Update: Devout Muslim bear to defend Spain's title at IBR

Well, this certainly has gotten a bit more interesting.

With my recent post about Morocco-born Adil Doukali getting massive online hits this week, a bit more information has become available about the context in which he stated that he hoped to be "on the good path" to meeting a woman and raising kids in the future after being elected to defend Spain's crown at the upcoming International Bear Rendezvouz.

Over at GayMenGC there is a substantial description of the interview that ran on Spain's Antena3 this Friday - which I am quoting almost in its entirety - that provides additional context to Doukali's comments:

The programme’s presentation team were openly supportive of him as the contest winner, and respectful of the bear and wider gay community: but they didn’t pull any punches in questioning him about how he felt about the public repression and ill-treatment of gay men in many countries which describe themselves as “Islamic”.

He’s 32 and Moroccan, but has been living in Spain for some time, working as a painter and decorator. There’s no doubt he publicly identifies himself as a gay man, but also says there’s a bisexual side to him, and he doesn’t rule out the possibility of marrying a woman and raising a family.

What he does rule out is the possibility of marrying a man, for religious reasons. This sits somewhat strangely alongside his new role, since he’s been elected to act as an “ambassador” for the bear community, and it’s probably a comment which the contest organisers may find uncomfortable, and many in the gay community will find unacceptable; though it’s clearly a personal view, and not one which he said others should necessarily agree with.

In some ways, it was a very uncomfortable interview, seeing someone - who is in so many ways a modern Western gay man - still wrestling with the contradictions of the religious teaching he has grown up with (something which affects those gay men here who are also devout Catholics). But it was an interesting snapshot too, which probably captures the confused loyalties of other gay men brought up under Islam.

He accepts that Islam talks about homosexuality as being a sin, but says that God should be his judge not men: he openly condemns the treatment of gay men in those muslim countries where we suffer persecution, and is calling for more HIV/AIDS education in Morocco and elsewhere.

He also acknowledges that there’s a great deal of hypocrisy in Morocco and elsewhere, and that men frequently have clandestine gay relationships, particularly before and often after getting married. But he also admitted during the interview that though he didn’t believe he would suffer any consequences should he go home to visit his family in Morocco (he says in particular that his family are very “modern”), living in Spain has given him a very different life.

As a man born in South America, I know how tough it is to turn away from religious dogma when it goes against every grain of your body and yet, as I cringe about Doukali's choice of words in describing a "good path" to marriage and children, there is part of me that is impressed by a man who says he is a devout Muslim and is willing to be chosen as Spain's representative to IBR and to openly condemn "the treatment of gay men in those muslim countries where we suffer persecution."

A curious aside: One of the men Doukali beat for the title was Javier Gónzalez (left) who came in third place. Gónzalez is better known in the States as gay porn sensation Edu Boxer who has performed for a couple of Lucas Entertainment features along with his boyfriend Manu Maltes.

Lucas Entertainment is, of course, run by pouty Zoolander-type Michael Lucas who has an opinion column in the New York Blade that often riles against all things Muslim (which my friend Faisal Alam has taken to task in the past).

I'm sure not all will agree with me but we certainly hope to see Doukali at IBR despite the recent controversies.

UPDATE: Adil Doukali in his own words (Dec. 15, 2007)

Updates: Chad Ferreira, circumcision, Alvaro Orozco, Colombian 'asylum tragedy'

Chad Ferreira: The Bay Area Reporter continues it's coverage of the altercation in San Francisco's Castro district that led to the death of Chad Ferreira (pictured) in January of 2006.

Last week reporter Ed Walsh described opening statements made at a trial that will determine whether 26 year old Kyle Adams committed manslaughter by beating Ferreira so hard that he caused Ferreira to fall and fracture his skull when his head hit a sidewalk curb or if he is, as he claims, innocent and just acting in self defense.

Today, the Reporter describes Adams turn on the stand and his side of the story, some of which differs with witness statements and includes details were not originally provided to the police department when he was first charged.

The paper says that closing arguments after the print edition of the Reporter went to press and that the case went to the jury at 3:10pm yesterday.

