Like everything Australian, we’re having a little trouble understanding this fuss and bother over the GLORIAs.
As far as we can make out: it’s a tongue-in-cheek awards show (full name: “Gay and Lesbian,Outrageous,Ridiculous & Ignorant comment Award”) that recognizes homophobia. It’s a sarcastic, insulting prize, sort of like a Pink Brick, or a Razzie, or a Grammy.
But this year, they’re giving one to a gay guy, and he doesn’t seem to be very happy about it. The unwilling recipient: Gary Burns, an activist who had some kind of a tiff over a closeted politician. The details are complicated and frankly we can’t be bothered to untangle them, but Burns certainly has some choice words for the GLORIAs:
These awards are run by Sydney’s ‘dance bunny’s who are this big embarrassment for people like me and others in the community who just want to live their lives the best way they know how,openly and honestly.
It seems to me I am not allowed to have an opinion unless GAY INC approves it.
These awards are just “GAY INC’s UNREPRESENTATIVE SPOKESPERSONS HAVING A WANK IN A RAINCOAT.
Meow! But wait. Are we being played here? Because if Burns wanted to publicize and promote this awards show and raise its profile, this is the best way that he could possibly do it. We still don’t know exactly what’s going on but clearly there are some fireworks and bitchiness, and we’re always up for a little of that.
He adds,
Surely these silly Gloria Awards are just highlighting homophobia and not dismantling it.
Now that is actually an interesting point. Setting aside the bickering about whether Burns deserves an award, is it a good idea to recognize homophobia in general?
Surely it’s important to shine a spotlight on unacceptable behavior, but is that enough? Do the GLORIAs do anything to actually discourage anti-gay rhetoric?
Homophobia is clearly alive and well in Australia — for a good time, just check out some of the things that other nominees have had to say:
- “there’s a difference between colourful and disgusting” — a newscaster describing Mardi Gras
- “I believe the world of AFL footy is not ready for it. To come out is unnecessary for a lot of reasons.” — an athlete encouraging teammates to lie about themselves
- “Suck on that faggots.” — another athlete reveling in a victory
- “children in homosexual relationships are subject to emotional abuse. Legitimising gay marriage is like legalising child abuse.” — a politician
- “Being a homosexual particularly for a male is a very very dangerous thing. In Denmark and Norway the life expectancy of a male homosexual is 20 -25 years less than heterosexual male.” — another politician
Aaaaaand so forth. It goes on and on and on. We’d say that these awful people should be put in prison, but they’re already in Australia so close enough.
Gary Burns
GAY INC’s “dance bunny’s” from Australia will now start posting hateful comments about me under false names.
Like DINGO BABY !
GAY INC doesn’t like me because they can’t control me.
timncguy
it’s “dance bunnies”, not bunny’s. You’re going for the plural, not the possessive form.
Gary Burns
@timncguy:
My Grammar is terrible.
Just ask Sydney’s Gay Inc.
Mike
A wank in a raincoat! LOL! Perfect. That could pretty much describe any of these Sydney ‘Gay Inc’ events run by ACON, Mardi Gras, Aurora etc. Keep going Gary, you are a refreshing antidote to the self-congratulatory wankers.
David Gervais
I found this bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Burns_(activist)
And, Gary, since you’re reading here, perhaps you could tell us what you were nominated for.
Also, what was the bit about a closeted politician?
jason
Gary Burns was spot-on about Australia’s Gay Inc. Australia’s Gay Inc is run by dance bunnies who think that gay rights is about dancing at a party on a Saturday night while sniffing amyl. To these bunnies, it’s utopia. Nothing else matters. They don’t want to make a fuss about gay rights in case they anger people.
On the other hand, Gary Burns challenges homophobia head on. He reacts to both active and passive homophobia. Dance bunnies don’t care about anything except looking good at that party.
Gary Burns
My Wiki page was set up by Sydney’s dance bunnies who are the elitist known as GAY INC.
I had nothing to do with the setting up of this Wikipedia page.
Gay Incs trolls add and detract from the Wiki page.
David Go to http://www.TheGlorias.com.au to see the category’s.
Brandon
Australia is so fucking weird. They seem to hate anyone different or who rocks the boat.
David Gervais
Thanks for the link, Gary. It is much more useful than the ones I found.
For the readers; the relevant part is:
5. Who Gary Burns
For
Saying that outed former Transport Minister Mr Campbell brought scandal on himself by living a secret life after he was filmed by Chanel 7 leaving a gay sauna.
Mr Burns said Channel 7 was far from homophobic – as evidenced by his frequent appearances on the network.
“If they were homophobic they wouldn’t have me on there – I’m the biggest poof in the village,” he said.
More News.com.au | 23/07/10 | Read More
David Gervais
Gary, if there is anything factually wrong, or something significant missing, there is an updating and corrections process in place. There is also a process to prevent ‘vandalism’ on a page.
