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A Love To Hide

nuckfut — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:05:15 +0000

A Love to Hide (French title: Un amour à taire) is a French film made for television, directed by Christian Faure, which aired in 2005.

The action takes place in France during the Second World War.

A young Jewish girl, Sarah, is looking to escape the clutches of the Third Reich after seeing her parents and sister brutally slain by a smuggler who betrays them while attempting their way to England. Terrified, she is sheltered by her childhood friend Jean, a homosexual living a clandestine love affair with his lover, Philippe.

They are safe for the moment, thanks to Jean’s plan to pass her off as a Christian employee of his laundromat. However, a bad decision made by Jean’s troublesome brother, Jacques, causes Jean to be wrongly accused of being the lover of a German officer. Jean is then forced into a Nazi labor camp.

It is one of those rare films that depict homosexual deportation during World War II. It is loosely based on the book by Pierre Seel, entitled Moi, Pierre Seel, déporté homosexuel.

Cast

Jérémie Renier     …     Jean
Louise Monot     …     Sarah / Yvonne
Bruno Todeschini     …     Philippe
Michel Jonasz     …     Armand Lavandier
Charlotte de Turckheim     …     Marcelle Lavandier
Nicolas Gob     …     Jacques
Olivier Saladin     …     Breton

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This is one of the most sad-yet-beautiful gay movies I’ve seen, as one might expect from a Nazi movie theme, where gay people must face terrible fate, but this movie is not just telling the story on the concentration camp, it tells about the dynamic of a family where jealousy reared its ugly head.

It was well-written and well-acted, deserved to be on the top of not just the best gay-themed movies, but also one of the best movies.

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Some pics for you

Jérémie Renier

Bruno Todeschini

Nicolas Gob

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Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU4dKBDSuEQ

Mark Feehily Interview in Carlow People

nuckfut — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:57:25 +0000

Mark interview in Carlow People

2011 – March
Take From: Carlow People

INNER PEACE

Westlife’s Mark Feehily radiates hapiness, describing the past 12 years as ‘the most exhilarating experience one could imagine’. In a compellingly candid interview with Jim Gray, he charts his remarkable journey from being a shy schoolboy to becoming a pop

“All I know is that coming out, for me, was the best thing I have ever done. It changed my life, allowed me to be happy with who I was.

“There were definitely a few dark days early on. Remember, I was barely 19 years old. I was shy by nature, I didn’t like all the attention.”

MARK FEEHILY never craved fame, so he is not seduced by it. Yes, he confirms, the Westlife rollercoaster has provided the most exhilarating experience one could imagine, and it has given him an amazing lifestyle for which he is extremely grateful. But, at 30 years of age, and having packed more adventure into the last 12 years than he could ever have believed possible, he remains remarkably grounded and unaffected.

“Fame and celebrity and money have never been the motivation for me. Ever. When I first got involved in school musicals it wasn’t just so I could skip some classes. It was because I genuinely wanted to be involved. It’s exactly the same now. I’m in Westlife because I want to be a singer. The other stuff is the bonus, never the motivation, he maintains.”

Refreshingly candid and free from any sense of self-importance, Mark remains an innately shy person, who has battled hard to find the right balance between the privacy he values so highly and the public persona which is so important to his professional life.

Happiness and contentment has always been important in the Feehily family. The eldest of three children of Oliver and Marie his brothers, Barry and Colin, still live in Sligo Mark had an idyllic childhood, growing up with a huge posse of cousins in a rural setting about three miles from Sligo town. The values learned in those formative years have not been contaminated by fame and fortune.

“I value the life I had before I became famous, and I make a conscious effort to retain as much of that as a I can. Fame was never like a drug for me. I didnt grow up dreaming about being a star. Ive learned to enjoy it, but I would never be carried away by it”, he says.

As if to prove the point, the highlight for him this year occurred last weekend not a glitzy, glamourous showbiz party or a mega concert, but his granny Mai Feehilys 90th birthday party.

“I’m the oldest grandchild and Ive always been close to my grandparents. Celebrating Nana Mais big day in Sligo was something really special for all my family”, he relates.

A mildly talented tin whistle player as a youngster at Calry National School, Mark would never have been considered to be more than an average musical talent until he suddenly discovered, during a talent show in Summerhill College, that his singing voice set him apart.

“People who never even noticed me before were telling me I had this really soulful voice. I didnt even know what that meant. But it set something off in me. The next thing I remember was seeing Shane Filan in a school production of Grease, and I knew immediately thats what I wanted to do. I hadnt a clue how to go about it, being on stage was like another planet for me. But I started scanning the local papers for auditions, and that led to Mary McDonagh giving me a lead role in Godspell. It hit a nerve. I was hooked”, Mark recalls, also noting the early influence of his music teacher at Summerhill, Dave McEvoy.

The rest, as they say, is history. Westlife have gone on to conquer the world of pop music and their popularity shows no signs of wilting. Its a source of pride for Mark that the fan base still encompasses everyone from toddlers to grannies. He has no time for the musical snobbery which often seeks to denigrate their music.

“I remember in the early days being quite upset with a review of one of our concerts in Sweden. But weve learned to take that on board. I remember being at a Prince concert and thinking it was definitely the best performance I had ever seen in my life. The next day the papers absolutely panned it. It made me realise not to pay too much attention to music critics”, he confides.

