Pink Planet--Crossing Borders
Going through Immigration and Customs is stressful for everyone, but LGBT travellers face a whole other set of challenges. For a variety of perspectives, along with some practical suggestions, check out my August 15 column at www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/680107
On August 27 Maclean's magazine published a piece by Mark Steyn entitled, "Do you notice anything shrivelling?" Steyn quoted from the above-mentioned column, but his intentions were very different. My response was published in the September 28 issue:
Dear Editor,
I was saddened to see how my August 15 Toronto Star column on border crossings was used in Mark Steyn's column entitled, "Do you notice anything shrivelling?" In his column Steyn seems uncomfortable with the level of diversity that has always existed in human societies. He appears to suggest that trans and gender variant travellers should not hope for the same level of respect that many of us expect when crossing borders. The travellers I interviewed are not expecting border guards to be experts on gender theory, they just want them to listen. I wonder if Steyn has listened closely to any trans or gender variant folks describing their experiences; if he had he might understand that their gender is no more a personal choice than his.
Regardless of whether the Toronto Star is on "the hunt for new bigotries," they haven't found a new one here. Transgender and transsexual people have been outlawed, discriminated against and murdered for centuries if not millennia. On the other hand, they've also been held in high esteem for centuries in some cultures, but Steyn doesn't show much interest in that, dismissing two-spirited traditions as "supposedly some First Nations thing."
I'm disappointed that my column was used in this small-minded piece and that the people I interviewed were shown such disrespect.
Julia Steinecke
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Happy Anniversary, Pink Planet!
On June 20, the Toronto Star will publish the 50th edition of Pink Planet at www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/94592. Time to celebrate! Join in the blog party, it's already begun! Please post your comments here. We'd like to know what you've enjoyed most about Pink Plant. What places and parties would you like us to cover next? Where have you travelled in the Pink universe? We look forward to hearing from you!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Pink Planet--Endless Summer of LGBT Festivals
Pride season comes and goes, but there are oodles of friendly festivals throughout the summer and into fall. Check out the latest Pink Planet at www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/94592
Here's some more festivals to check out:
Bone Island Bare it All Weekend is a gay naturist event at Key West (nakedkeywest.com) in July 17 to 19 and again December 4 to 6.
This year the Pines Party at Fire Island, New York (pinesparty.com) has a 1970s surf culture theme. July 24 to 26.
Provincetown, Massachusetts hosts Family week (familyequality.org/events/familyweek) from August 1 to 8.
Homo A Go Go is a diverse, multi-disciplinary arts festival in San Francisco from August 13 to 16 (homoagogo.com).
Festival of the Babes is an annual lesbian soccer festival in San Francisco, September 4 to 6 (festivalofthebabes.com).
Key West hosts Womenfest (womenfest.com) from September 8 to 13.
Billing itself as the world's largest leather event, the Folsom Street Fair® hits San Francisco on Sunday, September 27 (folsomstreetfair.com).
The date hasn't been set yet for Wigstöckel, Berlin's transgender festival, but check wigstoeckel.com for updates.
Fantasia Fair brings trans folk to Provincetown from October 18 to 25 (fantasiafair.org). For other P-town festivals visit ptownchamber.com.
The European Bears and Big Men's Convergence lands in Brussels from November 4 to 9 (ebmc.biggerworld.com).
Queer arts festivals are the new rage, launching in various locales over the fall. Check out Glasgay in Scotland (glasgay.co.uk), Homotopia in Liverpool (homotopia.net), Exposure in Edmonton (exposurefestival.ca) and Feast in Adelaide, Australia (feast.org.au).
On the Pink Planet page you'll also find previous columns about gay-friendly carnivals, sports tournaments, Halloween events, and Provincetown festivals.
Finally, here's a relic from the August 2005 Pink Planet story on LGBT Film Festivals, which appeared in the Toronto Star:
When The Lights Go Down
by Julia Steinecke
Even the lineups are fun at lesbian and gay film festivals around the world: imagine standing single file among outgoing locals with nothing to do but flirt. If it’s raining, the umbrellas come out, with invitations to huddle, until the line starts to move, then cheers resound, and slowly, you make your way inside to the screening room.
You can learn a lot about a local community at an event like this. Do lesbians and gay men party together or do they cluster in separate camps? Are folks outrageous, or subdued? In some countries where homophobia and fear may keep participants away from Pride events, there’s a higher attendance at film festivals, where people can meet in relative privacy. Last year’s turnout at the Czech “Mezipatra” festival topped 8000, setting a record for the number of participants at any gay event in the Republic.
There are over 150 lesbigay film festivals, from San Francisco to Budapest. London, England has a fifteen day spectacle with over 200 screenings. London, Ontario has the London Lesbian Film Festival, proudly organized for the last fourteen years by the Reeling Spinsters.
