Happy Tenth Birthday, Pink Jack!

On Saturday 2^nd July 2005 London celebrated its annual Pride. Something appeared that day which caught the collective imagination of all lgbt Brits. The Union Jack is already a unique design classic, and ten years ago today a new version appeared – the Pink Jack.

I’m delighted that the creator of the Pink Jack, David Guinnutt, has agreed to write something for me today on how this new design came into the world.

The first I realised ten years had passed since Pink Jack was created was when a letter from The Patent Office arrived asking me to renew the Trademark. Ten years, Wow. I’m very proud of this, it was an idea I hoped would last and be relevant for longer than my lifetime….I didn’t do it to make a lot of money (just as well as I haven’t!) I think it’s more important to make things that will always be around… and I have the same philosophy with my photographs, I want portraits to be interesting a hundred years hence, not just today. It’s early days but so far, so good!

The first flag I made was from company in East London, a proper old school flag maker. I still have it, it’s made of a very heavy cotton and has toggles on it where it would be tied to a mast. The pink is vibrant blancmange pink. It felt it was quite punk in a Westwood kinda way as I imagined it flying on a (gay) galleon –pirate or otherwise and the pink was quite shocking and it seemed a bit anti-establishment….in a good way.

The first day I ‘flew’ the flag it was at the Pride London march, 2004. I remember carrying it on the tube on a bamboo cane, wrapped around the cane so no one could see it , felt a really self-conscious, it’s not in my nature to seek out attention on me but I’m compelled to push myself forward for things I believe in.

Getting off the tube at Hyde Park Corner I remember it was absolutely rammed with people arriving for the march, whistles blowing, people shouting, chatting, waving banners, I shuffled along in a sea of revellers, questioning when I’d have the bottle to start waving the flag- I’m not sure what I thought would happen- maybe everyone stop and stare and laugh at me.

I found my way to where the march was to start, everyone was milling around, lying in small groups on the grass, some already lined up at the head of the march. I was envious of other people who’d already got their banners or flag up. They didn’t look bothered or scared at all. I waited, trying to decide the right moment.

As time came for the march to start, the atmosphere was electric, everyone starts shouting, blowing whatever and making crazy noise, its the most incredible feeling the first time. Fuck it I couldn’t wait any longer and plucked up my nerve to unfurl the flag, up she went, heart in my mouth, it felt as if life would change forever ….but no one batted an eyelid.

It’s amazing the power carrying a flag gives you, people make way and I got to the front easily and marched behind Paul O’Grady, Stephen Fry, Wayne Sleep and I think Simon Callow and some other notable figures. I wanted the flag to get noticed and waved it for my life above Paul & Stephen’s heads!

Looking back there have been so many moments when the Pink Jack has appeared, being carried by people who I don’t know but who are celebrating what it stands for, it makes me so proud. It has to have a life of its own, nothing to do with me and it feels as if it does. Just today a friend texted to say it’s showing on a billboard in Canary Wharf re ‘What does Pride’ mean to you?’ 

My top ten moments are in no particular order :

Europride launch in 2005, my friend calling me from Oxford St screaming down the phone, ‘Your flags are everywhere! 

British Ambassador in Budapest flying the flag in the embassy to support the gay pride march there. 

Two guys waving the flag in Red Square, risking arrest 

Three large flags waving at the front of Last Night of the Proms – every year! 

A large flag being waved behind Jessica Ennis in the long jump at the London Olympics 

Being on the cover of QX for their ‘Faces of Soho’ edition 

Being at World Pride one year with all the other countries National flags 

Seeing two gay dads and their kids carrying them at Brighton Pride 

Being voted 16th in the Independents top 100 Pink List in 2013 

Alan Cumming always hanging one in his dressing room at Trafalgar Studios during Bent in Canada and London


For more information on the Pink Jack go to its website here.

Guest Blogger - Narvel Annable

I have been criticised for comparing Gay Rights with the 1960s Civil Rights movement in the USA.  Accordingly, in Nottinghamshire’s February/March 2012 edition of Queer Bulletin I was delighted to read the words of Coretta King –

“Dr Martin Luther King would be a champion of gay rights if he were alive. Gays and lesbians stood up for civil rights in Montgomery, Selma, in Albany, Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida, and in many other campaigns of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of these courageous men and women were fighting for my freedom at a time when they could find few voices for their own. I salute their contribution.

“Homophobia is like racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanise a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimise the next minority group”.

I am proud to have made a decision to major in African American History at Eastern Michigan University at a time when the Detroit race riots were tearing that city apart.

