OUT AFRICA MAGAZINE Issue 27

AFRICA

M A G A Z I N E Issue 27, WINTER 2016

HOW LGBTI RIGHTS WERE WON

IGLTA MAKES HISTORY

THE INIMITABLE 9 772304 85 900 4

R25.00 incl. VAT

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ZOE ZANA

FEATURES 1. EDITORS COMMENT: 2. PRIDE SHELTER TRUST MARKET DAY 4. IGLTA MAKES HISTORY 5. RED RIBBON FOUNDATION CONCERT 6. THE SKY’S THE LIMIT - GET TO KNOW THE FABULOUS TIARA SKYE 8: IS PRIDE STILL RELEVANT” 10. TRAVEL: East meets West ..... visiting Istanbul 12. THE GAYBOURHOOD 18. ARMISTEAD MAUPIN AND HIS ICONIC TALES: 20. THE INIMITABLE ZOE ZANA: OUT AFRICA interviews the dynamic singer 22. LOVE...LIFE...HAPPINESS: Liberty Banks 28. HOW THE ANC WAS WON FOR LGBTI RIGHTS: Peter Tatchell looks back at the fight for LGBTI rights in the “new” South Africa 33: KZN LESBIAN & GAY NETWORK RECEIVES A DONATION 34. FITNESS - looking buff this winter 35: ROUGH BOYS 36: MEN’S HEALTH - Keeping It Up - Do you suffer from ED? 37: COVER YOUR BUTT - We The Brave’s new underwear campaign

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CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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FASHION

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14-17 LOOKING HOT THIS WINTER - A look at local designer Misho Andonov’s exciting range of men’s underwear

SCENE OUT 24. MR & MISS CAPE TOWN PRIDE PRE-PRIDE IN KHAYALITSHA PRIDE SPORTS DAY 25. CAPE TOWN PRIDE FESTIVAL DAY 26. MAD HATTERS PARTY - CREW BAR 27. PINK LOERIE MARDI GRAS

REVIEWS 38. OUT ON FILM: With Daniel Dercksen 39. OUT ON DVD: With Daniel Dercksen 40. ON STAGE: With Daniel Dercksen Cover: Zoe Zana - Bulletproof

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FROM THE EDITOR Hi All Its been a really busy three months since our last issue and we are featuring lots of pictures from the various Cape Town Pride Festival Week, The Pink Loerie Mardi Gras and the Mad Hatter’s Party at Crew, on the Scene Out pages.

Our winter issue is full of news and views from the IGLTA making history in South Africa to Tiara Skye’s first step in transitioning. Our main feature and cover personality is that little ball of fun with the biggest voice, SA Idol’s finalist - Zoe Zana who set Cape Town Pride Festival rocking.

This year “We The Brave” have launched their highly controversial and explicit advertising campaign and we feature info on the “Cover Your Bum” range of underwear.

The fashion pages also go below the belt with hot new underwear from local designer Misho Andonov.

OUT also made a visit to the first Pride Shelter Market Day where Cape Town Pride 2016 handed over a cheque for R20 000.

The gay neighbourhoods all over the globe seem to be dying ... and with Pride celebrations taking place all over the Northern hemisphere and Durban Pride on the 23rd July we take a look at some of the factors that might be causing this decline as well at a closer look as to whether there is still a need for Pride South Africa’s constitution is one of the World’s most liberal ... the well know British political and social activist Peter Tatchell described his role in coercing the ANC in to including rights for LGBTI citizens.

Regular columnist, Liberty Banks is in the magazine again .... so as you can see we are absolutely bursting with great articles and info so sit back and enjoy...

Tommy Patterson MANAGING EDITOR: Tommy Patterson 082 562 3358 ISSN 2304-859X Published by: Patterson Publications P.O. Box 397, Sea Point 8060 Tel: 021 555 1279, Fax: 086 535 5063 E-mail: Keith Coventry at outmagafrica@telkomsa.net outmagazine@mweb.co.za Advertising Sales: Tommy Patterson 082 562 3358

Contributors: Daniel Dercksen, Misho Andonov, Glenton Matthyse, Ian McMahon, Peter Tatchell, Piet Van Wyk Additional Photography: David Lee, Piers Braybrooke, Two Bears Studio, Joffrey Hyman Printed by ABC Press, Cape Town

Copyright: All articles, stories, interviews and other materials in OUT Africa Magazine are the copyright of the publication or are reproduced with permission from other copyright owners.

All rights are reserved. No materials may be copied, modified, published or otherwise distributed without the prior written permission of OUT Africa Magazine.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by those providing comments in this publication are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of OUT Africa Magazine or any employee thereof. OUT Africa Magazine and Patterson Publications cc., will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in any information contained in the publication.

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E H T G IN T R O P ER SUP T L E H S E D I R P

Ian McMahon (left) receiving Cape Town Pride’s R20 000 cheque from Tommy Patterson

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he first Pride Shelter Market was held on 2 April 2016 with a great turnout of people looking to snap up a bargain. There were various stalls selling bric-a-brac, books, clothing, cakes and plants. Dan the pancake man made delicious pancakes all day, Guy and Kimberly assisted as people played darts in order to pick a tombola prize of items from The Pause room, Simply Home, The Creamery and Hajo’s Guest Lodge. There was raffles to win a two night stay at The Franschhoek Boutique hotel – won by Evan Tsouroulis and a hamper of George Arthur socks which was won by Chelsea Monteiro. Fantastic entertainment from Kellan and the Ikamva Marimba Band rounded off a day where old and new friends met and came together for a good cause and helped raise more than R20 000 towards to the Shelter.

The Pride Shelter Trust is the only shelter in Africa that caters specifically to members of the LGBTI community.

Issues that will bring people to the house range from corrective rape to being kicked out of home for being gay.

At the shelter we provide a safe place for residents to find their feet again. We offer healthy meals, job search assistance and group and individual counselling. All our work is funded through donations which is why a day like the market day is so important to us. As a result of its success we will be holding another market on 12 November. Anyone who would like to make a donation or be involved is welcome to contact us at: kim@pridesheltertrust.co.za / 021 423 2871

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IGTLA MAKES HISTORY IN C A P E T OW N

The first LGBT tourism conference in Africa was the association’s largest outside of North America, and featured a heartfelt speech from South African Minister of Tourism

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he International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s 33rd Annual Global Convention, held 14-16 April in Cape Town, was not only the first LGBT tourism conference on the African continent, but also the association’s largest event outside of North America. More than 300 delegates from 26 countries participated over the three-day event at the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel.

In his keynote welcome South African Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom said, “We want you here to be a light to the millions of LGBT people in our country, so that wherever they are, they might know that they are not alone – that they are quite normal and that they should live their lives unafraid. For that is the kind of country we are trying to build.”

The emotionally charged speech set the tone for the days to come, which included Trevor Tutu accepting an award from IGLTA’s board chair on behalf of his father, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and LGBT activist Ndumie Funda addressing the abuse that lesbians face in Cape Town’s townships. The convention also featured reports on global tourism from the World Travel & Tourism Council, the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

On the second day of the conference, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce kicked off its new South African LGBTI Business Network, created in partnership with The Other Foundation in Johannesburg. The convention closed with a series of community-based educational events organized through the IGLTA Foundation, and a networking event hosted by the 2017 convention host city, St. Petersburg, Florida.

“This was our first conference on the African continent, so we knew it would be an amazing event, but it exceeded all of our expectations,” said John Tanzella, IGLTA President/ CEO. “LGBT travel is not just about business, it’s also about inspiration – and South Africa delivered.”

The event would not have been possible without the generous support of the convention sponsors.

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Red Ribbon Foundation

Photography: Piet van Wyk

Igniting Change Concert

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THE SKY’S THE LIMIT Meet Tiara Skye Harwood

Tiara Skye Harwood is one of Cape Town’s best known drag performers. I met with her to discover more about her and to chat about her decision to transition.

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Tiara comes from a small town, Sir Lowry’s Pass, near Somerset West. Growing up in a small community can be difficult at the best of times, but for someone who realised at a very young age that she was different to the other boys her age, life as a primary school pupil was tough. She explains that she tried her level best to fit in and do the things other boys were doing but she never could fit in. “I realised that I wasn’t interested in the same things other boys were. Even though my parents tried to push boy’s toys, especially my father, I wasn’t interested.”

Do you have any siblings?

Yes. My sister Cindy-Lee and I are very close and it was her interests that I found myself happiest.

Were you bullied at school because you were “different”?

My primary school years were the most difficult – a time where I was bullied and called names – the word “moffie” was particularly hurtful and is the reason why I don’t like to be labelled.

High school was better, I took up singing and it wasn’t long before fellow students began to look past the fact that I was different.

At 17, I enrolled at the University of the Western Cape and it was whilst I was there that I came out of the closet to friends and to my family. My sister had always been urging me to tell her so it was her that I told first. She was wonderful and supported me immediately. It was very hard for my father though. I guess he was disappointed that the dreams he had for his only son were not going to happen, going as far as saying, “I will not have a gay son!”. However, I had made a decision to come out and be myself and wasn’t going to negotiate myself at that or any other stage.

My mother was also very disappointed, I guess, but she is now one of my biggest supporters. It is sad that my dad is not there yet.

At that stage I was kicked out of the home … I don’t wish to paint him in a bad light though. I understand where he is coming from, but wish he was willing to open his mind to who I am.

When did you start doing drag?

Whilst I was at university – I entered the Miss Stargazer in 2009 and won and soon after began partnering in shows with Angel Lalamore, Kat Gilhardi, Anastasia Khan and Tristan Valentino.

The five us formed a group, The 5 Roses and performed at On Broadway and Rosies in Cape Town.

wonderful man, Oliver in 2014 and we got married last year October 2015. Oliver fell in love with me, having always seen me as a woman – he saw past the physical side and loves me for who I am as a whole.

When did you make the decision to transition?

I have always felt that there is something about me that is missing. So I wanted to start the surgeries because it is what I am and I need to be true to myself. Inside I am a woman and the physical transformation will make me complete.

How did you go about it?

Well I contacted the Triangle Project, a Government organisation to help those of us who want to transition and those who are unhappy within themselves. The Triangle Project is so important for anyone needing advise and help. I am seeing a psychologist who is guiding me through the process. Through Triangle Project you’ll be sent to Groote Schuur where there is a waiting list for free surgery. Otherwise it is expensive, it’s not a simple process.

What does the process involve?

Apart from the psychologist I have been on hormone treatments before one undertakes surgery. To date I have had breast surgery done and whether I will continue with other surgeries remains to be seen – I haven’t quite decided yet. I feel that I am gender non-conforming – but as you know I don’t like labels.

