BGSO will be holding their Pride Proms Concert this coming Saturday 11th June, and it would be fantastic if any of you would like to attend.

They’re a completely community run organisation, who do loads of concerts throughout the year, and they will be performing a mixture of classical and modern music, including lots commonly played at the Last Night of the Proms. It looks set to be a fantastic evening, with lots of encouraged audience participation. :]

Dan and I will be performing, if you’re looking to go with other people have a look on our facebook page and see if anyone else is interested.

The event page can be found here

And tickets can be brought here

Birmingham Pride are seriously considering charging and entry fee next year to, in the words of Midlands Zone, ‘keep out undesirables’.
If you’d like to express the fact that Pride should be an event for the entire community, Midland Zone are holding a survey here.

If you’re not quite sure what the problem is with having to pay for Pride, I’ll explain a little why the LGBTQ is for a free Pride, and you can make your own mind up.

No one should be excluded from being able to take part in Pride purely because they cannot afford it. If the entry fee were to be around £10, as has been suggested, many LGBTQ people who are, for example, currently unemployed, students,  or are on things like disability living allowance, would simply not be able to afford to attend. Much as many people would be able to afford it, it is simply not fair to exclude anyone simply because of their income.

The reason for this charge is supposedly to stop homophobic violence and harrassment being an issue during Pride. I personally don’t see why a charge would stop people who were intent on causing harm coming into Pride, and if anything might create a bigger issue if it were to become known among homophobic/transphobic groups that the reason for the charge was their potential actions.

Pride is a Protest. Pride came from the fact that as a community we weren’t able to live our lives, we were being killed and jailed and beaten, simply for being LGBTQ. And that still happens all over the world today, even in Britain (without the jailed part). So until we have complete equality, we must not allow Pride to be solely a party, and we must express our right to still protest the inequalities we face: something we cannot be made to pay for.

Hi everyone,

This is the first of a series of blog posts on different aspects of the LGBTQ movement that we hope will enlighten and educate you on what are possibly the areas which people tend to know less about.

What is polyamory?

The Oxford English Dictionary states that it is: The fact of having simultaneous close emotional relationships with two or more other individuals, viewed as an alternative to monogamy, especially in regard to matters of sexual fidelity; the custom or practise of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the knowledge and consent of all partners concerned.

This is a pretty good definition, but I think it focuses too much on the sexual aspect of a relationship. Polyamory literally translates as many or several loves, so its more of a romantic element than a necessarily sexual one.

However, there are many different things that many different people see as poly. There are many overlapping and intersecting things that are often seen as poly, and I think this chart is the best way of showing them that I’ve come across.

source

FAQs and Debunking myths:

There are so many myths and misinterpretations about polyamory it would be impossible to post them all here.

However, this site has some wonderful and hilarious answers to many of the questions you might have, and answers to many more will be found in the resources further down the page.

Resources: Below you will find a selection of resource: blogs, podcasts, news sites and webcomics, to help you find out more about, or keep up with the news on everything poly. I hope you enjoy them and are inspired to find out more from what you see.

• Poly Weekly: a weekly podcast that you can listen to online or download with a different topic every week. It aims to be talk about ‘Responsible non-monogamy from a kink-friendly, pansexual point of view’. There are 272 episodes, so definately a wealth of information.
• Practical Polyamory: A blog dedicated to passing on help and information on the common challenges of a polyamorous lifestyle and their remedies, as well as info on activism and community organsing.
• Polyamorous Percolations: Polyamory in the News: A news blog dedicated to poly things in the news. not the most prolifically updated site, but atill interesting and useful.
• Poly in Pictures: A funny web-comic updates twice weekly on mainly poly subjects, although others relating to sexuality too. Sexuality via the medium of stick figures, good times.
• The Ethical Slut: is a fantastic book about polyamory, and looks at practical guidance as to how to put such a relationship into practise. Annoyingly, its not available in the University Library (surprise, surprise, prudes. I checked.) but it is available on Amazon here.

So where could I meet more poly people and get more involved?

Aside from getting to know the poly members of the LGBTQ (and there’re quite a few. :]), there are various poly social events that happen. Watch this space for info on when they’re going on, we’ll make sure to put them up as soon as we know whats going on.

UK Poly Mailing List- to talk with other poly people about poly-related issues, and to arrange meetups with other Poly people. Find it here.

Candlelit Vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance

Mermaid Square, Guild of Students, University of Birmingham, Saturday November 20th, 7pm.

The LGBTQ Association will be holding a candlelit vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance, to remember trans people who have been attacked and murdered because of their gender identity.

We will be having a couple of speakers to remember their lives, and to remind us that we still have a lot of fighting to do, but we can do it, as well as a two minute silence to remember the dead.

If you need any more info please email e.cooper@lgbtq.co.uk

Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/sarah0perry#!/event.php?eid=132353966820374 (so I can send you reminder emails when you forget.)

