Community

This week an article I wrote on the nature of 'community' was published in the Spring edition of RFD Magazine.

"RFD is a read written journal for gay people which focuces on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. We foster community building and networking, explore the diverse expressions of our sexuality, care the the environment, radical faerie consciousness, nature-centred spirituality, and share the experiences of our lives" - RFD Magazine, Issue #129, Spring 2007

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All over the world, queer men are drawn to big cities in search of tolerance, lovers and community. But for many of us, the speed of urban life is an alienating experience. City environments are unnaturally disconnected from the nourishing web of human communication.

In contrast, a rural existence offers a chance for a slower pace of life - a more satisfying existence on a more human scale. Queer country living is literally good for us. Living closer to the land is not only more interesting and more fun, it also deepens our personal connections and build community.

But what is community? And why is it so important for queer men?

The English word "community" comes from the Latin word " communitatus". "Com" means together, "Muni" is said to refer to the "exchanges that link" and "tatus" means intimite or local. It all seems so obvious really - community is simply the sum of all those connections that binds us together. Those connections build social capital, the benefits of reciprocity and a feeling of belonging.

Most of us Radical Faeries come from societies where social capital is on the decline (read "Bowling Alone" by Robert Putnam"). Especially worth noting is the decline in "bridging capital" where people create bonds with people who are NOT like them. For me, that is the magic of the Faerie Network - through the common bonds and blessings of our collective queerness, we meet and share ideas with men whose life experience is radically different from our own. Circus Performers meet Bankers meet Farmers meet Shrinks. Heart circles and radical hospitality build acceptance and spiritual growth.

My own spiritual journey has inspired me to take a real world journey - a global quest of queer community, in its many and varied forms. My quest took me to a spiritual community in upstate New York, and few sunny weeks in Folleterre with the Eurofaeries. I now write this article from my new home: New Zealand. For over four months now I have been living and working at the end of the road in Takaka, New Zealand, where Peter Finlayson and Pete Banham play host to New Zealand's longest running celebration of queer rural community and culture.

New Zealand is about as remote as it gets. Four million people live here at peace in the Pacific. Sometimes this country feels like one small town on two small islands. The breadth of those oceans breed a special Kiwi self-sufficiency where the welcome is quick to unfold and the bonds that bind this community together are tough.

And though this most English of Pacific outposts has historically had a complex relation with progressive politics [New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote (1893) and one of the last to grant queer men the right to fuck (1986)] New Zealand is there days building a reputation for progressive, imaginative and queer friendly politics.

So next time you're wondering where all the country boys went for queer country living and a community that cares - you know where you'll find them. In the words of the first peoples to find this land: E nga iwi o te ao katoa, Haere mai heare mai, haere mai (to the peoples of the whole world, welcome, welcome, welcome).

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