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Out transgender actor who has
appeared in three Big Finish audio adventures (2017-20).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">54) Alan Cumming (b.1965).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Played the gay King James I of
Great Britain in “Witchfinder” (2018). Despite being Scottish, as was King
James, Cumming didn’t speak with a Scottish accent, but one which was very
strange and laughable.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">55) Alan Flanagan.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer of two Big Finish audio adventures (2018 and 2020).
He has also appeared as a contestant on the popular BBC quiz show “Only
Connect” (2020-21) in which he mentioned his connection to “Doctor Who”.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">56) Roberta Ingranata (b.1986)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Artist for nine “Doctor Who” comic
books published by Titan Comics (2019-23), including installments of the
multi-media series “Doom’s Day” (2023).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">57) Jasmin Finney (b.2003).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor.
The second out transgender actor to play a major character in the
television series (the other being Bethany Black, no.48 above). She will be
introduced in the 60th anniversary specials to be broadcast from this coming
Saturday, playing Rose Noble, daughter of the Doctor’s former companion Donna
in “The Star Beast” (2023) (see also Miriam Margolyes, no.59 below). Russell T.
Davies (no.37 in the previous list) has hinted that the character may return in
future episodes.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">58) Miriam Margolyes (b.1941).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Familiar to fans of the Harry
Potter franchise. Margolyes provides the voice of Beep the Meep, the eponymous
“Star Beast” in the first of the 60th anniversary specials (2023).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">59) Neil Patrick Harris (b.1973).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Former child actor who came out
as an adult and became a gay icon. In the third 60th anniversary special, “The
Giggle” (2023), Harris plays the Celestial Toymaker, a character who appeared
way back in the 1964 story of the same name.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">60) Ncuti Gatwa (b.1992).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. It is most appropriate that the
60th and most recent name that can be added on this 60th anniversary lgbt+
celebration list is the Doctor himself. Gatwa will play the 15th Doctor from
the 2023 Christmas special onwards. Not only is he the first openly gay actor
to play the Doctor, but also the first black actor to play him (if we disregard
the flashes of young black actors who are alleged to be the Doctor in “The
Timeless Children”, 2020).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That concludes my list of
60 lgbt+ contributors to the Whoniverse. There are a few more I could have included,
some of them I’ve mentioned in passing, but I’ll just give some others a
name-check – John Sessions, Stephen Jeffery-Poulter, Eric Lindsay, Tom Allen,
Rob Eltringham, Carl Levey, and Andrew Hayden-Smith.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One final lgbt link. David
Tennant, the 10th Doctor, returns to play the 14th Doctor in the 60th
anniversary specials. David Tennant’s birth name was David McDonald. When he
became an actor he couldn’t use his real name because a member of Equity, the
actor’s union, was already using that name, and no two living Equity members
can use the same name (the same reason Russell T. Davies added the “T” to his
name). When deciding on a stage name David chose the name Tennant from Neil
Tennant, the gay half of the UK pop duo The Pet Shop Boys. David later changed
his name legally to David Tennant (to comply with the US actor’s guild).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you’re a fan of “Doctor
Who”, I hope you enjoy the 60th anniversary specials and don’t forget to
celebrate both the classic and modern eras. Perhaps you could celebrate by
watching some of the episodes I’ve mentioned in this list and celebrate the
lgbt+ contributors at the same time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Who knows – will there be
a 70th anniversary?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sg5BWxatZEU" width="320" youtube-src-id="sg5BWxatZEU"></iframe></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-66184374936135207952023-11-19T09:33:00.003+00:002023-11-19T09:33:53.125+00:00Look Who's 60: Part 2<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Um__WZxcmkw" width="320" youtube-src-id="Um__WZxcmkw"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>Here is the second past of
my list of people from the lgbt+ community who have made a contribution to the
world of “Doctor Who”. Unless stated otherwise, all programme titles are of
“Doctor Who” or Who-related stories.</p></span><p></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">21) Nigel Robinson.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer and editor. In the 1970s Target Books began
publishing novelisations of classic “Doctor Who” stories. Between 1984 and 1987
Robinson was Editor in Chief. His first involvement with the series, however,
was in 1981 when he published the first of several Doctor Who quiz and puzzle
books. He subsequently wrote several Doctor Who audio books and novelisations
himself. Robinson is currently Editor in Chief of “Pride Life” magazine and
website.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">22) Ian Levine (b.1953).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Music producer and composer. One of the
UK’s leading dance and HiNRG music producers in the 1980s. He wrote the theme
music for the one-off 1981 Christmas special “K9 and Co.: A Girl’s Best Friend”
starring Elizabeth Sladen, reprising her role as companion Sarah Jane Smith.
This was the first Doctor Who spin-off on television (see also Gareth Roberts,
no.29 below). Levine also wrote and produced the charity single “Doctor in
Distress” in 1986 after the series was suspended for 18 months.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">23) Michael Cashman (b.1950).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. In 1982 he played Concorde pilot
Andrew Bilton in “Timeflight”. In 1987 he became famous for the first same-sex
kiss on prime-time tv in the soap “Eastenders”. He is an active lgbt campaigner
and was created a Life Peer (i.e. non-hereditary, effectively a senator) in
2014 as Baron Cashman.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">24) Peter Wyngarde (1927-2018).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Famous in the UK in the early
1970s as Jason King, the flamboyant secret agent from the tv series “Department
S” and “Jason King”. He played Timanov, leader of the Sarns, in “Planet of
“Fire” (1984). Also in that story were Anthony Ainley (see no.20 on the
previous list) and Dallas Adams (next).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">25) Dallas Adams (1947-1991).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. He played Prof. Howard Foster,
the stepfather of the new companion Peri Brown in "Planet of Fire” (1984).
His casting received homophobic criticism from the tabloid newspapers. Also in
that story were Anthony Ainley (on previous list) and Peter Wyngarde (above).
Adams won the biggest pay-out in a palimony law suit in England in the early
1980s. He died from AIDS-related causes.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">26) Grant Morrison (b.1960).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Comic artist. His first comic strip for
“Doctor Who Magazine” was “Changes” (November 1986). At that time the magazine
was published by Marvel UK. Morrison has drawn several more strips for the
magazine.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">27) Peppi Borza 1936-1990).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor and circus performer. The first on
this 60-name list to play an actual monster. In 1985 he played the chief
Vervoid in “The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids”. His life partner
was Tom Springfield, the brother of gay icon Dusty Springfield. When Borza was
dying from AIDS-related causes Dusty visited him in the hospice regularly.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">28) Alfred Lynch (1931-2003).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. Played Commander Millington in
“The Curse of Fenric” (1989), a story based on the work of the Nazi
codebreakers in World War II. One of the other leading characters was based on
the gay codebreaker Alan Turing. Lynch’s life partner was James Culliford
(no.14 on the previous list).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">29) Mark Gatiss (b.1960).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor and writer. One of the major
names in the current Whoniverse. A lifelong fan of the series he first became
involved by writing the novel “Nightshade” (1992) for Virgin Books’ “The New
Adventures” series. He then wrote and acted in many Big Finish audio
adventures. In 1999 Gatiss appears in BBC2’s “Doctor Who Night” in which he
played in several spoof sketches, including one in which he played the Doctor.
His first of several script for the television series was “The Unquiet Dead”
(2005) (guest starring renowned gay actor and Charles Dickens expert Simon
Callow as Dickens). Gatiss’s first acting role in the television series was in
“The Lazarus Experiment” (2007). He was writer and producer of “An Adventure in
Time and Space” (2013), a dramatized account of the creation of “Doctor Who”.
He has also written for “Doctor Who Magazine”. His life partner Ian Halland has
also appeared in the series (“Robot of Sherwood”).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">30) Gareth Roberts (b.1968).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer. Roberts began writing for
“Doctor Who” with “The Highest Science” (1993), one of “The New Adventures”
novels. He wrote the interactive mini-episode “Attack of the Graske” (2005).
Roberts’ biggest contribution to the series is as the writer of 8 episodes of
the long-awaited Sarah Jane Smith and K9 spin-off series (see also Ian Levine,
no.22 above) “The Sarah Jane Adventures”, beginning with the pilot episode
broadcast on New Year’s Day 2007. He also wrote what sadly became the last
episode before Elizabeth Sladen’s death.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">31) Ian Dixon-Potter.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Fan. He founded the Sisterhood of Karn, a Doctor Who lgbt
fan society, in 1994. It is based in London and as far as I’ve been able to
discover, is the oldest existing and longest running lgbt Doctor Who fan
society in the world.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">32) Paul Magrs (b.1969</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">).</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer. Magrs made his first contribution
to “Doctor Who” with the novel “The Scarlet Empress” (1998), part of BBC Books’
“8th Doctor Adventures” series. He has also written several other novels and
many audio dramas for Big Finish.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">33) James Goss (b.1974).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Website producer and writer. When the
BBC set up the first “Doctor Who” website in 2000 they chose Goss as the Senior
Content Producer. When the series was revived in 2005 he was put in charge of
the new “Doctor Who” website (with graphics by Lee Binding, below). Goss has
produced many DVD Extras. As a writer he has written Big Finish audio
adventures for both “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood”. One notable “Doctor Who”
adventure features the gender-ambivalent <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2015/02/coded-lves-3-chevaliers-secret.html" target="_blank">Chevalier d’Eon</a>, a real historical character.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">34) Matt Lucas (b.1974).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor, best known in the UK for comedy.
Before becoming the companion Nardole from the 2015 Christmas special “The
Husbands of River Song”, Lucas played in the 2001 Big Finish audio adventure
“The One Doctor”.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">35) Joseph Lidster (b.1977).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Writer. Lidster contributed to the Big
Finish short story anthology “Short Trips: Zodiac” (2002). He contributed to
eleven more of the “Short Trips” series. Also for Big Finish Lidster has
written many audio adventures. For the television he has written episodes for
the spin-offs “Torchwood” and “The Sarah Jane Adventures”.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">36) Sir Derek Jacobi (b.1938).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. In 2007 Sir Derek played the new
incarnation of the Doctor’s archenemy the Master. Although this was a surprise
revelation, it may not have come as a shock to some fans, because he had played
the Master in the 2003 online animated series “Scream of the Shalka”. He has
reprised the role in many Big Finish audio adventures since then, as well as
appearing in other roles. His first role was in “Deadline” (2003).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">37) Russell T. Davies (b.1963).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Producer. A whole book can be written
on the contribution RTD (as he is often referred as) to the Whoniverse,
eclipsing even that of JNT (no.16 in the previous list). RTD is widely regarded
as the one person who “saved” “Doctor Who” from being a flop when it was
revived in 2005. He acted as showrunner and head writer until 2010. The fact
that he’s back to produce the series for the 60th anniversary and onwards is
proof of his importance to the series.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">38) Lee Binding (b.1974).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Artist. Anyone with a DVD collection of
“Doctor Who”, “Torchwood”, or “The Sarah Jane Adventures” will know of
Binding’s work. He designed most of the covers. In fact, he has designed over
200 covers for DVDs, CDs, Blue Ray, novels, audio adventures, and role-playing
games in the “Doctor Who” franchise. His
first work was as design consultant on the BBC webcast “Shada” (2003), animated
by James Goss (above), and on the “Doctor Who” website in 2005.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">39) John Barrowman (b.1967</span></u></b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">).</span></u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Actor. He played the pansexual/polysexual (whatever)
space-time agent Capt. Jack Harkness from “The Empty Child” (2005), and
returned several times after that. He starred in his own spin-off series
“Torchwood” (2006-11) and in related audio adventures. Barrowman has made cameo
appearances in “Doctor Who” since the end of “Torchwood”.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">40) Euros Lyn (b.1971).</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Director. He has directed ten episodes
of “Doctor Who”, beginning with “Silence in the Library” (2007), which earned
him a BAFTA (the UK’s equivalent on US Emmy). He has also directed five
episodes of “Torchwood”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The third and final list
will appear on November 23rd, the day of the 60th anniversary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-18380231589532640552023-11-15T08:57:00.003+00:002023-12-25T09:41:49.765+00:00Look Who's 60: Part 1<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vd94lyhLg6g" width="320" youtube-src-id="vd94lyhLg6g"></iframe></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><p>The world’s longest
running science fiction television series is 60 year old next week. “Doctor
Who” made its debut on 23rd November 1963 on BBC1. Americans may recognise the
date as the day after President Kennedy was assassinated.</p></span><p></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">For most of those 60
years, particularly since the 1970s, “Doctor Who” has had a massive queer
following. It has also had a massive queer presence in its production team,
going all the way back to the very first episode. In this, and 2 more articles
to follow, I’ll be listing 60 of the lgbt+ contributors to the series and it’s
expanded “Whoniverse”.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The three lists that
appear over the next week will cover the entire 60 years history of the series.
I’ll select significant contributors in chronological order. It won’t be a
complete chronology because some years will be left out to make way for
multiple individuals who have made a significant contribution or connection in
one year. You’ll see what I mean when you read the lists.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Each list will contain 20
names. Many individuals have come back to work on “Doctor Who” more than once.
Generally, I will list them according to their first involvement. There may be
a lot of “Doctor Who” references that you many not understand. For this I
apologise in advance. I’ve tried to keep most references as non-specific as
possible.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">You may become aware of the scarcity of female names in the first lists. This a reflection on British broadcasting in the mid-20th century. Most people involved in broadcasting were male. It is also a case of not having enough information available on the sexuality of female contributors, even actors, in those early years. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">1) Waris Hussein (b.1938)</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> – Director. Indian-born Hussein
directed the very first episodes, “An Unearthly Child”, and the 3 episodes that
completed the first story, known today as “The Tribe of Gum” (episodes had
individual titles in those days and weren’t replaced with overall story titles
until 1966). Hussein returned to direct the “Marco Polo” story in 1964. He has
appeared in many “Who” related documentaries, and has spoken about his
sexuality.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">2) Robin Phillips (1942-2015)</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> – Actor. Played Altos, a major
character in the 6-episode story “The Kays of Marinus” (1964). In 1975 he went
to Canada as Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival Theatre, Ontario. He
became a Canadian citizen and continued to act and direct. In 2005 he was made
an Officer of the Order of Canada.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">3) Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Composer of the incidental music for
the 4-part story “The Aztecs” (1964). A renowned composer for television, film
and concert hall, Bennett was knighted for services to music in 1998.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">4) Max Adrian (1903-1973</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">). Actor. Played King Priam of Troy in
“The Mythmakers” (1965). Although a highly respected Shakespearean actor,
Adrian excelled at farce, and became a familiar face on UK television in the
late 1960s in the first series of “<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2015/10/around-world-in-80-gays-part-19-forum.html" target="_blank">Up, Pompeii!</a>” with Frankie Howerd.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">5) Michael Sheard (1938-2005).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Played Rhos in “The Ark” (1966).
This was the first of many appearances in “Doctor Who” up to 1988. In “Pyramids
of Mars” he played the brother of Bernard Archard (below). He also played in
“Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (he played Hitler).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">6) Bernard Archard (1916-2008).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Played Bragan in “The Power of
the Daleks” (1966). He returned in 1975 to play Prof. Scarman, in a memorably
chilling performance in “Pyramids of Mars” alongside Michael Sheard (above).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">7) Victor Pemberton (1931-2017).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> One of the people whose involvement in
the programme covers many roles. His first involvement was as an actor in “The
Moonbase” (1967). He was Story Editor for “Tomb of the Cybermen” (1967),
Assistant Story Editor on “The Ice Warriors” (1967), He wrote “Fury From the
Deep” (1968), in which he invented the Doctor’s iconic sonic screwdriver, and
the vinyl LP and audio cassette drama “Doctor Who and the Pescatons” (1976). He
novelised both of his stories. His partner in the 1960s was David Spenser
(below).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">8) David Spenser (1934-2013).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Born David de Savan in Sri
Lanka, Spenser played Thomni, one of the main Tibetan monks in “The Abominable
Snowmen” (1967). He had been a well-known child actor in the UK on radio. He
later went on to be an Emmy awarding-winning producer.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">9) Alan Rowe (1926-2000).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Another returning actor over
multiple Doctors. His first appearance was in “The Moonbase” (1967) (with
Victor Pemberton, above, both playing characters taken over by the Cybermen).
