On 17 August 2012, the same day that three members of Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years behind bars, an appeal against a century-long ban on holding Pride in Moscow was refused. This lost appeal is the latest in a series of disruptions to Moscow Pride since LGBT activists started planning annual parades from 2006.

Consensual sex between men was decriminalised in Russia in 1993, with legal gender changes only permitted since 1997. Much of the population remains extremely homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is the line of the military, and the law forbids disseminating ‘homosexual propaganda’ to minors – a ban supported by 86% of Russians, according to a poll earlier this year, though only 6% claim to have seen any such propaganda.

Since 2005, LGBT rights group GayRussia has campaigned for increased visibility and equality of LGBT people in Russia. They successfully removed the ban on gay and bi men donating blood in 2008, and have been campaigning for freedom of assembly (namely, the right to hold a Pride parade) and against the ‘propaganda’ law for several years. Founder and full-time campaigner, Nikolai Alekseev, has headed the fight for Pride, as well as being the first person to be arrested under the propaganda law.

Pride in Moscow has been banned every year, and activists have marched regardless. In 2006 and 2007 the demonstrators were subject to homophobic violence from nationalists as well as from the police, and several were arrested. In 2008 the organisers used a flashmob form of protest, and in 2009 the location was changed at the last minute – clashes with anti-gay protestors were avoided, though the organisers were still arrested and illegally detained overnight. In 2010, activists fed police false information and were able to hold a ten-minute march: for the first time, they avoided violence and arrests.

In late 2010, Alekseev took the Russian government to the European Court of Human Rights, regarding the banned Pride marches in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and won: Russia paid him almost 30,000 Euro in damages and legal fees. However, the next year, the parade was attacked again, and over thirty participants were arrested.

In 2012, another Pride demonstration was planned on May 27th to celebrate the anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993, and forty of the activists were detained by police. A few days later, Moscow announced they would ban Pride for the next one hundred years – activists had submitted requests for 102 Pride parades to the Mayor’s office several months earlier. On August 17th, the appeal against this ban was rejected, and Alekseev  has said he intends to once again appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Gay Russia have said their activists ‘will do everything to achieve full equality’, and prominent Gay Russia member Yuri Gavrikov has told Amnesty International “we will continue – these are actions to defend our human rights and we notice that more and more people want to join us. These actions become a platform for us to start a dialogue and call for broader recognition of our rights.”

With the world watching the Russian government’s treatment of Pussy Riot, who have also highlighted LGBT rights abuses, we can hope that international pressure calling for more support of Russia’s LGBT citizens will soon follow.

Last week Clare Philipson, a director of a women’s refuge, urged people to gather copies of controversial book Fifty Shades of Grey to be burned on a bonfire on 5^th November.

Clare is Director of Wearside Women in Need, a charity for victims of domestic violence, and she claims the sex scenes in the Fifty Shades are “misogynistic crap” and are abusive to the extent of being comparable to the crimes of serial killer Fred West.

So what exactly is Clare’s problem? It’s just harmless “mum porn” right?

For those of you who haven’t read the book (you can read a 30 second abridged version here) the heroine is Ana; a shy, 21-year-old literature student who has never so much as kissed another person or been aware of the existence of those “exciting new parts down below”.

She meets improbable 27-year-old sado-masochistic billionaire Christian Grey and he propositions to her that she sign a 20 page contract stating he can dominate every facet of her life from the hours that she sleeps to the food that she eats and all manner of other kinky business.

The contract states he wishes to gag, whip and use torture implements on her in his special red room of pain. A room, Clare Philipson argues, which has sinister similarities to the one Fred West had at 25 Cromwell Street.

When Christian Grey takes Ana’s virgininity he does heroically concede to give her “vanilla sex” the first time, rather than dragging her straight down into his torture chamber. Christian Grey is actually Prince Charming in disguise you see, a troubled man with deep psychological issues that just needs a nice, submissive girl to come along and love him. If she agrees to his dominant demands then there is always a chance he could form a real relationship with her. Maybe things could be different?

A few expensive gifts and helicopter rides later Christian introduces spanking into their sex life. Ana finds it very painful and also a little enjoyable. After the first spanking she weeps the whole night in pain and degradation. She finds the experience very upsetting and confusing.

What kind of message does this give out to young, impressionable women? Perhaps Clare Philipson has a point…

Christian Grey must have done something right though. A fan page on Facebook has over 315,000 “likes”, with women worldwide lusting after him.  Fifty Shades of Grey is now the biggest selling book of all time and you cannot pass a book shop at the moment without huge displays of the trilogy winking at you through the window.

Waterstones on Oxford Street

I have of course contributed to E.L. James’s mass fortune by buying the book myself. All the women in my office were talking about it and I did not want to be the only person who had not read it.

What surprised me the most, apart from the dreadful writing style, was how Christian Grey is portrayed as some kind of sex symbol.

I proposed the following to the other women in my office:

1. He is an average looking, elderly guy without much money

2. He stalks her

3. He has no friends

4. He patronises her

5. He has long-term psychological problems

6. He is a control freak

7. He is very arrogant

8. His mouth is constantly in a hard line

9. He wants to physically hurt her. Often.

Of course, I made that first point up. He is actually a young billionaire. I was just trying to illustrate to them that, if he was not a handsome, young billionaire he would not seem so much of a catch. In fact he would unequivocally be a complete wrong’un.