I thank Coretta King for her encouraging words and am grateful for the good work of Bayard Rustin, a gay African American who was the organisational “mastermind” behind much of the civil rights movement’s work.

 

Narvel Annable

The Queer Bulletin to which Narvel refers is the bi-monthly newsletter of the Nottinghamshire Lesbian and Gay Switchboard. For quite a few years now QB has been bringing news and advice to the lgbt community in the city and I have myself contributed to it many times.

The QB article was published in the same week as Martin Luther King Day was celebrated in America. One name that needs to be brought to the fore this year is Bayard Rustin, another figure whose centenary is being celebrated in 2012.

Bayard’s contribution to the human rights movement cannot have been greater than at the march on Washington in 1963 at which King made his famous “I have a dream …” speech. Bayard organised the march and rally himself, with his sexuality being used by both politicians and media to smear the event.

As Narvel suggested, there are people who deny that King had any interest in human rights outside the black community. Recently Tony Dungy, a professional American football coach, has made statements to that effect.

Fortunately leading gay black activists have used Bayard’s centenary to point out that people cannot turn off one part of their personality to suit those working with them who have other prejudices. Martin Luther King was black and straight. Bayard Rustin was black and gay. They worked together closely on the same human rights issues and, as Coretta King has said, there can be no doubt that her husband would have been a champion of lgbt rights as well.

Drag History Month

Perhaps you’ve noticed the colourful flag at the head of some of the posts for Drag History Month. It’s called the Feather Pride flag and was designed by Sean Patrick Campbell.

I’m delighted that Sean has taken the time to send me the following information about his design and his work:

The Feather Pride flag was created as a graphic in Gay and Lesbian Times (Greater Palm Springs Edition), June 2000, celebrating Gay Pride month. Since Gay and Lesbian Times had only been publishing for 4 months we had no photo archives. Being a prolific designer, I created several designs to represent various groups who make up the gay community.

Feathers and Flames - I couldn’t think of any better way to describe or symbolize the female impersonators, drag queens, fancy kings and their courts who were at the forefront of fundraising for research and awareness at the height of the AIDS epidemic sweeping through the community in the 1980's.

I use the mythological creature the phoenix, not only to represent feathers and flame, but I also remember an artist back in the late 80's who created an Icarus-style sculpture called the phoenix, and how he said the phoenix was being used in the gay community to symbolize our rebirth from the ashes of the AIDS epidemic. This imagery never really took ground with the gay community, but the idea stayed with me and eventually found it's way into my design.

From the state flag of Maryland (pictured below) I was very much influenced by the symmetry of the 4 quadrants repeating heraldic patterns of black and gold, red and white. But instead of 4 quadrants of patterns or colours, to give more action I made a sunburst as a dazzling burst of light, which would be natural to appear with the phoenix.

I took inspiration from the motley ad-hoc patching of a harlequin costume of the 18^th century that had alternating patterns of diamond shapes. I substituted triangles (a well known symbol of the gay community) for diamonds. Thus, in my thinking, who were the harlequins of our times but the drag queens? A harlequin is physical, colourful, romantic, comedic, high-spirited and clever. For anyone who may think I’m being mean-spirited or dismissive of the drag community, associating them with the harlequins of the past, calling them a joke, not at all. Look at the qualities I use to describe a harlequin, now apply those qualities to whom you best think in our modern society they would apply to. I think you’ll come to same conclusion. As to the colour choices, gold is gold as one would say, or a symbol of royalty or gold lamé, a standard in drag apparel. Since the phoenix is gold, a close associated colour is red, lipstick red - red curtain, was the train of thought. To contrast this is the black and white triangles.

I’ve always been an artist, first drawing superheroes as a child (which I still do), then studying art in high school. I graduated from Iona College (New York) in 1989 with a double associates in applied science for art - illustration and art, and graphic design. You’d think they’re the same but are 2 different subjects, which lucky for me have overlapping requirements. I returned to studies in 1990 at Mercy College (NY) for what was back then in it's infancy called "Applied Computer Science" which these days would be Desktop Publishing.

Over the years I’ve had jobs in visual display for a homemaking entrepreneur and a major American up-scale kitchen retail chain, as well in fine art and even spent time as an apprentice tattoo artist. In the late 90's I worked for a small printing company where I was the sole creative service person working on various projects that ran from logo design, wedding invitations, political ads, you name it.