Now that you have had the breast surgery how do you feel?

Finally I feel normal – like they belong. I am what I am and at this stage in my life I am where I want to be. It may change in the future – life is a learning experience.

I have lived most of my trying to please other people, it is now time to please myself and be myself.

Were you inspired by any one else who has transitioned?

Oh absolutely. I think Caitlyn Jenner, being so high profile, it could have gone any other way and that’s the biggest fear I think, that you’re scared that people won’t accept what you feel is the true you, and for risking it all I think she was very brave.

Can you say you are happy?

Oh Yes…Very happy… I believe everyone deserves to be happy with themselves.

After the group parted company, I moved to Durban where I entered and won Miss KZN. I was there for six months performing at The Lounge.

I returned to Cape Town and Kat, Angel and I formed 3D. We were very successful performing at Pride, venues like Bubbles as well as a number of straight functions and venues. It was a great time!

Were your family aware that you were a drag performer?

Oh yes. 3D was very successful, I was making money and I think that even my dad was secretly proud of me.

Is 3D still going?

Yes and No, we might be back. I left the group last year. Mainly because of the heavy work load and I also felt different to the other girls. There was still something missing … I met the most Mag 7

THE BIGGEST MOST CAPE TOWN PRIDE INCLUSIVE PRIDE TO DATE One of Cape Town’s most glamorous and popular couples have recently celebrated their 12th wedding as well as 12 happy year’s performing successfully ...

BUT IS PRIDE STILL RELEVANT ....

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ape Town Pride this year was the best ever. The march through the CBD was the biggest and the line up of artists at the after-party kept revellers dancing till the end. A number of events took place during Pride Week, some were well attended like the Mr & Miss Cape Town Pride Extravaganza, others attracted a handful of people - the Pride Pool Party and the Pride Sports day were two. The organisers tried to satisfy all tastes from the book worms and movie buffs, to workshops and religious services and of course the party people - all events were designed to bring the community together regardless of colour, sexual identity, financial status or any other difference that makes up our diverse LGBTIQA society.

The Pink News (UK) in a recent article stated “13% of Londoners said they would reject their child if they knew they were gay, and 20% said they would reject their child if they were trans.”

The Pink Loerie Mardi Gras was, by all accounts, not so well attended, nor did it seem to be as well organised as in the past and one must ask whether Pride going the same way as the gay neighbourhood.

AND .... one needs only to look at the maps opposite to see that there is a need to fight on, if not for ourselves, then for our neighbours - we need to be vigilant to ensure that the steps forward are not eroded or undermined in any way. .

So whether you believe that you were born gay or whether you believe homosexuality is a choice, we live in a heterosexualdominated world with all its prejudices and hate and the fight for acceptance will be on going. Apathy is a sure way to have your rights eroded. As the Northern hemisphere starts their Pride season and Durban Pride in June stand up and support the gay community wherever you are.

It seems that young gay men and woman who are enjoying all the rights that the fight for equality has brought them, are apathetic about guarding those rights, which can be stripped at the stroke of a pen. One just had to look at India which criminalised homosexuality last year, or Uganda where they are trying to legislate harsher penalties for being gay. In Turkey, Pride 2015 was met with water cannons and in Russia the march was banned and protesters beaten up and jailed by the authorities. Even in the United States where last year gays finally got the right to marry, Republican Presidential hopefuls keep promising that if elected many of the LGBT rights passed by President Obama will be reversed. In a recent article in the Guardian newspaper it was stated that, “Recent stats show homophobic crime has gone up in London by a third and transphobic crime has risen by 25%.”

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Locally figures are not available but I would guess that they would be similar or worse being a more conservative nation.

These statistics are shocking and endorse the need for pride particularly as far as young gays men and women are concerned.

Whilst society in general seems to support and accept homosexuality, when it comes down to family members that support is somewhat less. So the need for solidarity remains.

See page 32 for pictures from the various Cape Town Pride 2016 events.

GAY LIVES MATTER!!!

THE STATUS OF GAY PEOPLE IN AFRICA Gay rights in Africa based on the presence or absence of discriminatory laws

DEATH PENALTY FOR HOMOSEXUALS Mauritania, Sudan, Northern Nigeria, Southern Somalia HOMOSEXUALITY IS ILLEGAL Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comores, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe HOMOSEXUALITY IS LEGAL Benin, Burkino, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo - Brazzaville, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa.

South Africa is the ONLY country on the continent where same-sex marriage is legal Mag 9

Pushed and pulled by the eastern and western worlds for centuries, absorbing influences and attitudes from both Europe and the Middle East, Istanbul, with 14 million people, has been the cosmopolitan centre of the region since it was founded as Constantinople in 330 AD. Oil wrestlers - Turkey’s national sport

Mention Istanbul and immediately one conjures up visions of exotic dancers, rich, spicy aromas, narrow cobbled streets and a skyline punctuated by countless minarets, and a city with a history filled with stories turban-clad sultans. Istanbul is a sensory mix of Asian and European cultures. Calls to prayer compete with lounge music in the hip roof top cafes.

This is literally where two continents meet, facing each other from opposite sides of the magnificent Bosphorus. As the final stop on the legendary Silk Route where merchants from across the world traded their wares, as result of the colourful history, where the Greeks, Persians, Romans, Venetians and Ottomans have all had turn to stamp their architectural and culinary legacies, Istanbul is guaranteed to delight any traveller, from the club and bar hopping trend-setter to the those that want to immerse themselves in the city’s historical past. A shoppers paradise and culinary delight with endless opportunities for sightseeing and so much to do, Istanbul is an absolute must visit for every traveller.

Whilst homosexuality isn’t illegal in Turkey it isn’t legal either so it is advisable to be cautious when asking directions to a gay bar being a predominantly Muslim country. Bisexuality is quite widespread particularly with the older generation. It has strong roots in the Ottoman culture. Having said that, the city has a lively gay scene. The general vibe in Beyoğlu where most of the gay bars and clubs reside is very gay friendly and inclusive. Beyond and around the city it is fair to say that there is a general ambivalence amongst most about gay and lesbian people, however, it is probably wise to remember that there are some conservative attitudes even about straight people making strong displays of affection. It is advisable to be aware that as with any big city rent boys abound, so be cautious when picking up one of the swarthily handsome, friendly local bar patrons as some are predatory rent boys. Istanbul has a very cosmopolitan population. Hip wine bars, great coffee, culture and arts,… it’s all there.

Istanbul’s crown architectural jewel is the Topkapi Palace, which for centuries provided the primary residence for the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. And a colourful slice of history comes to life in a tour of the great halls of the harem, where sultry concubines were once guarded by eunuchs. Housed within the grounds of Topkapi is a vast museum filled with alleged biblical and historical relics, including David’s sword and Moses’ staff.

Thousands of slaves built the hundreds of columns that support Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern, the water source for Topkapi, which is well worth visiting. Locals tell conflicting stories about the origin of the two colossal pillar bases carved with the head of the Medusa turned on its side so visitors can avert her deadly gaze.

The Hagia Sophia, thought by many to be the city’s architectural Mag 10

The Grand Bazaar

pride and joy because of its awe-inspiring it its grandeur. The mosque is notable for its sheer size and its gigantic dome. It served most of its lifetime as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral (from 537AD until 1453), when it became a mosque and since 1935 a museum.

The Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque

Rainbow steps in Istanbul

The world-famous Grand Bazaar is a mecca for shoppers, containing over 4,000 shops, which offer designer leather jackets, real Rolex watches, Turkish lights and expensive textiles whose prices can be negotiated down to a fraction.

No visit to this amazing city will be complete without boarding a boat and sailing down the Bosphorus, the 32 km waterway separating Europe from Asia and which links the Black Sea to the

to sting her on the rump. Io jumped clear across the strait. Thus bous meaning cow, and poros meaning crossing-place: Bosphorus - “crossing-place of the cow.”

Istanbul’s Gay Pride, mobilises insane crowds, including a lot of straight sympathisers, minorities and artists. In 2014, there were more than 100,000 people, making it the biggest pride in the Muslim world. One big whirling body of people from Taksim all the way to Tunel.

Both are quite important landmarks in Beyoglu, in the European part of Istanbul.

Sadly though, last year Pride got badly disrupted by the Turkish police dousing revellers with water cannons. However, there has been massive resistance on various occasions over the last two years, and during the last governmental elections, the running party lost a lot of votes to a new party that openly incorporates LGBTQ candidates and minority groups.

The 400 year old Sultan Ahmet Mosque is another must visit. The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque because of the indigo Iznik tiles which cover the walls. The edifice is a triumph of harmony, proportion, and elegance.

The mosque was part of a complex that included tombs, fountains, kitchens, and a bath. The sun streams in through the nearly 300 multi-coloured windows, creating a dazzling light effect.

A visit to the city’s world-famous hamams (Turkish baths) offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in history, architecture, warm water, and soap suds — all at once. However, forget any fantasy you’re harbouring, as these baths are therapeutic, not erotic, unless you have a yen to be washed and aggressively massaged by oversize, hairy Turks intent on ridding your body of lingering toxins.

Ortakoy Mosque & Bridge over the Bosphorus

Turkey’s national sport is oil wrestling, and a day trip to watch this homoerotic sport is well worth the experience.

Mediterranean. Running right through the heart of Istanbul, you’ll pass the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, several Ottoman palaces, at least two fortresses, forested hills, and shore villages with Ottoman architecture. It’s a great way to get orientated; and of course you’ll pass beneath the famous bridges linking two continents, of which there are three. The Bosphorus’s English name comes from a Greek legend: The God, Zeus had an affair with a beautiful women named Io. When Hera, his wife, discovered his infidelity, she turned Io into a cow and created a horsefly

Yet for all the expected mysticism that typically greets Western visitors when the morning call to prayer is heard as the fog lifts from the magnificent Bosphorus River, the ancient aspects of Istanbul are balanced with the modern. Skyscrapers tower over the landscape and the streets bustle with young people in contemporary clothing.

It might sound as a cliché, but Istanbul really is a unique blend of many worlds: a universe in itself that will keep attracting.

Getting there - Turkish Airlines flies to Johannesburg and Cape Town.

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THE GAYBOURHOOD

Are higher rents, new technology and greater equality pushing out the gay bar? Are bars that cater to the LGBTQ community still relevant, or are they just relics of the past?

Words: Staff Writer

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n the mid 70’s I travelled to London for the first time. Soho then was a dingy part of the city, with few gay venues and a couple of seedy cinemas where over-coated men snuck in and out in the hope of a chance meeting or anonymous sex in the safety of the dark. But it was all to change, as the gay liberation movement gained momentum, gay men in particular moved into the area, “trendified” and transformed it, opening bars, restaurants, salons and galleries and within a short ten years, Soho had become the gay capital of the UK. A similar trend took place in New York City, where Christopher Street in Greenwich Village was the main hub of gay culture. In San Francisco, with its welcoming liberal attitudes, the Castro district became nirvana to thousands of gay men and women across America as they flocked to the city.