Most of the women eagerly jumped to his defence. Their arguments are:

“But all the sex is between two consensual adults”

Now I am no prude and what consensual adults get up to behind closed doors is their own business but it is clear throughout the novel that Ana wants Christian’s love and affection and feels pressured to acquiesce to his disturbing sexual demands in order to achieve this.

If Ana was the dominant one and Christian Grey the submissive then that would be a different story altogether and a far better read in my opinion.

“She enjoys the spanking”

I think it is worth noting that many sexual abuse victims “enjoyed” the abuse which only heightens the feelings of shame afterwards.

Yes Ana is an adult, yes the spanking was consensual, but she reports feeling very humiliated during and after her experiences. She often cries and is unable to confide in anybody about the details of her relationship with Christian Grey, not even to her mother or her best friend, both of whom she is close to.

“She does not accept his gifts – money is therefore not important to her”

This is a ridiculous argument considering she is often travelling in his helicopter and emailing him from the Mac book he bought for her.

“It’s not abusive, they fall in love, it’s a love story”

is their final argument before I am trumped with,

“How could you possibly understand? You are a lesbian.”

I cannot respond to that one as they are right, I am a lesbian and perhaps I do not understand. Perhaps Christian Grey is what every straight women dreams of and I simply do not get it. Clare Philipson is just one of the few in the minority like me who also “don’t get it”.

All I can say is I find it depressing that seemingly intelligent women would idolise a man like Christian Grey.

I respond to the notion, “It’s just harmless mum porn” with:

Would you be happy for your daughters to date Christian Grey? Is that the kind of man you would like your little girl to marry?

I doubt many of the mothers swooning over him would like to see him emotionally abuse, spank and torture their daughters.

I have two young nieces ages five and 14 and they may read the book one day. Perhaps the 14-year-old already has. It horrifies me that she could interpret Christian and Ana’s relationship as a positive role model for her future relationships and consider his behaviour to be normal and acceptable.

Clare Philipson’s burning will make little difference to Fifty Shades of Grey’s readership. There are well over 4 million copies in circulation and it’s available to read online for free. Sado-masochism is now mainstream.

Rather than censorship her actions are making an important statement; the theme in this book is not okay. Physically and emotionally abusing your young, naive partner is not okay. Pressuring women into sexual activities they are not comfortable with is not okay.

Clare said:

“We are not burning the Bible or a political philosophy, we are burning the depiction of an abusive man as a romantic hero.”

For this I salute her.

The news has been inundated with awful stories about rape recently. So why not take a stand against sexual violence this autumn?

One thing after another

Anti-rape protesters at Slutwalk London 2011 Photo: Cemre Mor

From the Julian Assange case to the bizarre proclamations of US Republicans, it’s  been hard to avoid poorly conceived opinions on sexual assault and rape.

Respect MP George Galloway appears to believe that once you’ve already had sex with someone, initiating further intercourse whilst they’re asleep is merely “bad manners”. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa would seem to agree.

In the United States, Republican Senate candidate Todd Atkin declared that “legitimate” rape victims were unlikely to become pregnant, as “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down”.

In Denmark, a Guatemalan trans woman faces deportation after being gang-raped in the male wing of a camp for asylum seekers. Anne La Coeur of the Danish Red Cross (who run the camp) said that: “We would not place her in a women’s dormitory because that is definitely for women”.

All of this hot air only serves to obscure the very real impact of rape and sexual assault. Home Office statistics indicate that in the UK 21% of girls and 11% of boys experience some form of child sexual abuse, 23% of women and 3% of men experience sexual assault as an adult, and 5% of women and 0.4% of men experience rape; however, these figures are likely to understate the scale of the problem.

It’s time to speak out against rape culture. So if you’re within travelling distance of London this autumn, here are just two ways in which you can make your voice heard. If you live further afield, why not look into similar events taking place in your area, or even think about organising something yourself?

Slutwalk London: the radical notion that nobody deserves to be raped

When: Saturday 22nd September 2012, from 12:30pm.

Where: Meet at the top of Piccadilly, march to a rally in Trafalgar Square.

More information: Slut Means Speak Up

Slutwalks took place around the world last year after a policeman in Toronto told law students that “women should avoid dressing like sluts” in order to avoid rape.

Slutwalk London say that no person deserves to be raped, regardless of how they dress or where they go. “The only way to stop rape is to put the blame where it belongs – on the rapist, whether they were a stranger, partner, client, relative, colleague, friend, or someone in authority.”

Last year’s good-natured march drew three thousand people of all genders. This year it will be taking place later in year because of the Olympics, but organisers still hope to draw a large, outspoken crowd.

Reclaim the Night London: say no to male violence against women

When: Saturday 24th November 2012, from 6pm.

Where: Assemble at Whitehall Place, march to a rally in the Camden Centre.

More information: Reclaim the Night

Reclaim the Night marches have been held in the UK since 1977, when women were told not to go out at night in the wake of the Yorkshire Ripper murders.

An annual march attended by thousands of women takes place in London every year. The organisers say: “With ideological cuts threatening the refuge and rape crisis movements in our country we need to take back the capital to demonstrate women’s support for essential women’s services, demand justice for survivors and spread the message that no woman is ever to blame for male violence against her.”