Rowe returned in leading roles in “The Time Warrior” (1973), playing the boss
of Bella Emberg (no. 12 below), “Horror of Fang Rock” (1977), and “Full Circle”
(1980), which introduced new companion Adric (played by Matthew Waterhouse, no.
19 below), His life partner was Geoffrey Bayldon (no.18 below).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">10) Ronald Allen (1930-1991).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Allen is most famous in the UK
as one of the lead actors in the television soap opera “Crossroads” (1971-85).
His first appearance in “Doctor Who” was in “The Dominators” (1968) playing the
main eponymous villain. He returned in 1970 to play space centre controller Cornish
in “The Ambassadors of Death”.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">11) Nicholas Bullen (1946-2020).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Costume designer. Bullen designed the
costumes for Patrick Troughton’s final two stories, “The Space Pirates” and
“Wargames” (1969). As the designer on the latter he is responsible for designing
the first costumes for the Time Lords.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">12) Bella Emberg (1937-2018).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Best remembered as a great
comedy actor, most memorably as Blunder Woman, Bella made her “Doctor Who”
debut in two non-speaking roles as a nurse in “The Silurians” (1970) and a
kitchen worker in “The Time Warrior” (1973).
She returned to play Mrs. Croot in “Love and Monsters” (2006), and
played her again in “The Runaway Bride” (2006), though her scene was cut from
the broadcast version.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">13) Geoffrey Toone (1910-2005).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Although Toone appeared in the
1965 Peter Cushing film “Dr. Who and the Daleks” (1965) playing one of the Thal
leaders, he will always be remembered for his portrayal of High Priest Hepesh
in “The Curse of Peladon” (1972).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">14) James Culliford (1927-2002).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Though he didn’t play a major
character, Culliford appeared in the first episodes on “Frontier in Space”
(1973) as a space pilot. Shortly after recording his episodes he suffered a
stroke. Culliford was the life partner of Alfred Lynch (see part 3 of the
list).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">15) Tony Beckley (1929-1980).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. He played one of the creepiest
villains of the Tom Baker era (1974-1981), Harrison Chase in “The Seeds of
Doom” (1976). His character favoured plants over animals and was not averse to
throwing people who angered him into his compost-making machine.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">16) John Nathan Turner (1947-2002).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Producer. Popularly referred to as JNT,
Nathan Turner was one of the most significant and influential people in the
final years of the classic era. Although he had worked on the series since the
1960s, his first on-screen credit was a Production Unit Manager on “Horror of
Fang Rock” (1977) (guest-starring Alan Rowe, above). In 1980 JNT became
producer (before the term show-runner was used) and stayed at the helm until
the series was cancelled in 1989. A charismatic character, JNT saw the
introduction of three Doctors. His life partner was Gary Downie (below).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">17) Gary Downie (1946-2006),</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Production manager. JNT’s life partner
began working on “Doctor Who” as Assistant Floor Manager on “Underworld”
(1978). He remained a member of the production team until the series was
cancelled in 1989. His last credit was a Production Manager on “Dimensions in
Time” (1993), a 2-part mini-episode made for the series’ 30th anniversary
featuring many former Doctors and companions. It was produced for the BBC’s
annual charity telethon “Children in Need”.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">18) Geoffrey Bayldon (1924-2017).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. My generation will always
remember Bayldon as Catweazle, a bumbling hermit wizard magically transported
from the 11th century to the 20th in the children’s series of the same name
(1970-1). His performance led many people to hope that he would one day be
chosen to play the Doctor, and it is reported in some places that he was
actually considered by the production team on several occasions. Instead,
Bayldon’s only appearance in “Doctor Who” was in “The Creature From the Pit”
(1979), in which he played a character not unlike Catweazle.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">19) Matthew Waterhouse (b.1961</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">). Actor. The youngest actor to play one
of the Doctor’s companions, and his inexperience showed. He played Adric, a
mathematical genius, for “Full Circle” (1980) to “Earthshock” (1982), becoming
the second companion (after Katarina in 1966) to be killed off on-screen.
Waterhouse appeared in several cameos afterwards (as illusions), and has
starred in a few Big Finish audio dramas. He is also the first companion-actor
to come out as gay.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">20) Anthony Ainley (1932-2004).</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Actor. Ainley received much praise and
admiration from fans for his portrayal as the long-awaited regeneration of the
Doctor’s arch-enemy the Master in the closing moments of “The Keeper of Traken”
(1981). I attended a big Doctor Who convention a few months later and Ainley’s
surprise appearance on stage resulted in the only standing ovation of the whole
convention. His last story was “Survival” (1989), where he became half-cat,
which was referred to in the BBC Centenary special episode “The Power of the
Doctor” (2022).</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">That concludes today’s
list. The next 20 names will be revealed on November 19th.</span></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-7234432279017347782023-11-01T08:08:00.001+00:002023-11-01T08:08:50.544+00:00Day Of The Dead: Out Of His Hollywood Tree<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZN8EjBfyRBe9zTXo52zmyy8kTomGQp39UmxFpe_ehqUsAZd-O3-pHsP6da5n3ASt-mwpON2CcPhVElK7cDcVWqmHIrdSIyLdljfXRFplY_wEbc8TPQ-HSM4ugus_7K-2Bprg2wOaLNP41vzmSGP35t6aMEeE_tVuRxp842ZzBzcvUmypkeD4N18gp7w/s640/Mexico_Gay_flag.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="640" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZN8EjBfyRBe9zTXo52zmyy8kTomGQp39UmxFpe_ehqUsAZd-O3-pHsP6da5n3ASt-mwpON2CcPhVElK7cDcVWqmHIrdSIyLdljfXRFplY_wEbc8TPQ-HSM4ugus_7K-2Bprg2wOaLNP41vzmSGP35t6aMEeE_tVuRxp842ZzBzcvUmypkeD4N18gp7w/s320/Mexico_Gay_flag.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>We’re halfway through what
the Christian Church calls Hallowtide. This is the 3-day period of remembrance
and devotion to our ancestors. It began with All Hallow’s Eve (corrupted into
Hallowe’en), followed by All Hallow’s Day (or All Saint’s Day), and tomorrow is
All Soul’s Day. We don’t need to go into the history of Hallowtide, except to say
that historians day there’s no evidence that there was any similar festival in
pagan of pre-Christian times. No, the Celts didn’t have a festival called Samhain.
As far the evidence suggests, Samhain was the name of a month or time of year,
not a festival.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mexico is the country that
is most widely recognised as celebrating Hallowtide in a unique way in the
festival which translates into English as the Day of the Dead. It was the
Spanish colonists are recorded as taking Hallowtide to the Americas, and
perhaps the ancestors of today’s subject was among them. The person whose
ancestors I have chosen to delve into was the early Hollywood sex symbol </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Ramon Novarro (1859-1968).</u></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There another reason why I
have chosen him.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Two days
ago, the day before Hallowe’en, was the 55th anniversary of Ramon Novarro’s
murder. You can read a bit about Ramon in<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2018/06/around-world-in-another-80-gays-part-19.html" target="_blank"> this “80 Gays” </a>article.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ramon was not the only
member of his family to make it big in the early days of cinema. His first
cousin (daughter of his mother’s sister) was Andrea Palma (1903-1987), who
became a big star in their native Mexico, though she did make a memorable
supporting role in an American gilm, “Tarzan and the Mermaids” (1948) starring
Johnny Weismuller.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A more distant cousin,
Dolores del Rio (1904-1983), had bigger success in the US. She is particularly
remembered as a lead character in “Flying Down to Rio” (1933), though people
usually only remember two supporting actors, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers,
the legendary dancing partnership first brought together for this film. Dolores
and Ramon were third cousins, both being great-great-grandchildren of Leandro
Sanchez Manzanera and his wife. Dolores was also famous for an affair she had
with Orson Welles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are several other
acting cousins of Ramon Novarro, including some alive today, but his ancestry
shows no indication of where the acting bug came from. So, what is his
ancestry?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ramon Novarros’ real name
was José Ramón Gal Samaniego. His parents were Dr. Mariano Sameniego
(1871-1940) and Leonor Pérez-Gavilán (1872-1949). Both came from well-connected
and prominent families with long lineages. Ultimately, as you might guess, the
majority of Ramon’s ancestry came from Spain.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There is a tantalising
rumour that Ramon has Aztec ancestry through his mother, to no less a person
than Moctezuma (or Montezuma), probably the most famous Aztec “emperor”, but I
am unable to find any information to verify this. However, that doesn’t stop
Ramon from having family connections to other Mexican emperors. His grandfather’s
great-uncle was married to the sister of Agustin I Yturbide (1783-1924), the
first Emperor of Mexico after independence from Spain. He wasn’t in office
long. There was a lot of opposition to Mexico becoming a monarchy, most
strongly in the Mexican Congress. Agustin dismissed Congress and appointed his
own. Very soon almost everyone else turned against him and he was ousted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A feature of European
colonialism is that quite a lot of the first colonists came from wealthy,
landed families and minor aristocracy (most of the US Founding Fathers were
from the upper classes). Because of this Agustin Yturbide can be put on the
list of Ramon Novarro’s famous distant blood relatives in addition to his connection
though marriage. Ramon and Agustin are descended from a Spanish noble called
Fernán Yañez de Saavedra (d.1370). In turn, Fernán is descended from an
illegitimate daughter of King Sancho IV of Castile (1221-1284). Going back
further, and one of King Sancho’s ancestors was King Henry II of England,
meaning I am a very distant cousin of Ramon Novarro also.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That opens up a huge
catalogue of blood relatives that Ramon Novarro can claim. For this particular
article, however, let’s just concentrate of some Hispanic cousins.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I haven’t done a massive
amount of research into the ancestries of many Latin American or Spanish
celebrities and famous people, though I have done some into those of national
leaders. Through the same small group of Conquistadors in Ramon’s ancestry he
is distantly related to at least two Presidents of El Salvador, six Presidents
of Nicaragua, several dozen from Costa Rica, a couple from Colombia, and a
couple from Argentina.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Among the Colombian
Presidents in Virgilio Barco Vargas (1921-1997). One of my previous “Out of His
Tree” articles featured President Barco’s gay son, the activist <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2015/09/out-of-their-trees-colombian-genes.html" target="_blank">Virgilio Barco Isakson.</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As far as Mexico is
concerned, Ramon has at least four Mexican Presidents as distant cousins. One
in particular is of interest, the fourth president Anastasio Bustamente
(1780-1853). We enter Abraham Lincoln territory here. That is to say, there is
clear evidence that the president shared a bed with another man, but that
doesn’t necessarily indicate homosexuality. Both Lincoln and Bustamente shared
a bed with another man. That was common in pre-20th century times. We have no
evidence that any physical or sexual intimacy occurred. However, even though I
still have reservations about the sexuality attributed to Abraham Lincoln I a
have fewer regarding Anastasio Bustamente. It is widely reported that he
preferred the company of young men, and he never married. So perhaps, he could
have been gay.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Which other well-known
Latin Americans are related to Ramon Novarro though his Conquistador ancestors?
Well, there’s Che Guevara, Simon Bolivar, Eva Peron, and Cristiano Ronaldo.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Going back and looking at
Ramon’s non-Hispanic cousins, you can get a good idea from the articles I wrote
about descendants of King Edward II of England, beginning <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2021/04/out-of-king-edwards-tree-part-1.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, that’s Ramon Novarro’s
family tree. It is dominated by the bloodlines and legacy of the Spanish
Conquistadors. His immediate ancestry centres on the Durango province of
Mexico, but most of his earliest colonial ancestors settled in the northern
part of Spanish Mexico, the area which is now the US state of New Mexico.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-26104992614228734992023-10-15T09:16:00.000+01:002023-10-15T09:16:09.565+01:00(Not Quite) 80 Gays Around the World: Part 5) Monks, Monarchs and Myrrh<p><b><u></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfguCoteJUT0e6SFa6KZ3wxKLT_-B7eyfNTySd47_Wsx5qMUCgjX3UfaQdJSnSWaiaFElu3x_rwQmBDS-5I6EiZbgJ1HWcWE7shMHl3lPYzM8ZmDCWe7g_kFLGZnKtv4scnXMV6p4bKLvm_3qlfigai-uvZfMy01RSQnref3shzjZWKz56VZ_LF1-sZk/s679/80%20gays%20and%20globe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="679" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfguCoteJUT0e6SFa6KZ3wxKLT_-B7eyfNTySd47_Wsx5qMUCgjX3UfaQdJSnSWaiaFElu3x_rwQmBDS-5I6EiZbgJ1HWcWE7shMHl3lPYzM8ZmDCWe7g_kFLGZnKtv4scnXMV6p4bKLvm_3qlfigai-uvZfMy01RSQnref3shzjZWKz56VZ_LF1-sZk/w197-h196/80%20gays%20and%20globe.png" width="197" /></a></u></b></div><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><p><b><u>Last time on (Not Quite) 80 Gays:</u></b> The Art Workshop International was
founded by <b><u>12) Bea Kreloff
(1925-2016)</u></b> and <b><u>13) Edith
Isaac Rose (1929-2018)</u></b> in Assisi, a city famous as the home of <b><u>14) St. Francis of Assisi (c.1187-1226)</u></b>,
founder of the Franciscan order of friars who, in 2022, elected its first
openly gay “bishop” <b><u>15) Markus
Fuhrmann (b.1971).</u></b></p></span></u></b><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are two points I
need to clear up. First, despite the title, friars are not monks. Basically,
monks keep themselves to themselves in a monastery, while friars go out and minister
among the outside community. I thought “monks” worked better in the title than
“friars”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Second, the Franciscan
order of friars does not have bishops. That is the term I used because it is
the most recognisable term used for someone of a comparable position in other
Christian churches. Technically, all Franciscan friars are of equal position.