In Sydney, Australia, the Oxford Street area of the city was transformed in to one of the world’s best known gayfriendly zones.

Here in South Africa, Johannesburg’s suburbs of Hillbrow and Berea went through a similar transformation. Gay people were out and proud and the parts of town they colonised became that city’s trendiest and “in” place to live and be seen. Similar trends took place throughout Europe’s major cities with Amsterdam becoming the most outwardly gay-friendly city on the continent.

The gaybourhood was born and looked like it was here to stay …

But it seems all that is changing, in London’s Soho the gay bars are closing, New York’s Greenwich Village has been decimated of its gay venues, the Castro district is a shadow of its former self and nearly all of the Sydney’s famous Oxford Street venues have disappeared. In Jo’burg, Hillbrow is now a slum-land controlled by drug gangs and ruthless landlords and the gay people who made the area so vibrant have moved on …. But to where? And why has the once so visible gay culture all but disappeared?

During the 1970’s,80’s and 90’s as activism for gay rights became more vocal and visible so too did gay men and women.

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Facilitating the need to be heard and seen, bars catering to all the sub genres of gay life sprang up. Coffee shops and restaurants opened and were patronised by gay men and women who felt safe and comfortable with like-minded people.

Today, all these gaybourhoods have seen a marked decline in their visibility as gay areas. The clubs and bars are closing down and the gay community seems to be almost non-existent. Where have all these colourful characters gone? And what has brought on the change.

I’ve tried to find the reasons for the decline in gay neighbourhoods by researching the internet, I’ve chatted to gay men and women living in these main cities and there doesn’t seem to be any single motive, rather there are a number of contributing factors… yet the LGBT community has never been more affluent, politically engaged and—anecdotally, at least—still inclined to party as hard as ever.

It seemed that Stonewall had been the catalyst that made gays realise that they could fight back. Gay pride was born, the rainbow flag was adopted. Queens with big hair and bigger heels sashayed along the streets whilst leather men in caps, chains and colour coded hankies clinked by. In San Francisco the Nuns of Perpetual Indulgence rollerskated through the Castro collecting for charity and sex and poppers seemed available anywhere. The gay village became the centre of fashion, art and entertainment, with the likes of Andy Warhol and Freddy Mercury becoming household names. The Village People turned the new openness in to music whilst Barbra and Bette belted out their tunes in New York’s bathhouses - the diva had well and truly landed.

In Hillbrow the Butterfly Bar or the Skyline was jam-packed every night of the week, and on weekends the huge gay clubs Zips, Heaven, Skants, The Dungeon and Mandy’s pumped, whilst in Cape Town the Bronx heaved and Sea Point promenade was at its busiest; Durban had Aphrodite, The Edward Bar, Stardust and the busiest beach-front in the country; Pretoria had its share of fabulous venues and gay people seemed to be everywhere. Gay people knew how to dress, decorate, arrange and party ...

However, beneath this new found freedom lurked a disease that was to devastate the gay male community. Ironically, the AIDS crisis, whilst devastating the gay community also brought the community together. As ambulances and hospital staff refused to treat men with AIDS and the governments ignored the crisis gay activists were galvanised in to action.

The gay civil rights movement was established and certainly in the western world, Europe and America, there seemed no stopping it ... and here in South Africa we saw the start of a movement led by well-known activists - Simon Nkoli, Ed Cameron, Ivan Toms, who would see to it that our rights were written in to the new South African constitution.

The AIDS crisis which could’ve been the death knell of the gaybourhood did the opposite.

Here in South Africa, particularly in Johannesburg a number of gay rights groups formed and the first fund-raising events began with the largest being Shaft 8 which included a number of well-known celebrity entertainers, including Marlowe Scott Wilson who even dyed her hair pink, taking to the stage in support of gay rights.

This activism for equality for the gay community has had a negative impact on the gay neighbourhood. Wider understanding and acceptance within straight society has meant that there is less of a need for places catering to gay clientele.

Gay patrons are now welcomed in pretty-much all straight establishments and particularly younger gay people, who didn’t live through the liberation movement, see no need to frequent gay bars and other venues.

There is no longer that feeling of solidarity against a prejudiced community. In much of the Western World society has changed and gay men and women mix in the wider heterosexual community without the fear of discrimination.

Furthermore, most of the time, the younger generation seem to prefer gay-friendly and mixed places, they appreciate diversity in terms of gender, sexual orientation and representations of homosexuality. They also consider the gay village as stereotyped and old-fashion environments.

With gay couples being able to marry and adopt children, the need to live in suburbia closer to schools has become more important, but it’s another nail in the coffin of the gay neighbourhood.

Then of course there is gentrification of the neighbourhood. Where once the areas where gay people flocked were generally less desirable parts of a city.

Gay people moved in and

with large amounts of “fairy-dust” transformed the areas. As a consequence rentals and property values sky-rocketed. The closure of the famous Boots & Saddle pub in Greenwich Village, New York was put down to unaffordability of increased rentals.

“Property markets are largely to blame for taking up the valued real estate for many of London’s underground and LGBT-focused spaces”, according to The New York Times. “However, the need for queer spaces endures, but the combination of gentrification, social acceptance and the changing nature of the bars themselves is pushing the vitality of the scene elsewhere.”

The development of the internet has probably had the biggest impact on the gay community.

Gaybourhoods have been places for meeting other gay people or sexual encounters. With the advent of Gaydar, Grindr, Scruff, Hornet, Growlr and Jack’d etc, enabling people to hook up without having to go to a bar, club or cruising spot. There is no longer the need to go out to meet other like-minded people. Today one can meet other gay people without leaving the comfort of one’s house. Not only is it easier to meet people online but it also doesn’t involve the hassle of getting to a gay venue, the cost of having to purchase drinks and gratification is immediate without the need for trying to attract the other persons attention.

“With greater acceptance, and geographical dispersal among LGBT people,” said Cleve Jones, a UK gay activist, “the community is losing political power. You lose votes and you lose gay politicians. But perhaps less obvious is the loss of cultural vitality. There’s no replacement for what happens when a bunch of artists and photographers and performers and like-minded people all congregate in one place,” he said Personally, I feel that it’s a sad development. I loved the vibe and togetherness of gay areas. I remember fondly visits to the likes of Provincetown and Key West where the streets would be festooned with gay flags, the crowds moved from one watering-hole to another, the police, estate agents, guest house owners, bar personnel etc. were all gay, giving a sense of togetherness and security – a sense of belonging, but alas no one can stop the changes, however I urge the community to stick together for it is only through the power of numbers that we have been able to make the changes for the equal society we enjoy today in the first place.

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S I H T N I T T S O E L H O K O O C S LO ’ N O S R A A E E S W R E D N U Photography by Piers Braybrooke

The EJECT underwear and active wear range is brought to you by local designer Misho Andonov, who’s innovative styles will bring out the hot man in you ....

Top Left : Slim Brief Bottom Left : Pouch Brief Main picture - Pouch Brief with a Raw Edge Vest

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Top Right: Narrow Back, Navy Vest with Pouch Brief Main Picture: Harness (black/red) with Round Pouch briefs Bottom Left: Sport Vest with a Pouch Brief

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ARMISTEAD MAUPIN AND THOSE ICONIC TALES Source: The Guardian January 2014 and others

40 years ago Armistead Maupin wrote his first article as a new daily serial. The series of articles were so well received that The Serial, as it was first called, was compiled in to a series of books - the now famous Tales Of The City. What self-respecting gay man hasn’t read about the daily lives of a group of friends living in San Francisco which in 70’s and 80’s was the gay capital of the world?

B

ut Tales of the City did have an earlier incarnation. “The Serial, actually started two years before in the Pacific Sun, with an episode headlined Social Hour At the Marina Safeway in which Mary Ann, who’s newly arrived in the city, meets a handsome local called Michael Huxtable.

The series ran for five weeks before the paper folded but Maupin was hooked, as were his readers. Two years later the San Francisco Chronicle’s editor was overheard at a cocktail party saying Maupin’s serial was just the sort of “vulgar crap” needed to lure readers. The paper’s society columnist rang Maupin, who braved the hard-drinking hard-faced editor and got hired. The serial went “viral” long before the term existed. Friends eagerly discussed the weekly episodes in bars, coffee shops and the bathhouses and faxed clippings to those outside the circulation area.

Maupin loved the work as much drawing critical acclaim from famous gay authors like Christopher Isherwood (Christopher and His Kind, A Single Man, Goodbye To Berlin etc. ), who said, “I love Maupin’s books for very much the same qualities that make me love the novels of Dickens”.

Not a statement I would necessarily agree with, so don’t let it put you off. But Maupin is a master of the cliff-hanger and each episode ended with the readers begging to know the outcome.

Today the books are gay classics but in their day they were hugely controversial.

Armistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam.

One gets the impression that Armistead Maupin was openly out and proud but this wasn’t the case at all – in fact he was a virgin till the age of 26. “I tried to put myself in the front lines,” he says, “because

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I thought getting shot at would be a sure sign of manhood.” To clinch his macho image, he made sexist remarks about women as often as possible. “It’s an old gay trick,” he says. “You turn to another man and say, ‘Look at the knockers on that one.’ That’s all a straight guy needs to think you are heterosexual.” But it was sex—”the simple joy of pleasure with another human being,” he said that ended his Marlboro-man charade. He thinks of his first experience, at 26, “as the moment when I became human.”

Before writing the serial he hadn’t come out to his conservative southern Baptist family – his mother even worked with the rabid anti-gay activist Anita Bryant. “Coming out is really the final act of manliness,” says Maupin, “It means you are willing to say, this is who I am, I’m not ashamed of it.” He came out to his family and the world in the Chronicle when he published a letter to his mother – Dear Mama - it read in part, “Being gay has taught me tolerance, compassion and humility. It has shown me limitless possibilities of living. It has given me people whose passion and kindness and sensitivity have provided a constant source of strength. It has brought me into the family of man, Mama, and I like it here. I like it.” – a template I dare say that thousands of gay people have used since then.

In talking about his coming out this is what he had to say: “My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long.