What these events have in common is their diversity. Organizers, whether volunteer or paid, try to include as many perspectives as possible: lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, transsexual. There’s a blend of local talent and international films. Most are low-budget indie productions but there’s a growing contingency of mainstream flicks with big-name actors.
Another common element: the parties, which accompany opening night, closing night, and any excuse in between. Last year, the Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival held a Pink Party to celebrate the film, “A Touch of Pink.” The London Lesbian Film Festival usually has a women’s dance. Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival takes place during the famed Mardi Gras celebrations, with unlimited party opportunities.
Some festivals receive government funding; some face censorship, public denouncement and red tape. Vancouver’s Out on Screen festival gets funding from all three levels of government, yet, as recently as 2001, BC’s Film Classification Board tried to censor their Opening Gala, a documentary called “Little Sister vs. Big Brother” on the subject of, ironically, censorship. A public outcry caused the FCB to back down. Undaunted, festival organizers have created an innovative, “Out in Schools” project, where they collaborate with student groups to show films in local high schools.
Hong Kong’s festival is rarely threatened with censorship, though promotional materials are not allowed to be sexually explicit. This relative freedom of expression, according to programmer, Raymond Phathanavirangoon, is part of the reason why Hong Kong has the biggest LGBT film festival in Asia. The event enjoys mainstream support from television and radio outlets, and has a lot of straight attendees, most notably, the droves of female office staff, who come because, according to Phathanavirangoon, “they want to see cute guys.”
Montreal
image+nation
www.image-nation.org
Nov 3 - 13 2005
Czech Republic
Mezipatra
www.mezipatra.cz
Prague, November 14 - 20, 2005
Brno, November 4 - 12, 2005
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
www.hklgff.com
November 17 to 27, 2005
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
www.ljudmila.org/siqrd/fglf/
November 26 to December 3, 2005
Amsterdam
De Korte Roze Filmdagen
www.rozefilmdagen.nl
December 14 to 18, 2005
also, Nederlands Transgender Filmfestival
www.transgenderfilmfestival.com
was May 18 to 22, 2005
Sydney, Australia
Mardi Gras Film Festival
www.queerscreen.com.au
February 16 to March 2, 2006
South Africa: Johannesburg, Cape Town & Durban
Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
www.oia.co.za
was March and April 2005
London, England
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
www.llgff.org.uk
was March 30 to April 13, 2005
London, Ontario
London Lesbian Film Festival
www.llff.ca
was April 29th - May 1st 2005
Toronto
Inside Out - Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival
www.insideout.on.ca
was May 19 to 29, 2005
New York City
NewFest 16th New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
www.newfestival.org
was June 2 to 12, 2005
San Francisco
Frameline: San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
www.frameline.org/festival/
was June 16 to 26, 2005
Budapest, Hungary
www.gaypride.hu
was July 7 to 10, 2005
Tokyo
Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film and Video Festival
www.tokyo-lgff.org
was July 14 to 18, 2005
Vancouver
Out on Screen
www.outonscreen.com
was August 4 to 14, 2005
Here's some more festivals to check out:
Bone Island Bare it All Weekend is a gay naturist event at Key West (nakedkeywest.com) in July 17 to 19 and again December 4 to 6.
This year the Pines Party at Fire Island, New York (pinesparty.com) has a 1970s surf culture theme. July 24 to 26.
Provincetown, Massachusetts hosts Family week (familyequality.org/events/familyweek) from August 1 to 8.
Homo A Go Go is a diverse, multi-disciplinary arts festival in San Francisco from August 13 to 16 (homoagogo.com).
Festival of the Babes is an annual lesbian soccer festival in San Francisco, September 4 to 6 (festivalofthebabes.com).
Key West hosts Womenfest (womenfest.com) from September 8 to 13.
Billing itself as the world's largest leather event, the Folsom Street Fair® hits San Francisco on Sunday, September 27 (folsomstreetfair.com).
The date hasn't been set yet for Wigstöckel, Berlin's transgender festival, but check wigstoeckel.com for updates.
Fantasia Fair brings trans folk to Provincetown from October 18 to 25 (fantasiafair.org). For other P-town festivals visit ptownchamber.com.
The European Bears and Big Men's Convergence lands in Brussels from November 4 to 9 (ebmc.biggerworld.com).
Queer arts festivals are the new rage, launching in various locales over the fall. Check out Glasgay in Scotland (glasgay.co.uk), Homotopia in Liverpool (homotopia.net), Exposure in Edmonton (exposurefestival.ca) and Feast in Adelaide, Australia (feast.org.au).