During the course of a wide-ranging chat, he openly talks about how he loves and appreciates the opportunities Westlife has given him, but also about the darker days’ in his early Westlife career, when the dawning of adolesence suddenly found him catapulted into a world which often bordered on insanity, when coping with newfound fame and fortune would have been difficult enough without the added personal challenge of coming to terms with his sexuality, and how his natural shyness caused him to wonder on more than one occasion whether this was really the life he wanted.

To the watching world, it seemed that the three Sligo teenagers, Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Mark, barely beyond their Leaving Cert, had somehow unearthed the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow, and that was certainly the case. But for Mark Feehily, the rainbow sometimes had a slightly darker hue.

”There were definitely a few dark days early on. Remember, I was barely 19 years old. I was shy by nature, I didn’t actually like people looking at me. I didn’t like all the attention. And yes, there were times when I would be so nervous before a television show or a performance, that I wondered is this really for me. Am I cut out for this? But that was balanced by this indescribable rush of adrenalin I’d get from performing. There was just a magnificent buzz about being up there on stage and people responding to what we were doing. I loved every minute of that side of things.” But an even tougher challenge for the teenager, by then a famous pop star and a reluctant pin-up’ boy, was the dawning of the realisation that he was gay. He is quite happy to elaborate.

”The fact that the explosion of Westlife coincided almost exactly with the period in my life when I was beginning to question my sexuality made the whole thing that much more difficult to deal with.

”In one way, being in the band was good, because it was a distraction. We were on the road every day, flying all over the world, doing all the shows and so on, that I was able to put the question of my sexuality to the back of my mind. It was something I knew I would have to deal with, but I could say to myself not today, too busy today.

”So I put it in a box and locked it away and got on with life. But I was often unhappy, because I suppose I knew I wasn’t being true to myself. The idea out there at the time was that all these young girls loved us and all of that, and that made it even more crazy.

”I remember all those teeny magazine interviews where we’d be asked questions about our favourite type of girls and our first kiss and all of that. Smash Hits never ask about your favourite type of boy! So, while everything seemed to be like a dream come true, for me it was all a bit unreal.”

Meeting his partner, Kevin McDaid, who was then in a boyband himself and could, therefore, empathise with the sort of unreal existence Mark was experiencing, changed everything.

”The thing that finally set me free was falling in love with Kevin. It’s like the penny dropped. I suddenly realised I didn’t care who knows about this. This is me. This is who I am. I knew that those who loved me, my parents, family, friends, the lads in the band, would still be there and would be supportive”, he recalls.

Although not wanting in any way to become a gay icon or a one-man advice bureau, Mark is conscious that because he is in the public eye, people experiencing their own difficulties with sexuality might look to him as a role model.

“I have no problem with that. But, really, all I can say to people is to be honest with themselves. Bottling it or trying to hide it away is not the right thing to do. In fact, it can be dangerous. All I know is that coming out, for me, was the best thing I have ever done. It changed my life, allowed me to be happy with who I was. I believe everybody should feel free to express who they are as a person. Its not about sex, but about being honest with yourself and others, and being happy. Most important, its about love and everyone has the right to fall in love and have a soul mate without questioning it”, he says.

As to the future, he points out that Westlife schedules are carefully planned to allow each member individual freedom. An instinctively creative person, Mark would like to use this time to develop his interests in art and photography, and he wouldnt rule out the possibility of a West End musical if the opportunity ever arose. But he stresses that Westlife commitments come first.

”From day one, we always said if we were to succeed then Westlife would have to be above everything else, and weve never deviated from that. Our ambition initially would have been just to have a CD in Sligo. We got that and we set our sights on a single in Ireland, then the UK and so on.

“We’ve never got too far ahead of ourselves. But always we knew we had to work at it, and we will continue to do that. I honestly believe Westlife will last as long as we want it and as long as were committed to the work that goes with it. We have much greater control over our own destiny now. I don’t see us packing in any time soon”, he pledges.

As we part company, a mother somewhat sheepishly approaches with two gobsmacked young children, barely able to believe the Westlife star from their bedroom posters is standing in front of them. Mark greets them as if they were long-lost cousins. Happiness shared.

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Happiness is all around

We still think about Stephen every day, says Westlife Mark

nuckfut — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 01:45:08 +0000

We still think about Stephen every day, says Westlife Mark

2010 – October

Take From:
http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/around-town/we-still-think-about-stephen-every-day-says-westlife-mark-2384098.html

By Lorna Nolan

Stephen Gately. Photo: PA

Monday October 18 2010

WESTLIFE’S Mark Feehily admits that he is still haunted by the death of Boyzone’s Stephen Gately one year after his tragic passing.

The Sligo-born singer explained how he and his fellow bandmates; Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan and Kian Egan could not attend an anniversary service in memory of the singer, which took place at the St Laurence O’Toole church on Sheriff Street, as they were in London for a photoshoot.

“We still think about Stephen and talk about him, it’s not that the situation has left our minds at all,” he said, adding he was also hit by Gerry Ryan’s death.

ASHES

“I mean even on Wednesday morning I was at home in Sligo and I almost went to go and turn on the radio to listen to Gerry Ryan. You know it’s tough and you do think about them a lot,” he added.