I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don’t make that mistake yourself. Life’s too damn short.” He is also proud of the way his generation fought for gay rights so that today young gay men do not have to hide their sexuality the way he did, saying in a recent interview, “I don’t know how to tell you what it felt like to be so afraid of what you were and so alone in terms of the people you could talk to about it, and so fucked-up about what the movies were telling you about what it meant to gay, the way that the gay guy turned out to be the evil one who was killed at the end.

not only in San Francisco but worldwide. They recounted the experiences of roller-skating nuns, talked openly about people smoking marijuana, one night stands and all the things that made San Francisco so liberating and why gay men and women flocked to the city in their thousands.

I’m overjoyed that my life has been a journey that has seen improvement every step of the way. I feel very lucky to be 70 years old in this particular time.”

He followed up with More Tales of the City and The Days of Anna Madrigal –The books are heart-warming and heartbreaking, The novels, which have now sold more than six million copies globally, came to depict the most pivotal period in gay history: the disco-balled hedonism of the Seventies, the Aids-ravaged hell of the Eighties, they take us from 1976 to 2012, from shared landlines to Facebook, from Quaaludes to MDMA and from the fringe to the mainstream.

Maupin’s former life partner of 12 years, Terry Anderson, was a gay rights activist and it was that shared commitment to gay rights and responsibilities that drew Maupin and Anderson together. They met in 1985, when Maupin spoke at Georgia State University, where Anderson headed the gay student alliance. “Ten minutes after he picked me up at the airport, I was aware that he was a person I could talk to about anything,” said Maupin. Today, he is married to Christopher Turner, a website producer and photographer. He saw him on a dating website and then “chased him down Castro Street, saying, ‘Didn’t I see you on Daddyhunt.com?’” Maupin and Turner were married in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on February 18, 2007, though Maupin says that they had called each other “husband” for two years prior.

With reference to Tales Of The City, one critic wrote: “One of the best aspects of the book is the integration of the city and people.

There are the rich descriptions of the cable cars, the bars, the parks, the fog, and the various landmarks that brings the city alive to readers both familiar with the city and not. The writing is crisp, funny, and often tongue-in-cheek, inviting readers in on the joke. The various communities and groups of people from desperate cruisers to high society all mingle together. These aren’t stories about gay or straight men and women in a city during the 70’s but more so all of its quirky, fabulously insane people that work, live, and love together. None of them are perfect, but all of them are perfectly outrageous. This timeless classic is great now as it no doubt was in the late 1970’s. If you haven’t heard of this gem, don’t wait but go out and get it.”

Compiled in to a book Tales of the City the best of the series is delightful, addictive storytelling which took the gay world by storm. The saga is manic, romantic, tawdry, touching, outrageous and controversial, being among the first fiction to tackle the Aids crisis which devastated the gay male population

Since the books became a rite of passage for many gay men.

The series has been made in to a mini-series and now a stage musical. If you’ve somehow missed the multi-million selling books do yourself a favour and get down to your local book seller and start reading – you will thank me.

We have a lot going for us because we’ve had to put up with a lot of shit.

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“THEE BIGGEST AND BADDEST MUSICIAN IN THE WORLD” THE INIMITABLE ZOE ZANA

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rowing up in Bishop Lavis, a suburb just outside of Cape Town, Zoe Zana began her career modelling, dancing and singing her way onto the next project.

She had always wanted to enter South African (SA) Idols, but decided to focus on completing her Matric year first before embarking on that chapter of her musical journey.

In the meantime, she showcased her talent at the KKNK (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees) and performed in the musical theatre production Droom, featuring Elana Afrika. Eventually, in 2011, she was scouted by directors Hennie Van Greunen and Pedro Kruger who then cast her in her first role in the Afrikaans theatre musical Gly, which as the name suggests was based on the concept of the popular musical series Glee.

In 2013 the determined singer made it all the way to the top 4, as the only female left standing on SA Idols Season 9.

Since then, the pint-sized singer has been working with Loyiso Bala, of Loyiso Music, towards establishing her solo career.

Being a part of productions and festivals all over the country she has put her name on the map …

OUT: Zoe, have you always wanted to be a singer even from a young age?

Yes . I have dreamt my whole life of where I want to be musically today and I have reached my goals Mag 20

Zoe Zana sky-rocketed to stardom when she reached the finals of SA Idols ... since then this dynamic performer with boundless energy and an incredibly powerful voice has exploded on to stages all over South Africa ...

OUT: During your school years did you participate in school musical productions?

In my school years I participated in more than 7 productions both inside and out of my school hours , productions such as Gly at the KKNK. OUT: You have a very powerful voice. Are you selftrained or have you had formal voice coaching?

Funny story , I am vocally self-trained but they say dynamite comes in small packages right?

OUT: Growing up, did you have any one in particular who influenced your musically, if so who and what made them so important to you?

I have always been drawn towards Brandy’s soulful music since my very first concert back in the 2000’s . My Dad new what he saw within me so he always bought Brandy’s live concerts and mp3 tracks for me to study.

OUT: Most of us know you from your participation in 2013’s South African Idols Season 9 making it to the final four. What was that experience like for you?

The experiences Idols SA blessed me with have been mind blowing ever since my exit on the show . I’ve never felt more “fully alive” before.

OUT: Did the fame you received from Idols make it easier to break in to the music business?

Yes. South African Idols definitely connected me to the whole industry within SA .

OUT: Your debut single, “Bulletproof” was widely played and well received; to what do you attribute its success and what are the follow up singles?

I have to attribute its success to my local fans and friends around Africa, and most importantly to Loyiso Music for making it all possible.

OUT: Is there an album in the wings?

Yes .. There is definitely a album on the way.

OUT: You performed in the musicals Droom and Gly Were they one-off experiences or are you open to musical theatre?

I love musical theater , it feels like home , musical theatre was always the dream but God opened more doors beyond and above just the stage.

OUT: As far as your career is concerned, you said in your bio that you plan to be “thee biggest and baddest musician in the world” – where do you see your career in 10 years- time and how do plan to be that person?

I see myself sharing stages with the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyonce and RIHANNA because I am show-stopper material and way beyond our local sound is at right now. I will work as hard as I possibly can to achieve my biggest goals in life.

OUT: You have played Gay Pride in Cape Town twice now and the crowds loved you. How do you find gay audiences?

Gay Audiences are thee most supportive crowed I’ve ever had , no judgement, just happiness and fun times, when I sing to gay folk’s I feel loved and accepted.

OUT: At this year’s Cape Town Pride festival you introduced your life partner on stage. When did you come out of the closet and has being open about your sexuality received any adverse reactions?

I came out about being bisexual 4-years ago. Yes it has but I do what is real and I believe you take it or you don’t and you do you. And so we all live happily ever after.

OUT: How did your friends and family react to you being a lesbian?

I am not a lesbian. I am bisexual to clarify ... and they received it open heartedly because they love me as a person not according to my sexuality.

OUT: South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions certainly as far as gay equality is concerned. Has this been your experience as a performing artist?

Yes it has been, but I believe in respecting others to receive respect and understanding.

OUT: Do you have any plans on tying-the-knot in the near future?

No comment .. Haha

OUT: On the lighter side … apart from your own music, what do you love to listen to?

I Love listening to Rnb and SoulPop such as RIHANNA , Beyonce, Brandy, Ledisi etc.

OUT: What’s your favourite food and do you cook up fabulous meals yourself?

My favourite food has to be home cooked meals like brown stew and Sunday meals with chicken, veggies and rice etc., yes I love to cook and I am always good at what I enjoy doing.

OUT: Do you support or participate in any charity events or organisations?

Yes I do , I Love giving back but I do it out my own pocket and the comfort of my own home.

OUT: What do you do to stay fit & healthy?

I drink tons of water. Workout at least once a day and eat my veggies. They make me stronger and my energy last longer.

OUT: What do you do to unwind and relax?

I listen to music alone , in a calm set up like a garden for example and just breath and relax and think about my future plans & party up a storm of course .

OUT: It was great getting to know a little more about you ... being so focused, hard-working and have such a positive self image I am sure sets a great example for other young people also trying to achieve their goals. OUT Africa Magazine, and on behalf of our readers, we wish you all the best for your future.

Thank you so much - I promise I will not disappoint you!

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LOVE... LIFE...

HAPPINESS! Standing affirmed OR being the “dirty little secret?”

Words: Glenton ‘Liberty’ Matthyse

F

rom social media to dating apps and in-person meeting(s) and date(s)… the hook-up and dating world can be quite daunting! Depending on where you find yourself positioned on the continuum of what people desire, one may find oneself on the receiving end of affirmation or be subjected to outright rejection based on certain characteristics and qualities you possess.

In the face of lengthy checklists you better have your mind-set ready to withstand the possible war zone that the dating world may present. In finding the ideal mate(s), checklists may include anything from race-‘preference’ and class positioning whilst shamelessly indulging in fat-shaming and fem-blaming with a dominant narrative of ‘bitch’ better have money or ‘bitch’ better look like money.

It has been four years since the creation of Liberty and here we stand again reflecting on feeling whole, proud and dignified.

Finding love and affection can be such a daunting task in ‘Pinkville’. How does one start a conversation around being gender fluid in a world that is so wrapped up in being male/ female, man/woman and feminine/masculine? And how does one open up the conversation with prospective partners? The challenges we face are distinctly different to the challenges facing transsexual (transgender) people and people who drag or female impersonate with the intention of upholding clear boundaries between what is woman (feminine) and male (masculine).

In asserting my gender fluidity more intensely as of late, I have been on the receiving end of scrutiny from certain people in the transsexual (transgender) community and drag community who do not necessarily understand a life lived beyond the confines of man and woman on the one side and feminine and masculine on the other. Not all transgender people have an interest in the collapse of binaries. We disrupt what society considers its successful organisation of human bodies and ways to express those bodies. For this we are socially punished. The effect of the punishment sends a powerful message of deterrence for those who dare to love and are attracted these bodies. Our love is seen as taboo that rarely receives public endorsement. It is but the very progressive partners that bravely venture into exploring their sexual, emotional, intellectual, romantic and spiritual attraction to gender-fluid people publicly.

Through my engagements with fellow gender-fluid people and prospective partners, exploring attraction usually takes place in places deemed to be private in order to keep the ‘dirty’ little secret a secret, away from public scrutiny.

Phrases like ‘Do you mind if we keep our relationship between us’ to ‘I like you but I am not sure what people will say’, coupled with being publicly ignored, offended, insulted, humiliated and rejected have contributed to the notion of exploring the attraction being a secret that is ‘dirty’.

Realising the effect of the ‘dirty’ little secret attracts questions such as ‘Am I not enough?’

Now I am not saying that everyone who is gender-fluid experience these. But it is a narrative strongly held in some. The truth is that the insecurities we feel when it comes to dating, love and affection were never ours to own. People’s ability to think liberatingly about dating, love and affection have been severely limited by what we choose to believe relationships to be and who we should be attracted to. It is very disheartening when people internalise other people’s insecurities. We have been portrayed and understood Mag 22

in society as something ‘odd’, deviant from what the norm is.