Circumcision as HIV prevention: The New York City department of Health and Mental Hygiene held it's community forum on the issue of male circumcision as a possible HIV prevention tool. I was not able to attend but both Gay City News and the New York Blade covered the arguments and the reaction.

Alvaro Orozco: In February we told you about a decision by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board not to grant asylum to a young Nicaraguan gay man, Alvaro Orozco, partly because they argued that if Orozco wasn't sexually active when he left Nicaragua at the age of thirteen, he could not assert that he knew he was gay then. The Orozco case and his ongoing efforts to appeal that decision receives a coverline in the current issue of The Advocate. For more on the case and on how you can help, please visit his website.

In United States political asylum news, Arthur Leonard calls an April 25th ruling that turned down an asylum application by a Miami-based Colombian gay man "Another asylum tragedy." Leonard says that the court not only denied asylum but also outed him in the process and now is sending the man back to Colombia despite having arguably shown credible evidence of fear of persecution if sent back.

Updates: Constable Dupree, Rev. Diaz' money, Larry Kramer challenged

Dupree's troubles: Things for gay Dallas constable Mike Dupree get thornier - according to the Dallas Voice - as the Texas State Attorney General's Office mulls prosecution in a series of charges that have arisen since the Dallas Observer reported last year that the fifty year old man had apparently had his deputies arrest a twenty year old Honduran ex-lover and arranged to have him deported. Santo Gay highlights a more recent Dallas Observer story in which they detect a pattern in the type of guys Dupree goes for and how he gets his way with them.

Rev. Diaz' purse strings: The homophobic Reverend (and State Senator) Ruben Diaz, Sr. hasn't let an FBI probe disturb the way he channels state funding towards projects in which he is directly associated. On April 4, the New York Daily News reported that the recently approved state budget includes two grants worth close to $300K for the Christian Community Benevolent Association.

Reactions to Kramer: Following the ACT UP Wall Street demonstration a week ago Thursday, Gay City News has a cover page story on the rally this week. In the same issue, CHAMP Executive Director Julie Davids has an essay on the role of women in ACT UP throughout the years and Larry Kramer's failiure to aknowledge them in his recent rable-rousing speech.

Over at the New York Blade Paul Varnell argues, in an OpEd piece, that Kramer's speeches are "characterized by substantial exaggerations of fact, hyperbolic rhetoric and a certain amount of vulgarity" and that his most recent statements are incoherent.

PS - By the way, speaking about local gay media, Gay City News also inaugurated it's first webcast this week featuring editor in chief Paul Schindler.

My New York: Gay life in Jackson Heights

It might not be a jail sentence, but gay life in Jackson Heights / Woodside - my neighborhood - is suddenly "hot" in media (as it seems to be every few months when editors look for what's happening outside the Manhattan and Brooklyn gay scene).

In this week's New York Bade, Kerry Eleved writes about "Diversity in Jackson Heights."

She delves into the hipness of it all by profiling some upwardly mobile gay couples who have made the borough their home (among them acquaintances Glenn Magpantay and Alfonso Quiroz - and their respective partners).

Some point out that the gayness in the borough is nothing new but Eleved sticks to the "Who knew?" angle and confines the "diversity" tag mostly to gayness without exploring the extensive history of truly diverse gay life in the neighborhood.

The Village Voice does a bit better by featuring a couple of local Latina lesbian bars, Chueca and Bum Bum, both in Woodside, which truly represent the spirit of the neighborhood.

Bum Bum is the grandaddy of Latina lesbian bars in Queens - It might be grungy as hell but it certainly has a place in the neighborhood's history. And Chueca? Not just because Fernanda, the owner, is also an acquaintance (and Colombian to boot) does not mean that, on the right night, it's just the best bar ever! Then again, I might be the only boy that can get in on some nights.

Finally, not necessarily on the gay tip, but perhaps what truly matters, the New York Daily News' Albor Ruiz has an interesting take on local politics.

Queer eye for the migrant worker

From today's New York Blade:

For the past 20 years, gay artist John Sonsini has been painting portrait after portrait of Latino men. More recently, Sonsini has become fascinated with the mostly Mexican and Central American immigrants hoping to be hired for a day’s work as they wait on street corners near his Los Angeles studio.

