PERM AND SPERM
Well, what a lovely story in the Mirror about two new mums of the
lesbian persuasion. Anna Jones and Kirsty Cox became proud parents
after Anna's sister's hairdresser donated some of that sperm stuff
which, apparently, is rather helpful when it comes to making
babies. It seems the lavender ladies had long hoped for a family,
but were unable to afford expensive fertility treatment, so they
started putting the word about for swimmers. I'd have loved to have
heard the conversation as Anna's sister got her hair done: "No, I
said I want a perm - but my sister would definitely like some
sperm."
It's unclear if a turkey baster was involved, but the outcome of
this sperm-lending was that both mums became pregnant and gave
birth within five days of one another. Cue two cute little babies,
Alfie and Scarlett-Marie, who are often mistaken for twinsies.
(Ahhh!)
Speaking to the Mirror, Anna said: "We are overjoyed. We've now
got the perfect family although this time last year we thought we'd
never have children of our own." Doesn't your heart just melt? And
if that makes you goo-goo gaga, just think about all the broody
straight folks who'll read it and go all gooey-wooey too. Tabloids:
we want more articles like this please, which show the love and joy
of gay parenting. It's sweet, and you know it.
Read the original story here
OH DEAR
I'm afraid it's bang your head against the wall time again. As we
know, the Daily Mail has very little interest in lesbian matters
apart from articles in which we're presented in a negative light.
It was with sadness, then, that I read about 19-year-old Gemma
Barker, a young woman who disguised herself as a boy in order to
pursue three other teenage girls. In an extraordinary turn of
events, Gemma used several male alter egos to date various female
friends - people who already knew her as a girl. Gemma was even
introduced to the girls' families, all of whom failed to recognise
her, despite previously meeting her in girl mode.
(NB: Reading the story, I couldn't help but wonder if Gemma is
in fact transgender. As the Mail's article provides no information
on the defence, there's nothing to suggest I'm right.)
Not content with one story on this case, the Daily Mail
contacted Gemma's victims, and followed up with a second feature.
In it, Gemma's lesbian friend, Natalie, describes her shock at the
deception: "Gemma knew I was gay but I never suspected she was
interested in girls - she always told me she had a boyfriend". It's
good the DM spoke to Natalie, as this reminds its readership that
not all gay women are fraudsters. The Mail should go further
though. Rather than focusing on cross-dressing lesbians as the
perpetrators of sexual crime, why doesn't it give more coverage to
workplace discrimination, to homophobic hate crimes - to corrective
rapes? It's not as if these things don't happen, DM.
Read the original story here
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
Ah Bristol… Home of trip hop, Massive Attack, Portishead and the
teen TV sensation that is Skins. The BBC now reports that the UK's
coolest city is about to lose its Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. The
helpline service, which has been running since 1975, will close due
to a fall in the number of people calling in. The plan is to
transfer calls to the London Switchboard in future. Brighton and
Hove LGBT Switchboard, one of the oldest queer helpline services in
the country, is also facing severe difficulties and currently seeks
emergency funding.
I have mixed feelings about the closure of Bristol's
switchboard. Gay and lesbian help lines are in important part of
queer history, and have provided a vital service to isolated and
depressed gay, bi and trans people over the past few decades. I
hope that falling call rates to such services indicates that people
from sexual minorities are experiencing less problems in 2012 than
they were 35 years ago. Let's hope so.
Read
the original story here
