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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Big Macs in Auckland

I have been in Auckland now for four days and much to my surprise I am enjoying myself. So many people have given me such bad impressions of the place.

After spending five months in the countryside, with clean air and bright skies, my senses are overwelmed by the stench of the city. Auckland reeks of petrol fumes, chinese food, old sweat and sex. I remember reading how the imminent arrival of Europe's first ocean voyaging ships were anticipated by indigenous people whose keen noses were overwelmed by the wretched stench of the sailors, still over the horizon.

I have made the most of the opportunities the city has to offer, but have been surprised by some of my experiences. The local dirty boy bar, Urge, with fisting porn on the wall, was packed with lovely men, half of whom I already knew from Autumn Farm. New Zealand truly is one small town.

Last night I was making love to one local man, when he looked up and announced that he could kill a Big Mac. Usually very sexually open minded, I found this perversion simply too much to bear, and made a quick and precipitous exit. Gross.

Nigeria

Last month I read about a new law which is being passed in Nigeria which will seriously compromise the human rights of queer people in Africa's most populous nation.

I wrote the following article which was published in Express, New Zealand's most popular gay and lesbian magazine.

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Nigeria to pass world's most anti-gay law

This month, Nigeria will enact one of the world's most homophobic laws. Disguised as a bill to ban gay marriage, certain provisions of The Same Sex Marriage Act outlaw any form of gay expression.

Gay sex is already illegal in Nigeria - a legacy from British colonial rule. Men who have sex with men face penalties of up to 14 years in prison (or even death in provinces which enforce Islamic law). The new law, however, will go much further, with penalties of up to 5 years for any endorsement of gay relationships.

"The draconian measure will outlaw membership of a gay group, attending a gay meeting or protest, advocating gay equality, donating money to a gay organisation, hosting or visiting a gay website, the publication or possession of gay safer sex advice, renting or selling a property to a gay couple, expressions of same-sex love in letters or emails, attending a same-sex marriage or blessing ceremony, screening or watching a gay movie, taking or possessing photos of a gay couple, and publishing, selling or loaning a gay book or video" said Peter Tatchell of UK based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights group OutRage!.

This pernicious law directly conflicts with Nigeria's commitments to international human rights (freedom of speech and assembly), and is contrary to the Nigerian constitution. It seems, however, that in Africa's most populous nation, prejudice is enough to motivate the worst forms of human rights abuse.

Older Kiwis will remember the battles we fought in our own country for the right to fuck. Gay sex was illegal in New Zealand until 1986. Gays in Nigeria already face harsh penalties for sex. This new law seems intent on silencing their protest.
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Moustache

This week I grew a moustache. Not for any particular reason, but I have promised my good friend Solana Larsen (who is the President of the Danish Peurto-Rican Society) that I would.

The Danish-Peurto Rican Society is "an affiliation of Danish-Puerto Ricans, Danes, and Puerto Ricans (and their friends) who believe in the virtues of cultural diversity and ethnic confusion."

Go figure.

I wonder if I am the only queer member of the Danish-Peurto-Rican Society?