The march welcomes all women. It is followed by a rally, speeches and entertainment open to people of any gender.

The neglected phenomenon of street harassment suffered by a majority of women in Brussels as well as in other European cities is the subject of the documentary  ‘Femme de la rue’ (‘Woman of the Street’) by student filmmaker Sofie Peteers.  Released in Belgium at the end of July 2012, this simple university work created an incredible snowball effect. The topic has been picking up in the francophone medias to such extent that Belgium is now examining the possibility of creating a law to penalize street harassment.

What is street harassment?

It is hard to believe from a British perspective and especially for those living in London, that it may be part of the daily routine of women in cities like Paris or Brussels to be approached, insulted or sexually harassed by men with explicit words. In Paris, it has now reached a point that a young woman in a skirt can hardly walk for ten minutes in certain areas without getting a comment or two. The simple fact of wearing a skirt is seen as an invitation by many men, making this piece of clothe the new symbol of female emancipation. Women are back there in certain western countries, and the issue became so problematic that the French feminist group ‘Ni Putes Ni Soumises’ (‘Neither Whores Nor Submissive’) even launched a few years ago the initiative of the ‘National Skirt Day’ (‘Journée de la Jupe’) every November 25^th.

Sofie Peteers’s documentary was shot with a hidden camera as she was walking the street of Anneessens neighborhood in Brussels, wearing a summer dress under the knee and boots. All the remarks and insults shown in the movie were recorded in one single afternoon. They go from the classic ‘You are charming, mademoiselle’ to ‘Pretty little ass’, ‘Bitch’ and even at worst ‘If I could, I would stick it into your ass’ as testified by an interviewee in the documentary. Sofie Peeters gathered testimonials of many Brussels women who confirm that they get accosted by men on average 10 to 20 times a day, don’t go to certain areas and avoid eye contact when walking certain streets. We see the filmmaker asking a group of older men: ‘What does it take for you to leave me alone?’ The answer is eloquent: either to walk with a man or to wear a wedding ring.

The interview of an ‘harasser’ states that guys adopting such behavior are generally aware of its rudeness and its unlikelihood to seduce women, but he justifies himself saying that in a society which constantly exploits the female body for advertisement purposes, it is hard to consider women as non-sexual objects.

An unbelievable echo

Shortly after the release of ‘Femme de la rue’ in Belgium in cinema and on TV, all the francophone medias relayed the information, from the smallest blog to the main national newspaper like Elle, L’Express, Le Monde or Libération, bringing this ongoing issue under a different light. The response on Twitter (with hashtag  #harcelementderue) was overwhelming and a large majority of French and Belgian women finally dared to say, with a mix of relief and shyness, that they were suffering street harassment occasionally or on a daily basis.

The impact of this student work shows how deep and unresolved the problem is, and how the power of speech needs to be liberated. The phenomenon of street harassment has just started being debated in the medias because no one would take it seriously and admit that some women are in a deep distress because of it. It is still regarded at best as something harmless and insignificant, even sometimes as a flattering practice which women should feel grateful for, unless they are Victorian or enraged feminists. The testimonials in ‘Femme de la rue’ state that all women question their behavior and outfits and feel responsible for ‘doing something wrong’ or being too feminine.

The phenomenon is obviously not only European, and women from countries like Egypt and Lebanon, where this practice is a total commonplace – 83% of Egyptian women are exposed to street harassment – also start reacting and speaking up, like for instance with the 2010 Egyptian movie ‘Femmes du bus 678′ (‘Women on the bus 678′) by Mohamed Diab.

How to legislate on such an issue?

In Belgium, the release of ‘Femme de la rue’ was followed by the announcement of a law to come into force in September 2012. The street harassers will get fined. Obviously, this law is already debated on two aspects: this law can only be symbolic as it will be almost impossible to provide evidence of verbal harassment unless the harassers are being caught in the act. Finally, how to draw the line between harassment and seduction? Will it be forbidden to talk to women on the street? Will this initiative tense the relationships between men and women in the public space?

See the trailer of ‘Femme de la Rue’ with Flamish and English subtitles :

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"I'm a bad boy"

Controversy has erupted following the announcement that  “bad boy actor” Danny Dyer – a man not shy of advocating violence against women – will be DJing at Manchester Pride. What were the organisers thinking? And what does this booking say about the event itself?

Now I’ll readily admit that I’m not a Mancunian. However, it’s not like there’s anything vaguely resembling a gay bar in the Midlands town I call home, let alone an annual Pride festival, so I typically look further afield: to Birmingham, to London, to Nottingham. And why not to Manchester? It’s an easy, direct train trip.

However, I’ve never been in the slightest bit tempted by Manchester Pride. The parade looks pretty fun and still has something of a political edge, but everything else is expensive and lacks diversity. This is a Pride dominated by second-rate pop acts and DJs, apparently booked with your stereotypical gay man in mind (and of course, not every gay man is a stereotype…)

Still, it’s something else entirely to book a man like Danny Dyer for an event that’s supposed to be all about equality.

Now there’s no proof that Danny Dyer hates women, but his career certainly seems to imply that gender awareness isn’t particularly high on his agenda. This is the man whose advice column in lads’ mag Zoo was dropped after he suggested that a man cut his ex-girlfriend’s face, “so no-one will want her”.

