Male Body Issues Don't Matter

Male body insecurity is not the most important thing facing our society at the moment. I would say famine, climate change and saving the bees (does anyone actually know what's happening with the bees?) are a little bit more important.

While making my most recent video about Zac Efron's chest and the pressure on men to be buff, which can cause them to partake in dangerous activities like steroid use, I was very aware of the issue's position in the pecking order of things that will make our world a better place. The inevitable comparison with the female body image issues that have plagued Western societies for generations was particularly salient for me, so I touched on the subject, acknowledged that in a world dominated by sexism and patriarchy women had it a lot worse, but I continued to address the topic that I had decided on for this video and that was important to me personally.

Comments in the video so far have been positive and yielded the results I wanted. I wanted men to be able to share their own body insecurities (for the record, I feel like I'm very hairy and have love handles) which they have, and for people who weren't aware of the issue to become aware of it, which some have. I urge you to scroll through the responses. I still maintain I have the best comments section on the Internet.

I do believe some people will have watched this video and brushed it off as a non-issue, especially as it was touched on by a middle class white man; my own privilege pains me. I did have the following comment from someone who has watched my videos for a while. I needed to digest for a little because it hit me quite hard as it was very critical of the topic I had chosen and the way I had addressed it.

NB: I've taken off her username and would appreciate if she weren't given a hard time by anyone reading this.

My response:

Boycott Sochi? From Russia with Not-So-Much Love

Now is a good time to believe in equal rights for LGBT people.  We are seeing massive progress in Western Europe with the passing of Equal Marriage in France, England and Wales and 83% of the British public saying they'd be 'comfortable' with the newly born royal baby ending up gay, not to mention the overturning of Prop 8 and DOMA in the United States.

It's a cruel irony that we live in a world where these great strides in equal rights are being made where a couple of thousand miles to the East in Russia human rights are being stripped away from the gay community.

Earlier this month the President Putin signed a law banning the adoption of Russian-born children not only to gay couples but also to any couple or single parent living in any country where marriage equality exists in any form. Earlier he had also deemed it legal to arrest any foreigner or tourist who was suspected of being either gay or lesbian or a gay rights supporter. Thirdly, earlier in June he passed yet another anti-gay bill branding 'homosexual propoganda' as pornography. It seems possible that under this third, broad law any parent, teacher or public official who suggests that homosexuality is normal could be charged.

Just to drive the nature of this hostile environment home, Buzzfeed showed the chaos that erupted around gay-rights protests across Russia. Blood, violence and rainbow flags.

The difference is that Russia is soon going to be under the world's gaze as host of the two largest sporting events in the world: next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, happening in just under 6 months and also as host of the Fifa Football World Cup in 2018.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine implied on Twitter that sporting contests should not be used as a political mouthpiece for progressive, liberal countries' values. I would tend to agree with this statement, but sport has always been tied in with global politics. From the propaganda of the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany to the exclusion of South Africa from the Games for 28 years due to its apartheid policies, global sporting events have been used as vessels used for political ends. If gay rights is an issue that Western Europe and North America take seriously, then why should these events be overlooked?

It is not just the fact that Russia's principles clash so much with those of more progressive countries. Under their new laws any athletes, spectators or journalists entering Russia to take part in the Games or the World Cup who are gay, suspected of being gay or accused of being gay can be jailed, fined and/ or deported. 

It should be mentioned that the International Olympic Committee has issued a statement saying that they would 'work to ensure' no discrimination against LGBT people. Although how that would be enforced is unclear. Their official statement read:

In the past I have had a torn attitude towards the fight for equal rights in other countries. I am rather anti-interventionalist when it comes to the internal affairs of other countries. I believe that imposing (often Western) ideals upon a country with a different history and culture can often do more harm than good. Disapproval can be expressed in exclusion from international organisations or trade embargoes to show principle. You aren't going to change a foreign nation's psyche overnight. 

"The International Olympic Committee is clear that sport is a human right and should be available to all regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation... [The organisation will make sure] the Games can take place without discrimination against athletes, officials, spectators and the media."

In terms of diplomacy I don't believe that there is going to be much action on this issue. Iceland is so far the only nation to have altered its diplomatic status, with cultural and political ties being cut between Reykjavík and Moscow. Russia is just too damn big and important for anyone to shake that bear's cage.

There is a petition you can sign here and a boycott you can join here if you want your voice to be heard. I personally will be writing to MPs to give this issue more awareness. 

With the chances of a boycott being effective low we can only hope that the large amount of media attention that the country will face while hosting these sporting events will improve awareness and understanding of these issues. Like with China's human rights record in the run up to the 2008 Olympics, nothing can avoid the floodlit glare of media scrutiny. 

Not #ProudtoLove

2013 has turned into a landmark year for LGBT rights. We have seen France move to legalise gay marriage with the UK hot on its heels, and of course the overturning of Prop 8 and DOMA in the States just last week. People have been celebrating and with this weekend the end of Pride Month I myself will join in with some of the festivities in London. It's a good time to be gay.

Unsurprisingly YouTube has jumped on this and chosen to celebrate the role the website has had to play in the humanisation of LGBT folks and the support it has given to countless people struggling with their own sexual identity. The platform has been a great tool in the furthering of gay rights and I think it's great to be recognising this. Google and YouTube always have a presence at pride parades around the globe and they should be commended for this.

