To celebrate the release of my Influential UK Gay Men article, which you can read in full for FREEhere, here are some of my favourites:
Mark Ashton (1960-1987) Mark Ashton was a lifelong activist for equality. He helped found Lesbian, Gay Support the Miners (LGSM) charity. He volunteered at the Switchboard and LGBT+ charity.
In addition to fighting for LGBT+ equality Ashton also campaigned for nuclear disarmament. Towards the end of Ashton’s life, he advocated for young people’s involvement in politics, using music and art as engagement strategies.
Ashton sadly died of AIDS, a short period of time after diagnosis in the late 80s.
A famous Ashton quote is: “Why should gay people like me support the miners? Because miners dig for coal, which produces power, which allows gay people like us to dance to Bananarama till 3 o’clock in the morning.”
Jonathan Bailey (1988-Present) Jonathan Bailey is a star of stage and screen, who is perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Anthony, 9th Viscount of Bridgerton and Fiyero in Wicked (the film with the musical of the same name).
In terms of speaking about his sexuality Bailey has said:
“If I can fill spaces that I didn’t have growing up then I feel like that’s a really brilliant thing.”
And: “I hope queer kids will see my work and know that things will be okay.”
Bailey recalled learning that one of his fellow actors was told: “There’s two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay.”
Rupert Everett (1959-Present) Rupert Everett came out as gay when it wasn’t popular to do so. This takes great bravery and courage and for that this man has a special place in my heart.
Everett has played various roles in films, on TV and in theatre productions. But only recently being recognised with winning awards. These days Everett is married to his partner Henrique.
Everett has been criticised for some of his views. But he explained in an interview: “For me, being gay was about wanting to do the opposite of the straight world, so I think that’s where my problems in this particular area come from. But that’s me, just me. I’m not having a go at gay couples who do. I think if Elton (John) and David (Furnish) want to have babies, that’s wonderful. I think we should all do what we want.”
Paul O’Grady (1955-2023) It is no exaggeration to say that Paul O’Grady was loved by millions thanks to his prime time TV show: The Paul O’Grady Show. On this show, he chatted with guests, shared his love of dogs and had a warmth that radiated through television sets up and down the country.
Gay people will particularly remember council dweller Lily Savage, a character played and created by O’Grady. O’Grady was known for his quick wit whether as Lily Savage or as himself.
In addition to his work, O’Grady did a lot for charities including ones that support children, animals and dementia. These were all causes close to his heart.
O’Grady was proud of his working class roots and often supported The Labour Party.
O’Grady has been declared by some to be a national treasure and I completely agree. O’Grady had a settled married life with a husband on a farm in Kent. Returning to London for work purposes.
O’Grady wrote his autobiography in two parts. He died quite suddenly of a heart attack. O’Grady had struggled with an addiction to cigarettes all of his adult life and probably before then, which contributed to his cause of death.
One thing I’ve noticed when talking with others about O’Grady, is that they never say anything bad. It’s always positive.
Alan Turing (1912-1954) Alan Turing’s story is a sad one. These days his face resides on a £50 banknote and is celebrated as a hero. Turing was for all intents and purposes a genius. He is described as a creator of modern computing, a mathematician, a computer scientist, a cryptanalyst, a philosopher and a theoretical biologist. Turning studied at the top universities in both the UK and in the USA.
Turing’s story starts out quite positively. In 1936, he published a paper that outlines the ‘Universal Machine’ code that forms the basis of modern computers, even today.
Then in 1939 Turning broke the German Enigma code, giving the British a significant advantage in the Second World War. But he didn’t stop there, continuing to help break other codes that were vital to the success of the war efforts against the Germans.
After the war, in 1952 Turing was convicted of gross indecency due to all male homosexual activities being illegal until as late as 1967. Turning was made an example of. He was chemically castrated using hormones, denied the ability to work on the intellectual projects that he had done so previously and publicly shamed. Turing was hounded and harassed by the Police. They were instructed to monitor him closely, in case he became a security risk, given his previous level of security clearance.
In 1954, Turing ended his life by cyanide poisoning. He was just 41 years old at the time. Turing no doubt felt like his life was over. He was no longer allowed to do his work and he was under constant surveillance.. Like there was nothing left worth living for.