Sure, Blade art reviewer (and "Date Bait" co-founder) Rafael Risenberg says that these paintings are "some of the most sensuous, and sensitive, portrayals of the common man I have ever seen."

Furthermore he argues that the work is actually a collaboration between painter and subject: "In the back of the canvas, artist and subjects alike sign their names, denoting the collaborative nature of the work," adding "As humble as these men appear, there is a dignity to their countenances."

As if that wasn't enough, the Chaim & Reade gallery - where the exhibit is being held - posts a statement online in which we are assured that "the men here are not models, nor are they objectified."

Hm, I guess we should take their word for it?

I won't speak to the artistic merit of the work because I haven't seen the exhibit but there is something that rubs me the wrong way when it takes a gallery in the heart of upscale gay Manhattan to tell me that the images of migrant workers are not objectified.

Come to think of it, even after the exhibit is gone, local art lovers are in for a treat because they can actually see some of these "humble" and "dignified" "common" people in their midst! They just have to take the #7 train to the Woodside station at 6am in the morning and walk down Roosevelt Avenue observing the young men with back-packs on their shoulders scrambling for work. Not sure how "collaborative" the experience will be but they can certainly project their desires on these men. Then again, I'm sure the gallery will have some heating which beats the 20 degree temperatures prognosticated for next week. Better yet, if you confine yourself to the gallery, you won't have to worry your pretty little heads about these men's futures. Enjoy!

New York Marriage Ambassadors

Look! It's my friend Carolina Cordero Dyer, her partner Claudia Glaser, and their twins Diego Alexander and Carmen Lucia on the front page of this week's New York Blade! They are featured in a project led by the Empire State Pride Agenda, Lambda Legal, GLAAD and the ACLU to train "Marriage Embassadors" who can advocate for the right of same-sex couples to marry in New York State. The story also features the great straight-ally and Latino-PFLAG leader Nila Marrone. As part of the project myself I will be helping them to organize a people of color specific training here in New York on March 17th and 18th. For more information you can go to the Empire State Pride Agenda's website.

The Blade also features another project in which I am involved through the National Latino Coalition for Justice on which I posted earlier. That article can be found here.

A brand new New York Blade

Given that in the past I've been a bit harsh to the New York Blade on a couple of occations, I have to give props to new Chief Operating Officer Matthew Bank (also still the publisher of weekly bar-guide HX) who actually sent me an e-mail in response to my latest dismissive post and said that some changes were coming and that he was interested, as the new CEO, in improving the quality and reach of their news coverage.

I was out of the country for the launch of the "new" blade so forgive me if this is old news, but the print version has been totally re-designed (alas, the web version still does not reflect the design changes and the only image I found was of the cover of the last issue before the design was launched so I can't actually show you how it looks).

Gone are the gaudy and sometimes distasteful lead cover graphics illustrating a single story and instead you have a more serious hard news design with a lead story on top and two smaller blocks below the fold. This might be boring to people who like gaudy and over the top but it's a huge improvement for news junkies like me. Better still, there seem to be additional reporters listed in bylines and additional news coverage. There seems also to be a new street release date (Mondays instead of late Thursdays), and, at least in the January 23rd issue as well as online, no "Bitch Session" column. Just that in itself is reason to make me a believer.

As for changes at Windows Media? Well, you can read more here.

NYC Gay Media News

From today's New York Blade:

It’s a new era for the New York Blade.

The company that publishes the city’s gay newspaper has announced it is joining with the publisher of HX Magazine, the popular nightlife guide, to create a new venture that will produce both publications. The new company, to be called HX Media LLC, will also produce the Gay Life Expo in cities across the country.

Now, if they could improve on their reporting, things would be just peachy keen!

Blabbeando in the news

Is it me or is Gay City News sporting a brand new logo? Spiffy, if you ask me.

