The Canadian House of Commons passed a private member's bill yesterday - February 9, 2011 - by a narrow vote of 143 to 135 to provide protection against discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act to transgendered and transsexual citizens. It was a historic day, indeed.
A close friend of mine is a F-to-M transsexual which has made the issue personal for me. I continue to be stunned by the willingness of so many conservatives to remain ignorant on this and other issues. That explains the narrow vote, with ignorant Stephen Harper and most Conservative MPs (and sadly a handful of socially conservative Liberals) leading the charge to ensure a very vulnerable group in our society continues to live without protection from discrimination. This followed yet another despicable campaign by bigot Charles McVety to mislead Canadians about the nature of the bill. It's always the same story - passage of human rights protection will somehow lead to catastrophe, these types argue. They can be assured that transsexuals are already using public washrooms and nothing in this bill will change that. Shame on all those bigots.
As John Ibbitson writes in the Globe, it was a moral victory for the transgendered and transsexual communities and those who support true equality. Sadly, Harper, ever the enemy of democracy, will likely use his unelected stooges in the Senate to deny the bill passage into law (if an election call doesn't kill the bill first.)
Yes, we have yet another reason to remove Stephen Harper from office as soon as possible. The next election can't come soon enough!
Congrats to NDP MP Bill Siksay for sponsoring the bill. Congrats to all the MPs, including Tories John Baird, Lawrence Cannon, Lisa Raitt and James Moore and many others, who supported it. A special thank you to Marlene Jennings who took on the falsehoods pushed by bigot McVety with typical gusto. I love her.
The personal blog of Matthew Guerin, loving husband, supervisor, writer, filmmaker, political junkie, union supporter based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. mattfggg on IS, @mattfg.bsky.social on Bluesky, @mattguerin on Substack
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
GSA ban lifted by Halton Catholic school board
Xtra is reporting some great news from last night's Halton Catholic board meeting: the ill-advised ban on gay-straight alliances (GSAs) has been lifted.
"In a 6-2 vote, trustees decided to rescind the ban and shelve their equity and inclusive education policy. While a new policy is drafted, the board will use the Catholic 'template,' a version of Ontario’s equity policy that’s written specifically for English Catholic boards by the Ontario Education Services Corporation. Originally Halton wasn't satisfied with the Catholic template, so they made a few edits when they quietly passed the policy in November, such as removing the terms 'sexual orientation' and 'gender.' That's when they also added the ban on GSAs.
When asked by Xtra whether or not the board will allow groups to be called gay-straight alliance clubs, board chair Alice Anne LeMay refused to answer the question.
“I can’t answer that tonight. The policy will go to senior administration and will be implemented in the schools,” she says.'
Congrats to the board for correcting its error. I hope their new equity policy doesn't fail LGBT students the way their last policy did. I agree with local Halton Catholic student James Hopkins, who says he plans to take the fight to Queen’s Park to pressure the Ministry of Education to push for one equity and inclusive education policy for all school boards, Catholic and public.
"In a 6-2 vote, trustees decided to rescind the ban and shelve their equity and inclusive education policy. While a new policy is drafted, the board will use the Catholic 'template,' a version of Ontario’s equity policy that’s written specifically for English Catholic boards by the Ontario Education Services Corporation. Originally Halton wasn't satisfied with the Catholic template, so they made a few edits when they quietly passed the policy in November, such as removing the terms 'sexual orientation' and 'gender.' That's when they also added the ban on GSAs.
When asked by Xtra whether or not the board will allow groups to be called gay-straight alliance clubs, board chair Alice Anne LeMay refused to answer the question.
“I can’t answer that tonight. The policy will go to senior administration and will be implemented in the schools,” she says.'
Congrats to the board for correcting its error. I hope their new equity policy doesn't fail LGBT students the way their last policy did. I agree with local Halton Catholic student James Hopkins, who says he plans to take the fight to Queen’s Park to pressure the Ministry of Education to push for one equity and inclusive education policy for all school boards, Catholic and public.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
“See the little faggot..." lyrics get 'Money for Nothing' banned from Cdn radio
I hated and resented the Dire Straits’ song ‘Money For Nothing’ when it was released in 1985 and I still do. Mind you, I had little time for that kind of rock music back then. Today, I’ve grown to slowly admire the genre. But not this song. Why? Because it blatantly and without apology used a vicious slur against gay men, and did so in a way that was as mainstream as you could get in 1985. It even won Dire Straits some awards for their work.