Those elected to take overall charge of the affairs of the global Franciscan
order (like an archbishop under the ultimate authority of the Pope) is called
the Minister General. The world is divided into provinces (the equivalent of
dioceses), and the friar elected to oversee each province is called a Minister
Provincial (the equivalent of a bishop).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In June 2022, members of
the chapter of the province of St. Elizabeth, the German “diocese”, gathered in
Ohrbeck near Osnabruck to, amongst other things, elect their new Minister
Provincial in succession to Father Cornelius Bohd, who had served his full term
of office. The chapter elected </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>15)
Father Markus Fuhrmann (b.1971)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Just a few weeks beforehand he had
come out as gay.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I wrote about the
Franciscan stance on homosexuality<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2023/08/not-quite-80-gays-around-world-4-art-in.html" target="_blank"> last time</a> on “80 Gays”. The issue of
homosexuality in the Catholic Church was among several issues discussed in the
Synodale Weg, or Synodal Way, a series of conferences held between 2019 and
2023 by the Catholic Church in Germany. Father Markus had always been a
supporter of the Synodal Way and of changing some of the Church’s antiquated
and corrupt practices, as was his predecessor. Needless to say, the Synodal Way
attracted a lot of criticism from within and outside the Catholic Church in
Germany.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT4v_DFkiMY3euj6a1Dx1D5wRH1mrVmw9cOswdA8iUJNH6zc8zFzR0vTx4a-HJFrdR27PlBNlnKAzGaKun06lXRCRXIdEE2eHeTH3ncPdAEdGreRMnpOEY6ZnQGDpVwafBOaSJ4NJp7u_ha-mIqdrc11_yXCTMyCtvJt77GAHpneKECgmkfC1VQcJkEo/s352/Synodal%20Way.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="289" data-original-width="352" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiT4v_DFkiMY3euj6a1Dx1D5wRH1mrVmw9cOswdA8iUJNH6zc8zFzR0vTx4a-HJFrdR27PlBNlnKAzGaKun06lXRCRXIdEE2eHeTH3ncPdAEdGreRMnpOEY6ZnQGDpVwafBOaSJ4NJp7u_ha-mIqdrc11_yXCTMyCtvJt77GAHpneKECgmkfC1VQcJkEo/w215-h177/Synodal%20Way.bmp" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Official logo the Synodal Way</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During all of this
controversy Father Markus came out as gay. He was not just an ordinary friar at
the time. He was the Vicar Provincial (the next level down from a Minister
Provincial) to his predecessor.</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Just
as there was criticism about aspects of the Synodal Way, so there was criticism
of Father Markus’s election. The fact that the province of St. Elizabeth
elected an openly gay man as their guiding minister must mean that there is a
change beginning to happen in the Catholic Church, at least in Germany.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Father Markus is the third
Minister Provincial of St. Elizabeth Province. The province itself is
relatively new, having been formed by the merger in 2010 of several smaller
provinces. Prior to this, Father Markus was a pastor to the homeless in
Cologne, the city at the centre of one of the former smaller provinces, the
Province of Cologne and the Three Kings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s a Christmas
connection here. The Three Kings refer to those in the Bible story of the birth
of Christ. But what are they doing in Cologne, you might be asking? The short
story is that Cologne cathedral houses their reputed remains. They were brought
there by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa from Milan. Before Milan they were in
Constantinople, having been taken there by Emperor Constantine the Great’s
mother in the 4th century. She had found them in the Holy Land. No-one today
really believes they are genuine, but they help to focus the faith of devout
Christians.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’ve written before about
the Three Kings. In my Advent <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2019/12/deck-halls-1-three-queer-kings.html" target="_blank">series in 2019</a> I mentioned how modern scholarship
is beginning to look at the Three Kings in a historical context. The earliest
translations of the Bible didn’t refer to them as kings. This is a rank
assigned to them in the Middles Ages to emphasise their status as important
representatives from their countries, and because of several prophecies in the
Old Testament.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is speculated that the
kings were in fact priests or astrologers. Taking into account that they are
said to have come from “the east” suggests that they came from the areas now
covered by Iran, Iraq and Syria. During the time of the birth of Christ these
areas predominantly practised the Zoroastrian faith. It is widely believed that
their priests were most often either androgynous, intersex, transgender or
eunuch.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, the Three Kings
weren’t kings. We don’t know their names either. People of the middle ages
liked to give names to anonymous characters in the Bible (such as <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-first-queer-evangelist.html" target="_blank">Simeon Bachos</a>). We still do it. We give names to things that don’t have them
(children, genders, nations, inventions, animals, asteroids, etc.). Over the
centuries the Three Kings have been given many names. Different early church
communities gave different names, and some even said there were more than three
kings. So, if other churches had been more influential we may be calling the
kings by names such as Eshtanbozon, Zual, or Walastar.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The names that we are more
familiar with today first appeared in the 6th century in a famous mosaic in the
Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy. There, above images of
the kings, are versions of the names which became the most universal – </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>15) Caspar</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>16) Melchoir)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>17)
Balthasar</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Another reason why we assume there were three of them is because
they brought three gifts, one each – gold, frankincense and myrrh.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Two of these gifts puzzled
me as a child. They probably puzzled you as well. Gold is obvious, a precious
gift. But what about the others? Frankincense is just incense, also a precious
substance at the time and often presented to kings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We can’t tell much about
myrrh from its name, unless you know that is a resinous substance obtained from
a thorny tree of the same name. It is used as a perfume, but also in embalming.
Its significance as a gift to Christ is to represent His mortality as the only
part of the Holy Trinity who could actually die.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The name myrrh is of
Semetic origin and means “bitter”. It entered other eastern nations and
languages, including ancient Greece. There a myth was created to explain the
myrrh tree’s origin. It tells of a girl called Myrrha who fell in love with her
father and tricked him into having sex with her, resulting in her pregnancy.
Myrrha became remorseful and went into self-imposed exile. She begged the gods
to help her out of her situation and they turned her into the tree that bears
her name. As for the unborn child, the gods decided to release the child from
the tree. This child grew up to be associated with sex, beauty, and fertility
and have various gender-fluid relationships. His name was </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>19) Adonis</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Next time on (Not Quite) 80 Gays:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> We step into a garden and play some
games.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-676895262654283942023-10-01T08:25:00.002+01:002023-10-01T08:25:58.036+01:0023 For 2023<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My friends in the USA are
celebrating LGBT History Month from today. To celebrate here are 23 lgbt+ facts
and trivia. Some of these facts are explained in more detail in earlier posts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1) Gay detective novelist
Christopher Fowler (1953-2023) came up with the famous tagline “In space no-one
can hear you scream” for the 1979 film “Alien”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2) The swimming trunks
worn by the 16-year-old Greg Louganis when he won a silver medal in diving at
the 1976 Montréal Olympics were bought at an auction in January 2023 for
$6,604.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3) The much-troubled
Nottingham Castle (which went downhill very quickly after I left!) has had
three queer Constables (a sort of site manager). They were Sir Piers Gaveston
(c.1284-1312) from 1310-1312; Sir William Neville (c.1341-1391) from 1381-1391;
and Sir George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628), from c.1621-1628.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4) Douglas Byng
(1893-1987) is believed to be the first drag performer in the world to have
been given his own series on television. The BBC gave him his own 2-episode
sketch show called “Byng-Ho!” in 1938. They were broadcast live and no
recordings exist (I wish I could say the same about “Ru Paul’s Drag Race!”).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5) “Ingles” or “ningles”
was a slang name for gay male prostitutes in late 16th and early 17th century
London, England. Its origin is unknown, though it may be connected to an old
medieval word meaning “to fondle”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">6) Facebook is synonymous
with Mark Zuckerburg, but Facebook was actually co-founded in 2002 by
Zuckerburg and four friends at Harvard University, USA, including the openly
gay Chris Hughes (b.1983).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">7) On a related online
note – the world’s first internet search engine, ARCHIE, was created in 1989 by
Bahamian/Canadian Alan Emtage (b.1964). He is credited with being the first
openly gay black person to create and entirely new category of technology.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">8) The habergeiss is a
goat-like creature or cryptid from German folklore that is often represented in
Christmas parades. It is said to be of male-female composite gender. You can
read more <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2022/12/advent-4-queer-goat-becomes-santa.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">9) Ghosts can be queer
too. In 2017 the Stonewall Columbus Queer Ghost Hunters recorded two series of
their quest to track down queer and lgbt+ ghosts on You Tube. You can watch
those videos<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@QueerGhostHunters/featured" target="_blank"> here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">10) The first Olympic
medals won by an lgbt+ athletes were won by George Coleman Poage (1880-1962) at
the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games. He won two bronze medals in the hurdles. He
is also the first known lgbt+ black American in compete. You can read more
about him <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2023/06/olympic-day-first-of-three-firsts.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">11) The first glossary of
lgbt+ slang, as far as is known, was compiled by Isidore Leo Pavia (1875-1945),
an Anglo-Italian composer and pianist. In 1910 he published a series of six
articles on male homosexuality in London and England. Presumably, he was well
acquainted with London’s gay underworld.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">12) The world’s shortest
official Pride march took place on 21 November 2017 as part of the first
Paekākāriki Pride in Paekākāriki, New Zealand. The full route was 10 meters (35
feet) across a pedestrian road crossing in the town centre. There were around
200 people in the march who, lined up before hand, stretched further than the
entire length of the march.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">13) When the American
biker group Dykes on Bikes tried to have their name registered as a trademark
in the USA they were denied three times because the courts objected to the use
of the word “Dykes”, saying it was an offensive and derogatory term. In
September 2006 the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board dismissed the court’s
objections and granted the trademark name.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">14) In 2021 a new
all-lgbt+ choir called Seaweed in the Fruit Locker was formed specifically to
highlight queer interpretations to traditional sea shanties. The choir’s name
uses two terms from polari, the slang used by gay men from the mid-1920s in
England. “Seaweed” means “sailor”, and “fruit locker” means “a gay sailor’s
berth on ship”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">15) Erin Honeycutt, a
queer woman from Michigan, USA, earned a Guinness World Record in August 2023
by possessing the world’s longest naturally grown beard by a living female. It
measures 30 centimetres. Ms. Honeycutt has a medical condition called
polycystic ovarian syndrome which causes a hormonal imbalance. It has taken her
three year to grow, after her wife suggested that she stopped shaving during
the covid lockdown.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">16) The Raelians are a
religious community (many call it a cult) founded in 1974. Worshippers believe
that when we die our bodies are “reclaimed” by aliens called the Elohim. They
also believe that sexual and gender diversity was given to humanity by the
Elohim.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">17) The Father of Computer
Science Alan Turing (1912-1954) almost became an Olympian. A keen runner, Alan
was due to take part in the British marathon trials in 1948 for the London
Olympics, having qualified with a time of 2 hours 46 minutes (which would have
been the world record time in 1909) but had to withdraw because he had the flu.
It is widely believed that he would have had a good chance of being selected
for the Olympics.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">18) A gynomorph is a term
used to describe gods and deities who show both male and female sexual
characteristics. Gynomorphic deities are often represented in ancient statues
as being androgynous with breasts and penis.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">19) Married couple, and
members of England’s national women’s cricket team, Nat and Katherine
Sciver-Brunt, were the first same-sex couple to read the “CBeebies Bedtime
Story” on 9th June 2023. CBeebies is the BBC’s channel dedicated to the
under-6-year-olds. “CBeebies Bedtime Story”, which began in 2006, is broadcast
every night and read by a different celebrity. Many other lgbt+ personalities
have also read a Bedtime Story.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">20) Breaking (or
breakdancing) is set to make its first “adult” Olympic appearance (it has
already appeared in the Youth Olympics). In the breaking community the sport is
also called b-boying and b-girling. Many dancers use the prefix B-boy or B-girl
before their professional name. B-boy is also an American slang term for a gay
man, meaning “bottom boy”. By the way, open gay Peruvian B-boy Dosu is
currently competing for Olympic ranking, though he still has a long way to go
to reach the qualifying rankings (as of 25 August 2023 he’s ranked 201st).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">21) Matilda Simon, 3rd
Baroness Simon of Wythenshawe (b.1955), became the first transgender peer in
the UK in 2022 when she transitioned and was formally recognised by the Lord
Chancellor. She succeeded her father to the title in 2002 when she became known
as the 3rd Baron Simon of Wythenshawe (the title can only pass to male heirs,
as it will when the baroness dies). To become the first transgender member of
the House of Lords, however, she must win a by-election to fill a vacant seat.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">22) Vakasalewalewa is a
third-gender identity in which Fijians who are biologically male from birth
express themselves as female.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">23) The gay King James VI
of Scotland, who was also King James I of England (1566-1625), was the only
child of Mary, Queen of Scots and the bisexual Lord Darnley. Darnley’s father
was the Earl of Lennox who claimed to be the next in line to the throne. When
James became king (with Lord Darnley being dead at the time), this meant that
King James’s own grandfather Lennox was his heir, and James himself was 2nd in
line to his own throne. A family tree in on of the “Gay Thrones” posts <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2021/01/game-of-gay-thrones-5-byzantium-england.html" target="_blank">here</a> may
make it clearer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-58547572850093895832023-09-19T09:07:00.003+01:002023-09-19T09:07:56.876+01:00Pirate Couples<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi8T-pgzj68KIkBidITgoypcqy2038sjV_4Ai0G2YsOe33ahmH-zx99IFcYJs9lFNXVq1Sr0pVED8lLgtf6IVIR1LRYIk7zUdY_OU3lYI_N7ZpmahS1KbAPfgWim6FtiyhwJ2gKryBiDudO_oCHh9jEcpAx5l7_aiUNWklQUEC_wu1jeZRs8Rvk6QRps/s274/rainbow%20pirate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="274" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi8T-pgzj68KIkBidITgoypcqy2038sjV_4Ai0G2YsOe33ahmH-zx99IFcYJs9lFNXVq1Sr0pVED8lLgtf6IVIR1LRYIk7zUdY_OU3lYI_N7ZpmahS1KbAPfgWim6FtiyhwJ2gKryBiDudO_oCHh9jEcpAx5l7_aiUNWklQUEC_wu1jeZRs8Rvk6QRps/s1600/rainbow%20pirate.png" width="274" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>Yo, ho, ho! Shiver mi
timbers! And all that kind of stuff. Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day, an
unofficial celebration of all things piratey, except all the plundering and
scurvy. Talk Like a Pirate Day began in 1995 as a humorous idea by a couple of American
friends and has been increasingly adopted by various people around the world
since then.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’ve written about pirates
several times on this blog, whether is was about fighting Barbary pirates,
someone with pirate ancestors, or debunking the alleged Pansy Pirate. Just type
“pirate” into the search box on the left to find out more.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When we think of pirates
our first image is probably of Long John Silver from “Treasure Island”, Captain
Hook from “Peter Pan”, or Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean”. These
are all highly stereotyped and romanticised versions of the real thing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For our purpose we’ll look
at pirates of the 17th to 19th centuries, the so-called Golden Age of piracy.
We’ll see what kind of same-sex arrangements were practiced by them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There was a form of same-sex
“agreement” called matilotage. The word matilotage comes from the French word
for “seamanship”. English sailors were often referred to as “matilots”. Basically,
matilotage was an arrangement made between two male sailors whereby one would
share the other’s possessions, property and “spoils of war” and inherit them if
the other one died. This arrangement was especially important to pirates
because they were less likely to have any family, or contact with them, and
this would prevent other pirates fighting over whatever possessions were left
behind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There wasn’t any real
homosexual connotation behind matilotage at the time. It should also be noted
that matilotage also including sharing a bed. The prudish Victorians turned
this into something that always implied something sexual, as is still vulgarly
implied today. Sharing a bed with the same sex was common and had no sexual
implication in the hundreds of years it had taken place before then. But it is
obvious to see that any gay pirates might take advantage of this type of
arrangement.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Modern scholarship on
matilotage was influenced by “Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition” by B. Richard
Burg (b.1938), currently Emeritus Professor of History at Arizona State
University, published in 1995. Because this was the first major publication on
the subject it received a lot of attention and praise. Since then, however,
other researchers have pointed out that there was a lack of scholarly debate
and criticism of Burg’s research at the time, and it was accepted virtually without
question. Burg’s interpretations were his learned opinion, and not all of it
was supported by documented evidence. Nevertheless, homosexual relationships
are still an aspect of matilotage that cannot be ignored and Burg’s work
remained a starting point for research that came later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are very few
examples of matilotage that can be verified. Here are some that could be
genuine.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One written matilotage
agreement that does survive between pirates is that made between Francis Hood
and John Beavis on 10th March 1699. The agreement was signed at Port Dauphin on
Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. You may have thought that pirates only sailed
in the Caribbean, but there were pirates in every sea and ocean. Madagascar is
particularly associated with pirates. In fact, there is an alleged pirate
colony called Libertatia that is said to have been founded on Madagascar at
around that time. There’s no real evidence that Libertatia existed, but
Madagascar was known as a pirate haven, and many pirates spent time there, more
so than any Caribbean island.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Back to Francis Hood and
John Beavis. Nothing is known about either of them. Their names suggest they
were British, or American colonists. This may also suggest that they were
active pirates in the Caribbean before seeking refuge on Madagascar. Their written
agreement states that each would receive the other’s “gold, silver, and any
other thing” should one of them die at sea.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Another couple for whom
there is no evidence but are highly likely to have entered into a matilotage
are Olauduh Equiano (c.1745-1797), who used the name Gustavus Vassa in
adulthood, and Richard Baker. Although neither were pirates they were both shipmates
in the British navy. Vassa was a former African slave in colonial America who
became famous for his internationally best-selling memoir which was first
published in 1789. It is claimed by some historians that this memoir was one of
the most significant factors in Great Britain abolishing the slave trade.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In his memoir Vassa writes
lovingly about Richard Baker. He describes how extremely fond of each other
they were and inseparable. He describes how they shared a bed-space, laying in
each others arms for comfort when they were going through periods of stress.