The star added that he knew nothing about the alleged falling out between the family of Stephen Gately and the late pop star’s husband Andrew Cowles over the scattering of his ashes earlier this month.

“I suppose it’s a very sensitive subject, only the family and him [Cowles] will ever know what really happened.

“It’s like politics.”

Mark, who got engaged to his longtime partner Kevin McDaid last January, says they are planning their nuptials.

The star says they have yet to decide on a date or venue, but feels strongly that they should have the right to hold their civil partnership in Ireland if they so choose. “I would love to have the choice to marry in Ireland, it’s just a matter of being equal to everyone else,” Mark explained.

outlets

“I think I should have the choice. Ireland has come a long way but there’s still a long way to go. Right now we’re an engaged couple. We’re brainstorming at the moment. It’s probably going to be the best day of our lives so we want to make it really special,” he added.

Mark also spoke of his excitement ahead of Westlife’s first official concert at the O2 which takes place on April 2.

Tickets for the gig went on sale last Friday at 9am from all usual outlets and are expected to sell out fast. “We’ve never actually played the O2 to full capacity before.

“The acoustic gig was more of an intimate, small performance so we’re all very excited,” Mark explained.

“We’re just meeting our creative team at the moment to make all the plans.”

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We missed you Steve

anyway, I don’t understand, I thought Ireland has passed the civil partnership law for gay people, why does Mark say that he’s doesn’t have the choice?

‘LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE IN IRELAND’ Westlife star Mark’s plea.

nuckfut — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:01:08 +0000

2010 – October
Take From: The Irish Mirror

By Leanne Smyth

WESTLIFE star Mark Feehily has called for gay marriage to be made legal.

The singer said he wishes he could marry boyfriend Kevin McDaid without any restrictions and be afforded the same rights as his bandmates.

Mark, 30, added: “Like anyone else I want equality. I want to have the choice to get married wherever I want, just like everybody else.

“I am still reading up on different legislation matters about getting married, I’m still learning loads about it.

“But at the end of the day I would just like to be like any of my friends and the other members of the band and have the choice to get married whenever, wherever I want, be it Ireland or anywhere.”

The star said he can’t escape all the wedding talk as everyone wants to hear what the boys plan to do on their big day.

He added: “Everyone’s asking me did we set a date, we haven’t as yet because we haven’t been engaged that long really.

“It’s only been since January so it’s not that long at all really. We are still enjoying the moment.

“We are always talking about it and thinking of dates, places and times.

“Everyday we are getting closer to the date and time. We are looking into a lot of different options for now.” The star also revealed Westlife are gearing up to release their new album in November.

He said: “It’s going to be great – we got a great response to our new single after they played clips of it on the X Factor last week.

“It’s an original song and we think that our fans will love it. It’s very Westlife.”

Mark revealed that the muchloved foursome are desperate to appear on this year’s talent show and perform their new track.

He added: “We have appeared on it every year so far but we would never take it for granted and expect that we would automatically be on it.

“We won’t be jumping up and down though until we get the call.

“But I have to say that we would love to go on it this year again.”

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The bold part, I guess I’m guilty as charged, lol…

anyway, here’s another pic of them

they’re so adorable, I wish you guys a lifetime of happiness

Gay Games Cologne 2010

nuckfut — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:34:42 +0000

Around 10,000 gay and lesbian athletes from around the globe are expected to descend on the western German city of Cologne tomorrow to participate in the international Gay Games.

Entrants from more than 70 countries are due to take part in an eclectic mix of events including football, transgender ballroom dancing and cheerleading. A cultural programme includes art exhibitions, choir concerts and film screenings.

Many of the participants have adopted false identities because of fears that they will be persecuted on their return home.

“We want to demonstrate that the exclusion of gays and lesbians, especially in the sporting world, has to end,” said Thorsten Moeck, of the organisation committee.

“Among the represented countries are plenty in which it’s still an absolute taboo to out yourself.”

While most participants come from Germany and the US, the list of countries represented will also include Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Zimbabwe.

Moeck said for many, including Mexico’s gay soccer team, whose identities have been deliberately kept secret, it would be a “unique opportunity” to be surrounded by fellow gays and lesbians.

Eastern European sportsmen and women, from countries where discrimination is more or less systematic, have this year been invited to the event for free.

The Gay Games first started in San Francisco in 1982 and takes place every four years. Its founding father was the openly gay decathlete Tom Waddell, who died of Aids in 1987.

This year’s host city is home to Europe’s largest gay and lesbian sport club, SC Janus.

The Australian Olympic gymnast Matthew Mitcham, who won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and is one of the few major athletes to have ever come out, will open the event.

“This event brings gay and lesbian life onto the soccer pitch, the athletics track and into the swimming pool,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for all gays and lesbians to show the world that as a community we’re not a bunch of stereotypes.”

The event has been overshadowed by events at last week’s Love Parade festival, in the nearby city of Duisburg, in which 21 people were trampled to death and which has led to calls for tighter safety procedures at large-scale events in Germany.

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source

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I wonder whether openly gay athletes such as Gareth Thomas, Matthew Mitcham and Blake Skjellerup would be there, it would be fun

Lastly, a pic of Gareth Thomas

one pitcher of Matthew Mitcham

one of Blake Skjellerup

Idiom for the day: Landslide Victory

nuckfut — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:35:43 +0000

A landslide victory is a victory in an election by a very large margin.