Stay classy Danny

Dyer claimed to have been “misquoted” during the resulting media outcry, but as marykmac points out in a column for the F Word, the comment doesn’t seem particularly out of character. Dyer previously suggested in his column that a man might want to set his girlfriend’s pubes on fire. Hilarious! He has also starred in misogynist films such as Doghouse and Pimp.

So why is Dyer appropriate for Pride? Well, he’s “gay-friendly”, obviously: and for “gay” read “gay men”. He’s appeared in photoshoots for Attitude, and spoken about how he’s comfortable with playing gay male characters. And that’s all very well and good, but it doesn’t really excuse advocating or portraying violence against women, does it?

Salford teacher and Lesbilicious reader Liz W fired off a furious email to us following the announcement. “The point is, why does Manchester Pride want to buy into Dyer’s laddish, woman-hating ‘brand’?” she asked. “Do they expect Manchester Pride’s partners and sponsors to shut up and implicitly support this choice? Do they think that Pride is just a glitzy party for a stereotyped high-spending, apolitical gay man who unquestioningly drools over any hunky man in white shorts? That’s pretty insulting to gay men as well as to women.” Quite.

Similar views were aired on Manchester Pride’s Facebook page, where potential attendees took a break from critiquing the weekend’s line-up to slam the decision. “You’ll book a man who advises cutting up women’s faces, in a vile and homophobic magazine like Zoo, because some men think he’s fit. What the hell is that all about?” asked one user.

Interestingly, nearly all mentions of Danny Dyer’s DJ set – including a press release and an information page – have disappeared from the Manchester Pride website during the past few hours. There has yet to be a statement from the organisation however, and they have not responded to enquiries from Lesbilicious.

It would seem that Dyer was been booked mostly for his sex “appeal” (speaking as a bisexual woman – urgh!) and “celebrity” status rather than any real credibility as a DJ. Meanwhile the appropriateness of the booking clearly wasn’t questioned. Sadly, this seems in line with the broader ethos of Manchester Pride. The event seems to be more of a gay-themed pop festival than anything else, with any real focus on LGBTQ culture and equality largely sidelined.

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Who even let this guy near the decks?

It’s a pity that it’s come to this. The increasingly high profile of Pride in Manchester isn’t entirely a bad thing – it certainly achieves a valuable level of visibility, and I was heartened to see rainbow flags everywhere during a visit to the city earlier this week. The question is: should Pride really be little more than a music festival focused on a narrow set of genres, open to all who can afford it? Surely the organisers of Manchester Pride can aim for something more inspiring than this?

Update 9am 22/8/2012:

“Danny Dyer has a clear appeal to a section of the LGBT community and his past controversy was now behind him. However, we’re aware his inclusion has caused some upset and anger amongst others so we have listened to these concerns and have subsequently withdrawn him from the Manchester Pride main stage line-up. We realise there will be some who wished to see Danny perform who will be disappointed by this news.”
John Stewart, Chief Executive, Manchester Pride

Mitt Romney’s recently announced running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan, is an appropriate choice for many reasons.

In addition to being an uber Republican, a die hard Catholic (you know, the kind that wants to involve itself in maneuvering women’s rights), and a wealthy white male looking to lower his friends’ taxes, he is also unequivocally against the rights of girls like you and me, and every other American under the LGBT umbrella. This guy’s voting history makes it very clear that he considers LGBT Americans to be “less than” and undeserving of equal rights. The Human Rights Campaign has rated him a big fat Zero on LGBT issues, and has for years, with the exception of one year where he scrabbled a ten. He has been vocally opposed to the rights of gay Americans throughout his career, until now.

Don’t let me confuse you, Paul Ryan is still adamantly against equal rights. The change isn’t in his views, but rather in his approach. In the past few weeks he has been diverting the focus away from the issue of LGBT rights’ and steering it more towards his big budget plan. This is unsurprising, considering the future of the country’s economy is on many people’s minds and it’s an integral piece of the campaign. Others are seeing it as a reflection that times have changed, that voicing a loud and proud opinion against equal rights is no longer a sure fire way to acquire more votes. Or maybe Mr. Ryan himself sees the inevitably of equal rights down the road, and wants to sever his ties to the losing side. Ok, that last part is a stretch, but it’s nice to think about.

Gay Republicans are clutching to that one time Congressman Ryan voted in favor of rights in the 2007 Employment Non-Discrimination Act (One time, people, one time. Years ago. After initially opposing the bill).  The reality is that twice he has voted against hate crime protection acts for LGBT people.  Two times he has backed the Federal Marriage Amendment that would ban same sex couples from marrying.  He voted against repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and he voted to ban adoptions by same sex couples in Washington DC.  It is clear where this Congressman stands.

And then there are those who are celebrating Romney’s choice, figuring that this bold move in the (far) right direction will guarantee Obama’s re-election. Democrats and other Obama supporters see this choice as one that will isolate the less than zealous Republican voters and ultimately give Obama the extra push needed to stay in the White House. Only time will tell.

This I do know: No matter what your politics are, no matter how fiercely you long for an economic breakthrough, if you identify as LGBT, or if you love your family and friends who identify as LGBT, the Romney/Ryan team is a formidable pair. Not only do they back the current laws that strip us of our rights, but they want to implement more equality-stripping laws. Congressman Ryan may look young, congenial, and handsome (find him shirtless on TMZ), but make no mistake, this man, and his equality stomping ways, need to be taken seriously.