On the Pink Planet page you'll also find previous columns about gay-friendly carnivals, sports tournaments, Halloween events, and Provincetown festivals.
Finally, here's a relic from the August 2005 Pink Planet story on LGBT Film Festivals, which appeared in the Toronto Star:
When The Lights Go Down
by Julia Steinecke
Even the lineups are fun at lesbian and gay film festivals around the world: imagine standing single file among outgoing locals with nothing to do but flirt. If it’s raining, the umbrellas come out, with invitations to huddle, until the line starts to move, then cheers resound, and slowly, you make your way inside to the screening room.
You can learn a lot about a local community at an event like this. Do lesbians and gay men party together or do they cluster in separate camps? Are folks outrageous, or subdued? In some countries where homophobia and fear may keep participants away from Pride events, there’s a higher attendance at film festivals, where people can meet in relative privacy. Last year’s turnout at the Czech “Mezipatra” festival topped 8000, setting a record for the number of participants at any gay event in the Republic.
There are over 150 lesbigay film festivals, from San Francisco to Budapest. London, England has a fifteen day spectacle with over 200 screenings. London, Ontario has the London Lesbian Film Festival, proudly organized for the last fourteen years by the Reeling Spinsters.
What these events have in common is their diversity. Organizers, whether volunteer or paid, try to include as many perspectives as possible: lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, transsexual. There’s a blend of local talent and international films. Most are low-budget indie productions but there’s a growing contingency of mainstream flicks with big-name actors.
Another common element: the parties, which accompany opening night, closing night, and any excuse in between. Last year, the Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival held a Pink Party to celebrate the film, “A Touch of Pink.” The London Lesbian Film Festival usually has a women’s dance. Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival takes place during the famed Mardi Gras celebrations, with unlimited party opportunities.
Some festivals receive government funding; some face censorship, public denouncement and red tape. Vancouver’s Out on Screen festival gets funding from all three levels of government, yet, as recently as 2001, BC’s Film Classification Board tried to censor their Opening Gala, a documentary called “Little Sister vs. Big Brother” on the subject of, ironically, censorship. A public outcry caused the FCB to back down. Undaunted, festival organizers have created an innovative, “Out in Schools” project, where they collaborate with student groups to show films in local high schools.
Hong Kong’s festival is rarely threatened with censorship, though promotional materials are not allowed to be sexually explicit. This relative freedom of expression, according to programmer, Raymond Phathanavirangoon, is part of the reason why Hong Kong has the biggest LGBT film festival in Asia. The event enjoys mainstream support from television and radio outlets, and has a lot of straight attendees, most notably, the droves of female office staff, who come because, according to Phathanavirangoon, “they want to see cute guys.”
Montreal
image+nation
www.image-nation.org
Nov 3 - 13 2005
Czech Republic
Mezipatra
www.mezipatra.cz
Prague, November 14 - 20, 2005
Brno, November 4 - 12, 2005
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
www.hklgff.com
November 17 to 27, 2005
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ljubljana Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
www.ljudmila.org/siqrd/fglf/
November 26 to December 3, 2005
Amsterdam
De Korte Roze Filmdagen
www.rozefilmdagen.nl
December 14 to 18, 2005
also, Nederlands Transgender Filmfestival
www.transgenderfilmfestival.com
was May 18 to 22, 2005
Sydney, Australia
Mardi Gras Film Festival
www.queerscreen.com.au
February 16 to March 2, 2006
South Africa: Johannesburg, Cape Town & Durban
Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
www.oia.co.za
was March and April 2005
London, England
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
www.llgff.org.uk
was March 30 to April 13, 2005
London, Ontario
London Lesbian Film Festival
www.llff.ca
was April 29th - May 1st 2005
Toronto
Inside Out - Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival
www.insideout.on.ca
was May 19 to 29, 2005
New York City
NewFest 16th New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
www.newfestival.org
was June 2 to 12, 2005
San Francisco
Frameline: San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
www.frameline.org/festival/
was June 16 to 26, 2005
Budapest, Hungary
www.gaypride.hu
was July 7 to 10, 2005
Tokyo
Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film and Video Festival
www.tokyo-lgff.org
was July 14 to 18, 2005
Vancouver
Out on Screen
www.outonscreen.com
was August 4 to 14, 2005
Monday, May 25, 2009
Pink Planet--Cool Places to Tie the Knot
When I researched this column I was amazed at how many unique places there are to have an LGBT friendly wedding or commitment ceremony, even in countries that condemn our relationships. I don't always call them same-sex weddings because trans folk of all orientations face similar challenges and even more discrimination. Read on at www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/630023
School for Monks in Laos
This is a great place to interact with monks in Luang Prabang, Laos. See my story in the Toronto Star at http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/563213
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