Joe McElderry Revealed that He’s Gay

nuckfut — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:26:26 +0000

Joe McElderry has revealed he is gay, declaring: “I’m really happy, I now know who I am.”

The 19-year-old X Factor winner made the brave decision to come out in an emotional *interview with the Mirror, just a week after telling his mum.

Joe has always denied rumours he was gay, but insisted the reason was he didn’t know himself until recently.

He added: “I’ve had time to think about things. I wasn’t attracted to anyone anyway, male or female. It never really entered my head I was gay. But I just know. It’s how I feel.”

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source

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He also gives confirmation on his official website

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A message from Joe

Hey Guys,

Tomorrow there will be some articles about me in the newspapers because I have been doing some important interviews today. I wanted you to know that the articles are true. I also wanted you to know that I really respect your loyal support and all the kind messages I have had from you up to this date.

I have always been a very honest person and so it is important for me to continue to be honest. It has been the most amazing year so far and I feel so privileged. It’s also been a time of real self realisation and I feel as if I have grown up so much in these few months.

There has been speculation about my sexuality in the past and I have always been honest at the time I have been asked. Over the past few weeks I have really had time to reflect and to realise who I am. I spoke to my friends and family about this in the last few days and it was important to do the same for you all as you have been so supportive.

I have had nothing but support from you and many of you have been very open in saying that you will continue to support me whatever my sexuality. It is important to me to let you know first, so that you know the stories in the papers are true. I made the choice to speak openly about this.

Again, I can’t thank you enough for all your support.

Everything is going well and I’m really happy to be able to move forward from here

Joe. x

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source

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Oh, he’s so brave, coming out to public after only been a week he come out to his mother, bless him.

I wish you a long and successful career Joe

New generation of English fans would accept gay players

nuckfut — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:09:07 +0000

Stumble across an article about English fans of soccer/football would accept gay players

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LONDON (Reuters) — A new generation of British soccer fans would be tolerant about professional footballers admitting they were homosexual, according to an online survey conducted by Staffordshire University in England.

The survey of 2,000 supporters (www.topfan.co.uk) found that only seven percent believed that soccer had no place for homosexuals.

It was conducted by culture, media and sport professor Ellis Cashmore and senior sociology lecturer Jamie Cleland.

“The big surprise was that we got what I suppose you’d call a counter-intuitive response and that was that 93 percent said they felt there was no place for homophobia in football and it should be stomped out and they felt that it brought shame on football,” Cashmore told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“There was a call for greater transparency. A lot of people said they would prefer it if gay footballers came out because they don’t think they would have to put up with that much abuse.”

Only one professional footballer, England international Justin Fashanu, has revealed he was homosexual during his career. Fashanu committed suicide in 1998 at the age of 37.

Players in other sports have been equally reticent. Former Wales rugby captain Gareth Thomas revealed in a newspaper last year that he was gay, saying: “It’s pretty tough for me being the only international rugby player prepared to break the taboo.”

Thomas’s candor prompted sympathy from British former National Basketball Association (NBA) player John Amaechi, who announced he was gay after retiring in 2007, plus a warning that homophobia was still present in sport.

Former England rugby coach Clive Woodward was more positive, saying he expected the sport to take Thomas’s announcement in its stride, while Welsh media reported recently that Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke was considering portraying Thomas in a film.

HEAVY BURDEN

“The question remains when will a gay soccer player come out?,” Cashmore said.

“The fans themselves are of the opinion that, yes we know there are gay players and when we watch football every week we know we are watching gay players but actually it doesn’t matter to us.”

Cashmore said homophobia now was equivalent to the racism which blighted British soccer during the 1970s and 80s.

“Football fans who have for long been characterised as Neanderthal types, the knuckle-dragging kind of macho type who believe homosexuality is still taboo; actually they have changed as well,” he said.

“We have a new generation of football fans — managers, coaches, players themselves, I class them all as fans in some way.

“They don’t actually care very much about a person’s sexual orientation. But of course the players are living with a legacy and the legacy has become a heavy burden for football.

“It’s going to make it extremely difficult for the first living footballer to come out. For a footballer to come out after his career is over, in a sense that is the path of least resistance.

“It’s still enormously difficult but not as difficult as they think.”

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source

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It’s a good sign towards kicking homophobia out of football, but I still think that it’d take years for a gay player to come out of the closet, even though fans in England can accept gay players, but it doesn’t mean that fans outside of England, especially in countries where gay is not only unaccepted, but also considered as a crime, can accept gay player, I’m sure the clubs don’t want to lose their fans all over the world, it’s a depressing thought, but it’s true.

Anyway, here’s another interesting picture of football I found

Gay Soccer Player?

nuckfut — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:47:46 +0000

After reading an article on how Germany’s squad on 2010 World Cup was a bunch of gays, and then I came across a translated article on LJ on gay soccer player in Bundesliga, it was an interesting article.