Not once, however, is there any implication of physical sexual acts between
them, but their relationship has led many historians to label Vassa as
bisexual. Vassa married and had children after he left the navy. His memoir has
inspired me to write an “Extraordinary Life” article about him next year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This can also be said of Richard
Culliford, an actual pirate captain, and his partner John Swann. Culliford and
Swann met during the former’s pirate activity in the Indian Ocean, and they
settles on Madagascar for a dew years before splitting up amicably. On
Madagascar they were reported by other pirates to have been an open couple,
with Swann being described as Culliford’s “consort”. They probably entered into
a matilotage, but there’s no record of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Before I finish I have not
forgotten the most famous pirate couple of all, Mary Read and Anne Bonney.
They, too, deserves an article to themselves. This is also in the pipeline for
next year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s such a pity that
there are not more matilotage agreement in existence, whether between pirates
or ordinary sailors. Pirates have been very popular in recent decades and it is
an aspect of their lifestyle that might change our image of pirates forever.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-84425479614082914272023-09-06T07:39:00.002+01:002023-09-06T07:39:54.874+01:00Two Olympic Transitions<p><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">NOTE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">: The information in this article
is accurate on the date of publication. New information discovered after this
date may alter or replace some of the details.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQT5K7lbrTnSbn_5mBjXuROW3wI_tEAFDCI13US07LYnos9r9QbRBGktV621YiqlNcV8Yqe6iOcjYIe7w-JrJSMEflNJJMV9pUMjG9gfgW6U8UYE9ZC2jiGCqbLbf6mt0RVN1oxwYMcQLkG9DpRS_yY_8uLmxCmRi8LyoxR9W9UOXBPBDqlXWVtfcJOA/s650/trans%20flag.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="650" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQT5K7lbrTnSbn_5mBjXuROW3wI_tEAFDCI13US07LYnos9r9QbRBGktV621YiqlNcV8Yqe6iOcjYIe7w-JrJSMEflNJJMV9pUMjG9gfgW6U8UYE9ZC2jiGCqbLbf6mt0RVN1oxwYMcQLkG9DpRS_yY_8uLmxCmRi8LyoxR9W9UOXBPBDqlXWVtfcJOA/s320/trans%20flag.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><p>Today we learn about the
third “Olympic first” associated with the lgbt community. The previous were
<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2023/06/olympic-day-first-of-three-firsts.html" target="_blank">Prince George</a> of Greece and Denmark and <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2023/07/one-olympian-multiple-firsts.html" target="_blank">George Poage</a>. Today I feature two
Olympians who possess other “firsts”, each of those firsts differing in their
specific details but significant in their own way. Both can be regarded as the
first transgender Olympian. They are <b><u>Leonard
Chalmers</u></b> (1911-1990) and <b><u>Léon
Caurla</u></b> (1926-2002). Both competed an identified as females before
undergoing transgender surgery.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First of all, let’s differentiate
their respective “firsts”. Leonard Chalmers is the first Olympian to compete
(Berlin 1936) who became transgender (c.1961), while Léon Caurla is the first
Olympian (London 1948) to have surgery (1950). I hope that makes sense.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Another thing they have in
common is that they did not actually compete in the games they attended. Both
were listed as members of their respective National Olympic Committees, and
both were listed as entrants in their events, but are recorded as non-starters.
This may be for several reasons. Those early Olympics may not have been so
formal with regards to entries and starters. There are many athletes listed who
also did not start their listed event, though their names appear in official
Olympic records (Léon was one of 6 non-starters recorded in his event). Another
reason is that they were what we now refer to as “alternates”, athletes who are
designated to fill in for another in cases of illness. Until 1992 all
alternates were listed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and were
regarded as full Olympians. Since 1992, however, the IOC have not regarded
alternates as Olympians. This is where I and many Olympic historians chose to
differ. In my lists of lgbt+ Olympians I include all lgbt+ alternate athletes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let’s look more closely
first at Leonard Chalmers. He was born biological female and baptised Lilian
Florence Elizabeth Chalmers. Confusion about his actual date of birth is
resolved on his birth certificate and the 1939 Register of England and Wales (a
national census taken to assist in the distribution of ID cards during the war)
which give his birthdate as 5th December 1911. Wikipedia (as of today) gives
the wrong date. I will use the female pronoun as used by both Lilian and Léon
during their athletic careers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lilian Chalmers’ prowess
on the track seems to have begun in 1932. The first real record of Lilian as a
member of an international English team is at the 2nd British Empire Games
(retrospectively referred to as the 2nd Commonwealth Games) in London in 1934.
Lilian won the bronze medal in the women’s 100 metres sprint.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lilian’s next major event
was the 1936 Berlin Olympics, being listed as an entrant in the women’s 4x100
metres relay. As mentioned above she was a non-starter in this event. The team
won the silver medal. The claim that I have seen online that Lilian’s non-start
was due to criticism from other female athletes about her gender is not
substantiated.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1937 Lilian became the
British women’s 200 metres champion. This was repeated in the 1939 championship,
to which she added the 400 metres title. Also in 1939 she competed at the
Internationale Stadionfest (ISTAF Berlin) in the stadium that had hosted the
1936 Olympics. A few weeks later war was declared in Germany.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During Lilian’s athletic
career she worked as a machinist in Coomer’s Cardboard Box factory in
Portsmouth. Her last known race was in 1951. Sometime after that she moved to
London, and in 1961 Lilian underwent gender surgery and adopted the name
Leonard on 21st December of that year. Leonard Chalmers died from a stroke in
1990.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although Leonard was the
first transgender athlete known to attend the Olympics he was not the first to
undergo reassignment surgery. As mentioned, that distinction currently belongs
to Léon Caurla. It should be pointed out that, in all probability, Léon Caurla
was intersex.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Léon was born in the
French town of Etain and was assigned female at birth. He was baptised Léa. Her
first major competition was the 1946 European Athletics Championships in Oslo.
She won a bronze medal in the 200 metres. In the first heat she was racing
against the Polish sprinter <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2018/03/around-world-in-another-80-gays-part-11.html" target="_blank">Stanisława Walasiewicz</a> (later known as Stella
Walsh), a fellow intersex athlete.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On the same day as winning
her bonze medal Léa won a silver medal as part of the 4x100 metres relay team.
Stanisława Walasiewicz also competed in this event (her team came last). On
Léa’s team was Claire Brésolles. Shortly after the Oslo championships Claire
transitioned and adopted the name Pierre. He does not appear in any Olympic
records. It is claimed on Wikipedia that Léa and Claire were lovers. This is
not true.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1948 Lea was listed as
an entrant in the women’s 200 metres at the London Olympics. As with Lilian
Chalmers in 1936, Lea may have been an alternate athlete. But there could be
another reason.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gender verification in
sport has a long and complicated evolution and history. In 1946 the
International Amateur Athletics Federation (now known as World Athletics)
introduced regulations requiring all athletes competing in female categories to
provide a medical certificate before each competition verifying their female
gender before being allowed to compete. Léa must have provided one in 1946 in
order to compete at the European Championships. However, moving two years on to
the Olympics and a physical examination had become mandatory. It is recorded
that Léa refused to take this physical examination. The outcome was certain.
Léa was barred from the French athletics federation and from the Olympics. I’m
still trying to ascertain the date this happened. This must have been after the
Olympics or Léa would have been disqualified from entering, and her name would
never have appeared in official records.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It was at this time that
Lea decided to live as a man and undergo surgery. In late 1950 the surgery took
place, and Léa emerged as Léon, revealing his transition to the press in March
1952.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Details of Léon Caurla’s
life after this are scarce. We know that he joined the French Air Force at some
stage, and that he married and had children. By the 1980s he had returned to
his hometown of Etain, where he had several jobs – a travelling salesman, owner
of a florist shop, and he also rented out property.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While we cannot say with
certainty that Léon Caurla was the first transgender Olympian, bearing in mind
he was probably intersex, we can say that Leonard Chalmers was the first
Olympian who definitely was, even though he wasn’t the first to have surgery.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With transgender issues
being even more of an issue in sport than ever before we wait to see if and
when transgender athletes will ever compete at the Olympics in the future.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My opinion doesn’t count
for anything, but I think it is time for sport to drop its current method of
scoring results. Athletic results already take into account wind speed and
altitude, so, if transgender athletes have an alleged unfair advantage, why
can’t someone come up with a formula that takes this into account. Let
transgender athletes compete in whatever gender category they wish. Applying
the formula would ensure a fairer result, even if it means finishing first and
being declared third, or whatever. In the future, if it is decided that
transgender athletes should never have been subjected to the formula, that
formula can be removed retrospectively. The athletes not subject to the application of the formula retain their positions and medals, but if that then means there are two gold
medallists, fine. Its an idea that needs a lot more work put into it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We can only hope that
sports organising bodies, transgender athletes, and transgender critics can
work together for once and come up with a solution that pleases everyone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-84856985656032931932023-08-23T07:36:00.001+01:002023-08-23T07:36:45.021+01:00Whodunnit? Millionaire Murder<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1997 Gardner Young
decided to give his partner, Greg Siner, what he had always dreamed of. Greg
was a dog groomer and ran a dog boutique in New Jersey and had often dreamt of
owning his own kennels and breeding championship dogs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gardner and Greg found the
ideal place in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. It had been abandoned since 1988 and
had become something of a local legend. The estate had been the home of a
renowned yet eccentric millionaire spaniel breeder called Cam Lyman. Cam
disappeared in 1988.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Greg had met Cam briefly a
few times at various dog shows across the US, and he revelled in telling
stories of Cam’s disappearance to his old friends from the New Jersey gay scene
when they visited him. He had even more stories to tell after July 1998.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Greg and Gardner began the
long task of renovating the estate and setting up their kennels. One of the
problems that needed urgent attention was the drains in one of the kennel
buildings. It had become blocked. Greg reasoned that the drain leading to the
septic tank needed a good clean out after nearly a decade of non-use.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’ve watched too many true
crime programmes to be not surprised at what happened next.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After prizing off the lid
of the underground septic tank Greg could see a human skull staring up at him
from the bottom. He knew exactly who it belonged to. Cam Lyman had been found.
Examination of the remains showed that Cam had been shot in the head.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cam Lyman was born a
biological female in 1932 and was raised as a girl. Her parents were
millionaires from old colonial families and baptised their daughter Camilla
Lowell Lyman. Before we go further, a brief word on pronouns. In accordance
with accepted convention for people who are no longer alive I will use female
pronouns for when Cam identified as female. Some YouTubers assign a non-binary
identification on Cam Lyman. There is absolutely no evidence or justification
for this, as there is no record that Cam identified as such, and claiming so
shows disrespect.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cammilla’s parents were
like chalk and cheese. Mrs. Margaret Rice Lyman showed no interest in any of
her four children. She never displayed any love towards them. Arthur Theodor
Lyman, on the other hand, was the most loving and supporting father they could
have. Camilla was particularly attached to him.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Growing up, Camilla became
distinguishable by her large frame and awkward mannerisms. At school she was
nicknamed “Butch” by her classmates. Camilla’s closeness to her father began to
show in her wearing the type of jacket that he also wore. What brought them
closer was their shared interest in dogs and dog-breeding which other members
of the family didn’t have.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After her father’s death
in 1968 Camilla seemed to withdraw from her family. Her contact with the
outside world came primarily in the dog shows where she became a familiar sight
and a success as a breeder. She wore her fathers’ jackets, long skirts, and cut
her hair short. People were beginning to say that she was turning into her
father. One month after her mother died in 1973 the transformation became
complete. Camilla had become Cam.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One unsettling aspect of
Cam’s new identification as a man came in his taking of steroids developed for
dogs made from bull’s semen. With his aversion to established health services
he would never have considered reassignment surgery, according to those who new
her best. He never went to a doctor or dentist. Cam’s family and contacts in
the dog world put his behaviour down to natural eccentricity and accepted it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">However successful Cam was
as a dog-breeder the same cannot be said about his handling of money. To help
run his estate and finances he employed a “handler” called George O’Neill.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With hindsight, the most
charitable thing I can say about O’Neill is that he was a crook, and it showed
from the very beginning. But Cam, for some reason, trusted him. More
significantly, Cam trusted O’Neill to handle all his money and ensure all bills
and official documents were delivered on time. It was O’Neill to whom Cam
entrusted the preparation and delivery of the documents stating his intention
to legally adopted the name Cam instead of Camilla. To the outside world
O’Neill seemed to be having a controlling influence on Cam, even at dog shows,
and Cam seemed to be totally dependent on him. O’Neill was even given power of
attorney over everything.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yet, despite all this, and
their successful partnership as dog breeders, Cam was prone to sudden rages and
the two had a tempestuous working relationship. Their last known disagreement
concerned O’Neill not submitting entry details for Cam’s prize-winning spaniel
in a show in Canada on time. To be honest, it wasn’t entirely O’Neill’s fault.
There was a postal strike, but Cam blamed O’Neill completely. The heated
argument over the phone ended when Cam’s line was cut off.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The next day, 20 July
1987, O’Neill went to Cam’s estate to explain. He found the phone ripped off
the wall and could not find Cam anywhere. Nothing else seemed out of order, and
the dogs were okay but they needed feeding. For the rest of his life O’Neill
claimed that he had assumed Cam had left the business and gone to have gender
re-assignment surgery in Europe. Knowing Cam’s aversion to health care this was
never believed by anyone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">By Christmas 1987 Cam’s
family had got very concerned and began an investigation. At the same time
Cam’s lawyers and bank did as well. It was discovered that O’Neill had been
embezzling money from Cam’s estate for several years, and hundreds of thousands
of dollars had gone missing. Cam probably never knew it was happening. Although
O’Neill was eventually convicted of embezzlement, he refused to admit he knew
anything about Cam’s disappearance, or even showed any real concern. All he
said was “she’s dead”, but that’s what Cam’s family was thinking as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apart from O’Neill the
police and private investigators could never identify a reason for Cam’s
disappearance, nor any suspects in his murder after his body was discovered by
Greg Siner. O’Neill acted very suspiciously throughout the whole investigation,
but that’s not proof of any involvement.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To this day the case is
unsolved. The mystery behind it only enhances its appeal, like Jack the Ripper.