I moved to California in July 1999 with my partner at the time. I found work at a small local gay magazine, at first as ad salesman and then as designer and editor for one of the 2 publications it produced, again a jack-of-all-trades, from editing articles, photos, ad creation, layout and pre-press of the magazine. I am also proud that I was able to up-grade them to the new digital standards of the time. When I arrived at the company they where still doing old fashion pasting of the magazine layout.

At the beginning of 2000 a larger publishing company decided to produce it's own publication in the area. I was offered a position with the same responsibilities, just more money and benefits, which I accepted. Here is where I created my flag designs. Soon after I moved back to the east coast, first Massachusetts and then to my home state of New York.

I continue to work in publishing, recently for a science text book company where I was involved in creating a series of project based books in the life, earth and physical sciences. This past summer I designed a leather charity calendar with Jed Ryan, Mr. Rawhide Leather 2011, called "Men of the Sash" and continue my work with the Twilight Guard as resident artist, web master and bar flyer creator.

Again, many thanks to Sean Patrick Campbell for providing an insight into his work, and for the information which has not been published anywhere else before. To see more of Sean’s flag designs go to www.thetwilightguard.org

LGBT History Month pre-launch

Tonight at The Oval cricket ground in London the 2012 LGBT History Month will be pre-launched. The theme, as you might have guessed from the venue, is sport.

During 2012 I will be bringing you a special Olympic countdown with the most complete history of lgbt participation in the Olympics – ever! And, as far as I am aware, I will be the first to list all 120 known lgbt Olympians, including one closeted athlete whose identity I couldn’t possibly reveal without his/her permission!

2012 will also be the 30^th anniversary of the first Gay Games in San Francisco in 1982. The Gay Games is the biggest multi-sport festival in the world. Over the past 2 years I have been compiling a comprehensive list of Gay Games medallists. The Federation of Gay Games has records of recent games, but not so complete records of the first two in 1982 and 1986. With the help of various biographies, blogs, news reports and research I have come up with a list of over 9,000 individuals who have won medals.

Here’s a taster of the facts, figures and trivia that makes the Gay Games a major part of the worldwide lgbt community.

Notable Medal Winners

Athletics           George Takei, “Star Trek” and “Heroes” actor

Swimming        Rhona Cameron, comedian

Basketball        Esera Tuaolo, American footballer

Basketball        Glenn Burke, baseball player

Athletics           Chuck Palanhuik, author of “Fight Club”

Tennis              James Hormel, US Ambassador to the Netherlands

Ice skating       Joel Mangs, aka gay porn actor Brad Patton

Bodybuilding   Greg Groves, aka gay porn actor Matthew Rush

Olympians at the Gay Games

Tom Waddell, Gay Games founder

Susan McGreivy

Bruce Hayes

Scott Cranham

Mark Chatfield

Peter Prijdekker

Daniel Veatch

Geert Blanchart

Comparison numbers

One concern at the forefront of the work of LGBT History Month will be to raise awareness of homophobia in sport. Even as we welcome elite sportspeople coming out we also question the attitudes of those in sport who criticise them. Nowhere is that bigotry more visible than in football. Two top international footballers came out in 2011, and 6 top footballers said they have no place in football. Nottingham has a notorious reputation as having the most homophobic, racist, abusive, bigot the sport has ever produced – manager Brian Clough – put on a pedestal and worshipped as a hero.

Recently, the head of FIFA himself, Sepp Blatter, opened his mouth without thinking first and revealed his racist thinking. He alleges to supports the campaign to rid football of homophobia, but hasn’t actually done anything about it.

My friend and guest blogger Narvel Annable has these words to say on those like Blatter who haven’t dragged themselves out of the 19^th century:

The recent controversy over racism in football, hinged on the significance of a handshake. This put me in mind of a parallel incident when I was approached by two Mormons.  They assured me that I was loved by God but my homosexuality was unnatural and unacceptable. I counted with the fact that my sexuality and the host body were one and the same. We came as a package. We could not be separated. Several minutes of heated negotiations ended, as always in these cases, in stalemate.

One of them suggested that we should agree to disagree and offered me his hand. I refused. I explained that accepting such a gesture would condone centuries of ignorance and bigotry. I argued against being a party to religious prejudice. A handshake would not deal with the root cause of the problem which is called homophobia. When the Mormons renounce and apologise for their medieval beliefs and cruel conduct, at that point, I will gladly shake a Mormon hand. 

Homophobes and racists should look to the example of Sepp Blatter who gave a fulsome and gracious apology when made aware of his hurtful comments.