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“A coming out would be my death“

It’s widely believed that gay football professionals don’t exist. But statistically at least one out of eleven Bundesliga players should be gay. RUND knows three gay professionals, but names can’t and shouldn’t be named in this story – the climate in football is still that homophobic that the consequences for these players would be devastating

Enver* gave up. The homosexual football professional who told RUND about his hidden and angst-filled life in Germany two years ago isn’t playing in the Bundesliga anymore. Far too infrequently Enver had been able to show his immense football skills, always feeling hounded and being torn between the desire to live his homosexuality but also to not be a disgrace to his club. Depressed, he left the country that made him wealthy but never gave him the feeling of being able to live the way he wanted to: as a man who loves men. Because this is still the biggest possible taboo in homophobic football, where men and women starting together in a team seems more realistic than an out gay player being accepted in a professional team.

Fates like Enver’s are no exception in German football, although according to the official lifestyle and mindset no gays can exist in the tough men’s sport. Or are allowed to exist – a popular theory is that gay footballers quit of their own choice because they can’t feel comfortable in a world where ‘faggots’ can’t exist. A misapprehension as for some the love for football is greater than the insecurity about the ability to cope with the own sexual orientation that is generally frowned upon.

RUND knows three homosexual players from the first and second Bundesliga. But names couldn’t and shouldn’t be named here. As long as ‘faggots’ are talked about with such hate and scorn, the danger is too great when someone gets outed publicly against his own will. So they behave as inconspicuous as the associations, most clubs and footballers want them to: just as if they don’t exist. For years, homosexual football professionals have sought advice from a sports psychologist. Players who belong without a doubt to the best that there are in Germany are amongst them, too. “I know from my counselling that these players see for themselves the only choice in leading a double life, hiding their homosexuality from the trainer, the own team and the management. This is a huge psychosocial burden and this can also be the reason why someone approaches me,” the psychologist clarifies.

And in 43 years of Bundesliga no heterosexual team mate had to shower with their ass to the wall in fear of an unwanted penetration, which is one of the most popular clichés. As the cultural studies academic Tanja Eggeling says, “All imaginable fears of gays get mobilized there and thus forbid it to confront the topic.” The picture of the sexually horny gay, always ready to feel up a team mate in the spacious functional rooms of the stadiums is a bitter parody of the real life. While a coming out is acknowledged casually in some society circles and gay politicians or TV stars can arrive at parties with their life partners without any askance looks, gay footballers live in secret.

“Of course I feel shite. Even my wife doesn’t know anything about it,” a despairing second-league professional tries to describe his absurd life style. Officially, he’s married, but lives in a steady relationship with a school friend since his youth. “But what can I do? An outing would be my death.” The first league professional who is also in a long-lasting relationship is fed up with the fact that a girlfriend who is in the know accompanies him to team celebrations and Christmas parties to seem “normal”. “The white lies and the secrecy are incredibly encumbering.” Fake marriages which can also include children are a means to maintain the model of a potent and heterosexual football professional. The sports psychologist knows that it is rare for a player to play on his highest level under these circumstances. “It’s a continuous problem where the focus is only on managing this lifestyle more or less well. These are also no individual cases, there are about as many players as shown in the statistics of the total population.” The ratio of homosexuals should be more than ten per cent.

Frightened and anonymous, gay professionals often frequent dating websites and gay chats on the internet where penis lengths, sexual role preferences and favourite fetishes are displayed in dozens. These virtual discounters of sexual desires and special preferences are “not really a comfortable place”, as a gay Bundesliga professional explains, “but it’s the only possibility for me to get to know other men anonymously and perhaps to meet them, too.” In doing so, he tries to “interrogate” his chat partner if he’s interested in football and could recognize him. But a residual risk is still there: “I’m jeopardizing my career every moment.”

Tatjana Eggeling, who is habilitating on “Homosexuality in sports”, noticed a paradoxical practice concerning this topic especially in the last two years: Homosexuality of footballers has developed into one of the most popular media topics, but despite that the daily homophobia hasn’t decreased. “A increased public cognition of the topic can be a hope for a positive effect. When you start to talk about something, you can expect changes, too.” But for the academic it is critical that it is the yellow press that is lusting after an outing of a professional. “The voyeuristic interest is huge. They’ll hound the first who outs himself for weeks. The price for a coming out would probably be too high, I wouldn’t recommend any player to do it.” On the other hand, Eggeling knows about the internal struggles and conflicts of many players. “To do something that you are very good at and also skilled in, but by doing so having to hide a central part of your personality produces an enormous pressure to perform.”

And the rumour mill is running at top speed, every gay community names its icons regardless of their actual sexual orientation. Many a long-time and proven heterosexual Bundesliga player gets the shock of his life when he learns that he’s perceived as a hundred per cent gay amongst gay-lesbian fan clubs, journalists and even colleagues. “If my name even gets only hinted at in this context, I’ll exhaust any legal means available,” one such player declares. This climate of speculation has already spread to possible framing: A big yellow press tabloid offered the Berlin journalist and book author Axel Schock even twice a formidable sum if he’d out a professional whom he knew to be gay. “They knew his name, too,” Schock says, “they just didn’t want to get their hands dirty because this would have meant the player’s definite career end. I’m convinced that such players are forced to cooperate with the media.” This is also what one of the players confirms: “There are journalists who know that I’m gay, but keep mum. In exchange for that, though, they expect that I provide information – regularly.”