It still features in the media from time to time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cam’s remains were buried
with his parents. There’s no-one still living who had any close connection to
the 1987 case. The last of Cam’s siblings died in 2018 and his many nephews and
nieces were too distantly connected to have any useful information. Only Greg
Siner and Gardner Young (now separated) remain to give first-hand accounts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, whodunit?</span></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-9490680743393620702023-08-07T08:57:00.000+01:002023-08-07T08:57:37.072+01:00(Not Quite) 80 Gays Around the World: 4) Art in Italy<p><b><u></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihpqjUauDJPMBguBQnxCQawULRG7Om-Tbk4vuA-xaPt66pXwyXRqXZZ1k1D7IJNCYdAMb8HzB8TfjzTEBkP591nAA7F3ZeXw_p87K2fdZjQ1k1sVwWUsAVBcui50JrtFsTkm19-rNoZa5f0lWwiTV3mpApntqmSDPMTcUgDrgtEYX1Nd0RwIY_Xf6-ag/s679/80%20gays%20and%20globe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="679" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihpqjUauDJPMBguBQnxCQawULRG7Om-Tbk4vuA-xaPt66pXwyXRqXZZ1k1D7IJNCYdAMb8HzB8TfjzTEBkP591nAA7F3ZeXw_p87K2fdZjQ1k1sVwWUsAVBcui50JrtFsTkm19-rNoZa5f0lWwiTV3mpApntqmSDPMTcUgDrgtEYX1Nd0RwIY_Xf6-ag/w247-h246/80%20gays%20and%20globe.png" width="247" /></a></u></b></div><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Last time on “80 Gays”:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Partners <b><u>9) Robert Ferro (1941-1988)</u></b> and <b><u>10) Michael Grumley (1942-1988)</u></b> co-wrote a book about
Atlantic, the latter also writing about Bigfoot (the subject of a novel by <b><u>11) Samantha Leigh Allen</u></b>), and
after whom a literary prize is named which grants winners residency at the Art
Workshop International founded by <b><u>12)
Bea Kreloff</u></b><u> <b>(1925-2016)</b></u>
and <b><u>13) Edith Isaac Rose (1929-2018)</u></b>.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Art Workshop
International is a summer school offering courses in several creative arts –
writing, painting, art history – while at the same time offering attendees the
opportunity to experience the culture on a famous town in Italy. The second of
this summer’s sessions ended a couple of weeks ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Several well-known lgbt
artists and writers have been among the tutors during the 2-week courses,
including </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>5) Edmund White</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Dorothy Allison</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (</span><a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2020/04/80-more-gays-around-world-part-10_25.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">number</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">28</b></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> in my 2020 edition of “80 More Gays Around the World”).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Art Workshop’s
founders, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>12) Bea Kreloff</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and</span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <u>13) Edith Isaac Rose</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, met at
the opening of an exhibition in 1980. There was an instant connection and they
found kindred spirits in each other. They had a lot in common. They were both
children of eastern European immigrants – Bea’s from Russia, and Edith’s from
Hungary and from what is now Poland. Both of their fathers were in the clothing
industry – Bea’s father was a tailor, and Edith’s father made women’s coats.
And both Bea and Edith were married.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bea Kreloff was born
Beatrice Magit in 1925. In 1944 she married Bernard Krulovetsky, another child
of east European immigrants. He soon shortened his name to Kreloff, and Bea
kept her married name for the rest of her life. The couple had two sons.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Edith Isaac Rose was born
Edith Ganansky in 1929. In 1950 she married Charles Leitelbaum (often
mistakenly called Teitelbaum), again, a child of east European immigrants. They
separated in the early 1980s.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1950 Bea and Edith were
both studying art. Bea entered the Brooklyn Museum Art School. Afterwards she
became a private art tutor whilst producing her own work. In the 1970s she
became Chair of the Art Department at the Ethical Culture Fieldson School,
Riverside, New York City. By this time she had separated from her husband and
have moved with her sons into accommodation provided by the charitable
organisation, the Westbeth Artists’ Residents Council in Manhattan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Edith Isaac Rose graduated
from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1951. Moving to New York City a few years
later she also became an artist and decided to drop her married name and
adopted the first names of her parents, Isaac and Rose, for her professional
work. Edith’s artwork became increasingly more influenced by social issues,
such as political corruption and social inequality. She also expanded into
other media, including embroidery. She used all media to produce a body of work
in the 1980s, a series of works called “Daily Rage” which displayed which reflected
her own left-wing opinions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The year after Bea and
Edith met at that exhibition, Edith left her husband and went to live with Bea.
They remained together until Beas’ death in 2016.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Art Workshop
International which the couple founded in 1981 was established in the historic
town of Assisi in Italy. Of course, this town is famous for its association
with one man, whom we met <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2021/02/franciscan-friends.html" target="_blank">two years ago</a>, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>14)
St. Francis of Assisi (c.1187-1226)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Scholars are still
discussing the nature of St. Francis’s sexuality. It may never be known. Within
the Franciscan Order, which he founded, the attitudes towards homosexuality
have changed as society’s attitudes have changed. As a Catholic organisation
the Franciscan stance on homosexuality at the moment is “love the sinner, hate
the sin”. When I began studying as a Methodist lay preacher several decades ago
I began researching Christian doctrine on homosexuality – apart from atheists, no
genuinely Christian denomination has ever declared homosexuality one of the
sins, except Christian leaders who abuse their position of influence and
express their own personal view and claim it is doctrine. Even Popes have done
this.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Today, all Catholics are
encouraged to treat members of the lgbt community with the respect due to all
humans. Some of their doctrines may be homophobic. All organisations have the
right to make their own rules which their members are expected to follow, that’s
democracy. But change doesn’t always come from outside. The Catholic Church cannot
change (in other words, make it more acceptable to those who aren’t Catholic)
if there are no lgbt Christians within in to influence change. Even though the
Franciscans do not yet accept same-sex marriage within its Order they don’t
apply this to same-sex marriage outside it. Some Franciscan friars openly campaigned
for same-sex marriage in the USA before it became legal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Like I said earlier, most
established denominations (I don’t recognise the many blatantly homophobic US independent
evangelical churches as Christian) “love the sinner, hate the sin”, so there
should be no surprise to learn there are lgbt+ Christians can, and have, become
church leaders. That brings me on to our next individual, an openly gay
Franciscan friar who is currently the equivalent of a Franciscan bishop, </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>15) Brother Markus Fuhrmann (b.1971</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Next time of “80 Gays”:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Some right royal visitors bring gender
variation to Cologne, with a sweet smell that leads to a transformation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-86601728482516834302023-07-24T08:02:00.002+01:002023-07-24T08:02:36.535+01:00One Olympian, Multiple "Firsts"<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">NOTE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">: Research is never-ending. The
information in this article is accurate on the date of publication. New
information which is discovered after this date may alter or replace some of
the details.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin a
year today with the start of the football and rugby sevens tournaments, several
days before the actual opening ceremony. To celebrate, here’s the second of my
three Olympic firsts in the lgbt+ community. In fact today we look at someone
with multiple firsts.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This man who is not only the first
identified lgbt+ competitor at the Olympics (as far as research currently
reveals), but he is also the first black American and first lgbt+ Olympian to
win a medal, as well as several others. His name is </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>George Coleman Poage (1880-1962)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanMBq8Tcdh91j5X3KsIdHUogicd1x9yi4ggrN5cqW0EcuVlMXWhGd8uYpeim8_M7jNPGovI6DDTxUTAQi9c570dIKewHtOjtRrn_lBI26K-FracYGwzmBwQtt9zf-DhxSI0vtEU9n7MbG2RD9vjihGjsVXPVtp1mfS4g7j_OYCfIxufoVlvKLkHz_Geo/s678/George_Poage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="678" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanMBq8Tcdh91j5X3KsIdHUogicd1x9yi4ggrN5cqW0EcuVlMXWhGd8uYpeim8_M7jNPGovI6DDTxUTAQi9c570dIKewHtOjtRrn_lBI26K-FracYGwzmBwQtt9zf-DhxSI0vtEU9n7MbG2RD9vjihGjsVXPVtp1mfS4g7j_OYCfIxufoVlvKLkHz_Geo/s320/George_Poage.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Poage</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of my favourite sayings is “history
is always changing”. By that I mean that our concept and understanding of what
happened in the past changes when new information or new interpretations are
applied to history.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When I began my Olympic research in 2010
George Poage was not a name anyone would have put on any lgbt+ list. His family
only revealed he was gay in 2016, to someone who had been researching Poage’s
life since the 1980s. He included the fact in a biography of Poage in 2017.
That biography is available to download <a href="https://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/files/hutchins/files/george_coleman_poage.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. For our purposes today
we’ll just concentrate on Poage’s Olympic achievements and his sexuality.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is easy to claim that Poage was
“erased from history” because he was black. He and his racial background are
clearly recorded several times in the official report of the 1904 Olympics, and
in many other publications produced at the time, including newspapers, and
school, college and athletics club records. He is one of hundreds of Olympians
who drift out of public memory all the time. Everyone probably knows who Usain
Bolt is. But who remembers Carl Lewis or Allan Wells? Just because you don’t
learn about something in school doesn’t mean it has been erased or covered up.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The 1904 St. Louis Olympics at which
George Poage competed is notorious among we Olympic historians (I’m a member of
the International Society of Olympic Historians, sanctioned by the
International Olympic Committee – the IOC) as being one of the “messiest”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The games were originally awarded to
Chicago. The organisers of the 1904 St. Louis World Fair (the one featured in
the Judy Garland musical “Meet Me In St. Louis”) were already planning their
own international multi-sport festival that would take place at the same time.
The World Fair asked Chicago to cancel their games or move them to St. Louis.
This caused some conflict, and the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre
de Coubertin, stepped in and cancelled the Chicago Olympics and re-awarded them
to St. Louis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The IOC then had to decide which events
organised by the St. Louis World Fair where to be considered Olympic. It wasn’t
until 2021 that the list of official 1904 Olympic events was established – 117
years afterwards!!! There are still debates about other events. There’s even
debates over which nations were represented. Most US athletes, George Poage
included, competed under their sports club’s team name, not their nation. In
2021 ten Olympians were removed from Team USA and listed among their actual
national teams. Poage competed as a member of the Milwaukee Athletics Club</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So you can see why the 1904 Olympics
were messy. And I haven’t even mentioned what happened in the marathon. But I
digress. Let’s get back to George Poage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First of all, let’s clear up several
points. George Poage was NOT the first black Olympian (that was French rugby
player Constantin Henriquez in 1900). Nor is Poage the first black medal winner
(also Henriquez, who won a gold medal). George Poage WAS the first known black Olympian
to compete as an American, and the first black American medallist. There are
other “firsts” that can be attributed to Poage, which I’ll mention as we go along.
Poage was registered to enter five events – the 60 metres, the 100 metres, the
400 metres, the 200 metre hurdles, and the 400 metre hurdles. As mentioned
earlier, US athletes competed under their club name.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The track events began on 29th August
1904, and George Poage took part in the very first event, the first heat of the
men’s 60 metre sprint. Unfortunately, this is one of the events which suffer
from lack of full documentation. There’s no record of Poage’s finishing
position or time, but he was not one of the first two finishers who progressed
to the final. However, this does make George Poage the first black American to
compete in a track event at the Olympics, as well as the first ever lgbt+ track
athlete, two more “firsts” he holds.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Poage’s next event was the 400 metres
later that day. There were no heats as there were only 12 entrants and they
started on the line together like modern long-distance races. Poage spent the
first half of the race behind the lead group. He quickly progressed into second
place and spectators assumed he would win. On the last bend he was overtaken by
several others and crossed the finish line in 6th place. Again, no time was
recorded for him.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">George Poage’s next event was two days
later, the 400 metres hurdles. Again, there were no heats, as this time there
were only four entries, all American. This is the race in which Poage won his
first Olympic medal, a bronze. Being the first black American Olympian, this
also made him the first black American Olympic medal winner. He also became the
fist black athlete of any nation to win an individual Olympic medal (Constantin
Henriquez won a team gold). All of this as the first lgbt+ Olympian in each
case. That’s two more “firsts”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The next day Poage competed in the 200
metres hurdles, wining his second bronze medal (out of a field of 5 entries).
Even though there is no recorded time, it is recorded that just 2 metres (6
feet) separated the first three, with the last two athletes well behind them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Poage was listed as an entry in the 100
metres on 3rd September, but is listed as a non-starter. This was a common
occurrence in these early days of competitive athletics.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As mentioned before, no-one knew about
George Poage’s sexuality until his nephew, Rev. Lawrence Jenkins, told Poage’s
biographer of the fact in 2016. At the time Poage was being celebrated as an
outstanding athlete in La Crosse, Illinois, where he had lived and taught. A
statue was unveiled in his memory. Actually, it’s four statues, showing Poage
in the various stages of a race – starting position, setting off, running the
race, and crossing the finishing line. Rev. Jenkins and other family members
were present at the unveiling.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s very little that can be said for
definite about Poage’s sexuality other than he was gay. He left no personal
testimony, and there’s no inference of sexual behaviour with another man. The
only incidence of any sexual nature at all came in 1914 when he was teaching at
Sumner High School, though it was not of a homosexual nature. Some students had
falsely accused Poage and two other teachers of inappropriate relationships
with young female students. An investigation cleared all three. Even though the
other teachers were reinstated, despite criticism from the local press, Poage
had decided to resign and move away.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, the only evidence we have to go on
is the word of his family. But does it matter if there’s no evidence of a gay
relationship? George Poage was a trailblazer no matter what his sexuality.