Freedom of speech earned three members of the group, Pussy Riot two years in prison, as a Moscow Court found them guilty of inciting “hooliganism and religious hatred”.

“Putin scum”

The trial has taken on global relevance and few could have predicted the support and reaction for a punk bank whom until recently, many people (including myself) had never heard of. From the streets of London where protestors surrounded the Russian Embassy shouting, “Shame” and “Putin scum” , to Kiev where a topless women’s rights activist took a chainsaw to a giant crucifix.

global support

A-List celebrities are also in on the action, Madonna made a plea for the release of the band days before the verdict date, Kate Nash has piped up to comment on their role as musicians, saying that it is “important for artists to challenge the world they live in”, Paul McCartney and Sting are also fighting their corner. But in Russia itself, there is little support. One opponent writing for the Moscow Times says here that,

“Madonna is absolutely certain that Putin put Pussy Riot in jail because the group’s members criticized him. But she’s not really to blame for this. Many in the West believe this nonsense, which has been propagandized by Russia’s opposition movement and enthusiastically spread by Western media.”

religion

Unfortunately for Putin, what might have made a tidy newspaper filler if the punk band had just been ignored in the first place, has now become a global issue crossing all platforms and borders. For example I was pleased to hear this on Radio 4’s, ‘Thought for the Day’ on August 16^th, from the Reverend Lucy Winkett. In this Reverend Winkett highlights her thoughts on Pussy Riot in a religious context.

“The relationship between religion, in these cases Christianity and protest is complex and long standing. It’s arguable that the Occupy Protest which accidentally ended up outside St Paul’s Cathedral became newly freighted with religious meaning and therefore more controversial because of its relationship with religion. I am not sure there would be banners saying, ‘what would Jesus do?’ if the protest had been outside the Stock Exchange as originally planned.” She goes on to say that Pussy Riot, “express what one Christian theologian calls in the spirit of Mary Magdalene, ‘ungovernable female energy’ and in doing so they join a procession of women who have embodied protest in every domination over centuries.”

EU, US and human rights

Although their enthusiasm cannot be doubted, how wise a move it was to stage a political challenge on such a religious stage could be debated. Certainly in Russia, many are angry with what seems to be a blatant lack of respect for their faith. This I can understand. Though not a person of faith myself, if someone were to sing an anti-woman or an anti-gay punk song on an lgbt memorial I would be pretty peeved about it. That would not however give me the right to incarcerate the perpetrators and as the trial has gathered momentum worldwide backing is proving that this simply is unacceptable. With EU, US and human rights rallying behind the band.

“US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was ‘concerned about both the verdict and the disproportionate sentences… and the negative impact on freedom of expression in Russia’.”

homosexual propaganda

In Pussy Riot people have found a cross range of hooks to generate their interest. Lucy Winkett reflects on religion, for our friend at the Moscow Times it is a problem with Western ideals, women’s rights is at the forefront from the activist in Kiev (which has now become a criminal case in its own right), artistic freedom to challenge for Kate Nash, and as if all of this is not enough a backhanded comment from the judge about Pussy Riot promoting homosexual propaganda sparks even more fury. This pretty much ticks all of the boxes for making more than just the odd person a little frustrated.

appeal lost

It is an unhappy coincidence that on this day Nikolay Alexeyev’s appeal against a century long ban on gay pride in Moscow was also lost and in danger of being overshadowed by the highly publicised Pussy Riot case.

iconic symbols

Whatever your stance on the trial and its outcome, whatever your ‘hook’ may be,  it is safe to say that August 17^th 2012 has certainly put Russia on the map. Pussy Riot may find themselves becoming (for many) martyrs for a cause bigger than themselves and sure to become an iconic symbol for freedom, liberty and justice for their many supporters who are gathering worldwide momentum.

Russian girl punks Pussy Riot have gained a great deal of media coverage following their brave stand against the autocratic Putin regime. But the group are also important because of their explicit support for LGBT rights.

Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were arrested following an unannounced Pussy Riot appearance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the city’s main Orthodox church. The group performed a “punk prayer”, that criticised Vladimir Putin: the man who has continuously served as either Russia’s President or Prime Minister since 1999.

With their trial drawing to a close, the three women are now likely to face up to three years in jail for the crime of “hooliganism”: a charge Amnesty International describe as “politically motivated”. The verdict will be announced on Friday 17th August.

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Commentators from around the world have praised Pussy Riot for supporting freedom of speech, political transparency and women’s rights. But it should also be noted that the group are outspoken LGBT rights advocates: a brave move even for this feminist direct action group.

LGBT people in Russia currently face significant challenges. A 2005 poll indicated that 43.5% of the country’s population supported the re-criminalisation of “homosexual acts”. Several regions have outlawed the “promotion” of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights: for instance, the city of St Petersburg has banned “public action aimed at propagandising sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism, and transgenderism among minors” in a chilling echo of Section 28.

In Moscow, Pride marches have come under attack from thugs (including the police) for several years. Pride parades have now been banned in the city for the coming century.