A dodgy situation where you can’t hope for help from team mates, the club’s directors or the association. At least the former Bundesliga player Tanja Walther was in charge of a workshop about homophobia at the anti-racism conference of the UEFA which took place in Barcelona last February, which would still have been unthinkable some years ago. “Homophobia and sexism are still as much a part of football as the offside rule,” is one of her findings. At least the UEFA is the only association that has realized that to broach and prevent the issue of homophobia in the stadiums is also important for customer loyalty strategy, as homosexuals have also discovered football and are regarded as a potential clientele that could fill the stadiums.

The world association FIFA is still avoiding the topic: a strict ban got imposed on men kissing on the pitch. “The reasoning of the FIFA is absurd,” thunders Franco Grillini, representative of the left-wing Ulivo union in the Italian parliament and president of the national gay movement Arcigay. “They said it was because of STDs, but everyone knows that you can’t transmit these through kissing.” By doing so, the world association adds fuel to the fear of gays, Grillini says. “Football just happens to be the big triumph of the masculinity cult, the highest expression of macho behaviour.”

Measures against homophobia also aren’t on the priority list of the German Football Association (DFB). DFB president Theo Zwanziger who is now addressing the topic racism openly whenever it comes up, doesn’t want to say anything about the discrimination of minorities in football in general. The DFB and the DFL have created a task force to fight against violence, xenophobia and racism, but the homophobic outgrowths get ignored. It took six years until the DFB implemented the anti-racism paragraph proposed by the union of active football fans (Baff) in 1994. In Frankfurt, they haven’t responded to the homophobia catalogue proposed in 2002 yet. “The DFB can’t afford to plead ignorance about racism anymore, also because of image reasons,” Gerd Dembowski, fan activist and football author, reckons. “But homophobia, you can still close the eyes to. It’s even below racism, women and handicapped people in the hierarchy of discriminations.”

At the same time, the situation in the German stadiums is alarming, as Baff-representative Martin Endemann knows from weekly experience: “There’s just no consciousness about homophobia. A lot of choreographies are about the opponent being gay. Whole parts of stadiums spread homophobic contents – if they were racist, there’d be a huge uproar. If the DFB would include homophobia in its penalty catalogue, they’d have to close almost every Bundesliga stadium and end every second match prematurely.” Even the few gay-lesbian fan clubs like the Hertha Junxx in Berlin, the Rainbow-Borussen in Dortmund or the Stuttgart Junxx weren’t able to exert a lasting influence on the gay-hostile atmosphere in the Bundesliga stadiums.

The British football association, which has already been a paragon for other associations with its measures against racism in British stadiums, is also making inroads concerning homophobia. Since 2001, the articles say that the association takes disciplinary action against discrimination because of sexual orientation. Since then, rowdies yelling homophobic slurs have gotten expelled frequently from football stadiums. Two Norwich City fans even had to go to jail for a short time and got sentenced to a parole for two years subsequently.

On club level, Manchester City has started to break up the gay taboo. The club undersigned a Charta that turns it into a “gay friendly” club. In exchange for that, City pays a six-figure sum to Stonewall, the mighty organisation registered in London that defends the rights of gays and lesbians in Great Britain. At Manchester City, gays shall now be equal. Gay personnel gets hired, the gay scene of the city invited into the stadium. That’s still the big exception in England: just a short time ago, the BBC asked all 20 coaches of the Premier League three questions about the topic homosexuality – no one answered, not even Stuart Pearce, the Manchester City coach.

The suspicion that gay professionals could exist on the pitch is still regarded as a catastrophe in the mind of British fans. But in the case of Justin Fashanu it was even a Premier League professional who outed himself publicly in 1990. Eight years later, Fashanu hanged himself in a London garage. “To be gay and a person of the public life is harsh,” he wrote in his suicide note. ”If someone’d out himself in this day, he wouldn’t have the best life,” national player Robert Huth from the FC Middlesborough paraphrases the unchanged homophobic atmosphere, “he couldn’t enter the stadium as unconcerned as before. Even the opponents would provoke him because of it.”

In the Italian Serie A homosexuality is still regarded as an outrageous taboo. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. Rumours about the supposed homosexuality of football stars are afloat again and again. If they get overboard, the clubs intervene. Ambitious top models and showgirls are called for then. The stars let themselves be photographed with the starlets, marriages get arranged where children are included in the salary, too. Some model agencies are said to have specialised in this market segment. ”We know that some stars of Italian football are gay and are forced to hide it,” Arcigay president Franco Grillini says, “players even get forced by their clubs to marry. The players are afraid that their career could stop abruptly.”

Even Sandro Mazzola, who was a national player with Inter Mailand in the 60ies and 70ies, knows about the existence of homosexual players: “Of course I met gay professionals. One of them even became a famous trainer. It was known that he was gay and no one was disturbed by it.” And even the hardest and most humourless Italian terrier, national player Gennaro Gattuso, agrees with Mazzola: “There are two or three gays in 5,000 players. But that isn’t because football is that manly. I know gays who give more than everything on the pitch.”

The Brazilian former national player Marcos Vampeta, who had a short intermezzo at Inter Mailand and is now playing with the Brazilian first league club Goiás EC, outed himself a short time ago, just like his countryman Túlio Maravilha, who’s one of the best forwards of the Brazilian league with 500 goals. Vampeta had often frequented the respective scene bars in the Milan San Siro quarter. The gay scene is also active especially in the neighbourhood of the Meazza stadium where many Milan players live. Some professionals also start the rumours by their own doing: Mark Iuliano, former defender of Juventus Turin, posed naked for a gay magazine. Matteo Sereni, goalie of the second league club FBC Treviso, did the same. And world champion Alberto Gilardino of the AC Mailand who got nominated as a sex symbol by the national gay organisation, was very happy about this honour, combined with the declaration that he would love to lobby for campaigns against the discrimination of minorities: “Everyone should be the way he wants without being excluded because of it.”