Whatever obstacles he encountered because of his race, and there were not as
many as other black Americans at the time received, he reached the level of an
elite athlete. He was lauded in his own lifetime, disappeared from public memory,
and is returning slowly to take his place in the record books.</span></p><p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-56570993273081227302023-07-10T07:57:00.002+01:002023-07-10T07:57:44.481+01:00Star Gay-zing: Queer Asteroid Update<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but been
a lot of reports about a newly discovered asteroid that is following us around
in Earth’s orbit, like a couple of other “quasi-moons” we have. Perhaps it’s
only me that has noticed because I’m interested in them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But it made me think that it is about
time I did an update on the asteroids that have been named after members of the
lgbt+ community. So, here it is.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Each asteroid is preceded by its official
number and name, its date of discovery, the date when the name was published, a
quote from the official citation, and finally other notes of queer interest I
can add.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">2223
Sarpedon</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 3 October 1977. Published 1
August 1991.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“One of the leaders of the Lycians,
Sarpedon was killed by Patroclus in the Trojan War. At the command of Zeus, his
body was seized by Apollo and returned to Lycia.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sarpedon was the lover of Prince
Atymnius of Ethiopia, the son of King Cephus and Queen Cassiopeia. Patroclus,
Zeus and Apollo are also lgbt+, and have asteroids named after them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">3200
Phaeton</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 11 October 1983. Published 2
July 1985.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“This object associated with the Geminid
meteor stream has the smallest known perihelion distance for a body in a
short-period orbit and is named for the son of Helios, who operated the solar
chariot for a day, lost control of it and almost set fire to the Earth.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The god Zeus shot Phaeton out of the sky
with a thunderbolt and he fell into the River Po. Phaeton’s lover, Cycnus,
mourned his death and was turned into a swan by Apollo. You can read the full
story <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2021/01/star-gayzing-celestial-swansong.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">7091
Maryfields</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 1 May 1992. Published 8 Nov
2019.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Stagecoach Mary Fields (c.1832-1914)
was an African-American folk hero and trailblazer. She was a mail carrier in
Montana in her 60's, braving harsh weather but never missing a day. Loved by
her community, her birthday was a local holiday. She refused to be limited by
social norms or laws.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I wrote about her “Extraordinary Life”
several years ago, <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2015/03/extraordinary-lives-stagecoach-mary.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">26883
Marcelproust<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Discovered 12 August 1994. Published 28
July 2021.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Marcel Proust (1871–1922) was a French
novelist and essayist, widely considered to be one of the most influential
author of the 20th century. His monumental novel ‘Á la recherche du temps perdu’
was published in seven volumes between 1913 and 1927, the last three volumes
being edited by his brother, Robert.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This is the second asteroid named after the
gay author, the first being 4474 Proust (listed <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2013/12/star-gayzing-out-of-this-world-part-4.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Although the official
citation of 4474 Proust specifically identifies the astrophysicist Dominique
Proust as the individual after whom this asteroid is named, it states that it
also honours Marcel Proust.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">27400
Mikewong</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 11 Mar 2000. Published 11
June 2021.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Mike Wong (b.1971) is a planetary
scientist at the University of California at Berkeley who studies giant planets
in the Solar System. He is part of the team that discovered a moon around
asteroid 624 Hektor, and he studied a 2009 impact on Jupiter while monitoring
of the atmosphere with adaptive optics.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">His work on 624 Hektor with his
colleague Frank Marchis, a fellow openly gay astrophysicist, is told <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-trio-of-asia-pacific-scientists.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">38083
Rhadamanthus</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 17 April 1999. Published 24
July 2002.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Rhadamanthus was a son of Zeus and
Europa. Because of his just and upright life, after death he was appointed a
judge of the dead and the ruler of Elysium, a blissfully beautiful area of the
Underworld where those favoured by the gods spent their life after death.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Greek writer Athenaeus (170 AD-223
AD) wrote that Rhadamanthus was the lover of Talos (a human, not the giant
bronze statue that came to life, as depicted in the film “Jason and the
Argonauts”).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">85030
Admetos</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 24 September 1960. Published
28 October 2004.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Admetus (Admetos), from Greek
mythology. The King of Pherae was saved by Apollo from his
fated death when his wife Alcestis offers to die in his place, father
of Eumelos, the best charioteer in the Greek army during the Trojan War.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of Apollo’s many male lovers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">343158
Marsyas</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 29 Apiil 2009. Published 14
May 2021.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Marsyas, a Phrygian Satyr dared oppose
Apollo in a musical duel. Marsyas lost when he could not play his flute
upside-down. For his hubris he was tied to a tree, flayed, his blood turned
into a stream. Marsyas is so named for its unusual retrograde orbit, that which
opposes the motion of most solar system objects.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Marsyas was the teacher and lover of the
boy Olympos of Mysia, as stated by the philosopher Philostratus. After Marsyas
was flayed alive Apollo gave his body to Olympos for burial.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">442721
Kerouac</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 18 October 2009. Published 23
May 2022.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Jean-Louis Lebris de Kerouac, known as
Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) was an American writer and poet. His novels, including
‘On the Road’ and ‘The Subterraneans’, established a new writing style of
spontaneous prose. Kerouac is considered a pioneer of the 1950s and 1960s Beat
Generation.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">45595
Inman</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 6 February 2000. Published 6
February 2023.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Frederick John Inman (1934–2007) was an
English actor best known for playing Mr. Humphries in the British comedy ‘Are
You Being Served?’ (1972–1985), who went on to star in the Australian version
of the same sitcom. In 1976 he was named both BBC TV Personality of the Year
and ‘TV Times’ readers' Funniest Man on Television.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">John Inman was hugely popular. His
mincing character Mr. Humphries gave the UK one of its most enduring
catchphrases, “I’m free!” He was also one of the greatest pantomime dames in
British theatre.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">475080
Jarry</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 26 October 2006. Published 20
December 2021.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) was a French
poet, novelist, writer and playwright. His play ‘Ubu Roi’ is often cited as a
forerunner of Dada and the Surrealist movement of the 1920s. He also coined the
term and philosophical concept of ‘pataphysics’, the science of imaginary
solutions, which involves the destruction by the absurd of reason and
language.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although Jarry is known to have had gay
encounters in his younger years he didn’t seem to have had any romantic
relationships with anyone, male or female, after that. Many of his works
included gay characters and themes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ASTEROID
ALLIES</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">98
Ianthe</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 18 April 1868. Published
before 1903.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Named for the young girl who became
betrothed to Iphis, a Cretan girl who was changed by Isis into a man.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the
pseudo-science of astrology, Ianthe is the influence behind dissatisfaction
with one’s gender role, or with gender identity problems.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">52965
Laurencebentz</span></b></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Discovered 15 October 1998. Published 29
March 2023.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Laurence Bentz (b.1958) is a French
medical doctor, specializing in Public Health & Education Sciences. She
contributed to tackling the HIV-AIDS epidemic at its onset, through clinical
work, epidemiology, and research to enhance patient adherence to complex
treatments. She also developed interventions to support the empowerment of
chronically-ill people.</span></p><p></p><p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-4772160776543976102023-06-23T07:51:00.029+01:002023-10-01T08:11:01.051+01:00Olympic Day: The First of Three Firsts<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Note</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: As more research is undertaken and new
information is made available, the information below may be subject to change.
The information is as correct as possible on the date of publication. This
article has been amended since it was first published.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">
<hr align="center" size="2" width="100%" />
</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">In January 1948 the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to create an annual day on which National
Olympic Committees (NOCs) could celebrate the founding of the modern games and
promote its ideals through sport. The date chosen for this special day was 23rd
June, and today is its 75th anniversary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">This date was chosen because it was the
last day of the Congrés International de Paris pour le Retablissment de Jeux
Olympique, during which the IOC is recognised as being founded.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">My continuing research into lgbt+
participation in the Olympic Games has brought to light three individuals who
are pioneers in a particular aspect of the Olympic movement. Over the next
three months I will feature them individually.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Today we look at the man who was the
first lgbt+ member of an organising committee, a member of the committee which
organised the very first modern Olympics in 1896. He was </span><b><u>Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869-1957).</u></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XJnSxafNmx3IHAg4LQ5-H6TM9uUkyW0neDXAmNPfDLMPcq-AyIPmichqVUABtJaTA6HngHu2gJmLKE1yLZFhQOCkg_yIPSlwghP3RIVm1x6hgsx9GB1SNj1If9dGrqDu_pe4DQEhj52ljiFjjd0knYPOwkDECuj-QJzTVNUwgty8oUdqaiWKcNO8gZE/s500/Prince_George_of_Greece_and_Denmark_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="386" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4XJnSxafNmx3IHAg4LQ5-H6TM9uUkyW0neDXAmNPfDLMPcq-AyIPmichqVUABtJaTA6HngHu2gJmLKE1yLZFhQOCkg_yIPSlwghP3RIVm1x6hgsx9GB1SNj1If9dGrqDu_pe4DQEhj52ljiFjjd0knYPOwkDECuj-QJzTVNUwgty8oUdqaiWKcNO8gZE/s320/Prince_George_of_Greece_and_Denmark_01.jpg" width="247" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">HRH Prince George of Greece and Denmark</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Last year I mentioned that the first
lgbt+ member of an NOC was Prince <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2022/01/olympic-winter-in-summer.html" target="_blank">Aribert von Anhalt</a> (1864-1933). He was
appointed to the Komitee für die Beteiligung Deutschlands an den Olympischen
Spielen zu Athen (Committee for the Participation of Germany at the Olympic
Games in Athens) on its formation on 13th December 1895. Prince George of
Greece and Denmark predates Prince Aribert, because the Greek NOC was founded
on 3rd February 1894, even before the IOC’s first congress mentioned above, and
the NOC appointed Prince George to the organising committee of the Athens Olympics
in January 1895.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">But why is George a prince of both
Greece and Denmark? Well, George’s father was a brother of the king of Denmark
who was offered (and accepted) the throne of Greece by the Greek people. His
descendants are still princes and princesses of Denmark as well as Greece. King
Charles III’s father was born one of them before adopting his mother’s name. In
fact, Prince George was one King Charles’s godparents, and represented the King
of Greece at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1952. But I digress.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Although Prince George married and has
two children he is widely believed to have been gay. There’s some
circumstantial evidence for this in a couple of recent books about Sigmund
Freud, to whom George’s wife turned for therapy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Prince George and his brothers Crown
Prince (later King) Constantine and Prince Nicholas were heavily involved in
the organisation of the Athens Olympics. Constantine was President of the
organising committee, and when other duties prevented him from attending,
Prince George deputised for him. George was appointed President of the
Sub-Committee for National Sports, which included sailing and rowing.
Unfortunately, bad weather and a mix-up over the supply of proper boats saw the
sailing abandoned. George was also appointed an umpire and final arbitrator in
the swimming events, and as chairman of the judges for the weightlifting
events.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The one-hand weightlifting contest
provided Team GB with its first ever Olympic champion, Launceston Elliott. But
the weightlifting events provided an incident that has gone down in Olympic
history, and it involved Prince George. The incident could have come straight
out of a comedy film, or at the very least be considered apocryphal, if it
wasn’t recorded in the official report of the games that was published in 1897.
Here is what the report says:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mBp8Ks5OQXPQQotD_onmE8FHx1wGu-Decw4E0rojuOFttKuznjtXI2CCFFu11lc9IlRFG1Kh6RJ4_oab90Tc7tS7O-K72XTNPpA0sbkjHPF29tMVFuzvrRjotnGpAJ1xO76obN4PnuiZGWDJxcbw-L24vsVJpgGKnANAAGBSJIaX0PYrmSCXNSI8RBA/s598/weight%20incident.bmp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="598" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mBp8Ks5OQXPQQotD_onmE8FHx1wGu-Decw4E0rojuOFttKuznjtXI2CCFFu11lc9IlRFG1Kh6RJ4_oab90Tc7tS7O-K72XTNPpA0sbkjHPF29tMVFuzvrRjotnGpAJ1xO76obN4PnuiZGWDJxcbw-L24vsVJpgGKnANAAGBSJIaX0PYrmSCXNSI8RBA/w400-h194/weight%20incident.bmp" width="400" /></span></a></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Apart from his duties as a sports
official Prince George also performed several civic duties as well as a member
of the royal family. He took part in official receptions, visited sports events
he was not directly involved with, and supported his father, the king, in royal
engagements associated with the games.</p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">In 1906 Athens hosted what is now
referred to as the Intercalated Olympics. The Greek Olympic Committee had the
idea of holding an Olympic games in between the main 4th-yearly events, but
various circumstances led to this being the only one ever held. They were
regarded as full Olympic Games until 1948 when the IOC decided to remove it, its
results, and medals from their records. However, most Olympic historians,
myself included, still give the Intercalated games full Olympic status.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">What makes the IOC’s decision even more
ridiculous is that the 1904 Intercalated Olympics were the first ones we would
recognise as an Olympic Games today. They introduced the opening and closing
ceremonies, an athlete’s parade, flag-raising for the medallists, an Olympic
village, and athletes registered under their National Olympic Committee rather
than athletics club. It was also the first Olympics to be concentrated within a
short time period and not spread out over several months.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Prince George was, again, appointed as
President of the judges and games referee, and he and his brother Nicholas were
heavily involved in the organisation of the sports. He also fulfilled his royal
responsibilities at receptions for the athletes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The prince’s athletic abilities gained
more recognition at these games. During the marathon Prince George awaited at
the stadium entrance for the arrival of the first runner. That runner was
Canadian Billy Sherring. As he entered the stadium Prince George ran along side
him, applauding and encouraging him, on the final lap around the stadium. It
should be pointed out that Prince George was in full military uniform and the
lap was 400 metres in distance.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Prince George was often referred to as
the Prince of Crete. He became involved in the political conflict on Crete, an
island that remained in the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire after Greece gained its
independence from it in 1830. After several Greek-Cretan insurrections the
Ottoman Empire declared war on Greece in 1897. The major European powers sent a
multinational force to defend Greece.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">This force set Crete up as an autonomous
state and in 1898 appointed Prince George of Greece and Denmark as High
Commissioner of the Great Powers, the de facto head of state. The Ottomans were
finally expelled from the island later that year. Prince George remained in
office until 1908 when the Cretan assembly declared unilateral union with the
Greek crown. Crete was fully incorporated into Greece in 1912. The full history
of Crete between 1897 and 1912 is a lot more complicated than this and cannot
be recounted with enough justice here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is still so much to tell about
Prince George – how he saved his cousin, the future Tsar Nicholas II, from
being assassinated in Japan, and how he lived with his bachelor uncle for most
of his life despite never divorcing from his wife. But all that can wait for
another time. On this Olympic Day, we only needed to look at his Olympic
involvement.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-72182589730523044222023-06-10T08:42:00.005+01:002023-06-10T08:42:56.363+01:00Heraldic Alphabet 2023<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Welcome to my 10th Heraldic Alphabet
celebrating the annual International Heraldry Day with coats of arms in the
lgbt+ community. Regular readers and fans of my Alphabets will notice several
differences this year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First, there are two letters with double
entries because there are more armigers (people with a coat of arms) whose
names begin with those letters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Second, there’s an oval instead of a
shield for the letter </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">B1</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. This is
explained in my detailed look at its owner, Bishop <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2016/03/queer-lutheran-achievement.html" target="_blank">Eve Brunne</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Third, in England, when an armiger dies
his or her coat of arms can be displayed at the funeral on a diamond shaped
black wooden panel. Heraldic internet sites have used black backgrounds to
commemorate recent deaths (e.g. Queen Elizabeth II). The black background I
show marks the passing of Princess Abigail Kawananakoa of Hawaii last December.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some nations still don’t allow women to
use shields, only ovals or diamond lozenges. For the sake of visual uniformity
I prefer to use shields, except for the example referred to above. The symbol </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">^</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> used in the list below indicates that
the individual would use a lozenge.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I have chosen not to show the helmet,
crest, motto, and/or animal supporters to which any armiger is entitled. These
are best shown in future in-depth looks at their full heraldic achievement.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Some
Quick Basic definitions</span></u></b></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Arms
of Office</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – arms of
an institution or public office of which the person is the nominal head, used
only during their term of office. Not all institutions or offices grant this
right.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Assumed</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – arms adopted by a family where no
heraldic authority exists. Also, arms that are not officially registered by any
such authority that does exist.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Cadency
mark</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">– a specific symbol added to a family coat of arms to
indicate the place in order of birth of the user (i.e. 1st son/daughter, 2nd
son/daughter, etc.).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Family</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – arms usually borne by the family’s
senior bloodline member. Other family members are often required to add
differences (e.g. cadency marks). Some nations allow all family members to use
the arms unaltered.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Marital</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – spouses (including same-sex couples
in some countries) can chose to place their arms side by side on one shield.