When society has positioned you on the margins, it is difficult to assert one’s worth in both the relationships we pursue and the spaces we live in. We bare the brunt of prejudice disguised ‘preference’, shame disguised as a secret love affair and internalised oppression disguised as mystery and intrigue. It is vital that we educate ourselves as genderfluid people around our worth. We continuously need to position ourselves as people deserving of respect, understanding and appreciation in order for us not to be exploited.

Unfortunately for us, we are tasked with continuously needing to teach heteronormative, homonormative and cisnormative people on how to treat us with the dignity we so richly deserve.

However, I reiterate it is only when we start growing an increased appreciation and understanding for the beautiful, dynamic, wondrous beings that we are, that we are able to build healthy relationships that affirm us to the fullest extent.

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SCENE OUT

CAPE TOWN PRIDE 2016 MR & MISS CAPE TOWN PRIDE PAGEANT Photo’s David Lee

PRE-PRIDE KHAYALITSHA

PRIDE SPORTS DAY

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PRIDE FESTIVAL DAY Photo’s David Lee

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Words: Peter Tatchell

And how it came to protect LGBT South Africans against discrimination This essay is dedicated to the many heroic South African LGBT and antiapartheid activists that I worked with during the period of white minority rule - heroes who helped securethecommitmentoftheAfrican National Congress of South Africa to LGBT human rights, including the enactment of the world’s first constitution to protect LGBT people against discrimination.

A

s a gay teenager growing up in Melbourne, Australia, my three great passions were men, surfing and politics. All three came together in the summer of 1971, when at the age of 19, I went on my first antiapartheid protest. It was against the all-white South African Surf Life-Saving tour. At one of my favourite beaches, Lorne, on a blistering hot morning, 40 of us lay down on the sand in a bid to stop the South African team taking their boat out of the boathouse. We succeeded, for a while, making our symbolic point - before being battered and bloodied, and then carted off by the police. So began my two decades of activism against the apartheid regime: pickets, boycotts, marches and sit-ins.

Over those long years, I kept hearing disconcerting stories about homophobic attitudes within the African National Congress - the main liberation movement and the likely governing party of a post-apartheid South Africa. At the left-wing World Youth Festival in East Berlin in 1973, which I attended as a Gay Liberation Front delegate, there were reports of the victimisation of lesbian and gay ANC members, and warnings that queers would have a tough time when the ANC came to power.

Homophobia existed at high levels in the ANC, even though there was a long history of gay people being involved in the struggle against apartheid. The gay theatre director, Cecil Williams, was one such person. He played a key role in aiding Nelson Mandela when he was on the run from the police in the early 1960s. To enable Mandela to carry on his underground activism and avoid detection, Williams had Mandela disguise himself as his chauffeur.

Despite the contributions of courageous lesbian and gay people such as Cecil Williams, the ANC still had a de facto anti-gay policy or, at best, a stance of not supporting LGBT equality.

In those days, only a handful of anti-apartheid activists dared challenge the homophobia - and sexism - of the ANC leadership.

There was a near-universal expectation that opposition to apartheid involved uncritical support for the liberation struggle.

It was deemed betrayal to question the ANC. Criticism was unwelcome - even when it was constructive and came from friends and allies. We were told by the official Anti-Apartheid Movement that any doubts or concerns had to wait until the white supremacist system was overthrown. Most anti-apartheid activists duly obliged. I was one of them. My fear was that speaking out would give comfort and succour to the white minority regime, and undermine support for the just cause of the ANC. Although I made my concerns known behind the scenes, publicly I remained silent.

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In 1987, after nearly 20 years involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle, I felt unable to stay silent any longer. No movement for human liberation has a right to demand unconditional loyalty.

Such a demand leads, inexorably, to collusion with injustice. It was, after all, the insistence on uncritical support that resulted in so many people on the left ignoring or excusing the terrible crimes of the Stalin and Mao eras.

TRUE LOYALTY SOMETIMES INVOLVES CHALLENGING FRIENDS CONCERNING THEIR OWN SHORTCOMINGS AND MISTAKES My worry was that unless leading members of the ANC were confronted over their homophobia, a post-apartheid ANC-ruled South Africa might pursue the same kind of anti-gay policies that were common in other revolutionary states, such as Cuba, the Soviet Union and China.

This was not an unreasonable fear. When battling to overthrow dictatorship and fascism, most ANC-style liberation movements talked about creating a society with social justice and human rights for all. But after liberation they usually enforced a heterosexist regime that left queers just as victimised - if not more so - than before. Would it be a liberation worthy of the name if a free South Africa perpetuated the homophobia of the apartheid state?

After trying to influence ANC attitudes privately without success, as had many other people before me, I concluded that the only way to change things was by publicly exposing the ANC’s rejection of LGBT human rights. My calculation was that the subsequent uproar would embarrass the ANC leadership and this might precipitate its switch to a more gay-sympathetic policy.

Accordingly, in August 1987, on hearing that ANC executive member Ruth Mompati was visiting London to promote South Africa Women’s Day, I devised a plan and requested an interview.

A courageous fighter against the apartheid regime, Mompati was one of the leaders of the biggest women’s demonstration in South African history. In 1956, 20,000 women marched on the Union Buildings - the seat of government in Pretoria - to protest at the extension of the notorious pass laws to women.

Most of my interview with Mompati was about the struggle for women’s emancipation, and was duly published in Labour Weekly. But towards the end, I raised the issue of women’s sexual emancipation - in particular the human rights of lesbians and their role in the struggle against apartheid. This provoked an astonishing outburst that reconfirmed all the previous horror stories that I had heard about ANC homophobia.

“I hope that in a liberated South Africa people will live a normal life”, Mompati told me. “I emphasise the word normal ... Tell me, are lesbians and gays normal? No, it is not normal”.

“I cannot even begin to understand why people want lesbian and gay rights. The gays have no problems. They have nice houses and plenty to eat. I don’t see them suffering. No one is persecuting them ... We haven’t heard about this problem in South Africa until recently. It seems to be fashionable in the West”.

When asked her reaction to the formation of LGBT antiapartheid organisations inside South Africa, Mompati insisted: “They are not doing the liberation struggle a favour by organising separately and campaigning for their rights. The (gay) issue is being brought up to take attention away from the main struggle against apartheid. These other problems can wait until later. They are red herrings”.

Mompati justified the ANC’s lack of policy on LGBT human rights with the riposte: “We don’t have a policy on flower sellers either”. While acknowledging that women have special problems and specific interests that need to be addressed by the ANC, she was adamant that “lesbians and gays do not”.

Concerned to be fair, in case Mompati’s views were unrepresentative of the ANC’s position, I contacted its London office and spoke to the liberation movement’s then chief representative in Britain, Solly Smith. He expressed similarly offensive opinions: “We don’t have a policy. Lesbian and gay rights do not arise in the ANC. We cannot be diverted from our struggle by these issues. We believe in the majority being equal. These people (lesbians and gays) are in the minority. The majority must rule”.

When asked if the ANC was opposed to discrimination against homosexuals and if an ANC-led government would repeal the anti-gay laws of the apartheid state, Smith replied: “I have no comment on that”.

This was, to my knowledge, the first time anyone had recorded verbatim accounts of the homophobic attitudes of ANC leaders. I knew these quotes would cause the ANC grief and discomfort. But a bit of pain and short term damage was necessary, I reasoned, in order to overturn homophobia within the liberation movement.

Accordingly, my interviews with Ruth Mompati and Solly Smith were published in the London gay weekly newspaper, Capital Gay, on 18 September 1987, under the headline “ANC dashes hopes for gay rights in SA”. As I expected, and hoped, Smith’s and Mompati’s homophobia provoked an outcry in LGBT and liberal circles – even among many anti-apartheid activists.

To globalise the pressure on the ANC, I then circulated my article for republication in the gay and anti-apartheid press world-wide, including South Africa. My aim was to get the ANC inundated with protests that would (hopefully) pressure it to confront the issue of homophobia and eventually to abandon its refusal to support LGBT equality.

My Capital Gay article did, thankfully, result in the ANC and the anti-apartheid movement internationally being deluged with letters of condemnation. People were appalled that a “liberation movement” like the ANC could be so ignorant, bigoted and intolerant. The ANC leadership was hugely embarrassed.

But embarrassing the ANC was not my goal; it was merely a means to an end. My objective was to win the ANC to the cause of LGBT human rights. I therefore devised a plan to offer the leadership a face-saving solution and a constructive way forward. This involved writing a private appeal to the ANC leadership in exile in Lusaka.

My letter, dated 12 October 1987, was addressed to Thabo Mbeki, then the ANC Director of Information. I chose him on the advice of exiled ANC contacts, David and Norma Kitson.

They suggested he was the most liberal-minded of the ANC leaders and senior enough to be able to push for a radical rethink of official policy. My letter was challenging, but friendly and constructive. I argued that support for LGBT liberation was consistent with the principles of the ANC’s Freedom Charter: “Dear Thabo Mbeki, ... Given that the Freedom Charter embodies the principle of civil and human rights for all South Africans, surely those rights should also apply to lesbians and gays? And surely the ANC should be committed to removing all forms of discrimination and oppression in a liberated South Africa? ...

To me, the fight against apartheid and the fight for lesbian and gay rights are part of the same fight for human rights.

Yours in comradeship and solidarity, Peter Tatchell”.

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When writing to Mbeki I also included a sheaf of my published articles about leading lesbian and gay anti-apartheid activists inside South Africa, including Simon Nkoli and Ivan Toms.

Simon, a student activist, was a defendant in one of the great cause celebres of the 1980s, the Delmas Treason Trial. Ivan was a doctor who had won acclaim for his work in the Crossroads squatter camp in Cape Town and was active in the campaign against conscription (he was later jailed for refusing to serve in the army of apartheid).

Mompati, did not want to suggest in any way that a free South Africa would want to see gays discriminated against or subjected to any form of repression. As a movement, we are of the view that the sexual preferences of an individual are a private matter. We would not wish to compromise anybody’s right to privacy ... and would therefore not wish to legislate or decree how people should conduct their private lives ... We would like to apologise for any misunderstanding that might have arisen over these issues ...

Yours in the common struggle, Thabo Mbeki”.

Mbeki’s statement was not as strong and comprehensive as many of us would have liked, nor had it been agreed by a formal policy-making conference of the ANC. But it was, nevertheless, a watershed moment. The ANC leadership was publicly aligning itself with the struggle for LGBT emancipation. A first!