Despite those in power knowing about Turing’s contributions to the War efforts and his other great works, it took a Royal Pardon in 2013 to decriminalise him and many others who had been treated the same way for illegal homosexual acts. Just goes to show that just because something is law, doesn’t mean it’s right.
I wish so many things for Alan Turing. I wish he had lived to see the decriminalisation of homosexuality/homosexual acts.
I wish Turning had got to see the civil rights movement that followed and the strides towards equality that we have made.
I wish that they had continued to let him work, imagine what other great works he could have achieved.
I wish that he’d found acceptance from his peers, society and most importantly found love.
I wish he could see that he’s on every £50 note.
Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, said about Turing:
“Turing was a leading mathematician, developmental biologist, and a pioneer in the field of computer science.
“He was also gay, and was treated appallingly as a result. By placing him on our new polymer £50 banknote, we are celebrating his achievements, and the values he symbolises.”
I would like to hope that this would never happen again in the UK.
But across the world, there are still many places where being gay is a crime with severe punishments for those caught. Some gay people are still oppressed and discriminated against for who they love. It’s so wrong.
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Reading Time: 2minutesRuth Cocker Burks, image by Brian Chilson (from Out Magazine’s Website)
The photo above is of Ruth Cocker Burks.
Ruth is the altruistic woman who cared for gay men dying with AIDS in the 1980s in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. It started when she was at University Hospital visiting a friend who had cancer. At the time she was 25 years old with a young family.
One day she saw a door to a patient’s room with a big red bag over it. Inside was a gay man dying of AIDS. Nobody came to visit him. He was asking for his mother. So Burks called his mother. His mother told Burks that being gay had brought shame on the family. His family didn’t want to know. Even the healthcare staff treated him as cursed. So Burks cared for him. She visited him in hospital and when he finally passed away she buried him.
Burks then went on to give this end-of-life care to hundreds of gay men and to bury at least three dozen herself. Luckily for Burks, her mother had bought 262 plots in a graveyard when she was younger due to a colossal family argument. This meant that Burks has plenty of space for the burials.
From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of those gay men, I just want to say: Thank you Ruth Cocker Burks. Nobody deserves to die alone, afraid and without care or love.
Burks believes that a higher power led her to her destiny of caring for these gay men dying with AIDS. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But what I do know is that Burks’ actions represents the very best aspects of humanity: care, compassion, kindness and love.
Burks is an inspirational woman and I wish we could all be more altruistic, meaning that we care for the well-being of others more.
Journalist Benjamin Law is an Australian with Asian roots. In Gaysia, he takes us on a tour of Asia showing us all things gay across the continent.
Benjamin with his warm and engaging writers voice takes us to: Bali to meet the money boys and explore the cheap tourist destination; Thailand to see the world of trans Lady Boys in Miss Tiffany’s Beauty Pageant; China to interview gay men and lesbian women who often marry one another; Japan to explore the explosion of non-sexual Drag Queens on TV and the underground lesbian subculture; Malaysia to meet Christian and Muslim fundamentalists who claim they can cure homosexuality; Myanmar were HIV positive people are so poor that only one in five can get life saving treatment; India to interview people in the LGBT rights movement and to meet a man that claims he can cure homosexuality with yoga.
Benjamin’s description is perfect, covering the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and sensations of each place and experience. This makes the reader feel that they are sharing his adventure from start to finish. Benjamin documents his observations and interviews well; but for the majority of the book he holds back from experiencing first-hand what it is like to be gay in the countries that he visits. Whereas it wouldn’t have been practical or appropriate in some countries, it would have been great to see Benjamin dressed as a Drag Queen in an attempt to get on Japanese TV. Benjamin does make up for this, by attending his first Pride in India in the final chapter of the book. It would have been pleasing if he had included some glossy photos in the book of places he’d visited and possibly people he’d met.
Gaysia starts with relatively light-hearted subject matter but quickly moves on to more heavy subject matter. Emotive subjects such as: the lack of civil rights, the lack of access to HIV medications and gay cures all gave a negative impression of being gay in Asia. But this is a real and honest account of what being gay in Asia means, and was usually told to him by the gay people of Asia he interviewed.
Gaysia is travel writing, but not a holiday guidebook. Instead it is a captivating in depth look at Asian societies, cultures and subcultures of the gay sexual minority group. Gaysia is educational, enlightening and a must read for anyone whose interested in travelling to the Asian continent to experience gay Asia or anyone who loves Asian culture, food or places.