In other countries the topic is approached more tolerantly, too: in France Vikash Dhorasoo, national player of Paris Saint-Germain, took over patronage of the gay football club Paris Foot Gay (see box on page 23). In Sweden, the third league player Peter Mattias Jansson outed himself three years ago already. And in the Netherlands, there even were three openly gay referees: Ignace van Swieten, John Blankenstein and Jacques D’Ancona. The last one is currently practising as referee observer and referee trainer with the Dutch football organisation. “I know some gay Dutch professionals, even in the national squad,” the recently deceased UEFA referee Blankenstein told the RUND magazine in one of his last interviews, “they live with wife and children and betray the whole world and, most importantly, themselves. If the first one would out himself and withstand the slurs, then that would initiate a chain reaction: one by one, they’d do the same. And then even the most ignorant would realize that there are gays in football.”

In German women’s football, it’s still an open secret that same-sex relationships are rather the rule than the exception. Many German national players live with a partner which goes without saying amongst team mates, as told by a player. “Everyone knows who’s accompanying whom to the Christmas party of the club and that it’s the girlfriend,” a lesbian Bundesliga player tells RUND, “the automatic perception of a female footballer as a lesbian has lost some of its potency. Because of the successes of the national team women’s football has turned into an accepted sport.” The fear to be the first lesbian player in the public’s eye and to be regarded as the token lesbian for years is still prevalent amongst the players, though. Some fear repercussions for their career in sports or that sponsors could cancel the private advertising contracts. “The stress would be too huge,” a player says. The DFB could also cause stress, as former Bundesliga player Tanja Walther believes: “There are unwritten laws since the mid-90ies which probably are still operating: if you out yourself, you lose your steady place in the national team.”

The voice cracks, the man is indignant: “There’s no homosexuality here. And you can be absolutely sure of this: no one fucks around as much as our players.” The spokesperson was answering a RUND inquiry by phone: All 36 Bundesliga clubs were written in to if they planned to stand up against the homophobic climate in the stadiums – only eight clubs reacted. But apart from the token gay and president of the FC St. Pauli, Corny Littmann, who generates a lot of media attention, two other officials from the management of German professional clubs are also known to RUND who don’t want to speak out on their homosexuality. A fact that Tanja Eggeling can’t understand: “What would happen, anyway? They could out themselves much easier from their position of power than a professional and could thus contribute to a change in perceptions. Their existences wouldn’t be endangered in the same extent as it would be with players.”

The discrimination of homosexuals will stay a part of football in the long run as long as homophobia gets hushed up in the associations, in the clubs and amongst the players. Only Michael Preetz, former national player and head of the licence players’ department of Hertha BSC Berlin, allows himself to be cited in that context: “Homosexuals exist in every social class and in sports, too. I’m against any form of discrimination, including homophobia.” Most German professional clubs have included the anti racism paragraph in their articles, but the one against sexual discrimination is found only with very few. Even designated social and liberal minded national players decline any comment on homophobia. No one knows anything and doesn’t want to know about anything. “If heterosexual players would say that gays are no problem for them, that would be important,” Tanja Walther believes, “but this shows that the atmosphere can’t be right. This way, nothing will change at all.” (* Names changed by the editorial department)

Box on page 23:

First step on a long way

Vikash Dhorasoo, heterosexual player of the first league club Paris Saint-Germain, sponsors the gay football club PFG. A strong engagement against homophobia, which is still a big exception in football

It sounds harsh, but Vikash Dhorasoo had gotten used to the discriminations early on. He grew up in Caucriville, a workers’ quarter of Le Havre with 25,000 inhabitants. If he didn’t get “hunted by skins”, entering discotheques was forbidden to the Frenchman of Indian descendant. “And that isn’t even counting unexpected police controls,” as the national player of Paris Saint-Germain recounts, “so I always felt close to people who rebel, who defend their agenda. And thus it’s just natural that I want to be in contact with minorities.” So, sponsoring the Paris Foot Gay (PFG), the club that was founded in December 2003 and where homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals play football together, was an obvious choice for Dhorasoo, “without having to deliberate a lot about it.” Today the 33-year-old is patron of the PFG, where Jews, Arabs, blacks, whites, merchants, clerks, students and warehousemen aged 19 to 42 years play. “The diversity helps us,” says Brahim Nait-Balk, one of the two coaches, “there’s nothing worse for a gay than feeling isolated.”

The PFG is also starting its own initiatives like the set-up of a research institute about the topic homophobia in football or regular visits to schools to sensitize the youth. From time to time, these actions evoke hostilities: “Last month in Villepinte, the teachers were shocked by the vehemence of the questions,” PFG co-founder Pascal Brethes says, who has heard slurs from pupils, too, which isn’t uncommon. “But last year a boy had his coming-out in front of all his classmates and thanked us. In such cases, you’re happy that you exist.”