At Mbeki’s own request, I communicated his letter to gay and anti-apartheid movements world-wide. I also sent a copy to members of South African lesbian and gay groups, such as the long-time lesbian anti-apartheid activists, Sheila Lapinsky and Julia Nicol of the Organisation of Lesbian & Gay Activists (OLGA), based in Cape Town. In addition, I forwarded copies to members of the United Democratic Front - the main antiapartheid coalition inside South Africa.

Long before me, other people had pressured the ANC to change its homophobic stance, but none of them succeeded. It was, it seems, only the huge torrent of negative publicity generated by my Capital Gay article, and my challenging letter to Thabo Mbeki, that prompted the ANC’s rethink. My intervention was, perhaps, merely the culmination of earlier efforts by others - the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Maybe I was merely the catalyst for changes that had been in the making for a very long time. What is certain is that without the ANC and international anti-apartheid movements being flooded with howls of protest, my letter to Mbeki may have had no impact at all. Due credit must be given to the many people from all over the world who helped pressure the ANC.

This information about LGBT involvement in the struggle against apartheid was news to many members of the exiled ANC Executive, and apparently had considerable influence in swinging the vote in favour of a pro-LGBT stance.

My letter to Mbeki - following in wake of adverse publicity from my Capital Gay article and subsequent protests - had the desired effect. Within a few weeks, the ANC leadership in exile began a major reevaluation of its stance on LGBT issues.

As a result of these internal debates, the ANC officially, for the first time, committed itself to support LGBT equality and human rights.

This new pro-gay rights ANC policy was publicly announced in a telegram to me from Thabo Mbeki, dated 24 November 1987.

He wrote: Dear Peter, ... The ANC is indeed very firmly committed to removing all forms of discrimination and oppression in a liberated South Africa. You are correct to point this out. That commitment must surely extend to the protection of gay rights ... I would like to believe that my colleagues, Solly Smith and Ruth Mag 30

Securing the ANC’s official opposition to homophobic discrimination gave the struggle for LGBT emancipation inside South Africa new legitimacy and kudos. It was instrumental in helping persuade some individuals and organisations fighting the white minority regime - both within South Africa and in other countries - to embrace LGBT equality - or at least to not oppose it. By giving the cause of LGBT rights political credibility, the ANC’s stance helped pave the way for the subsequent inclusion of a ban on sexual orientation discrimination in the post-apartheid constitution.

OUTLAWING SEXUALITY DISCRIMINATION IN THE POSTAPARTHEID CONSTITUTION Not long after the ANC came out for LGBT rights, exiled ANC leaders based in London began work on drafting a constitution for a free and democratic South Africa. In 1989, I contacted a member of this constitutional working party, Albie Sachs, at the University of London, urging him to include in the ANC’s draft constitution a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation.

He was initially rather sceptical. So I provided a draft wording, backed up with examples of anti-discrimination statutes from various European countries, such as Denmark, France and the Netherlands. These countries had laws incorporating either comprehensive protection against discrimination or an explicit ban on discrimination on the grounds of sexuality. These

JUNE diary Friday 3rd Leather Night Free entrance with leather gear · Friday 10th Long Schlong Night Free entrance for 20cm + · Thursday 16th Youth Day Free entry if you’re 18 or 19 · Friday 17th Fetish Night – Indulge your fantasies · Monday 20th Full Moon – Celebrate hedonism with free libation wine · Friday 24th Public Pigz Night Be a pig on the bar counter for an entrance refund JULY diary Friday 1st Leather Night Free entrance with leather gear · Friday 8th Long Schlong Night Free entrance for 20cm + · Friday 15th Fetish Night – Indulge your fantasies · Wednesday 20th Full Moon – Celebrate hedonism with free libation wine · Friday 22nd Public Pigz Night Be a pig on the bar counter for an entrance refund · Friday 29th Fire Crotch Night – Free Entrance with Red Pubes AUGUST diary Friday 5th Leather Night Free entrance with leather gear · Monday 8th: Women's Day Party - Come Take It Like A Man Friday 12th Long Schlong Night Free entrance for 20cm + · Sunday 14th Valentine’s Day Party Cum be everyone’s Valentine · Thursday 18th Full Moon – Celebrate hedonism with free libation wine · Friday 19th Fetish Night – Indulge your fantasies · Friday 26th Public Pigz Night Be a pig on the bar counter for an entrance refund Also, Mondays: Daddies & Toy Boys - R30 entrance between 6 & 9 for under 20s and over 50s Thursdays: Student Night. Free entrance 6-9, R30 thereafter with student card.

Mag 35

concrete legal precedents apparently helped reassure Sachs, and later also helped convince others in the ANC leadership, that a ban on anti-gay discrimination was feasible and practical.

A little later, I sent my own suggested draft wording - together with samples of anti-discrimination laws from other countries - to LGBT groups inside South Africa (especially OLGA and GLOW - the Gay & Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand). I also arranged for them to write direct to Albie Sachs in London and to lobby the antiapartheid United Democratic Front inside South Africa.

In December 1989, on my initiative, a meeting was held in London between Sachs and OLGA representatives, Derrick Fine and Niezhaam Sampson. They discussed OLGA’s constitutional proposals face-to-face. This personal meeting helped to cement Sachs’s backing for a constitutional clause prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. His support later helped win over other key people in the ANC leadership.

After the collapse of the apartheid regime and the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990, OLGA held meetings inside South Africa with senior ANC members, Frene Ginwala, Albie Sachs and Kader Asmal, all of whom expressed a positive attitude towards OLGA’s constitutional proposals.

Sach’s, in particular, continued to have contact with OLGA and other LGBT organisations to further develop the idea of LGBT rights as part of a broad human rights package within South Africa’s new constitution. He did, however, warn OLGA that there was “no guarantee” that a majority in the ANC would endorse constitutional protection for LGBTs; an indication that sections of the liberation movement remained unsupportive or ambivalent on the issue of sexual orientation equality.

Undeterred, in September 1990, OLGA made an extensive submission to the ANC’s Constitutional Committee, which was in charge of formulating the movement’s draft Bill of Rights.

This submission was supported by 11 other South African LGBT organisations, including GLOW. It proposed a Bill of Rights that would “protect the fundamental rights of all citizens” and guarantee “equal rights for all individuals, irrespective of race, colour, gender, creed or sexual orientation”.

Simultaneously, OLGA, GLOW and other gay organisations used the ANC’s previous endorsement of LGBT equality to lobby the United Democratic Front and other anti-apartheid groups within South Africa. This lobbying helped persuade prominent campaigners in some of these groups to back the inclusion of a constitutional ban on anti-gay discrimination.

These efforts had a successful outcome when, in November 1990, the publication of the ANC’s draft post-apartheid constitution included an explicit prohibition on homophobic discrimination.

OLGA also developed and canvassed support for a specific and comprehensive Charter of Lesbian and Gay Rights. In 1993, this proposal won the endorsement of a national conference of LGBT organisations, which had been convened to forge a united campaign for constitutional protection.

The push for LGBT human rights was subsequently carried forward in the post-1994 period by a new umbrella organisation - the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality (NCGLE).

It is thanks to the efforts of these many far-sighted, determined and courageous LGBT people inside South Africa that constitutional rights for LGBTs were finally won; making the South African constitution the first in the world to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. Bravo!

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Thabo Mbeki: “The ANC is indeed very firmly committed to removing all forms of discrimination and oppression in a liberated South Africa.... That commitment must surely extend to the protection of gay rights”

THE POST-APARTHEID CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH AFRICA Chapter 2 - Bill of Rights - Equality 9.

(1) Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.

(2) Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.

(3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.

(4) No person my unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds in terms of subsection (3). National legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination.

(5) Discrimination on one or more of the grounds listed in subsection (3) is unfair unless it is established that the discrimination is fair.

Footnote: For more information about the Peter Tatchell’s human rights work, to receive email bulletins or to make a donation: http://www.

PeterTatchellFoundation.org

LESBIAN & GAY NETWORK RECEIVES DONATION

From left to right: Amy Rand, Scott Pryor, Anthony Waldhausen – director and founder of Gay & Lesbian Network, Simon Pryor and Elsa Ruth Pryor

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he Gay & Lesbian Network (GLN) recently received a donation of R1400 from Amy Rand and her family, who come from North Dakota in the United States of America. They are in South Africa for a year while Amy’s Husband, Simon Pryor, who is a Fulbright Scholar, is working at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The Gay & Lesbian Network is a registered non-profit organisation who do pioneering work with primarily young, unemployed and marginalised lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people living in and around KwaZulu-Natal. The Network aims to create a non-discriminatory, supportive and accepting society in which members of all communities are uplifted and developed.

She donated to the Gay & Lesbian Network in recognition of her gay friend, Joshua Meyers, who recently married his partner, Andrew, in the USA. Joshua and Amy grew up together, with Amy often babysitting Joshua and his siblings. Joshua and his family also “worked tirelessly to secure marriage equality in Minnesota and elsewhere”.

Amy says in her blog, after finding out about the work of the Gay & Lesbian Network, “Wow, was I impressed to learn about this organization and their outreach, counselling, and advocacy in response to those needs in our province of KwaZulu-Natal!

They train police departments and front line medical staff to increase their competence on LGBTI issues. They support young people who are unemployed and marginalised to find a safe and supportive community. They are raising awareness around hate crimes, an ongoing and essential effort to decrease the violence perpetrated against LGBT people. They’re doing HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; and if that weren’t enough for a nonprofit with a small staff, they even have a counselling hotline,

an outreach program to churches and traditional healers, and a theatre troop!” (If you would like to read Amy’s blog you may visit http://bit.ly/1qt1B2n ) After meeting with Anthony Waldhausen, the director and founder of the Gay & Lesbian network, she said “Something I found inspiring about my conversation with Anthony was the way he connected the work of his organization to that of the broader society. Rather than separate or different, LGBT leaders with this organization see themselves as allies of all oppressed or marginalized individuals. For example, they advocate for and support efforts to protect the rights of widows and people with disabilities or mental illness.”

The Gay & Lesbian Network is extremely grateful for the generous donation and encourages others to donate to the network to help fulfil their work towards the recognition and upliftment of the LGBTI community.

If you would like to support the Gay & Lesbian Network, you may make a donation by visiting the Tcard at www.gln.tcard.mobi or you may make an EFT payment to the Gay & Lesbian Network using the following details: Account name: Gay and Lesbian Network Bank: FNB Account number: 62149632772 Branch code: 220825 Swift code: FIRNZAJJ (For international donations) The Gay & Lesbian Network is tax exempt and has Section 18A (1) status. Every donation you make to the Network is TAX DEDUCTIBLE in terms of Section 18A (1) of the Income Tax Act 1962, as amended.