It is against this backdrop that Pussy Riot members have explained that the LGBT rights agenda is important to them in interviews and in song:

“Black robe, golden epaulettes /
All parishioners are crawling and bowing /
The ghost of freedom is in heaven /
Gay pride sent to Siberia in chains“

The fact that Pussy Riot targeted the Orthodox Church in their most recent protest is also of consequence. They did so to highlight the dangerous extent to which the interests of the Church are intertwined with those of the Russian authorities. This relationship is manifested in part through officially sanctioned sexism and homophobia. It can be seen in homophobic laws backed by the Church, and in tacit support from the authorities for homophobic violence dished out by religious extremists.

Alexei Mukhin, president of political thinktank the Center for Political Information, argues that Pussy Riot “were contracted to stage their recent action in the Christ the Savior Cathedral by the LGBT community”. Mukhin’s assessment is pretty cynical and almost definitely inaccurate, but it’s easy to see how he made the connection.

Many within Russia and elsewhere have argued that the cathedral protest was a step too far: an unnecessary infringement upon religious freedoms by a group keen to gain attention for their wider political battle. It’s also important to remember that plenty of feminists, LGBT people and political activists are religious, and that an attack upon religion can be seen as an attack upon these groups.

But for Pussy Riot, the Orthodox Church as an institution was a viable target, in the same way that the Church of England was a viable target for Outrage! in the 1990s. Both the Russian government and the Church have caused suffering for countless lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, and this must be opposed.

Information on how you can support Pussy Riot can be found at Free Pussy Riot! and Amnesty International.

Women in sport have always been a controversial topic. We’re a sex that has to work harder to prove our worth and our right to compete in that sport, even in 2012, women in sport is still not considered on a par with our male counterparts.  Typically, we play the same sport, with the same level of determination, with the same amount of passion, yet we’re still not deserving of the same respect and support as the men.

This year has been a turning point for sportswomen and female athletes alike.  2012, and on the world stage, the girls have made historical movements in showcasing how we’re not second rate when it comes to medal winning and success at the Olympics.  Here’s a couple of facts to consider about women in Olympics since 1908:

• In 1928, women competed in track and field events for the first time; however, so many collapsed at the end of the 800-meter race that the event was banned until 1960.
• Women competed in swimming events for the first time in 1912, but none of them were from America, which did not allow its female athletes to compete in events without long skirts. The first women’s swimming gold medal was won by the Australian Sarah ‘Fanny’ Durack, who won the 100m freestyle in 1912.
• Qatar, Brunei and Saudi Arabic all sent female participants to the London 2012 Olympic Games, meaning now every national Olympic committee will have sent women to the Olympic Games.

The Olympics has been a sheer spectacle for many ways.  It’s an avenue where raw emotion is on display, from tears of joy to sheer devastation, to determination to pride, above all else, pride.  As a nation that’s saw the riots a year ago to this very week, we’ve come through it and now displaying pure heroism on the track of field where instead of running riots on the streets, we’re running riots on the track, on the fields, on the astro, on our bikes, in the water and in the air.  We’re a nation that’s showing the rest of the world that our tiny island is a force to be reckoned with, and we’re a nation of fighters, of success and of talent.

So far, on day 11, this is how Team GB girls have raked in those medals.

Athletics

• Gold – Jessica Ennis // Heptathlon
• Silver – Christine Ohuruogu // Women’s 400m

Cycling – Road

• Silver – Lizzie Armistead // Women’s Road Race

Cycling – Track

• Gold – Victoria Pendleton // Women’s Keirin
• Gold – Dani King, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell // Women’s Team Pursuit

Equestrian

• Silver – Zara Phillips, Kristina Cook, Nicola Wilson and Mary King // Team Eventing

Gymnastics

• Bronze – Beth Tweddle // Women’s Uneven Bars

Judo

• Silver – Gemma Gibbons // Women’s – 78Kg
• Bronze – Karina Bryant // Women’s +78Kg

Rowing

• Gold – Helen Glover and Heather // Women’s Pair
• Gold –  Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger // Women’s Double Sculls
• Gold – Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland // Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls

Swimming

• Bronze – Rebecca Adlington // Women’s 400m Freestyle
• Bronze – Rebecca Adlington // Women’s 800m Freestyle

Tennis

• Silver – Laura Robson // Mixed Doubles

So, our women are responsible for collecting 6 of the gold medals, 5 silver medals and 4 bronze medals.  So if our girls were a country, we’d be 8^th in the medal table, that’s above the likes of Kazakhstan, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa and the list could just go on and on.  We’re not stopping there either, we still have a good chunk of the week left to come, with medal opportunities still ahead of us!

We’ve come a long way to reach this stage, this turning point in the respect and support British girls get in sport.  Women’s sport in the Olympics has been on a huge journey over the years, with some events not even being included until very recent indeed as we were considered not good enough to provide that level of entertainment on the global stage.  This year, women’s boxing was introduced for the very first time, and if you consider the history of boxing in the male sphere, it’s a ‘man’ sport, only ‘men’ should fight and box.  This sort of stigma is still attached to the game today, as female weightlifters, wrestlers, rugby and football players and indeed boxers, are considered ‘not girlie’ as they’re meddling in a sport where men are the dominants, and that’s the way it should always stay.

However, with the inclusion of women’s boxing, Team GB filling Wembley stadium (that’s nearly 80,000 seats) when they played Brazil, and Canada vs USA football game nearly sold out Old Trafford last night, Zoe Smith becoming the face of weightlifting and the girls in the rowing, is proving the stereotype wrong.  Women are strong, talented and are more than capable to overcome the emotional turmoil that sportsmen and women have to endure with intense training and performing on the day.  Heck, I would argue we’re stronger, as how many of them are having to deal with being due on and hormonal too?  Phenomenal.