Heirs place theirs on a smaller shield or lozenge on their spouse’s. A person
who is not an armiger can just display the arms of their spouse alone.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Personal</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – inherited family arms used by the
individual, with or without differences and cadency marks. Also new arms
granted by an official heraldic authority.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Quarters</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – 4 or more divisions of a shield with
a different inherited coat of arms in each. Some individuals are entitled to
bear many quarters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Without further ado, here is 2023’s
Heraldic Alphabet:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOikgoAjqGCQcUTcBgBCnRfV6yIdPognZCIMaABftiwQHh0onpy8HiwKVRAb-nshVH52WmqEpHcXoK8r2VrocPGuCQXbNrf77mIAwjmeAaRke6DUsUAkjO3-GOOE6gzw2A7bHKuHNXVqXHsew4nNZi2L3nF4kFAoFHeuS0EeBdjDIfhxUQFKd8bf_F/s2281/heraldry%202023%20A-E.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1921" data-original-width="2281" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOikgoAjqGCQcUTcBgBCnRfV6yIdPognZCIMaABftiwQHh0onpy8HiwKVRAb-nshVH52WmqEpHcXoK8r2VrocPGuCQXbNrf77mIAwjmeAaRke6DUsUAkjO3-GOOE6gzw2A7bHKuHNXVqXHsew4nNZi2L3nF4kFAoFHeuS0EeBdjDIfhxUQFKd8bf_F/w400-h336/heraldry%202023%20A-E.png" width="400" /></a></div><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A)
Carl Austen-Behan (b.1972)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Lord Mayor of Manchester 2016, Mr. Gay UK 2001. Arms of office. Arms of the
city of Manchester, granted by the College of Arms on 1st March 1842.</span><p></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">B1)
Bishop Eva Brunne (b.1954)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Lutheran Bishop of Stockholm 2009-19. Arms of office. For more information
see <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2016/03/queer-lutheran-achievement.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">B2)
Hon. Toby Butterfield (b.1965)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– British-American lawyer, Gay Games squash champion 2002. Personal arms. Arms
granted to his father, Lord Butterfield, with Toby’s cadency mark as his 3rd
son (star). The towers on either side of the lion are from the arms of <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-queer-star-gayzing-achievement.html" target="_blank">Nottingham</a>
(Lord Butterfield was Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham University).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">C)
Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Florentine sculptor and goldsmith. Family arms. The lion is the original
family arms. The fleurs-de-lys and “label” at the top is called a capo d’Anjou
(see <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2012/12/queer-achievement-michelangelo.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">D)
Nils Dardel (1888-1943)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Swedish artist. Family arms granted to his great-grandfather
Georges-Alexandre Dardel, a Swiss army officer knighted, ennobled and granted
arms by the King of Sweden on 21st May 1810.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwOgjSM3c959H3lzF2nqV_LPG_BgMUuZ6NUPof_irgTqUxjiZCUTFHAQrS94I1X5nNNMsX8QG-EEuaOHyuSurBSSoXc5NG-tQmL99s44lmBCUYPCc6JRuGQtGVx2eAHEQBxL1z99rgRnLiuBxzPhuNRQv3f-pSTLLS5PZUig0e7Soi6vABHA3d2Mk/s2281/heraldry%202023%20F-K.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1921" data-original-width="2281" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwOgjSM3c959H3lzF2nqV_LPG_BgMUuZ6NUPof_irgTqUxjiZCUTFHAQrS94I1X5nNNMsX8QG-EEuaOHyuSurBSSoXc5NG-tQmL99s44lmBCUYPCc6JRuGQtGVx2eAHEQBxL1z99rgRnLiuBxzPhuNRQv3f-pSTLLS5PZUig0e7Soi6vABHA3d2Mk/w400-h336/heraldry%202023%20F-K.png" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>E) Reginald, Lord Esher (1852-1930)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Sir Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher. Personal arms. The Brett family arms
are the gold lions. They are holding a fasces, a symbol of authority in the
Roman Empire (where we get the modern word “fascist” - this does not imply that
the family has any fascist associations). The 3 leopard faces were inherited
from the Wilfords of Enfield. The bears’ heads are inherited from the Forbes of
Edinglassie.</span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>F) Laudomia Forteguerri (1515-1555)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Italian poet. Family arms. The pattern on the right side is called vair. It
represents pieces of squirrel fur (“varus” is Latin for squirrel) sewn together
to form the lining of a medieval cloak. Blue represents the squirrel’s back
fur, white represents its belly fur.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>G) Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– British actor. Family arms. The Gielguds are untitled Polish nobility. Sir
John’s great-grandfather fled to England during Russian occupation of Poland. I
have not determined if Sir John had an English grant of arms. This is his
inherited Polish arms. They are derived from an older coat of arms belonging to
the Dzialosza family to which the Gielgud family are related.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>H) Capt. Myles Hildyard (1914-2005)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– British army officer, and historian. Personal arms. The blue quarters are the
Hildyard arms. The white quarters with the bugles are inherited from the
Thoroton family. Capt. Hildyard was President of the Thoroton Society, a historical
society named after his ancestral uncle, an antiquarian called Robert Thoroton
(1628-1678).</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>I) Ruth Illingworth</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – Mayor
of Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, 2009-10; the first openly lgbt mayor
in Ireland. Arms of office. Probably assumed arms, as I cannot find any
official grant. This design is based on the town’s 18th century civic seal. The
wheel represents the mill-wheel of a local landmark – the name Mullingar means
“left-hand mill”. Other objects on the shield represent local heritage and
families.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>J) Lady Catherine Jones (1672-1740) ^</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– British philanthropist and women’s rights advocate, daughter of the Earl of
Ranelagh. Family arms. The objects in the corners are called pheons,
representing arrow heads.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>K) Princess Abigail Kinoiki Kehaulike
Kawananakoa (1926-2022)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – Hawaiian princess and heir to the Hawaiian throne.
Inherited arms, being those of the kingdom of Hawaii granted by the College of
Arms in May 1845. Had the kingdom survived, these are the arms Princess Abigail
would have used as Queen. Minor changes were made when it was chosen for the
state seal of Hawaii in 1959. The stripes are prominent on the state flag.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKeHd9PUSvf_kC8J2b0NSSq_Na3oAxlRDCtYBujxX1APjQnaBVqBwsCE_m_WcnMLNuW812VscrAqiN9UM96wq2l_7sKjvQ3UMc0DoIdpuBPWxxCzWY2G6Uui7VN5njNEMhjgRphJHC58ia76LYZB-CCniS1T7n1iV9tppwSwPRvxEoxivgZVbl2T5/s2281/heraldry%202023%20L-R.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1921" data-original-width="2281" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKeHd9PUSvf_kC8J2b0NSSq_Na3oAxlRDCtYBujxX1APjQnaBVqBwsCE_m_WcnMLNuW812VscrAqiN9UM96wq2l_7sKjvQ3UMc0DoIdpuBPWxxCzWY2G6Uui7VN5njNEMhjgRphJHC58ia76LYZB-CCniS1T7n1iV9tppwSwPRvxEoxivgZVbl2T5/w400-h336/heraldry%202023%20L-R.png" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>L) Ellen Lascelles (b.1984) ^</u> </b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">–
British recruitment consultant. Personal arms. Ellen’s great-grandmother was
Princess Mary, Queen Elizabeth II’s aunt. Princess Mary had her own variation
of the royal arms (bottom left), making her children her heraldic heirs,
including Ellen’s father who would have added the star as a third son. The
yellow crosses are the Lascelles family arms. They inherited the cross with the
lion from the Burkes of Clanricarde.</span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>M) Erica Mann (1905-1969) ^</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> -
German actor and author. Attributed marital arms. I included the Mann family in
<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2022/06/heraldic-alphabet-2022.html" target="_blank">last year’s Alphabet</a>. If her family’s German arms were permitted in England,
this is how Erica’s arms could have looked as wife of author W. H. Auden (see <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2016/06/international-queer-heraldry-day-2016.html" target="_blank">2016 Alphabet</a>). They married to allow Erica to flee Nazi persecution and become a
British citizen.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>N) Rt. Rev. Szymon Niemiec (b.1977)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– Bishop of the United Christian Church of Poland, founder of Polish Pride, and
psychotherapist. Personal arms, granted by the United Christian Church. Red and
white are the Polish national colours. The angels (Gabriel left, Michael right)
deliberately break the heraldic rule of never putting white on white. This
symbolises the angels’ spiritual nature. The chalice and disc represent Holy
Communion. The “X” on the disc is also the family arms of the Niemiec family.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>O) Dr. Rachel Wyndham Obbard</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– American Professor, and planetary scientist. Family arms. These arms were
granted to Dr. Rachel’s 3-times great-grandfather, Robert Obbard, by the College
of Arms on 12 February 1850. The crescent indicates her descent from a 2nd son.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>P) Dennis Price (1915-1973)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> –
British actor. Family arms. For more information see <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2023/03/queer-achievement-arms-for-price.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>R) John Randolph (1773-1833)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– US Congressman and Senator. Assumed arms. John Randolph is believed to have
had a form of genetic gender variation, probably Klinefelter syndrome. The
first Randolphs to settle in Virginia used the arms of the Randolphs of Kent
who used black stars. There’s no known link between the two families. John’s
great-grandfather was the first to use red stars.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhonzOH-zBJ1L7Vdh7gGLg0rbmArtB4AHQKubNBji31wzBhHu0T7Le9bpI-PmC5AR8g7fFDHHyLDudGOdQnM-vJsz131iWUCiayAYyxhTGdDd0Z1dEdJKByL8nDliD-rfgfJ0VefGOSUrB8wgRDoUzBcA_3ivle1_av0_ZX8G3v6ZtFLzBYRkP-wNS/s2281/heraldry%202023%20S-Y.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1921" data-original-width="2281" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhonzOH-zBJ1L7Vdh7gGLg0rbmArtB4AHQKubNBji31wzBhHu0T7Le9bpI-PmC5AR8g7fFDHHyLDudGOdQnM-vJsz131iWUCiayAYyxhTGdDd0Z1dEdJKByL8nDliD-rfgfJ0VefGOSUrB8wgRDoUzBcA_3ivle1_av0_ZX8G3v6ZtFLzBYRkP-wNS/w400-h336/heraldry%202023%20S-Y.png" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>S) Mrs. Sarah Scott, née Robinson
(1720-1785) ^</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> - British novelist and social reformer. Personal arms.
Sarah and her brother became heraldic heirs to the Robinson family in 1794. The
deer features in many Robinson family arms. Sarah’s marriage to George Scott
was for his financial benefit and was not a happy one.</span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>T) Ernest Thesiger (1879-1961</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">)
– British actor. Personal arms. Granted to his grandfather, Sir Frederick
Thesiger, in 1844 when he was knighted. Sir Frederick’s 5th son is Ernest
Thesiger’s father, hence the cadency mark of a ring.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>V1) Sándor Vay (1859-1918)</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> –
Hungarian poet and journalist. Family arms. Born Countess Sarolta Vay. The original
Vay arms date from 1418 and show just the deer and arrow, facing the other way.
Later generations modified and added to the design. This particular design was
adopted by Sandor’s paternal grandfather,</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">V2)
Count Gottfried von Cramm (1909-1976)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – German tennis player. Family arms. For more information
see <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2015/01/queer-achievement-gottfried-von-cramm.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>W) Dame Veronica Wedgwood (1910-1997)
^</u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – British historian. Personal arms. A member of the famous Wedgwood
pottery family. These arms were confirmed to Dame Veronica’s ancestor, John Wedgwood,
by the College of Arms on 20 November 1576.</span></p><p><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><u>Y) Dame Eileen Younghusband
(1902-1981) ^</u> </b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">- British pioneer of social work training. Family arms. These
arms appear on the memorial to one of her great-uncles, and are still used by
descendants of another. This implies that her grandfather could also use them
and, therefore, Dame Eileen could inherit them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-966369342645511642023-05-23T08:34:00.005+01:002023-08-07T08:58:40.833+01:00(Not Quite) 80 Gays Around the World: 3) Atlantis, Bigfoot and Awards<p><b><u></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzQp_zCUsJYOTN1VfRkoQx3XnIbyOsa6k5EAEbThncSNQfPbcKKaqVo-WnX7ikn4yFNYxN9Thry3xBPwLujgcQpVCHdSBGc-K7d1gdWsezducH7kjKCINgK1Un6NE6hwc6poFbCsqLE5ICDvPaCVe7kIB29inBEGUdCRH-UPltVZCd6rcKjXDNA3f/s679/80%20gays%20and%20globe.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="679" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzQp_zCUsJYOTN1VfRkoQx3XnIbyOsa6k5EAEbThncSNQfPbcKKaqVo-WnX7ikn4yFNYxN9Thry3xBPwLujgcQpVCHdSBGc-K7d1gdWsezducH7kjKCINgK1Un6NE6hwc6poFbCsqLE5ICDvPaCVe7kIB29inBEGUdCRH-UPltVZCd6rcKjXDNA3f/w221-h220/80%20gays%20and%20globe.png" width="221" /></span></a></u></b></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Previously on "80 Gays"</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">:
A retelling of the myth of <b><u>3)
Ganymede</u></b> was written by <b><u>4)
Felice Picano</u></b> (b.1944), member of the Violet Quill Club with <b><u>5) Edmund White</u></b> (b.1940), <b><u>6) Christopher Cox</u></b> (1949-1990),
7<b><u>) George Whitmore</u></b>
(1945-1989), <b><u>8) Andrew</u></b> <b><u>Holleran</u></b> (b.1944), <b><u>9) Robert Ferro</u></b> (1941-1988), and
<b><u>10) Michael Grumley</u></b>
(1942-1988).</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><u><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">9) Robert Ferro</span></u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> and <b><u>10) Michael
Grumley</u></b> met in 1967 when they were both studying creative writing at
the University of Iowa. Michael Grumley was an Iowa native though had studied
at several universities before landing back. Although a member of the Violet
Quill, which was primarily concerned with writing gay fiction, Michael had a
secondary interest outside the lgbt+ community.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The 1960s and 1970s saw an
explosion of interest in esoteric topics such as ancient astronauts, mystic
faiths, and the paranormal. While not having any extreme beliefs himself,
Michael became a notable contributor in two of the more popular subjects –
Atlantis and Bigfoot.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Michael Grumley only collaborated
with his partner Robert Ferro on one work, “Atlantis: The Autobiography of a
Search”, published in 1970. Officially marketed as non-fiction there are some critics
who regard the book as being semi-fact.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">What is contained in
“Atlantis: The Autobiography of a Search” is the odyssey taken by the
Ferro-Grumleys (as the couple were called from their Iowa university days) from
Italy to the Bahamas, following a trail of clues and prophecies that led them
to the Bimini Road, an underwater ridge of natural rock which has been clamed
as the road to Atlantis. There may be elements of literary license and
elaboration on the Ferro-Grumley’s part, but their book has become part of the
Atlantis mythos itself.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Robert Ferro didn’t
collaborate on Grumley’s 1975 book “The Are Giants in the Earth” about Bigfoot,
the American forest-dwelling Yeti. Several years ago I included Michael Grumley
in my piece “<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2018/08/queer-cryptids.html" target="_blank">Queer Cryptids</a>”. “There Are Giants in the Earth” expands Grumley’s
take on Atlantis to include other ideas such as a hollow earth and lost races
of humanity.I shall be returning to these ideas in another episode of “80 Gays”
later this year. Although I am highly sceptical of such ideas I am fascinated
by them and how they develop, or can develop, if you let your imagination run
free. For instance, by combining some ideas in “There are Giants in the Earth”
with others from a book entitled “Santa Claus: the Last of the Wild Men” by
Phyllis Siefker, I can make a claim that Santa Claus is not based on St. Nicholas
but is actually based on a Scandinavian Bigfoot called a Stallo.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Despite being such an
enigmatic and elusive creature, Bigfoot ranks as one of the most
internationally well-known cryptids. It’s no wonder books about him become
best-sellers. When it comes to fiction cryptids provide ready-made fantasy
creatures (the Harry Potter books rely primarily on established cryptids). One
recent novel about Bigfoot gave a new spin on the creature. The novel is called
“Pamela Wants To Cuddle”, and is written by </span><b><u>11) Samantha Leigh Allen</u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Spoiler
alert:</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> The following
paragraphs contain plot details about “Pamela Wants To Cuddle”. If you are
currently reading it, or intend to, I advise you to skip to the last paragraph
below so that your enjoyment of the novel won’t be spoilt.</span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Samantha has worked
primarily as a transgender journalist, writing for such publications as The
Daily Beast, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Out, and CNN, amongst others.