Mag 33

LOOKING BUFF THIS WINTER

With the temperatures plummeting this time of year, many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes.

But, hibernating is for bears (not the hot human variety). As humans it’s important to stay active through all the seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the winter months Mag 34

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ust because it is cold outside doesn’t make it open season for an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple exercise options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads.

Depending on your location and likes, you can choose to workout inside or outside.

All that is required for Winter workouts is some planning and employing all safety precautions. If you prefer to workout outside, keep the following tips in mind. . Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are more prone to injuries. So, it’s important to get them warmed-up prior to engaging in intense physical activity.

Insulate your body. The best approach to dressing for outdoor exercise is with layers. Layering provides the most effective heating method, plus it allows you to remove the top layer if you get too hot. The layer closest to your skin should allow moisture to be wicked away. The top layer should be both wind and water resistant.

No sweat. Don’t assume that you have to sweat in order to get a good workout. You should avoid sweating that causes the clothing layer closest to your skin to get wet and cause you to be chilled. Instead monitor your intensity through a heart rate monitor or the Rating of Perceived Exertion.

DON’T STRIP WHEN YOU GET INSIDE. While you may be tempted to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, give your body time to adjust. Post exercise hypothermia is possible. This happens when your body rapidly loses its heating stores.

DRINK UP. It’s just as important to stay hydrated when exercising in winter as it is in summer, even though you might not feel as thirsty.

LIGHTEN UP. If possible, it’s best to exercise outdoors during daylight areas. But, with shorten days that can be difficult to do. If you exercise outdoors when it is dark, wear reflective materials to ensure that you can be seen.

If the thought of getting outside to exercise makes you dive under the covers, instead choose one of the many indoor workout options. Below are just a few of the many choices.

WALK AT AN INDOOR LOCATION, LIKE A MALL. If you need extra motivation to get yourself to the mall, join a walking group. This will help you stay accountable to someone other than yourself. Here are a few hints that will keep you in shape for the summer months ...

JOIN A HEALTH CLUB. This will allow you a large variety of physical activities to choose from every week.

CREATE A HOME GYM. This doesn’t have to be expensive.

You can easily set-up a great workout routine with just a set of dumbbells, an exercise ball and a jump rope.

TAKE THE STAIRS. If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.

GET WET. Find a local indoor pool you can use. Try swimming, water aerobics, or even just walking or running laps in the water.

By staying fit during winter you’ll be able to avoid gaining weight, have a head start on swimsuit season, and avoid losing strength and stamina caused from inactivity. Just as tulips need winter nourishment from the Earth to strongly bloom in spring, humans need to continue to nourish their bodies during winter so they too can bloom come spring.

Source: Lyn Bode – The Sideroad

ROUGH BOYS

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he Jozi Cats ... South Africa’s openly gay rugby team is out to prove that they are more than just a bunch of “fairies” and “queens.”

In a fun and provocative new recruitment campaign launched recently, members of Johannesburg‘s openly LGBT-inclusive Jozi Cats rugby club appear with un-PC terms like “Fairy?”, “Fudge-packer” and “Queen?” emblazoned inquisitively above their heads. The ads are designed both to draw new members to the team and to tear down gay stereotypes within the broader — and still very macho — South African rugby culture. Here are two of the ads from the campaign and on our inside back cover .

Mag 35

KEEPING IT UP Is your flaccid penis trying to tell you something?

Words: H4M contributing writer

medication you may be taking for something else, could all have contributed to your ‘major’ not being able to come to attention.

The inability to achieve or maintain an erection is quite common, but it is something you should take relatively seriously and discuss with your healthcare practitioner because it may be an indication that other parts of your system are not working as well, either. You may be far too stressed and this can affect your health in other ways too. You may have a heart condition or circulation or vascular problems that your penis is softly whispering warnings to you about.

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here’s no need to keep a stiff upper lip about your failure to launch.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) used to be a condition that affected men over a certain age, but nowadays it’s become increasingly more common among men of all ages, and if you have recently endured the inability to rise to the occasion, it could be a warning sign.

You may be suffering from something else you’re unaware of, like depression or diabetes, a vascular condition, hormone deficiency, or abnormal nerve function because these may all present ED as one of their symptoms.

You’re in bed with this sexy guy. There are some sultry slow jams in the background and his body is looking good enough to eat in the warm glow of the candles around the bed. You are getting your groove on and everything is just perfect, except for one small (or not so little) problem: Your penis didn’t get the memo - it’s still fast asleep. This has NEVER happened to you before. What the hell is going on? Well, it could be a few things.

You may be testosterone deficient. In the past, men managed to maintain high levels of testosterone until they stopped producing it as much, which was a normal part of the ageing process.

Fast forward to the present and we now have a much tougher time stacking up the ‘T’ hormone. What we eat and drink and come into contact with daily, is riddled with chemicals that have estrogenic activity (endocrine disrupters). They promote estrogen production and this decreases testosterone levels in men, and sadly, as a result, many of today’s 40-year old guys enjoy the same testosterone levels as the 70-year old gents of yesteryear. Yup, your grandpa, may well have been more of a ‘macho’ man than you currently feel yourself to be. Avoiding plastics and products and foods with artificial ingredients is a good way to avoid this environmental estrogen.

Erectile dysfunction can be treated with pills like Viagra, but these can come with other side-effects that might also affect your circulation and vascular system, which is why it is always best to chat to a healthcare provider first.

Holistically, treating what may have caused the ED may be a better way to go, rather than just popping a blue pill or injecting your penis with a substance that will keep you propped up for hours, even after you’ve climaxed.

You can try taking natural supplements that help with testosterone production. The body doesn’t need you to get more testosterone so much as it needs assistance to create it’s own.

After checking with your doctor, supplements like Horny Goat Weed, Tongkat Ali and Panax Ginseng can help. You can take actual testosterone itself as a supplement, but the problem with this is that many believe that the body stops producing enough testosterone when you provide it. It gets lazy and then you have to keep taking it artificially just to come out even.

Eliminating stress in your life wherever you can, and taking up meditation has also produced fantastic results for an increase in testosterone levels in men. It goes without saying, that a healthy diet and regular exercise would be the most potent medicine of all that you could take, to up your testosterone and your wellbeing in general.

Men lacking testosterone have been documented as experiencing a much lower quality of life, diminished motivation and drive, and higher incidences of depression and other ailments and illnesses that spin-off as a result of their low testosterone.

ED is not merely an indication that you have little testosterone, though, it can also be caused by some other stuff.

An inability to get a hard on when you need one can even be caused by smoking cigarettes. Things like stress, anxiety, alcohol consumption, recreational drug use, exhaustion and even the Mag 36

The views expressed in this article is that of the writer’s. To find out more about Health4Men or to find your nearest gayfriendly clinic please visit www.health4men.co.za.

COVER YOUR BUTT

Fashion designer Stiaan Louw has been enlisted by the WETHEBRAVE.co.za campaign to design a limited edition range of underwear for a campaign titled ‘Cover Your Butt’.

Spearheaded by the Anova Health Institute, WETHEBRAVE.co.za is the first large scale sexual health campaign ever in South Africa to specifically address gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) - South Africa’s most at risk population for HIV acquisition and transmission.

Professor James McIntyre, CEO of the Anova Health Institute says, “It is our hope that through the campaign and by engaging with MSM in this way, they will cover their and their partners’ butts by having the knowledge and opportunities to prevent new HIV infections, understanding the benefits of regular HIV testing to know their status and using anti-retroviral treatment when and if they need it.”

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OUT ON FILM

LET’S GO TO THE MOVIES WITH DANIEL DERCKSEN

JUNE HIGHLIGHTS Ryan Gosling, Matt Bomer and Russell Crowe are The Nice Guys who uncover a conspiracy during the investigation of the apparent suicide of a fading porn star in 1970s Los Angeles ….

Visit Let’s Go to the Movies on Facebook or visit www.writingstudio.co.za

Viggo Mortensen is Captain Fantastic who challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent …

Michael Shannon plays Elvis Presley and Kevin Spacey is Nixon in Elvis & Nixon, telling tells the untold story behind a revealing yet humorous moment in the Oval Office …

In A Hologram for the King Tom Hanks plays a businessman who is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime and is baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy …

Sally Field plays a sixty-something woman who is inspired to seduce a young man in Hello My Name Is Doris …

Tom Hiddleston takes on the role of legendary country music singer Hank Williams in I Saw The Light …

George Clooney and Julia Roberts star as financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty, who are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor forcefully takes over their studio in Money Monster …

A group of friends pose as drug dealers in order to retrieve a stolen feline in Keanu …

One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, The Four Horsemen resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate in Now You See Me: The Second Act …

The Nice Guys

Matt Damon returns as Jason Bourne ...

Alexander Skarsgård flexes his muscles in The Legend Of Tarzan, who has been invited back to the Congo and becomes a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge ...

AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS

Don Cheadle directs and takes on the lead role of one of 20th century music’s creative geniuses, Miles Davis, in Miles Ahead …

Steven Spielberg’s The BFG tells the tale of a young girl, the Queen of England and a benevolent giant known as the BFG, who set out on an adventure to capture the evil, man-eating giants who have been invading the human world…

Pele: Birth Of A Legend tells the miraculous story of the legendary soccer player’s rise to glory from a young boy, to the 17 year old who scored the winning goal in Brazil’s first ever World Cup victory in 1958…

After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global catastrophe on an unimaginable scale in Independence Day: Resurgence …

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Matthew McConaughey leads an extraordinary armed rebellion against the Confederacy in the epic Civil War actiondrama The Free State Of Jones …

JULY HIGHLIGHTS

The political docudrama Truth documents explores the last days of news anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) at CBS News …

Mel Gibson plays an ex-con who reunites with his estranged wayward 16-year old Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back for more hauntings in The Conjuring 2 …

In the epic fantasy Warcraft: The Beginning, based on the Warcraft video game series and novels, humans face destruction while orc warriors face extinction.

daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her in the French action thriller Blood Father …

Ben Hur

Jack Huston is the new Ben Hur, a nobleman who is falsely accused of an assassination attempt by his childhood friend and adoptive brother Messala (Toby Kebbell) …

Meryl Streep plays Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress, who dreamed of becoming an opera singer despite having a terrible singing voice …

Genius follows the almost “romantic” affair between Southern-American writer Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) and his New Yorker publisher Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth) …

Tawfeek Barhom steps into the shoes of popular Palestinian singer Mohammad Assaf in The Idol …

A troubled young man has a series of dreams in which he is a combat soldier in the South African Bush War in the local My Father’s War …

In Nine Lives Kevin Spacey is a daredevil billionaire who becomes trapped inside the body of the cat and begins to experience what life is truly like for the family pet, and as a cat, Tom begins to see his family and his life through a new and unexpected perspective …

Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto reprise their roles as Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock in Star Trek Beyond, the thirteenth film in the Star Trek film franchise and the third installment in the reboot series.