I'm not knocking Dire Straits' talent. There's some great guitar music in 'Money for Nothing' for sure.
To all those folks up in arms over today’s ruling by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, I say: “Let it go! There’s plenty of great classic rock out there without hateful lyrics. Listen to something else on the radio!”
And if you simply can't go without hearing the lovely lyrics, "See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup. Yeah buddy that's his own hair. That little faggot got his own jet airplane. That little faggot he's a millionaire," then play it on your iPod to your crass heart's content.
‘Faggot’ is a heinous slur against all gay men that should never be used, except in appropriate contexts. It’s the gay equivalent of the word, ‘n*gger’.
The Dire Straits song was reportedly written in the first person by songwriter Mark Knopfler from the mindset of some regular working class dudes he once saw working in a retail store selling refrigerators, TVs, etc. In the song, one such guy watches MTV on one of the TVs in the store and starts making observations of the people they’re seeing on the music network: "See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup. Yeah buddy that's his own hair. That little faggot got his own jet airplane. That little faggot he's a millionaire."
Sure it's supposed to be a characterization and not a literal attack by the song's writer on gay men (or effeminate, successful male musicians appearing in videos in the 1980s). There's little doubt in my mind the irony the songwriter claims to have meant with the lyrics was lost on most fans. Even if we accept the fact that the lyrics are unintentionally hateful (which I don't), it doesn't take away the fact that many straight guys I knew who loved this song were quite happy to sing along to it, often putting particular emphasis on the term ‘little faggot’. The song gave them even more permission than they already had to hate 'faggots.'
I doubt that Mark Knopfler was innocent here. Even he seems to have acknowledged it was an unacceptable slur as he's frequently sung the song in concert since, replacing 'faggot' with 'queenie' or some more innocuous word. 'Queenie' is still pretty homophobic.
The 1980s (and all periods before it) were virulently homophobic times. Gays were not even offered basic protections from discrimination in housing or employment in most parts of Canada at the time. Being gay meant inevitably facing frequent attacks, mostly verbal and sometimes violent. (In most parts of the world, this is still the case.) On top of that, we had Mark Knopfler adding his little phrase: “See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup...” to mainstream dialogue.
This is a song I’d like to forget. I’m all for playing censored versions of it that replace the word ‘faggot’ with something preferably non-homophobic on Canadian radio. And of course, I don’t care what people play in the privacy of their own homes or in clubs, etc.
How many movies have you watched on television which were edited to remove the profanity? Not every word is appropriate to be broadcast on the air waves.
I'm not knocking Dire Straits' talent. There's some great guitar music in 'Money for Nothing' for sure.
To all those folks up in arms over today’s ruling by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, I say: “Let it go! There’s plenty of great classic rock out there without hateful lyrics. Listen to something else on the radio!”
And if you simply can't go without hearing the lovely lyrics, "See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup. Yeah buddy that's his own hair. That little faggot got his own jet airplane. That little faggot he's a millionaire," then play it on your iPod to your crass heart's content.
‘Faggot’ is a heinous slur against all gay men that should never be used, except in appropriate contexts. It’s the gay equivalent of the word, ‘n*gger’.
The Dire Straits song was reportedly written in the first person by songwriter Mark Knopfler from the mindset of some regular working class dudes he once saw working in a retail store selling refrigerators, TVs, etc. In the song, one such guy watches MTV on one of the TVs in the store and starts making observations of the people they’re seeing on the music network: "See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup. Yeah buddy that's his own hair. That little faggot got his own jet airplane. That little faggot he's a millionaire."
Sure it's supposed to be a characterization and not a literal attack by the song's writer on gay men (or effeminate, successful male musicians appearing in videos in the 1980s). There's little doubt in my mind the irony the songwriter claims to have meant with the lyrics was lost on most fans. Even if we accept the fact that the lyrics are unintentionally hateful (which I don't), it doesn't take away the fact that many straight guys I knew who loved this song were quite happy to sing along to it, often putting particular emphasis on the term ‘little faggot’. The song gave them even more permission than they already had to hate 'faggots.'