She has a PhD in Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and wrote “Real Queer
America: LGBT Stories From Red States” in 2019.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Just before that Samantha
thought about writing a novel. From a germ of an idea grew a novel that has
been described as “bizarre” and “bonkers”. In effect, what she came up with was
a slasher-movie/dating-show combination.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">“Patricia Wants To Cuddle”
is set in Washington state, USA, where stories of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, seem
to be common. The Patricia of the novel’s title is a female Bigfoot. Like all
creatures who live in the wild, Patricia is very protective of her territory,
so when a television cast and crew arrive to film a dating show Patricia
“despatches” these intruders, one by one, in her own inimitable style. It’s all
very tongue in cheek and satirical, like “<a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2015/09/around-world-in-80-gays-part-18.html" target="_blank">Slumber Party Massacre</a>”, the slasher
novel by Rita Mae Brown (number 57 in that first “80 Gays” series). But
“Patricia Wants To Cuddle” has one last twist, which I’m not going to reveal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Let’s get back to Michael
Grumley and Robert Ferro. After the deaths of both partners from AIDS in 1988
their estates were used to set up the Ferro-Grumley Foundation. In 1990 the
foundation created the Ferro-Grumley Award, an annual prize given to the best
lgbt+ fiction of the year. Three fellow Violet Quill members have won this
award – </span><b><u>4) Felice Picano</u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> in
1996,</span><b><u>8) Andrew Holleran</u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> in
1997, and </span><b><u>5) Edmund White</u></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> in 2001.
The winning author received $1,000 and a two-week residency at the Art Workshop
International in Assisi, Italy, which was founded by </span><b><u>12) Bea Kreloff (1925-2016)</u> </b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">and </span><b><u>13) Edith Isaac-Rose (1929-2018).</u></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Next
time on “80 Gays”: </span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We
turn our attention to art in Italy.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-54757072152388659822023-05-08T08:25:00.001+01:002023-05-08T08:25:41.308+01:00Game of Gay Thrones 8: Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Byzantium, Murcia, Dai Viet and Anhalt<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTziu2uRX4ZCmluLvDa_R8qGgpwlfq2L-f2BjruQj9tNNmtYXS8u_gqkIkPWas0njm_X2u5--1cLEyiLznvgiYBou2fwl-Sijn_JXn52aVfNUOy1kHLPn3DVt-B1-10xZO-lkwkt4Y4YoStRh0cydaKgxRJBXCr9zz53DpbnJ3n7vHNb-uUjLPpFC/s1300/royal-carriage-24070347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1300" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTziu2uRX4ZCmluLvDa_R8qGgpwlfq2L-f2BjruQj9tNNmtYXS8u_gqkIkPWas0njm_X2u5--1cLEyiLznvgiYBou2fwl-Sijn_JXn52aVfNUOy1kHLPn3DVt-B1-10xZO-lkwkt4Y4YoStRh0cydaKgxRJBXCr9zz53DpbnJ3n7vHNb-uUjLPpFC/s320/royal-carriage-24070347.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To mark last Saturday’s historic
coronation of King Charles III here is another batch of lgbt+ people who were
prevented from becoming sovereign, or who unlawfully declared themselves to be
one.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We’ll start with a man who was born into
the British royal family but was deprived of his titles by the king.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Prince
Hubertus von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1909-1943)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> – heir apparent of the duchy of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1826 the German duchy of Saxe-Coburg
and Gotha was created. The title of duke eventually passed to the children of
Prince Albert von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the husband of Queen Victoria of the UK.
By 1917 the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was Victoria and Albert’s grandson,
Prince Charles, Duke of Albany.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During World War I Charles (I suppose I
should use his German name Karl) fought for Germany against Britain. This
prompted the UK to pass the Titles Deprivations Act 1917. This stripped British
royals who were fighting for Germany of all their British titles, and the loyal
British royals dropped their German titles. This is when the UK Royals adopted
the family name Windsor and the Princes of Battenburg became the <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2018/05/out-of-his-tree-minor-royal-with-major.html" target="_blank">Mountbattens</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After the war the German Weimar Republic
abolished all royal titles, though many remained in use unofficially, as they
are still today. The ex-reigning royals became the titular heads of their
dynasties. Karl’s eldest son renounced his rights to succeed as head of the
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty in 1932. The heir became Karl’s second son, Prince
Hubertus.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Like his father Prince Hubertus became a
high-ranking Nazi officer, but unlike his father Hubertus was actually
anti-Hitler. Surprisingly, there are reports that Hitler would have appointed
Prince Hubertus governor of the UK after a successful invasion, making him
third in rank in the entire Nazi party. It has become apparent through research
carried out in the last decade that Prince Hubertus was a closeted gay man. He
never married, had no known relationships, or an interest in getting married.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During World War II Hubertus was a
Luftwaffe pilot. He was killed when his plane was shot down by the Soviet Air
Force in 1943. His father outlived him and died in 1954 and Hubertus’s nephew
became head of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Staurakios
(d.800) – attempted to become Emperor of Byzantium</span></u></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Staurakios was one of the many eunuchs
who held high positions at the imperial Byzantine court. However, Byzantine law
forbad eunuchs from occupying the throne. This didn’t stop Staurakios from
trying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Staurakios was the chief minister and
most powerful man in the empire during the reign of Empress Irene, who favoured
giving top positions to eunuchs. This was mainly because she distrusted the
officials who had been appointed by her predecessor, her late husband Emperor
Leo IV. This also meant that those officials distrusted the eunuchs, Staurakios
in particular.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Staurakios’s career rose and fell on a
regular basis. Irene appointed him her foreign minister (in 781); he was captured
by Sultan Harun-al Rashid (782); after his release he gained Byzantine control
over Slavic Greece (784); was sacked, flogged, and exiled by Irene’s son
Co-Emperor Constantine (790); and then recalled back to Byzantium and
reinstated (791).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When Constantine died Staurakios found
that he had a rival. He and Aetius, another eunuch appointed to a high position
by Empress Irene, began a power struggle to ensure control of the empire after
Irene’s death. Aetius accused Staurakios of trying to usurp the throne.
Although Irene believed this, all Staurakios got was just a metaphorical slap
on the wrist and told not to do it again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But it does appear that Staurakios was
indeed plotting to become emperor when Irene died. In 800 Irene decided to
limit his authority over the army, which he was bribing, to prevent him from
organising a military campaign against Aetius. However, Staurakios was becoming
ill at around this time. His advisers and doctors assured him he would recover
and become emperor. So he continued his campaign against Aetius. He should have
ignored his advisers and rested. He died a few weeks later.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Muhammad
ibn Ammar (1031-1086)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– self-proclaimed Emir of Murcia, Spain.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This poet was the lover of Abbad III al
Mu’tamid (1040-1095), the Emir and Caliph of Seville, who was also a poet. The
two met when they were teenagers and a close bond developed quickly though
their love of poetry and each other. However, al-Mu’tamid’s father, Emir Abbad
II, was suspicious of ibn Ammar’s influence and banished him. Needless to say,
when Abbad II died and al-Mu’tamid succeeded as Abbad III, ibn Ammar was
recalled, and he was appointed Vizier.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ibn Ammar led the conquest of the
neighbouring kingdom of Murcia, deposing its emir in 1078. He told the Murcian
people that they deserved a better emir, and he decided that this better emir
was himself. This displeased Abbad III, who had not given him permission to
declare himself emir. The two poets exchanged sarcastic poems, not meant to be
malicious, but they both took them personally and their friendship
deteriorated. Not only that, but ibn Ammar’s reign as self-appointed emir also
deteriorated and eventually he was deposed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Returning to Seville as a prisoner ibn
Ammar misjudged Abbad’s attempts at a reconciliation and, reluctantly, Abbad
ordered his execution. Nonetheless, Abbad gave ibn Ammar a sumptuous funeral.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Prince
Lê Tuân (1482-1512)</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
– heir presumptive of Dai Viet.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dai Viet was a medieval kingdom in what
is now northern Vietnam. Prince Lê Tuân was the eldest son of King Lê Hien
Tong. In 1499 the king was persuaded by his high ranking courtiers to name his
successor to ensure the stability of the kingdom.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The king thought Prince Lê Tuân, was
unsuitable. He was too hot-heated and often dressed as a woman, so he chose his
youngest son as his successor instead. An even bigger reason to overlook Prince
Lê Tuân than his cross-dressing was because he had plotted to drug his own
mother.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Both of Lê Tuân’s younger brothers
became kings of Dai Viet in succession. The first was very popular, but the
second was a murderous maniac, disposing of many other royal princes. Lê Tuân
thought it best to hide away to avoid the same fate as them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lê Tuân’s penchant for wearing women’s
clothing didn’t hinder his marriage, and he has many living descendants, all,
technically, the senior bloodline heirs of the Lê dynasty of Dai Viet. When Lê
Tuân died he was declared as god by the people of the Biansia commune of Dai
Viet, which is now part of China.</span></p><p><b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Prince
Aribert von Anhalt (1864-1933) – heir apparent to the Duchy of Anhalt</span></u></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I briefly wrote about Prince Aribert’s
involvement in the first modern <a href="https://queerstoryfiles.blogspot.com/2022/01/olympic-winter-in-summer.html" target="_blank">Olympic Games</a> in 1896 (spoiler alert – next
month I’ll be writing about another European gay prince who was even more
heavily involved).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The duchy of Anhalt was a small
sovereign German state within the German Empire, just as the above-mentioned
duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Prince Aribert was the last heir apparent
before the Weimar Republic abolished all royal titles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Actually Anhalt was not abolished by the
Weimar Republic with the others. In 1918, the final days of the German Empire,
Anhalt saw the year of three sovereigns. Aribert’s eldest brother, the reigning
Duke of Anhalt, died childless in April 1918. Aribert’s next oldest brother, Prince
Eduard, succeeded but died in September 1918. Eduard’s 17-year-old son Prince
Joachim-Ernst then became duke. Prince Aribert was appointed regent for his
nephew until Joachim-Ernst became 21. Until a time when Joachim-Ernst married
and had children, Prince Aribert was heir to the title.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The day after the Armistice of 11th
November 1918 was signed, which ended World War I, Prince Aribert announced the
abdication of his nephew and the self-abolition of the duchy of Anhalt. As with
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Prince Joachim-Ernst lost his royal title but became the
head of the dynasty. Prince Aribert lost his place as heir when Prince
Joachim-Ernst married and had children.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2869928133326546025.post-57812097530900817872023-04-23T10:10:00.003+01:002023-04-23T10:10:46.440+01:00Marathon Efforts<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When Pheidippides finished
running what is now regarded as the first marathon in 490 BC he dropped dead
from exhaustion. Just imagine, though, what he would have thought about the
prospect of running the 26 miles every day for 106 consecutive days, or even
401 days.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To celebrate today’s London
Marathon, and the feast day of our patron saint, St. George, here are the feats
achieved by two British lgbt+ runners from my region.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first of these was the
<a href="https://www.the401challenge.co.uk/" target="_blank">401 Challenge</a> to run 401 marathons in 401 days set by </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ben Smith</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ben was born into a Royal
Air Force family, which meant being stationed in a succession of RAF bases
around the world. When Ben was 10 his parents decided to place him in a boarding
school in England. Ben went from one school to another over the next few short
years, including one near Retford, a town I know well not far from Nottingham.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sadly, Ben’s school
experiences were not all good ones. Having come from a close loving family he
felt isolated and withdrew into himself. He began to realise he had sexual
feelings towards other boys. Becoming more introvert and being bullied, and
confused by his sexuality, Ben attempted suicide twice. After school he fell
into depression even though his family had now returned to England and were
close by.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 2012 Ben took up
running. He was instantly hooked and began training for long distance racing.
In 2014 he entered his first marathon. From this experience he developed his
401 Challenge to raise awareness and funds for vulnerable youngsters who were
being bullied for whatever reason. The charities he chose to fundraise for were
Stonewall, the biggest lgbt+ charity in the UK, and Kidscape, a charity
specialising in providing help to tackle child bullying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first of the 401
marathons was on 1st September 2015 in Plymouth. Sadly, the page which listed
all of his run on the 401 Challenge website is no longer available. However,
searching the internet I have found what I think is a list of the marathons Ben
ran in my home county of Nottinghamshire. Here they are:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">27 December 2015 – Newark</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">28 December 2015 –
Nottingham</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">29 December 2015 –
Nottingham</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5 May 2016 – Retford</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">13 August 2016 – Clumber
Park, near Worksop.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Everything was going to
plan. Then, during his Aberdeen run in June 2016 Ben suffered an umbilical
hernia and had to take ten days rest to recuperate. Sadly, this meant that he
could no longer aim for 401 marathons in 401 consecutive days. An alternative
plan was devised to ensure that by the end of his challenge he had run the full
equivalent to 401 marathons in 401 days. For his subsequent marathons Ben ran
an extra 2 and a half miles to make up the distance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The climax of the 401
challenge came on 5 October 2016 in Bristol. There to cheer him over the finish
line of his 401st marathon were hundreds of spectators, supporters, family,
friends, and his partner Kyle, not to mention a lot of media. He had raised
£250,000 for his charities.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ben may not have made it
into the records books because of his injury, but he won the admiration of the
public. In October 2016 he won Fundraiser of the Year at the Pride of Britain Awards.
In December he won the Helen Rollason Award at the BBC Sports Personality of
the Year ceremony. This last award is named after a very popular sports
presenter who died of cancer at the age of 43 and in awarded to athletes who
have made an “outstanding achievement in the face of adversity”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Even if Ben didn’t enter
the Guinness Book of World Records, another runner from my region did. Her name
in <b>Kate Jayden</b> (b.1987).</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kate lives with her wife in Hartington,
a village in rural Derbyshire about 35 miles from Nottingham. She was already
an experienced marathon runner and triathlete with over 230 finishes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Overcoming difficult
experiences or health issues is often a spur for the athletically-minded
person. Kate’s youth was bedevilled with anorexia and bulimia. It was to raise
funds for a charity which helps sufferers of eating disorders that was the
start of Kate’s marathon running.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The challenge to run 106
marathons on 106 consecutive days began as a joke with a friend, but Kate
thought “why not?” The chosen charities for which the challenge would raise
funds were the Refugee Council, the Trussell Trust and the Hygiene Bank. The
two latter charities provide food banks and hygiene products respectively to
people on a low income.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kate’s challenge began on
31st December 2021. Unlike Ben Smith, Kate also had a full-time job while
taking on her challenge. Not all of her marathons were run outdoors. Some of
them were on a treadmill.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kate often ran in the
early morning before leaving for work, sometimes running in the cold and dark
of a British winter. This may have brought back an unhappy memory of competing
in a 24-hour run in 2014. During the night-time stage when she was several
miles ahead of the rest of the runners Kate was grabbed from behind by a
stranger and sexual assaulted. Kate fought off the assailant, and ran back
several miles to find the next runner to raise the alarm. The race was
suspended while the police carried out their initial investigation, then the
race resumed, and Kate won.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On day 46 of the 106
challenge (15th February 2022) Kate experienced pain in her knee which slowed
her down on subsequent runs. Only after the last marathon was it discovered
that Kate had a fractured knee.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kate’s challenge didn’t
have as much of a high-profile as Ben Smith’s, but she had a solid fan base and
interest picked up as she neared the final marathons. The 106th marathon was
completed on 15th April 2022. Kate was now a <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/8/kate-jayden-breaks-record-running-106-marathons-in-106-days-712556" target="_blank">Guinness World Record holder</a> and
had raised £25,000 for her charities.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Because Kate completed some
marathons on a treadmill she shares the record with a Scottish couple, Fay
Cunningham and her partner Emma Petrie, who ran 106 road marathons on 106
consecutive days. They began their challenge on 19th February 2022 and submitted
their record attempt of running 100 marathons on 100 consecutive days. Having
discovered that Kate Jayden was already attempting 106 marathons they added 6
more to their schedule to equal the record attempt. Fay and Emma now hold the
record for the most consecutive road marathons, and Kate holds the record for
the most consecutive road/treadmill marathons (as of todays’ date).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With more and more ultra
and extreme sport challenges being created it should be a matter of pride that
there are many lgbt+ runners who are representing our community and receiving
recognition for their achievements.</span></p>Tony Scupham-Biltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06369390993654785422noreply@blogger.com0