OUT ON DVD

Visit Let’s Watch DVDs on Facebook or visit www.writingstudio.co.za

LET’S WATCH DVD’S WITH DANIEL DERCKSEN Christmas Father might only come once a year, but there’s always birthday boys and gals looking for a DVD of Blu-ray! ... Here’s a selection of must-have titles that will make super gifts.

GRANDMA marks Lily Tomlin’s first lead role in a film in nearly three decades, which is one reason to celebrate. Another reason?

The lesbian actress portrays a lesbian character — Ellie, a poet whose partner has recently died. The film, which has generated much-deserved acclaim for Tomlin’s performance, centers on the relationship between Ellie and her granddaughter as they go on a road trip together and confront their pain. What are grandmas for, darlin’?

MURDER OF A CAT is a murder mystery you will never forget! When Clinton (Fran Kranz) finds his beloved cat dead in front of his house he sets out to find the murderer, even though everybody else could care less.

His investigation leads to Greta (Nikki Reed), a woman whose cat was also killed, because they’ve been sharing the same cat. Finding out that his cat was living a double life is only the first sign of trouble for Clinton, as his search for his cat’s killer reveals a massive crime ring operating out of the local megastore.

If you are looking for food-for-thought, SPOTLIGHT tells the astonishing true story of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prizewinning “Spotlight” team of investigative journalists, who in 2002 shock the city and the world by exposing the Catholic Church’s systematic cover-up of widespread pedophilia perpetrated by more than 70 local priests. The feisty Spotlight team follow up on a column about a local priest accused of having sexually abused dozens of young parishioners over the course of 30 years.

TANGERINE is one of the year’s most acclaimed independent darlings. Directed

by Sean S. Baker and Chris Bergoch, the film follows the story of two friends, who also happen to be transgender sex workers, Alexandra and Sin-Dee Rella, across the backdrop of the saturated streets of Hollywood. And it’s shot entirely on an iPhone 5s. The story goes: Sin-Dee, after being released from prison, discovers that her boyfriend has been cheating on her with a white cisgender woman. Furious, she goes on a hunt for revenge and solicits Alexandra as an accomplice. And in the process, the friends show the audience a side of Los Angeles that is rarely seen in media. Nominated for four Spirit Awards, including acting nods for its leads, Tangerine is a must-see film.

The power of love empowers women from two different generations to change the world in this heart-breaking love story FREEHELD, with superb performances by Julianne Moore as

a lesbian police officer and Ellen Page as her loving domestic partner. The film deals with the police officer’s fight against the Ocean County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders to allow her pension benefits to be transferred to her domestic partner after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

THE ADDERALL DIARIES is an incredible journey into the twisted mind of a once-successful novelist paralyzed by writer’s block and in the thrall of an Adderall addiction – who becomes fascinated by a high-profile murder case as a way to escape his personal struggles.

If there’s one reason to see this film, besides a first rate and highly imaginative adaptation from writer-director Pamela Romanowsky, it’s for the explosive and dynamic confrontation between Franco and Ed Harris, who plays his father who mysteriously resurfaces and claims that his son’s nightmarish memories were fabricated.

In I AM MICHAEL, Michael Glatze, a former LGBT activist, ignited a firestorm of controversy when he publicly renounced his homosexuality and became an antigay bornagain Christian. This “ex-gay” story is told cinematically in I Am Michael by writer and director Justin Kelly, who based the screenplay on a New York Times Magazine article by Benoit Denizet-Lewis. Glatze himself praised lead actor James Franco, whose performance he credits with being part of his own “gigantic healing process.” The rest of the cast, including Zachary Quinto as his ex-partner, do a wonderful job of telling a story that could have been quite judgmental but succeeds in recounting one man’s struggle for identity.

The Australian gay film DROWN is a powerful story about masculinity, following the fictional lives of surfers in Sydney.

Jealousy, homophobic fear and unrequited lust trickle throughout the movie, until a particularly frightening final scene. The film, beautifully shot, jumps between past and present, happy moments and sad ones, peaceful times and episodes of violence — making the tense but singular conflict really shine through the storytelling.

Equally brilliant is DEMOLITION, with Jake Gyllenhaal in top form as a man whose life unravels and with the help of a woman and her gay boy Chris (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.

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ON STAGE

Find out what’s happening at a theatre near you: www.writingstudio.co.za

AT THE THEATRE WITH DANIEL DERCKSEN Symphony Fever The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra’s June season at the Cape Town City Hall features Peter Martens playing the Dvořák Cello Concerto on June 16, Maciej Grybowski will play the Schumann Piano Concerto on June 23, and Rachel Lee Priday plays the First Prokofiev Violin Concerto on June 30. Book at Computicket or Artscape Dial-A-Seat on 021 241 7695.

Live Action at the Alexander Bar Upstairs Theatre Mike Bartlett’s sharp, witty Cock (June 22 to 25) takes a candid look at one man’s sexuality and the difficulties that arise when faced with a whole new world of possibility, with outstanding performances by Francis Chouler and Matt Newman as two lovers drifting apart; and Film Noir meets Dance Theatre in Pulp (June 23 to 25), an intimate work from Cape Town’s awardwinning Underground Dance Theatre.

Bookings online at shows.alexanderbar. co.za or call 021.300.1652

Icecapades Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment is an action-packed ice spectacular featuring four fun-filled Disney stories that showcase many of the beloved characters at the Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg from June 24 to July 3, and at the Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town from July 6 to 10. Book at Computicket.

Jive Cape Town Comedy Festival At the Baxter Theatre the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival (July 11 to Aug 7) features Marc Lottering, Alan Committie, Gino Fabbri, Kev Orkian and Ennio Marchetto; The Inconvenience of Wings (July 12 to August 3) is performed by Andrew Buckland, Mncedisi Shabang and Jennifer Steyn and tells the story of friendship, dysfunction, addiction and angels and takes place in a landscape of memory and dreams; Brother Love 2 (July 13 to 16) stars Emo and Loukmaan Adams and takes you down the journey of how growing up in the entertainment industry influenced their lives; and Karoo Moose (Aug 31 to Sept 24) is performed in English with isiXhosa and takes place in a remote and impoverished village in the Karoo, where the inhabitants are struggling to survive.

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Contemporary Dance to Quicken the Pulse Cape Town City Ballet presents The Vortex, a Noel Coward ballet by Marc Goldberg in a double bill with Kirsten Isenberg’s Of Gods & Men at the Artscape Theatre from July 15 to 23 - Adapted and choreographed by Marc Goldberg, The Vortex is based on Coward’s play, which was originally put on in the 20’s, and has all the opulence and infidelity that made the 20’s such a great time to live; and in Of Gods & Men gods can rule only as the eternal life force, whereas man is defined by his ability to feel - his humanness – a power beyond the immortality of gods.

Book at Computicket or Artscape Dial-aSeat on 021 421 7695 At the South African State Theatre in Pretoria Luyanda Sidiya’s acclaimed theatrical work Siva (Seven) (May 2 to 14) is a stirring music and dance spectacle steeped in rich spiritual resonances from the Vuyani Dance Theatre, and Sidiya’s Maisha (July 7 to 10), a full-length dance work, looks beyond colour, perceived poverty, poor governance, and all that the Western media portray unquestioned, and untrue, about us, the people of Africa. Book at Computicket.

The Waterfront Theatre College presents Hit me with a HOT Note (July 13 to 1), an eclectic mix of dance styles highlighting the versatility of their dancers at the Artscape Arena. Book at Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat 021 421 7695 The Firebird is a contemporary puppet and dance performance set to Igor Stravinsky’s dramatic original score and is directed by Janni Younge (former director of Handspring Puppet Company) at Artscape Opera from June 24 to 26. Book at Computicket or Artscape Dial-a-Seat 021 421 7695

At the Fugard Theatre David Kramer’s not-to-be-missed musical tribute District Six – Kanala has been extended until July 3; in A Voice I Cannot Silence (June 7 to 25) Alan Paton’s internationally recognised gifts for lyric verse, evocative prose, and vibrant story telling are combined to create a richly dramatic portrait; and Bruce Norris’ acclaimed black (and white) comedy Clybourne Park enjoys its South African premiere on August 16 - it is set in 1959 where the first black family moves into a

posh neighbourhood and creates ripples of discontent amongst the cosy white suburbanites. Tickets can be bought through Computicket or the Box Office on 021 461 4554

At the Milnerton Playhouse

Marc Camoletti’s hilarious farce Boeing Boeing (July 22 to Aug 6) follows a swinging bachelor as he tries to juggle three gorgeous airline hostesses all engaged to him without knowing about each other.

Bookings: www.milnertonplayers.com or 082 267 1061

Musical Magic

Cape Town G & S proudly brings My Fair Lady to Cape Town audiences for its 60th anniversary at the Artscape Opera House from July 16 to Aug 7 – it’s a beautiful musical about transformation, patronage, gender politics and class. Book at Computicket and ArtsCape Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695 I Love You’re Perfect, Now Change is a love letter to the dating and mating game and is made up of a series of vignettes that take a close and hilarious look at love and relationships. The versatile cast portray more than 52 different characters, complete with over 30 wardrobe and wig changes.

At Theatre On The Bay in Camps Bay from July 20 to Aug 6 and at the Monte Casino Theatre in Johannesburg from Aug 10 to Sept 4. Book at Computicket.

At the Kalk Bay Theatre

Join Candice Michelle and her two piece band and enjoy some of the greatest songs you know you love with One Night Stand (June 7 to 18), featuring the music of the Bee Gees, Electric Light Orchestra, Phil Collins, Michael Jackson, Abba and many more; a chilling, satirical, gothic horror story, The Yellow Wallpaper (June 21 to July 2) is full of deadly secrets; PieterDirk Uys performs An Evening With Evita Bezuidenhout ( (July 12 and 15), Adapt or Fly (July 13), and in The Echo Of Noise (July 14) he shares his life of excitement, fear, success, adventure, hopes and fears in this unique chance to meet the man behind the mask; and Borderline (July 26 to 30) features the fantastic Pierre van Heerden performing astounding renditions of all the best loved Beatles songs, from I Wanna Hold Your Hand to Hey Jude - written by Vanessa and Steve Harris and directed by the Followspot team, this show is highly entertaining and deeply nostalgic. You will love every minute! . Booking: www.kalkbaytheatre.co.za

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