Narvel Annable

www.narvelannable.co.uk

Guest blogger

As we approach November 11^th, spare a thought for Rose Robertson who died last August, age 94. She was a secret agent in Nazi-occupied France, a member of the Special Operations Executive suffering trauma and had great difficulty talking about her wartime experiences.

However, she did reveal an incident which occurred in 1941. Billeted with two young male French Resistance agents, Rose entered their room and discovered them in an embrace. She knew nothing of homosexuality, was curious and horrified to hear of family prejudice and rejection. Their story affected her deeply. She was shocked that ignorant parents could be so heartless to their gay children.

In the years after the war, Rose set out to learn more about people like me. She met distressed gay teens damaged by self-hate from religious groups chanting biblical passages with a homophobic interpretation. She met parents – like Mr and Mrs Annable – who were variously distraught, angry, guilty, ashamed and hostile towards their children’s ‘perversion’.

In 1965 she formed the Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays – FFLAG – which seeks to mediate between parents and kids in an effort to find understanding, acceptance and reconciliation.

Rose was an effective campaigner, an enlightened heterosexual with a conscience impressing people who had been wary of supporting teenagers of same-sex attraction. Gradually, police, local authorities, irate mums and dads began to trust this reassuring middle-aged figure with her family orientated approach.

It all comes too late for Narvel. My parents are dead. To the best of my knowledge, I have one sister living in the USA. We have not spoken since 1963. Could Rose have made a difference?

Narvel Annable
http://www.narvelannable.co.uk/

Guest blogger

This is the first of a series of posts by a guest blogger. Narvel Annable is a novelist, writer and campaigner. His novels are based on his own life and contain details of life in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in the1906s. But I think I'll let Narvel introduce himself.

About Narvel Annable

My life has been a series of re-inventions.  In September 2010, a sudden promotion catapulted me from local to global author.  The Nazca Plains Corporation in Las Vegas published my third gay novel Secret Summer which is now available all over the world.  This boosted the sales of previous efforts including Lost Lad set in Heanor, Derbyshire; a rugged, macho, homophobic, hill top colliery town.  Lost Lad follows the transformation of a miserable prepubescent into the confident and happy adolescent who was re-invented and rechristened Dobba by his mates.  The move from a grim, gas lit, Dickensian Church of England all boys junior school in 1958 to Howitt Secondary School, a culture of kindness, was a dramatic improvement.

A further re-invention is described in my second autobiographic novel Scruffy Chicken.  It took place in 1963 when I emigrated to the United States and arrived in Detroit on the day before the assassination of President Kennedy.  It was a steep learning curve.  The repressed Derbyshire teenager of thick accent, deeply locked inside his shameful homosexual closet, had to fit in as a clean cut American, to be comfortable with his all-white racist buddies and appear hot to trot for the chicks.

The following years in Motown involved several jobs before graduating from Eastern Michigan University (magna cum laude) in 1975 followed by a year teaching African-American history at St Bridget High School.  Adapting to this strict Catholic environment, behind respectable spectacles, Narvel imitated his former teachers and transformed himself into a strict schoolmaster with traditional views.  This was a far cry from his parallel existence, the promiscuous, secretive chicken who consorted with Negroes and haunted the notorious bath houses of Detroit, Chicago and New York from 1964 to 1976.

People have asked me – ‘Why did you describe yourself as a scruffy chicken during your 1965 six month vacation in Britain?’  Scruffy in the title of Scruffy Chicken is not so much a comment on me; it is more a criticism of the Derby and Nottingham snobs who made me feel scruffy – scruffy accent, scruffy clothes, scruffy manners, scruffy education etc.

A rollercoaster of passion and pain, magic and menace, is celebrated in my latest novel Secret Summer.  In 1966 I fell in love with a mysterious tough guy who held me in the grip of agony and ecstasy.  The title - a comment on the necessity for gay teenage boys to lust in secret, hunt in secret and love in secret – is, sadly, still true here in the 21st century.

After several annual holidays in the UK in the late 1960s and early 1970s, chronic homesickness fuelled my departure from Detroit in 1976 to resettle in Derbyshire where I met my future long term partner Terry Durand who was married with children.  The trauma and shock of coming to terms with his life-long repressed same sex attraction triggered a breakdown and several weeks in a psychiatric hospital.  Electric shock aversion therapy was suggested as a ‘cure’ for his homosexuality.  This low point was followed by a painful and slow journey to eventual contentment and happiness.  On September 3rd 2011, we celebrated our 35 years together.

Narvel’s website is at http://www.narvelannable.co.uk/