This aside, I am not a fan of the way they have chosen to highlight pride month, with the #ProudtoLove campaign.

#ProudtoLove was rolled out with videos from some of the most prominent LGBT vloggers on YouTube where they listed things that they were, surprise surprise, proud to love. Because creators were asked to provide videos there seems to be a disconnect with the content and the intended message, with people saying they were proud to love comic books or pizza and a couple even using the hashtag as an advert to plug their own content.

To be honest, the whole thing felt a bit dead behind the eyes, disingenuous and vague. If this was meant to be a celebration of the good that YouTube and its community has done for LGBT causes it has fallen flat on its face. 

Other YouTube phenomena like the It Gets Better project, the curation of 'coming out' playlists, the pro gay marriage adverts that became popular online were all grass roots movements that naturally went viral and moved countless people to get involved. These movements were heartfelt and candid, where as the majority of the #ProudtoLove videos left me with a 'so what?' taste in my mouth.

I feel like YouTube was maybe half heartedly trying to turn this into a gay vlog-tag-game. It's seen the good that its users have done with this format, as well as the prominent gay community on the site, and thought, "Awesome! Another tent-pole event".

But when these kind of events are dictated from above and not organised from the user base, sincerity is lost. I feel like a similar thing happened with YouTube's Comedy Week: a hash of unrelated videos that were ironically unfunny. They've tried to do something similar here, to create a welling of positive nostalgia towards YouTube's gay movement, but I fear that they have failed again.

I by no means want to take away the good that the site has played in creating a strong, queer community. But this good was brought about by the individuals using the site as a tool, not by YouTube the company. Leave the content and community to us, YouTube. You're invariably bad at it.

Gays Don't Want Marriage, Apparently

It's a very strange feeling to be on the other side of the world (Taiwan) while your home country debates the future of your rights as a human being. That's how I am experiencing the debate over gay marriage that has been bouncing around the Web and British mainstream media over the last week or so. The fact stands that we will almost certainly get the law passed by this end of this parliamentary term in 2015, so whoop-de-do, huzzah and hooray! But this hasn't stopped those opposed to me being able to marry the person I want to spend the rest of my life with let out one last whimper as they enter the beginning of the end of their argument.

I have been openly gay to my friends and family throughout my adult life. I suppose I am one of the lucky generation that has been able to grow up realistically presuming to not be on the receiving end of abuse and expecting the love and support of those around them, regardless of their sexuality. In fact, in over six years of being out, I have never received any abuse or even negative comments about my sexuality from a single person I have met - let alone family members. Of course I know I am one of the lucky ones and that young, queer kids still have a hard time - but I think I can safely say the trend is positive. We no longer need to grow up on the periphery of culture, we can be at its heart.

Maybe it is because I have been protected in my homophobia-free bubble that I was baffled to read about the Tori MP David Davis say that parents would prefer their children not to be gay because of the fact they would not have grandchildren. Now he may see his words as a fair comment, but I can guarantee a kid, somewhere, will read that and think twice about coming out and living an open life with the rest of their family. I know it would have affected me.

I'm also baffled to hear caller after caller on this week's Any Answers of Radio 4 (the sister programme to the current-events panel show, Any Questions) give reason after reason why I shouldn't be able to marry another man.

Listen to the episode here.

According to one of the callers, a number of homosexuals have said it is unnecessary, that civil partnerships are enough and that there is "no clamour for a redefinition of marriage from the homosexual community."

Firstly, the thing that struck me first was her use of the term "homosexual community". I'm as proud and happy of being gay as anyone in my position, but I have never felt like part of a homosexual, gay or queer community. My closest friends are people I have spent time working, studying or travelling with. I have at no point chosen to be part of a group because I happen to share a sexual preference with them, the idea of it seems strange to me. Every now and again I will go to a gay bar but these are by no means my main haunts. When I used to live in Manchester I was more likely to be seen at the indie bar, 5th Avenue than the gay village down the road.

I think this is normal for my generation of young, gay people. We have not needed places to escape to because of society not accepting us and therefore haven't had the need for a gay network. So I found it distinctly strange that this woman on Radio 4 was clumping my rights under the umbrella of a community with which I struggle to identify.

Secondly, where is this clamour from the gay community that is so conspicuous due to its absence? Every now and again the Prime Minister will reiterate that he wants gay marriage to go through and there will be a few articles in newspapers supporting him and a handful with loud voices that will be opposed, but where are the big public figures pushing for this? Where are the comedians, politicians  business people, broadcasters or any of the many public, gay figures that we have in this country that will correct people like the woman on Any Answers? I want someone to confirm that yes, we do want to have marriage and no, equal but different civil partnerships are not enough! If there are people who have been fighting this fight on my behalf, then please set me straight (no pun intended).

It may be rather hypocritical of me to say that I don't feel like part of the gay community but in the same blog lament the lack of a community standing up for my rights. But maybe this easy road that I and many in my age group have been treading, had led us to be complacent and believe that this is not worth fighting for.

The lady on Any Answers mentioned that her husband is buried somewhere with the words "loving husband" engraved on his tombstone. As the law stands, no matter how long I have been in a civil partnership with the man I chose to build a life with, I will not have the option of putting that on my grave. I have been raised in a society where couples mark their commitment through marriage. Regardless as to what social group a woman on the radio places me into, I just want the right to do the same.