For more info about the concept of Trans Day of Remembrance, and more events going on throughout the world, go to : http://www.transgenderdor.org/

Coffee Afternoon from now on will be held in Beorma Bar-
Same time, plenty of chatting, same copious drinking of tea and coffee (and juice and biscuits)…

See you all soon,
Emma

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for a while, but as the Pope is visiting in 3 days, so now is the time.

Pope Benedict XVI has, undoubtably, some of the most controversial views of any Pope for a few decades. However, it is also undeniable that he still acts as an iconic and hopeful figure for a small but significant minority of the British population. Therefore I would like to outline my personal views on the positives and negatives of the Papal visit to the UK. As I believe the negatives far outweight the positives, I’ll start with them.

Negatives:

• There have been seventeen state visits to this country by the Heads of State of various countries in the last decade. However, all of these have aimed to forge links between countries and include democratic talks between leaders. The Pope’s visit, however, will consist of an open air mass, prayers with religious representatives, meeting children from Catholic schools (which I will move onto later), addressing ‘British society’ at Westminster Hall, hold another Mass, and beatify Cardinal Newman, and visiting an old people’s home to speak to those who cannot make it to any of his masses.

• Notice that literally none of these events are a part of any kind of democratic talk, discussion or debate. The views he holds will most likely not be challenged by anyone that he meets, and although he is meeting the Queen, he has not arranged to have

• We are in a recession, and huge cuts are being made to government spending. It has recently been announced that the police force nationwide will face 25% cuts, child benefits have been frozen for at least three years, along with huge cuts in most areas of the public sector. Ratzinger’s visit, although it is being subsidised by the Catholic Church, is still estimated to be costing the taxpayer £10-12 million, and that is without having taken into account any policing costs, which will undoubtably increase this hugely. I personally believe that this money, which obviously every one of us if footing the bill for, could be much better used on, for example, not cutting the NHS budget by as much, and therefore literally saving lives.

• Obviously, for me, the Ratzinger’s views on things that I view as basic human rights are the most inflammatory. I don’t believe that a liberal (ish) country like Britain should be funding the visit of such an extremist, hate-mongering man.
  1. Ratzinger has been accused of being heavily involved in the Vatican’s alleged cover-up of child abuse. In 2003, he wrote a letter to all bishops stating that the guidelines written in 1962 stating that they should keep the ‘strictest’ secrecy in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse’ and threatens those who speak out with excommunication. For such a blatanly illegal stance to be backed up almost 40 years later with no regret or guilt is pretty shocking.
  2. The Pope is openly against the use of contraception, having said that :
     ‘It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking and a contraception mentality’ Source
     
     Most people would argue that African life at the moment if threatened by AIDS, with 60% of people living with the virus living in Sub-Saharan Africa. For a head of State and religious icon to make such an outdaed and idealistic statement will only perpetuate the problem, causing pious people to damage themselves to insane levels because they are following the harmful teachings of someone they believe to be inspiring.
     He has also called the use of condoms and other contraceptives an ‘unseen holocaust‘. Holocaust is defined by OED as ‘a great slaughter or massacre’. Most people that agree that to slaughter something it has to already be alive, not the remote chance of a being formed of a single cell with no consciousness.
  3. His views on homosexuality anger me hugely. Here’s a little selection of quotes. Source 1 and 2
     “although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder”
  4. Although he has said that often discrimination against people because they are LGB is wrong, it is ‘obligatory’ to discriminate with regard to “the consignment of children to adoption or foster care, in employment of teachers and coaches, and in military service”
     In response to demands for civil rights “neither the church nor society should be surprised when irrational and violent reactions increase.” We’re obviously entirely responsible for people committing hate crime against us.

However, I’ve said already that much as I disagree with the Pope’s visit, it does have its advantages. Soooo…

• The visit of such a huge figure will undoubtably bring in a large amount of revenue for the country. There will probably be a lot of people visiting from abroad, anyone visiting London, Birmingham or Edinburgh will also bring in revenue for the city. It is even possible that this could outweigh the cost of the visit, although it will then go back into the private sector and businesses as opposed to the public sector from where the funding is coming.
• It is also undeniable that the Pope provides a source of hope for many people. He, as the head of one of the largest churches in the world, has millions of followers who see his word as law. However, this perpetuates the problem of the Pope’s discriminatory views by portraying the idea that his views are acceptable ones to hold. On the other hand, though, Catholicism in it’s majority of teachings promotes the basic views of being a good person, and this, much as I disagree personally with religion, benefits our society most of the time.
• Ratzinger’s views are not all horrendous. As I’ve said, most ordinary people would believe in many of the teachings of the Catholic church. He believes in nuclear disarmamant, going green, the loosening of immigration laws for people who are justifiably seeking asylum, and diplomatic discussion between states.

Overall, I personally believe that the extremist views of Ratzinger, regardless of the prospective income for the country that the visit will generate, and the re-affirmation of the faith of many Catholic’s that will certainly come with it, as a liberal and equality promoting country, someone who preaches such unaccepting and, to some extent, hate-mongering views should not be supported by our money, and our State’s backing, to visit the United Kingdom. Hopefully, having read this, you may come to the same, or different conclusions as me, but regardless of your conclusion, at least it is an educated one.