I don’t know how these work, but they are there.
Gary Burns
@David Gervais: @David Gervais:
Thanks David.
I just responded to a question from a main stream journalist about a prominent well known politician should realize he would of been recognized going to a gay sauna.
I felt terribly so for the M.P but living a covert existence as this case can prove can hurt deeply.
It would be the same thing as Bette Davis walking down the Hollywood Boulevard and expecting no one to recognize her.
Mark from Queensland
“We’d say that these awful people should be put in prison, but they’re already in Australia so close enough.”
Ah, have you ever visited Australia? Bloody ignorant yanks!
Najib
Get a sense of humour, Mark. Here in London, I am always meeting Aussies who say what a sense of humour they have and how irreverent they are compared to us Brits. But when it comes to the crunch they can never laugh at themselves.
True Blue
What kind of “Brit” has a name like Najib? And Gary Burns YOU are the wanker, where’s YOUR raincoat mate?
Gary Burns
@True Blue:
Can I borrow your stained raincoat true blue ?
matt baume
@True Blue: Well, there’s Najib Shirazi, the cricketer from Peterborough, for one. British people come from all over the world so they are allowed to have whatever name they want.
Gary Burns
@matt baume:
True Blue’s probably a bigot wanking in a raincoat.
At least I have birth name.
True Blue
@True Blue:
There are many Brits with names like Najib. And if you are a typical Gary Burns detractor, then he has my wholesale support.
@True Blue
There are many Brits with names like Najib. And if you are a typical Gary Burns detractor, then he has my wholesale support.
Najib
There are many Brits with names like Najib. And if you are a typical Gary Burns detractor then he has my wholesale support.
Najib
Apologies for the multiple postings, my comments were not appearing, please feel free to delete multiples.
Troy
Najib, you don’t have to use the @ symbol and then their name to reply here like Twitter, all you do is hit the reply link on the one you want to reply to.
True Blue you do sound like are a “wanker”.
Huh?
Why is there a picture of a man carrying banana’s?
Gary Burns
@Huh?:
I thought the same thing.
They should have a photo of a sexy man in a dirty raincoat.
matt baume
@Huh?: That was the most Australian photo I could find in Queerty’s image library.
Sad truth
If only Aussie guys were really like that. Unfortunately most of them are flaming mincers.
Huh?
Oh I see now, he is wearing AussieBum underpant’s LOL
shayne chester
Wow, what a patronising, condescending article. I didn’t know people were still so ignorant about the Antipodes.
In a list of all countries by Human Development Index in a United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report, based on life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living, Australia came second, after Norway (compared to say, the US at number 17.) Our government also rewrote 85 laws to give same sex couples equity with their hetero counterparts, we have the best welfare system in the world and Universal Health Care. The $AU is running at $US1.10 and well, while I don’t really give a shit about such xenophobic attitudes, I do have to say the arrogance is really very amusing.
Australia is backwards
Australia is a backward country where homophobic and racist attitudes are almost compulsory – I’m not surprised that even gay people attack the gay activists there. Textbook case of internalised homophobia and bullying. Yes Shayne Chester, Australia does well economically but that’s because it’s a huge mine with a small country attached. Once the mines run dry Australia will fall to the bottom where it belongs.
Londoner
It’s my impression that most progressive or controversial individuals leave Australia for Britain, like Germaine Greer, Peter Tatchell, Barry Humphries and Leigh Bowery. Hell, even Kylie Minogue bought a one-way ticket to London. Gary Burns, maybe you should come here where you’d be more appreciated?
Ruhlmann
@shayne chester: Canada and Norway have been ranked the highest eight times each, followed by Japan which has been ranked highest three times. Iceland has been ranked highest twice. Happy to say we consistently rank in the top five with Norway, Iceland, Japan and Australia although we dropped to #eight last year. What’s really important is the Vancouver Canucks will bring the STANLEY CUP back to Canada this year.
http://gregpike.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/stanley-cup.jpg
shayne chester
@Australia is backwards:
“homophobic and racist “? LOLZ,
Well, we’ve got all the gay rights – and human rights – you rednecks can only dream of.
And the most successful multicultural population in the world.
Of course, we never hung blacks from trees or burned them on the cross, and we weren’t responsible for a million deaths around the world simply because they were Muslims, but its true our aborigines were denied full rights at one time.
However, a treaty to return their sacred lands to them was signed and an apology read in federal parliament for those human rights abuses in our distant history.
So, if you ever leave your trailer or dirt farm to go on vacation, do me a favour, don’t come here, you’d fucking hate it. 🙂
Sketches
Swapping homophobia for Australia-hating is just swapping one ignorance for another. Great journalism there, guys.
shayne chester
The mechanics of homophobia is interesting, ; it works by objectifying the human being so that he/she becomes less than human. Its what the Nazis did to the Jews. Its how we eat pig or calf with conscience by calling it pork or veal etc. Its very sad though, when we do it to ourselves.
