Outwords 206 December 2013

Page 4

OutWords // Editorial

EVEN A LUMP OF COAL CAN BEAR GIFTS

PUBLISHED BY THE OUTWORDS VOLUNTEER STAFF:

How Russia’s oppressive laws brought a global community together

FOOD AND LIFESTYLE EDITOR: Shayna Wiwierski

EDITOR : Ksenia Prints SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR : Miles McEnery MUSIC EDITOR: Danelle Cloutier ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Graeme Coleman NEWS, BOOKS AND MOVIES EDITOR: Meg Crane FASHION AND BEAUTY EDITOR: Jefre Nicholls

ART DIRECTOR & LAYOUT: Dylan Bekkering ASSISTANT LAYOUT: Michele Buchanan FINANCIAL OFFICER: Darrel Nadeau

T

he holidays bring with them a chance for reflection, an opportunity to look back and examine our mistakes and EDITORIAL achievements over KSENIA PRINTS the last year. For the international GLBTQ* community, the biggest story of 2013 has undoubtedly been the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympic Games. And boy, was there a lot to learn from in this saga. We had exceptional moments, like Stephen Fry’s open letter to David Cameron and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). We had confusing statements, like when top Russian athlete Yelena Isinbayeva told a news conference, “Maybe we are different than European people and people from different lands. We have our law which everyone has to respect … We consider ourselves like normal, standard people, we just live boys with women, girls with boys ... it comes from the history,” only to backtrack within days and say she was misconstrued as homophobic. And we had profound disappointments, like the continuing shootings and beatings across Russia’s gay night clubs and Pride parades, or the IOC’s continuous, adamant refusal to see similarities between Russia’s nationalist political climate and the mood in Germany on the eve of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. But above all else, we also had a global community that came together. This is not to say that there were no disagreements within the GLBTQ* community regarding the Sochi Olympics. While many

4 // December 2013 / January 2014 // www.outwords.ca

called for an athletic boycott of the games, others advocated for a tourist boycott. Some had more creative ideas; in this issue, you can read about Dayne Moyer’s Change.org petition, which calls on athletes to show up on opening night with rainbow pins. Some gay athletes spoke against the Olympics and Russia’s laws, while others chose to stay mum. And at press time, no single course of action has been chosen. But the community came together nonetheless. The fact that so many people, from so many corners of the world, GLBTQ*identifying or allied, chose to speak, write, sign, debate and listen, publically or privately, about this issue, means something. It means that GLBTQ* issues are no longer a niche topic that is to be whispered about, or the pet cause of singular activists. It means that GLBTQ* issues affect, and matter to, everyone. And that’s a pretty darn important thing to witness. So I’d like to go on a limb here and say that in this year, I’d like to thank the Sochi Olympics for stirring up so much debate and awareness around GLBTQ* rights. I am not glad that Russia passed a law that looks like it was taken out of Stalin’s playbook, nor that so many innocent men and women have been hurt in their attempts to oppose it and defend their identity in public. But I am glad that upon hearing of this oppressive law, even the most disparate populations came together and formed a community, a worldwide Gay-Straight Alliance. In terms of achievements, I think that’s a big one for 2013. Do you disagree? Are you sick and tired of hearing about the Olympics? Email, Facebook, or tweet us @Outwords. And have a safe, happy holiday season!

DISTRIBUTION: Jared Star, Terry Wiebe WEB MANAGER: Vic Hooper SALES MANAGER: Phil Olcen DESIGN INTERN: Christel Nadeau COVER ILLUSTRATION: Dylan Bekkering CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE: Gina Dascal, Larkin Schmiedl, Julia Gignac, Bowen, Paul Charbonneau, Ashley Field, Eric Plamondon, Kenton Smith, Jacob Thiessen, Armande Martine, Jessica Botelho-Urbanski, Zanna Joyce, Ian Robertson, Patrick Courcelles, Corey Shefman, Ray Buteau. BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Debbie Scarborough, Kevin Hills, Darron Field, Darrel Nadeau, Liz Millward, Rachel Wood, Armando Perla, Rachel Morgan. OutWords 201-63 Albert St. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1G4 Phone: (204) 942-4599 For office hours, please call. General Inquiries: info@outwords.ca Editor: editor@outwords.ca Creative: creative@outwords.ca Advertising: sales@outwords.ca Distribution: distribution@outwords.ca Accounts: billing@outwords.ca Event Submissions: calendar@outwords.ca Letters Submissions: letters@outwords.ca Website: www.outwords.ca   OutWords provides news, analysis and entertainment for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and queer community and its allies.GST 89671 7618RT, ISSN 1715-5606 (print) ISSN 1715-5614 (online)  Canada Post Publication Licence 416 99032, Contents copyright © 2013 OutWords Alll rights reserved. OutWords is a member of the Manitoba Magazine Publishers’ Association.  Articles are not necessarily the views of the staff, management, or board. We accept no liability for our advertisers’ claims.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.