I doubt that Mark Knopfler was innocent here. Even he seems to have acknowledged it was an unacceptable slur as he's frequently sung the song in concert since, replacing 'faggot' with 'queenie' or some more innocuous word. 'Queenie' is still pretty homophobic.
The 1980s (and all periods before it) were virulently homophobic times. Gays were not even offered basic protections from discrimination in housing or employment in most parts of Canada at the time. Being gay meant inevitably facing frequent attacks, mostly verbal and sometimes violent. (In most parts of the world, this is still the case.) On top of that, we had Mark Knopfler adding his little phrase: “See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup...” to mainstream dialogue.
This is a song I’d like to forget. I’m all for playing censored versions of it that replace the word ‘faggot’ with something preferably non-homophobic on Canadian radio. And of course, I don’t care what people play in the privacy of their own homes or in clubs, etc.
How many movies have you watched on television which were edited to remove the profanity? Not every word is appropriate to be broadcast on the air waves.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Message to Halton Catholics: Banning gay-straight alliances promotes bullying, anti-gay discrimination
Shame on yet another Catholic school board stuck with its collective head up its arse, more worried about offending Pope Benedict in Rome than helping isolated, closeted teens in their care avoid violence and discrimination.
Added shame on Halton Catholic school board chair Alice Anne LeMay for her ill-advised comments defending a ban on gay-straight alliances in Halton Catholic schools, for which she's awkwardly and unconvincingly apologized.
We know that our high schools across Canada and elsewhere continue to be hotbeds of intolerance and bullying. Some leaders have taken action to counter that violence and intimidation.
But teenagers being teenagers will continue to harass and belittle their fellow schoolmates like they always do without strong leadership from the top telling them it's wrong.
To think, an out, gay, Catholic student living in Halton might ask that s/he and her/his straight friends be allowed to form a gay-straight alliance (GSA) in their high school and they'd be turned down flat because the Halton Catholic board believes such groups are harmful and, “don’t fall within the teachings of the Catholic church.”
Disgusting. Especially considering that by banning groups that promote tolerance and acceptance, you are, in fact, sending a message to all the students in your care that tolerating and accepting homosexuals is not cool. You don't ban something unless there is something wrong with it, no? As if high schoolers need more reasons to be homophobic and to harass gay students or students they suspect might be gay. The Halton Catholic board has just given them another reason to pick on that slightly queer, artsy boy in their midst who now has few places to turn for help.
These incidents merely increase my desire to see the whole god-damned Catholic school system shut down in this province for good! If you refuse to protect the dignity of your most vulnerable students, you are abdicating your responsibilities as educators and you have no business running anything resembling a school system. One secular, public board for all is what Ontario needs!
*******UPDATE
Here's a Facebook group set up to 'Fight the Halton Catholic School Board's Ban on Gay Straight Alliances.'
And here's an online petition to 'Tell the Halton Catholic District School Board to lift ban on Gay-Straight Alliances.'
Added shame on Halton Catholic school board chair Alice Anne LeMay for her ill-advised comments defending a ban on gay-straight alliances in Halton Catholic schools, for which she's awkwardly and unconvincingly apologized.
We know that our high schools across Canada and elsewhere continue to be hotbeds of intolerance and bullying. Some leaders have taken action to counter that violence and intimidation.
But teenagers being teenagers will continue to harass and belittle their fellow schoolmates like they always do without strong leadership from the top telling them it's wrong.
To think, an out, gay, Catholic student living in Halton might ask that s/he and her/his straight friends be allowed to form a gay-straight alliance (GSA) in their high school and they'd be turned down flat because the Halton Catholic board believes such groups are harmful and, “don’t fall within the teachings of the Catholic church.”