Mike
@shayne chester: For all the rights you do have in Australia, you all still can’t marry, and Julia Gillard will make sure that doesn’t happen on her watch. How do you feel about that?
Mike
@shayne chester: And the discrimination of Aborigines continued until the 1960s and the apology you mentioned didn’t occur until 1999. So let’s not whitewash it as something so distant.
shayne chester
Marriage is a patriarchal, misogynistic relic of the homophobe churches. Even my straight friends don’t want to get married. I know some gays think if we act like straighty potaties and get marriage rights, we’ll be more accepted. But most of my gay friends think that it is a yuppie crock. We don’t need our relationships validated by a piece of paper. We don’t care if hetero’s ‘accept’ us (but most str8s seem to think we’re pretty fab anyway.)
In this country, we have the rights of inheritance, tax breaks, superannuation, full benefits for partners of those in the military, adoption, visitation in hospitals and so on and on…
Yes, before you type it, let me say it for you, ‘those that want to marry should have the right.’ I just think before they start jumping up and down about it, they should consider that maybe ‘acceptance by assimilation’ is setting gay rights back by years. And in most cuntries, you have a lot more important rights to be plotzing about.
shayne chester
“whitewash”>? LOLZ. They call it OZ, but that doesn’t mean it’s a mythic Utopian paradise with a wizard and white witches. We have a lot in our past to be ashamed of, and while much amends-making has been achieved, there’s still a long way to go. But compared to say, another former Brit colony where blacks were sold as animals and blacks contribute about half of all prison inmates (when they are only 13 percent of the population) – I’d say clean up the shit in your own backyard before you start throwing it at others.
Mike
@shayne chester: Gays can’t adopt children in Victoria, Queensland, NT or South Australia. They can become foster parents but they can’t adopt their own children and raise them as their own. So that’s kind of misleading too, don’t you think?
Mike
@shayne chester: It’s one thing to think your country is better than America. It probably is, I don’t know. We have a LOT of faults. However, I would say that the state of rights in your own country is not that rosy and you all still have a ways to go.
shayne chester
Single LGBT people may adopt in all states/territories (except in South Australia which bans all single people from adoption.) Adoption for same-sex couples is currently available in Australian Capital Territory (since 2004), New South Wales (since 2010) and Western Australia (since 2002). In Tasmania, only stepparent adoption is allowed (since 2004).
shayne chester
Close Gitmo and come back to chat about basic human rights, Mike.
Mike
@shayne chester: You’re the one who wants to have a pissing contest about how great your country is compared to mine. I only came into this conversation because you were so condescending about Americans being rednecks living in damn trailers. You all aren’t free of “bogans” yourselves.
Luke
Gary Burns was right not to jump on Gay Inc’s bandwagon screaming “homophobia” when David Campbell was outed. Campbell was a married man with kids was visiting gay saunas, cheating on his wife and pretending to be a straight man to the electorate. Channel 7 broke the story, filing him coming out of a gay sauna. I don’t see what’s homophobic about that – it’s a genuine news story IMO. If a straight, married government minister was visiting brothels and hiring hookers all the time and the media broke that story, would they be “heterophobic”? Gay Inc and the GLORIAs are just making themselves look like precious pansies by having a go at Gary over this.
Gary Burns
@Luke:
Luke your comment is spot on.
I never saw this story as being homophobic.
I saw this story as being a story in the public interest.
A Minister in the elected Government of the day was sucking cocks in a gay bath house.
The public have a right to know that their police minister was a covert homosexual leading a double life.
A deceptive life !
Tommy Shepherd
I don’t care if any politician, gay or straight is having sex with people they’re not married to. It’s a personal matter and the only people who count are the politician’s family or those they’re having sex with.
However, it does matter if said politician supports policies that make him/her hypocritical. So if you’re anti-prostutition and then use prostitutes then you deserve to be exposed as a hypocrite. Same if you’re anti-gay but go to gay saunas. But if this guy had said nothing about gay policy, then, I’d advocate just leaving him alone. A lot of people are closeted for many reasons – and while I think they’re cowards mainly, and don’t help our cause, I kind of pity them for living a half-life. They don’t need any more punishment, unless they’re openly hypocritical.
And like it or not – when a straight person does something sexual, it isn’t “marked” as straight by society and the media, but when a gay person does something sexual, it always gets marked as gay and reflection on what gay people are like. That’s wrong, and it needs to be challenged, but it also means that the tv station’s decision to report on that story will indirectly add to homophobic stereotyping, and they should have been aware of that effect.