2012’s London Olympics is continuing to be a special sporting occasion, and we’re displaying some of the most exiting scenes ever to have been created in sports.  I am proud to say I’m from a nation of fantastic role models, where the attitudes are positive, healthy and bursting with team spirit.  I have been brought to tears on several occasion over the past 11 days due to the passion our girls are displaying, the positive attitudes showcased, whether we win or lose, and the message of “if I can do it, you can do it too” that echoes across the UK, symbolising overcoming adversity and the willingness to rip into newfound lands and even male spheres, where previously, we were considered not good enough.  Although these ladies are dominating the sporting field, their heroic exhibition is a message that can be translated into all avenues of life.

Team GB girls, I salute you.

Further reading:

1. http://www.london2012.com/medals/medal-count/
2. http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/women.htm

Photograph: Michelle Wright ©2012 Disney/Pixar.

There’s been a bit of debate around the world wide web over whether or not feisty, independent Merida from Pixar’s Brave is gay. So, we’ve decided to settle it in the least scientific way possible. First up, in the er, not gay corner, Carrie Lyell and in the gay corner, Maria Burnham. Let’s keep it clean, ladies. Ding ding, fight!

Lesbian? No. Feminist? Maybe. Fairytale? Definitely not.

Merida and I have got a lot in common. Curly hair? Check. A wee bit ginger? Well, I’m strawberry blonde but I’ll give you that. Scottish? Och aye. Brave? My friends always say I’m probably the bravest person they know, struggling through this quagmire of life, unflinching and determined.

Go on. Ask them. What’s Carrie like? When did you realise she was gay? Oh, they’ll say, it was definitely that time she saw a mouse in the kitchen and didn’t eat for five days because she was so terrified that it might claw her eyes out if she crept back in for a piece of toast. But then, it could have been the time after her flat was broken into that she slept with the light on for a year just incase. Saying that, every time she’s got a cold she’s absolutely pathetic, not to mention how much she cried watching The Notebook. Merida must be a raging homo. It’s obvious.

Hold up. These are not the hallmarks of a brave warrior at all. Actually, I’m the complete opposite. This is a revelation. Traits like being brave or strong or weak or submissive actually have nothing at all to do with sexuality or gender and are just cheap, restrictive stereotypes? This is brand new news to me!

I’ll admit, I was getting a little tired with the Cinderellas and Jasmines that Disney’s been trotting out. They were kind of hot, if you like that sort of thing, but Merida is a breath of fresh air. The Rebekah Brooks resemblance puts me off a bit, but nevertheless, she has the makings of a new feminist icon.

If Merida is gay, bisexual, or trans, I wish her all the best, but we’re not doing her or ourselves any favours by imposing such a narrow mindset. I would have hoped in the however-many-years since I was rejecting the dolls and dresses thrust in my direction we would have moved on a bit. Boys can do ballet (thanks Billy Elliot) and play with dolls and girls can climb trees and wear blue and it has absolutely no impact on who they’re going to be attracted to later in life. For all the tomboys who grow up and discover that they are LB or T, there are probably an equal number that find a nice young man and put all that tree climbing behind them.

Adam Markovitz is right about one thing. It doesn’t matter if Merida is gay or not. What does matter is this attitude that as women, we are supposed to be demure, obedient and submissive. Any rejection of that and the lesbian accusations start flying. Doesn’t sound like much of a fairytale to me.

A lesbian princess? Thank you, Pixar!

Finally, Pixar has gifted the LGBT community with something that’s been a long time coming, a lesbian princess! Merida, the fiery Scottish heroine of Pixar’s new movie Brave, is everything a young tomboy could want in a cartoon role model. Let’s get serious, she’s everything this former tomboy, now open bisexual, could want in a cartoon icon.

The truth is, Pixar is not endorsing this whole ‘Merida is an undercover lesbian trying to subtly promote gay-friendly propaganda’ thing that is floating around the Internet. The real truth is, she is a very young teenager who is grappling with the realities of growing up, balancing the fine line of childhood and inevitable adulthood, and perhaps is just not ready to embrace sexuality as a whole, whether it be hetero or homo, or any other prefixes that may apply.

So let’s not read too deeply into it and rather accept that it is awesome to have a princess who doesn’t swoon at the mere glance of a boy, or who doesn’t have to tame a literal beast of a man, or one who isn’t bound by a ‘kissing pact’. Let’s cheer Pixar on for creating a sweet and lovely movie that portrays two strong woman (for the mother is a powerful rock) and shies away from the standard gloved and poised princess.

Instead, Merida is a princess that has zero desire to marry a prince, and is thoroughly disgusted by every princely bachelor thrusted her way. She is a skilled sportswoman, trumping everyone with her seriously insane archery skills and horseback riding. It’s quite thrilling watching her unruly crimson hair whipping behind her as she races through the forest on her trusty horse. She is not adept at the traditional (read:stereotypical) female skills such as cooking, knitting, teaching, or babysitting. But throw her out in the wild and she can catch and fry up a fish like nobody’s business, climb the tallest rocky pillar, and ward off a wild animal.