Disgusting. Especially considering that by banning groups that promote tolerance and acceptance, you are, in fact, sending a message to all the students in your care that tolerating and accepting homosexuals is not cool. You don't ban something unless there is something wrong with it, no? As if high schoolers need more reasons to be homophobic and to harass gay students or students they suspect might be gay. The Halton Catholic board has just given them another reason to pick on that slightly queer, artsy boy in their midst who now has few places to turn for help.
These incidents merely increase my desire to see the whole god-damned Catholic school system shut down in this province for good! If you refuse to protect the dignity of your most vulnerable students, you are abdicating your responsibilities as educators and you have no business running anything resembling a school system. One secular, public board for all is what Ontario needs!
*******UPDATE
Here's a Facebook group set up to 'Fight the Halton Catholic School Board's Ban on Gay Straight Alliances.'
And here's an online petition to 'Tell the Halton Catholic District School Board to lift ban on Gay-Straight Alliances.'
Saturday, December 18, 2010
U.S. Senate votes 65-31 to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't tell"
It's a beautiful and historic day for equality rights for LGBT citizens in America! The U.S. Senate has just voted 65 to 31 to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' which was the policy adopted in the 1990s banning openly gay men and women from serving in the U.S. military. The law now goes to President Obama's desk for final approval, which it will get hopefully quickly.
My faith in Americans to do the right thing for their LGBT citizens has long been shaken, with all the recent referenda and votes to ban equal marriage. But today, it's great to see a victory for my American LGBT friends and others who support true equality.
A court ruling in Canada in the early 1990s led to the end of our ban on openly LGBT solders in the Canadian military. It's nice to see the Americans finally catch up with us on this important issue.
My faith in Americans to do the right thing for their LGBT citizens has long been shaken, with all the recent referenda and votes to ban equal marriage. But today, it's great to see a victory for my American LGBT friends and others who support true equality.
A court ruling in Canada in the early 1990s led to the end of our ban on openly LGBT solders in the Canadian military. It's nice to see the Americans finally catch up with us on this important issue.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Still no word from QuAIA on my query about gay Saudi man...
It's been five days since I emailed Queers Against Israeli Apartheid about this tragic story of a gay Saudi man who's been sentenced a man to five years in prison and 500 lashes for having sexual relations with another man.
Perhaps they're short of volunteers at the moment? Despite their focus on the Middle East, perhaps they don't care about injustices outside of Israel's borders? Regardless, I'll continue to wait patiently for this community group, so vocal when it wants to be, to reply to my honest query.
Perhaps they're short of volunteers at the moment? Despite their focus on the Middle East, perhaps they don't care about injustices outside of Israel's borders? Regardless, I'll continue to wait patiently for this community group, so vocal when it wants to be, to reply to my honest query.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saudi Man Gets Five-Year Prison Term, 500 Lashes for Gay Sex, Okaz Reports
After reading about this tragic story today, I wondered how those queer activists involved in Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) might react to it. One of the biggest criticisms against the group has been the charge QuAIA only attacks alleged Israeli abuses, failing to condemn injustices committed in Arab countries (leaving the group open to accusations of anti-Semitism.) So I sent this email to the group this afternoon. I'll be sure to publish their response here if I get one...
From: Matt Guerin
To: quaia.toronto@gmail.com
Sent: Mon, November 15, 2010 3:24:12 PM
Subject: Saudi Man Gets Five-Year Prison Term, 500 Lashes for Gay Sex, Okaz Reports
Dear QuAIA --
Will your group be speaking out against this injustice in Saudi Arabia? If so, when and how? It would be great if your organization challenged and spoke against all injustice and human rights abuses in the Middle East, particularly when it's LGBT people being victimized (and not just targetted one country's abuses while ignoring others.)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-08/saudi-man-gets-five-year-prison-term-500-lashes-for-gay-sex-okaz-reports.html
Matt Guerin
From: Matt Guerin
To: quaia.toronto@gmail.com
Sent: Mon, November 15, 2010 3:24:12 PM
Subject: Saudi Man Gets Five-Year Prison Term, 500 Lashes for Gay Sex, Okaz Reports
Dear QuAIA --
Will your group be speaking out against this injustice in Saudi Arabia? If so, when and how? It would be great if your organization challenged and spoke against all injustice and human rights abuses in the Middle East, particularly when it's LGBT people being victimized (and not just targetted one country's abuses while ignoring others.)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-08/saudi-man-gets-five-year-prison-term-500-lashes-for-gay-sex-okaz-reports.html
Matt Guerin
Monday, October 18, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Blue Valentine Q&A following TIFF 2010 screening (partial)
I recorded this post-screening Q&A for the film 'Blue Valentine' on Sept 15, 2010 at TIFF. Director Derek Cianfrance, actor Ryan Gosling and young actress Faith Wladyka answer questions. Michelle Williams was not present. (I started recording about a third into the Q&A after taking some pics...missed a sweet moment when Ryan led a 'Happy Birthday' song for a swooning audience member, sadly not me.)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Brendan Burke was a hero!