That's not all, today's issue - already posted on-line - has an article by Andy Humm on the Reverend Ruben Diaz, Sr. (Ruben Diaz Agnostic on Mayor's Race) in which Diaz confirms that he will not be making an endorsement in the race, as he had told El Diario La Prensa a few days back as I reported earlier (the article also raises interesting issues about the Bloomberg campaign's refusal to answer questions on their own homophobic endorsers while trying to play up the tepid Diaz connection to Ferrer - so go read it now).

This week I have been a little stunned by how many people have come up to me and told me they've read my blog. Sometimes you don't realize how public a space this can actually be. It's fun to use PubSub to figure out if others are linking to your blog. Otherwise how was I to know that The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School took a liking to my post on Chile's LGBT pride?

This article, though, is the first time that Blabbeando has been quoted in the press although, alas, not by name. Pretty cool, no?

Now, remember that front-page New York Blade article which was purportedly about "New York's blogging elite" but actually turned out to bee one big free ad for the launch of Queerty? Well, both Queerty and Jossip have been down for a few hours. It's not that we are wishing them bad luck but what's up?

UPDATE: Glad to report that Queerty is back Though Jossip seems to still be on the blink. A legend on the Jossips site says:

As you've noticed, Jossip is offline due to some web hosting issues. We're as unhappy as you are, but leave the bitching to our hosting provider to us. Trust — they're getting enough from our mouth as it is. We hope to be back on shortly, and by "shortly" we mean yesterday. You'll be the first we tell, we promise. Thanks so much for your patience! Should you need to reach us for any reason, the email as always is tattle@jossip.com.

The New York Blade’s navel-gazing

So our fridge blew a fuse (or something) two days ago and, since I like my morning coffee with some milk, I had to go out and buy a cup of ‘regular’ from the neighbor deli instead of brewing some at home – and get back home before the refrigerator repairman came (yes, if others can navel-gaze, so can I). Saw the Blade’s box at 35^th Avenue and 75^th Street corner and picked up the spanking new issue with the “Blogstar Confidential” cover (a purported look at the city’s gay power bloggers – whoever they are).

Well, damn if I didn’t nearly spit out that first sip’o’java and not just because it was scolding hot: Just below the lead story graphic there was a photo of Fernando Ferrer and a title that read “Primary Results: Did gay votes matter?”

Lead sentence? “When the Democratic Primary smoke cleared, one thing was certain: Endorsements from gay political organizations seem to be the kiss of death when it comes to mayor.”

Huh? Was the Blade implying that Ferrer had no gay political club endorsements? That gay clubs didn’t pull enough muster to keep Ferrer out of the nomination’s reach? That gays didn’t help Ferrer capture the nomination? That Ferrer wasn’t a viable candidate for the LGBT community?

Well, actually: In the article, various political operatives are interviewed at some length about Anthony Weiner, Gifford Miller and C. Virginia Fields and the endorsements they got from LGBT political clubs - which the Blade alleges did not count for much (though they do quote someone as saying that without an exit poll it’s pretty hard to ascertain how gays voted anyway, club endorsement or no endorsement).

This being the lead article on the primary election you would think that they would also talk about the Ferrer campaign and why they won. Strangely enough, the article basically says nothing other than the fact he won (though Baruch College professor Douglas Muzzio is quoted as saying “all of the Democratic candidates for mayor had a legitimate claim to the gay vote”).

Finally, the article also fails to say that Ferrer was actually endorsed by the Out People of Color Political Action Club (OutPOCPAC), which sorta' coulda' gone against the grain of the article’s main argument which could have proven a bit inconvenient, wouldn’t you say?

This has not been Ferrer’s best campaign and the hope is that he can find the fire and clarity of vision in what is left until the general elections. But he does have some momentum on his side, a gay political club endorsement and gay voters who are willing to give him a chance come election day.

If anything, the article betrayed a lack of knowledge of Ferrer’s past history of support for the LGBT community, his long-standing support for same-sex marriage; the fact that while he was Bronx Borough President he hosted the first LGBT community services center at a Bronx city hall office; and that he was among the persons who initiated, supported and marched down the Grand Concourse for the Bronx’ first gay pride parade.

Or simply it betrays the Blade's on-going inability to cover anything or anyone that comes from any borough outside of Manhattan.