She seems more comfortable tooling around with her dad than learning from her mom, especially when her mom binds her in a courtly gown and attempts to subdue her untamed tresses. I’m reminded of my own mother swiping mascara on my young, watery eyes whilst I complained loudly. When she receives her very own bow as a present, she is overjoyed at such a handy and exciting new piece of equipment, and she quickly masters it. As she zips around the castle courtyard it is unsurprising that she is mistaken for a boy, since most expect young girls to behave more ‘ladylike‘.

Despite knowing she will upset her family by refusing to fulfill the familial expectations, Merida follows her dream of changing her fate to become her own woman, not a princess locked down to a prince. Who is Pixar kidding? This girl is a lesbian!

I think it’s fair to say that here at Lesbilicious, we’re still a little divided on this one. What do you think? Lesbian princess or a tired stereotype? Place your vote now!

Pixar’s Brave is released UK wide on 13th August.

We’re pleased to announce that Lesbilicious now has a shop! The shop contains a whole load of quirky lesbian-interest clothes, music, books and gift ideas. When you spot something you like you’ll be able to click through to buy from that product’s website.

Everything in the shop is hand-picked by us, and our goal is to list products from independent LGBT shops, so buying through our shop a good way to support small businesses – as well as supporting us!

We’re really proud that Lesbilicious is a completely independent web magazine, and that we provide insightful, interesting articles and videos about lesbian issues absolutely free of charge. But operating a website like this costs money.

Our costs include one part-time member of staff, the expenses for our team of voluntary writers, and the cost of website design, development, hosting and bandwidth. We keep the costs as low as possible, but we still need to raise money to pay for them.

We finance Lesbilicious through sponsorship on the site, advertising through the shop, affiliate links to Amazon and running comedy nights.

If you enjoy Lesbilicious and want to support us, here’s how:

• Support our advertisers – have a look at their websites, buy their products
• Click on our links to shop from Amazon – we get around 5% of the sale price
• Advertise with us – if you’ve got a business and you want to reach more lesbian / bisexual women, talk to us
• Sign up to the mailing list to find out when we’ve running events
• Tell your friends – if you like an article, tweet it, Facebook ‘like’ it, link to it from your blog. Support us by helping us reach more people!

Last month I posted up a list of the UK’s Prides for July. Here’s your Augustly update. Get out there and rock those rainbow socks!

Liverpool Gay Pride, said to be the biggest free Pride festival in England, kicks off on Friday with its Parade on Saturday 4th August 2012. Boasting 40,000 marchers last year, this year they want even more people than the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant. ‘Nautical but Nice’ is their theme, with their flotillas setting sail from William Brown Street at 12pm heading towards Pier Head for the evening’s entertainment. Liverpool Pride is quite unusual in that it is an emission free celebration with no vehicles, bar those needed for the disabled, allowed in the parade. Marcus Collins, X Factor runner up, will feature at the Waterfront Stage on the Pier.

Swindon and Wiltshire Pride give us Baby D and Basshunter for their one day Pride celebration on Saturday 4th August 2012. Heading off from the  Westlecott Road at 11:15am, the Parade will make its way towards Quarry Road to the Town Gardens for the Post Parade Party. The Nationwide Mainstage starts at 1:30pm, the Variety Stage starts at 12:30pm and the Community Stage starts at 12pm. A free Parade, a priority pass is available on their site for £7.50 allowing marchers to enter the bowl of the Post Parade show via a Queue Jump lane. Celebrations at Swindon Pride go on until 10:30pm.

The world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival starts on Friday 3 August. Amid the hundreds of excellent comedy acts we’ve picked out some gems you should definitely look out for – comedians and acts who are both hilarious and lesbilicious.

Mae Martin

She’s tiny, she’s chirpy, she reminisces about her dorky teenage self’s stalkerish obsession with the cool girl at camp. A delightful mix of oddball stories, parody songs and disarming Canadian charm.

Jen Brister

Jen Brister takes no prisoners. Whether she’s impersonating her Spanish mum, racist Australian audiences or drunken Glaswegian men, Jen’s energy is infectious and her comedy timing is perfect.

Susan Calman

Susan Calman is making waves on the comedy scene. If you listen to Radio 4 you’ll know Susan as the funny Glaswegian on panel show The News Quiz, where she’s stealing Sandi Toksvig’s crown as the queen of tiny lesbian comedy.

Lashings of Ginger Beer Time

If you only go to one queer feminist Victorian sex education burlesque show this summer, make it this one. Songs of sub-standard shagging and dancing in thigh-high fetish boots, all to the tune of 19th century musical theatre and 21st century gender politics.

Ladystache

Hilariously weird sketch comedy, as all the best sketch shows are. Surreal, high energy, occasionally a little bit gross.

Suzi Ruffell

Think you over-analyse your life? You haven’t heard Suzi Ruffell’s in-depth analysis of Lady Gaga’s lyrics. Refreshingly different humour from an intensely likeable comedian.

Strange Hungers

Two 1920s cabaret stars, Claud and Maud, give a whirlwind tour through the lesbians of history. This is history as told by Bill and Ted, if Bill and Ted were lesbians singing songs about Gertrude Stein’s giant poodle, ‘Basket’. Celebratory, feminist and more than a little silly.

Who did we miss? Tell us in the comments…