After hearing this tragic news last night, I thought I would come out of my self-imposed hiatus to briefly pay tribute to Brendan Burke, the son of hockey giant and Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, who died yesterday after a car accident in Indiana.
According to reports, Brendan Burke was killed as heavy snow was falling on the roads north of Economy, Ind., near the Ohio border. The 2004 Jeep Cherokee in which he was riding reportedly slid into oncoming traffic and crashed into a truck going the other way, killing Burke and a friend. The driver of the truck survived.
Brendan was tremendously brave last November when he told the world he was gay. The story seemed to re-start a conversation about rampant homophobia in the sports world. Although not a professional athlete himself, Brendan's admission did no doubt make a difference. He could've remained quiet like so many closeted athletes do. But instead he chose to speak out and promote the cause of equality and acceptance and, for that, he's a hero to me.
Particularly inspirational was his father Brian Burke's reaction to his son's decision to come out publicly: "I had a million good reasons to love and admire Brendan," Brian Burke said at the time. "This news didn't alter any of them."
My thoughts are with the Burke family at this tragic time.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
ON HIATUS: Taking a blogging break to focus on screenwriting...
This message might be redundant to those who have already noticed my absence from blogging. But I thought I'd make it official: I'm on hiatus from blogging for the foreseeable future.
The main reason: most of my energy, spare time and creativity is currently dedicated toward writing a feature screenplay adaptation of my recent short film, The Golden Pin. Turning a 15-minute short into a full-length feature is proving a tricky exercise, balancing the original story's varied characters and tensions, keeping in mind market expectations (I'm also a producer on the feature) and trying to remain true to our artistic vision. Needless to say, when I have a free evening, I feel guilty if I'm not working on the script. Hence, why blogging has fallen by the wayside.
I do love blogging. I love the immediacy of typing thoughts and feelings and publishing them to the world. I'm even enjoying writing this post right now, it's easy to remember the appeal. So I know I'm not through with blogging for good. But for now, with so much on my plate, it doesn't seem likely I'll have much time for it in the near future.
There are many issues on the queer liberation front that deserve commentary. Just this week, we saw a major victory when the U.S. finally ended its despicable ban on allowing HIV positive people into the country. Gay rights issues continue to simmer around the world. There is much to comment upon. Sadly, I'm going to have to relinquish the stage to other fine bloggers and commentators like Montreal Simon, Slapped Upside the Head, Andrew Sullivan and my friend Scott Dagostino.
With my full time job, plus my writing on the side, I just don't seem to have the same fire in the belly about some issues like I used to. Hearing that Stephen Harper hired another dinosaur to work in his office just doesn't elicit the same reaction in me as it did a year ago. Perhaps I'm becoming jaded, or maybe I just don't know what to think of our chameleon Prime Minister any more. On the one hand, he continues to show Canada's queer community official disdain (demoting ministers who treat us equally, hiring anti-gay speechwriters), but on the other hand, he seems to privately show less hatred (gay John Baird accompanies his wife Laureen often to Ottawa functions with Harper's approval.)
Michael Ignatieff's horrific stumbles this summer and fall have also taken their toll on my political self-esteem. Let me see - I endorsed Stephane Dion in 2006 and look how that turned out. And then I endorsed Michael Ignatieff in 2008, and thus far, while things got much better at first, Iggy has proven less than stellar. Is he still learning? Of course he is. Hiring Peter Donolo might actually make a major difference, I'm truly hoping so. The last thing our country needs is a Harper majority and it may just be that Donolo is the guy to help make Iggy the leader he needs to be to stop it from happening, and hell even get him into 24 Sussex.