I’m sure Gary meant well, and I don’t think it’s fair to put him in the same bracket as the other truly homophobic GLORIAs. It’s a complicated issue. But I’d suggest he gives a more dignified response to his detractors. All this issue has done has prompted in-fighting in the Australian gay community, and everyone involved comes off poorly, while the homophobes look on and think “yeah, bitchy queens, we were right all along.”
shayne chester
Mike, this article was ill-informed, offensive and xenophobic, and if someone calls it on that, you’ll just have to wear it.
Now, I think the problem Gary Burns faces, and this may not be so uncommon in other GLBQT communities either, is that he is seen as an ‘outsider’ by an elite of self-appointed ‘community leaders.’ Despite his numerous legal battles with high profile homophobes, the queer media of Sydney stonewalls reporting on him, while executives of other community groups, like the CEO of the AIDS Council, call him a ‘fringe dweller.’
I suspect their resentment also involves the fact that Burns shows that while they ride a fat gravy train, they actually contribute little to community, but certainly know how to indulge themselves. Its an indication of how threatened they feel by grassroots activism that they actually started an “I Hate Gary Burns” Facebook page. Pathetic.
They seem to forget there are 1000’s of colours in the rainbow, our diversity is our strength. If GAY Inc. had their way, there’d be only one colour on the GLBQT flag, and that would be beige.
Mike Smith
Gary Burns has often spoken on behalf of the LGBTQI community here, and ironically, his stance has sometimes been far from positive from human rights. He made some very negative remarks on Asylum seekers and Refugees, siding with right wing political parties who have denied LGBTQI equal rights in Australia.
A right wing, xenophobic and racist gay activist? That’s why he is denounced by the community. I’ve said it before, and say it again, Gary Burns does not speak for me, nor my community.
shayne chester
Gary Burns has never ‘spoken on behalf of the LGBTQI community,’ Mike. As you’d know, he has said on numerous occasions that he only speaks for himself. He doesn’t even call himself a ‘gay’ activist. His work has been exclusively to successfully challenge homophobia in the courts, and his other views are irrelevant to this discussion, except for your need to discredit him.
I think its ironic that you choose to deliberately mislead, when it is you that presumes to speak for community with comments like, “That’s why he is denounced by the community” Which narrow, elitist clique is that then, ‘Mike Smith’?
Ruhlmann
@shayne chester: “, but its true our aborigines were denied full rights at one time.” C’mon it was wholesale slaughter. Their bones were worth too much to European museums to burn. The only reason there are any of them left is because white men didn’t know the desert. As far as the distant past you were still grabbing their children into the 1970’s. An apology for genocide is the bare minimum begining of assisting these people out of rampant alcoholism and sexual abuse of children. The United Nations has said Australian Aboriginals have the second worst quality of life in the world, second only to some provinces of China and Bangaladesh.
I’m not looking for a fight here but there isn’t a New World society anywhere that can be proud of their treatment of their indigenous cultures. For far too long the extinction of native peoples was considered the small change of imperialism. Whatever differences we may have now we certainly all have that in common.
paul f
@Gary Burns: My Grammar is terrible. She is? What in the world did that dear old lady do that was so terrible? (Had to inject a bit of humor, the vitrol level was getting too much.)
Gary Burns
@Mike Smith:
I stand and speak up on what I believe.
This takes real courage from someone with conviction.
The truth is I have nothing but disdain and a lack of respect for Sydney’s self appointed community spokespersons.
These people are paid a salary with public money.
They make their living out of our community.
They are weak sniveling people with no real courage or backbone.
I don’t speak for this rabble or for homosexual people at all in oz.
I believe in things and I am going to damn well fight for them.
GAY INC can put me down as much as they want but it doesn’t stop me from fighting the good fight.
I would rather fight then eat !
Burnsfan
@Mike Smith:
Burns has never said anything about refugees, all he ever did was express concern about Muslim immigration and Sharia law, which are anti-gay. Peter Tatchell did the same thing. This does not make them right wing, it means they have concerns about Sharia like all gay men with a brain should.
Peter Hackney
No matter what you think of him, you’ve got to give it to Gary Burns on at least one score: he incites passion and debate like few others. The guy is a lightning rod for debate. I don’t care what Gay Inc’s government-funded gatekeepers think of you, Gary – you have my respect as a controversial, passionate and fearless activist.
Gary Burns
@Peter Hackney:
Thank you for those kind words Mr Hackney.
Gay Inc might start sending you hate mail now.
Gary Burns
@matt baume:
Hey Matt Baume,
You are cute.
If you ever come to OZ I will show you some Kangaroos.
How romantic 🙂
Stuart Baanstra
I love the term,”Gay Inc!” It’s so true. Mardi Gras, Acon, the gay press, they’ve all rolled over to the establishment. And I admire Gary Burns. Go Gary!
Mark Bates
@shayne chester: Did you just draw an equivalency between eating pork and the European genocide attempted against the Jews? Are you for real?