Vikash Dhorasoo has often asked himself if the coming-out of a professional “would be worth the trouble if by doing so, he’d get shunted and lose everything,” as the vice world champion told RUND. “I don’t know. There are just many people who have difficulties to accept the fact that some are different.” If you ask him about the possible repercussions of his sponsorship, especially the inavoidable sarcasm of outsiders, the former player of Milan and Lyon admits that he never thought about it. “That Vikash gets involved is a very strong message to homosexual players who are in hiding, to the players and the football world in general,” Pascal Brethes believes. If more would do the same, the wish of the PFG founders could come true one day: “That your guy can come into your locker room and hug you, no matter if you’re in the professional or amateur league. But until that’ll happen, it’s still a long way to go.”

Box on page 25:

”Yikes, now we’re playing against gays”

Ralf Schmidt is midfielder and co-founder of the Streetboys, who are taking part in the official leagues as the only gay team under the name “Team München”. The 41-year-old flight attendant about slurs in the ‘Kreisklasse’ C and the world championship

Mr Schmidt, you set up a football club for homosexuals in 1994. Why?
_I wanted to play football with like-minded people. The decision to enter the official leagues in 2001 got discussed very controversially in the team. Some saw it as too performance-related, but we decided that we wanted to give it a try in the end.
What were the reactions of the adversary clubs and fans?
_The opponents knew that we’d be in the league because of the Munich press. Some actually thought, “Yikes, now we’re playing against gays, are they going to run up in high heels and skirts?” When we won 10 to 0, we sometimes also heard, “Now that we’re already losing against gays, we can pack up just the same.” Even today, we still hear such things from time to time.
What do you have to listen to on the pitch?
_In a few instances it happens that the opponent says after a touch or a foul, “Don’t touch me, you faggot!” But the referee mostly stops that. Or we answer with a victory.
Have you been open about your homosexuality in your past clubs?
_I’ve always been very offensive about me being gay and haven’t had any bad experiences. My team mate doesn’t think, “I’ve got a nice pass by a gay,” but, “Nice pass!” In the end, it’s the performance that counts.
What did your team mates have to go through before they joined the Streetboys?
_About half of us played in hetero teams previously. Most kept their homosexuality to themselves, though, or just told close friends in the team. The only one besides me who was also open about his homosexuality also didn’t have any negative experiences – and he had played somewhere in the countryside near Rosenheim. I can only advise everyone to be offensive. The more open you are about it, the less reason you give others to attack you. The fear that something could happen is much bigger than what really happens. Gerald Asamoah’s skin colour doesn’t interest anyone anymore – save some idiots perhaps.
And career-wise, what is life like?
_We’re now third of the C class of Munich, the first two are ascending. We also take part in international tournaments often. My biggest triumph was the world championship of the gay football teams in 1996. Last year we got to be at least fifth at the World Cup.

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The article was translated from a Germany magazine Rund and the translation was done by Ninamalfoy at LJ (Thank you so much).

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IMO, I understand on how a gay soccer player would choose a closeted life. I mean, soccer is like the most popular game in the world, and that means the fans are not limited to the countried of which gay is accepted, but also on the countries where gay is not only a taboo subject but also can be sentenced to death *shudders*.

Anyway, reading this, I remember two gay movies I’ve seen about gay soccer player, the first one is Manner Wie Wir (Guys and Balls), a German comedy movie of which I’ve done a review for this movie here. The second one is Strákarnir Okkar (Eleven Men Out), an Iceland drama movie about a soccer star who outs himself just because he needs to become a cover/headline on a magazine.

Anyway, here are some soccer pitchers just for fun

Ireland Passed Civil Partnership Law

nuckfut — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:11:02 +0000

Civil Partnership Bill signed into law

The Civil Partnership Bill, which provides legal recognition for same-sex couples in Ireland for the first time, has today been signed into law.

The Bill was signed into law by President Mary McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin this morning

It extends marriage-like benefits to gay and lesbian couples in the areas of property, social welfare, succession, maintenance, pensions and tax.

The act also offers additional rights and protections for other cohabiting couples including a redress scheme for financially dependent long-term cohabitants on the end of a relationship.

Announcing the signing of the Bill today, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern described it as “one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation to be enacted since independence.”

“This Act provides enhanced rights and protections for many thousands of Irish men and women. Ireland will be a better place for its enactment,” he said.

“It is of tremendous social significance, for the couples who can now register as partners, for their friends and families – ultimately, for all of us,” Mr Ahern added.

Changes to the tax and social welfare code will be made in the next finance and social welfare Bills. The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 is expected to be commenced when those changes take effect. The first civil registrations for same-sex couples are likely to take place early next year.

The Bill was approved by the Seanad by 48 votes to 4 at 6.30pm on Friday July 9th, having completed its passage though the Dáil the previous week.The legislation was widely supported in both the Dáil and Seanad.

The Green Party this afternoon welcomed the singing into law of the Bill.

“Today is a good day for all Irish citizines. This Act is a significant step forward and a stepping stone towards greater equality in our society, said the party’s justice spokesman Trevor Sargent.

“I look forward to the first ceremonies that will be held under this Act from next January. They mark an important venture for our society for which we have waited far too long,” he added.

source

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More and more countries recognize same-sex marriage/partnership, hope someday all countries would do the same and there will be no more discrimination against GLBT people everywhere.