I still have much hope for Ignatieff. New leaders always go through hell like this. This is Iggy's baptism by fire and I hope it's as painful for him as it needs to be. How soon we forget how unelectable Jean Chretien seemed between 1990 and 1993. I also described Stephen Harper as unelectable from 2004 to 2006. Things change.
The main reason: most of my energy, spare time and creativity is currently dedicated toward writing a feature screenplay adaptation of my recent short film, The Golden Pin. Turning a 15-minute short into a full-length feature is proving a tricky exercise, balancing the original story's varied characters and tensions, keeping in mind market expectations (I'm also a producer on the feature) and trying to remain true to our artistic vision. Needless to say, when I have a free evening, I feel guilty if I'm not working on the script. Hence, why blogging has fallen by the wayside.
I do love blogging. I love the immediacy of typing thoughts and feelings and publishing them to the world. I'm even enjoying writing this post right now, it's easy to remember the appeal. So I know I'm not through with blogging for good. But for now, with so much on my plate, it doesn't seem likely I'll have much time for it in the near future.
There are many issues on the queer liberation front that deserve commentary. Just this week, we saw a major victory when the U.S. finally ended its despicable ban on allowing HIV positive people into the country. Gay rights issues continue to simmer around the world. There is much to comment upon. Sadly, I'm going to have to relinquish the stage to other fine bloggers and commentators like Montreal Simon, Slapped Upside the Head, Andrew Sullivan and my friend Scott Dagostino.
With my full time job, plus my writing on the side, I just don't seem to have the same fire in the belly about some issues like I used to. Hearing that Stephen Harper hired another dinosaur to work in his office just doesn't elicit the same reaction in me as it did a year ago. Perhaps I'm becoming jaded, or maybe I just don't know what to think of our chameleon Prime Minister any more. On the one hand, he continues to show Canada's queer community official disdain (demoting ministers who treat us equally, hiring anti-gay speechwriters), but on the other hand, he seems to privately show less hatred (gay John Baird accompanies his wife Laureen often to Ottawa functions with Harper's approval.)
Michael Ignatieff's horrific stumbles this summer and fall have also taken their toll on my political self-esteem. Let me see - I endorsed Stephane Dion in 2006 and look how that turned out. And then I endorsed Michael Ignatieff in 2008, and thus far, while things got much better at first, Iggy has proven less than stellar. Is he still learning? Of course he is. Hiring Peter Donolo might actually make a major difference, I'm truly hoping so. The last thing our country needs is a Harper majority and it may just be that Donolo is the guy to help make Iggy the leader he needs to be to stop it from happening, and hell even get him into 24 Sussex.
I still have much hope for Ignatieff. New leaders always go through hell like this. This is Iggy's baptism by fire and I hope it's as painful for him as it needs to be. How soon we forget how unelectable Jean Chretien seemed between 1990 and 1993. I also described Stephen Harper as unelectable from 2004 to 2006. Things change.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
My film heads to San Diego!
My apologies. I've been so busy that blogging has fallen by the way side the last two weeks.
There have been a few issues tempting me to write, but I've had too much going on lately with work, script-writing and Thanksgiving to find the time or the energy. I hope to be back on my blogging feet soon, but that might have to wait for a little while longer.
My short film, The Golden Pin, is heading to San Diego, CA for an official screening in the San Diego Asian Film Festival this Sat Oct 17th. The whole team is going to support it, including myself, and I can't wait.
Perhaps I'll find the time to do a little blogging from down south...
There have been a few issues tempting me to write, but I've had too much going on lately with work, script-writing and Thanksgiving to find the time or the energy. I hope to be back on my blogging feet soon, but that might have to wait for a little while longer.
My short film, The Golden Pin, is heading to San Diego, CA for an official screening in the San Diego Asian Film Festival this Sat Oct 17th. The whole team is going to support it, including myself, and I can't wait.
Perhaps I'll find the time to do a little blogging from down south...
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