THAT WAS THE (QUEER) YEAR THAT WAS
Word: Richard Smith and Joe Lam
Our earnest publisher Joe Lam asked me to compile a list of the most notable public figures of 2009 and nothing could be more daunting – who might I forget, who shouldn’t I include…? Well after spending hours and hours researching I came up with an eclectic mix of ‘notables’ including a few that have sadly left us…
Well two are covered already in this issue, namely, vocal sensation Adam Lambert and Mr Gay HK Rick Twombley… but there are many more…and listed alphabetically so as not to show bias of any sort
Alan Turing (WWII code breaker)
In September 2009 British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, issued an apology on behalf of the government to Alan Turing who committed suicide 55 years ago after being sentenced to chemical castration for being gay. This brilliant mathematician was most famous for his work that helped design the “bombe” that cracked messages enciphered with the German Enigma machines.
Ben Rakestrow (UK Soldier)
Ben Rakestrow hit the headlines in the UK when, on return from his operational tour of service in Afghanistan, became one of the first British openly gay soldiers to be serving in a major conflict when he came out to his colleagues. “It was difficult to start with,” he said. “I didn’t know how they’d react,” he is quoted as saying. It was illegal to be gay in the British armed forces until 1999 which was changed to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. Times they are a changing!
Beth Ditto (Musician)
Larger than life in both curves and glorious attitude, Beth Ditto has certainly made her mark in the LGBT community and equally outside of it. We featured Beth in the August 2009 issue of DS Magazine. An outspoken lesbian and proud of her size, the cool media have lured her to appear in their cover shots in an era where America’s Net Top Model and such push for defined ideas of beauty! She even has her own plus-sized fashion line for British-based retailer Evans no less!
Ellen Degeneres (Talk Show Host/Comedian)
With Oprah soon to be leaving the limelight of her talk show – Ellen with an already huge audience has an ability to warm to all generations, sexes and societies. She is proud of her sexuality and her marriage to Portia De Rossi and when campaigning about such things as Proposition 8 and human rights she does with humble aplomb (if you know what I mean!). She gives her guests a relaxed atmosphere in which to talk comfortably about what can sometimes be sensitive subjects with the likes of Adam Lambert (discussing his AMA performance and the reaction to it) and seeing Lady Gaga in such a naturally open way. And she is now the new judge for American Idol to boot!
Jack Wrangler (Porn Star )
Gone but not forgotten, Jack Wrangler was know as the first gay porn star! He passed away of natural causes in April 2009. He started in the gay pornographic industry in the early 1970’s and made over 80 adult films both gay and straight.
Kelly McGillis (Actress)
Famous for her leading roles in the 80’s such as in Top Gun and a fantasy woman of many a young straight boy, Kelly McGillis is equally renowned as a serious actress with roles in films like The Accused. Twenty years after The Accused Kelly came out on SheWired’s Girl Rock video blog in April 2009. She came out in a classy way and has shown that she is proud by playing a lesbian role in indie flick The Monkey’s Mask and as a closeted military lawyer in the L Word tackling a ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ case.
Kim Ji Hoon 金智勳 (Actor)
Korean actor Kim Ji Hoon took his own life in October 2009 to which the Police believed reflected public prejudice towards gay people in Korea and the difficulty of being an openly gay actor in the television and film industry. When he came out his management agency failed to renew his contract and numerous tv and fashion shows cancelled his appearances. Kim started out as a fashion model in 2008 and had started to appear in some soap operas in 2009.
Malinda Lo (Novelist)
This young first time novelist won the American Library Association’s William C. Morris YA Debut Award for debut young adult novels. Her fantasy novel ASH was published in September 2009 to critical acclaim with characters that were queer-identified.
Walter Trochez (Gay Activist)
25 year old Honduran, Walter Trochez, was assassinated on 13th December 2009 by drive-by killers. A well-known LGBT activist, Walter was also a member of the National Resistance Front which caused him previous arrests and beatings for his sexual orientation. It was believed that he had been followed for some weeks before his murder by brutes that were believed to be members of the state security forces. Mr Trochez documented a run of political assassinations of LGBT community members in an open letter…
“Once again we say it is NOT ACCEPTABLE that in these past 4 months, during such a short period, 9 transexual and gay friends were violently killed…”
At the end of the letter Walter stated “As a revolutionary, I will always defend my people, even if it takes my life”.
Wanda Sykes (Comedian/Actress)
Wanda’s career has only become stronger since announcing she is “Proud to be gay” in front of an estimated crowd on 1,000 at an anti-Proposition 8 rally in Las Vegas in November 2008. In April she became the proud parent of twins with her wife Alex.
Will Phillips (Junior Human Rights Activist)
Ten year old Will Phillips, considered the cause célèbre of the gay right movement, hit the US headlines when the story was picked up by CNN in November 2009 that he refused to stand up and pledge allegiance in class at his school in West Fork, Arkansas. He had taken a look at the ending of the pledge of Allegiance and concluded that the line “…with liberty and justice for all..” was not upheld in the US as “Gays and lesbians can’t marry. There’s still a lot of racism and sexism in the world…” and when pushed by his teacher to pledge allegiance he said “Ma’am, with all due respect, you can go jump off a bridge.”
His father was called in to the school and after considering the situation supported the common sense and righteousness of his son’s actions. After the incident he received taunts from fellow students but this didn’t stop him from sticking to his beliefs. The story caught the interest of CNN who interviewed him and has since received amazing support from thousands of people for his applaudable candidness and rationality regarding gay marriage! If you haven’t seen the amazing interview check it out on this link
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOcAWn7Rp9s&feature=related
Wouter Barendrecht (Film Producer )
Co-chairman of Fortissimo Films and dear friend of our publisher Joe Lam, Hong Kong-based Wouter inspired so many people in the industry. A member of the European Film Academy, he served on numerous international film festivals – most notably for us – The Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals. Wouter produced numerous films of note including Mysterious Skin and Shortbus.
Sean Penn (Actor)
On winning the Oscar for his portrayal of politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk in the movie Milk, Sean Penn said:
“…I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.”
Stephen Gately (Singer)
Member of the popular Irish boy band Boyzone, Stephen came out in 1999 and married his boyfriend Andrew Cowles firstly in a commitment ceremony in Las Vegas in 2003 and then in a civil partnership ceremony in London in 2006. The shock of his early death whilst vacationing in Majorca, Spain in October 2009 hit the music world hard and shocked his fans. Stephen was the first member of a famous boyband to come out and it was not voluntary since it was a former member of the Boyzone tour crew who brought the story to the UK tabloid, The Sun. The Sun approached Gately with the information to which he responded by coming out publicly.
