News in brief vol. 1
I understand that lesbians are interesting and all, but I’m not sure I understand entirely the attraction we present to people outside our community. Over the time this website has been live, we’ve dealt with a number of ridiculous news items that focus mainly on the salacious assumptions people have about lesbians and then descend into… well, not much else.
On the scale of absolute weirdness, though, this has to figure pretty high. ‘More than 100 go wild at lesbian party’ – that’s a pretty tame headline.
Not sure how many of you have been to Malaysia, but it’s a place I call home, having lived there for nine or so years. Combine that with my obvious lady-loving habits, and we’ve got a problem – because there’s very little to do in KL by way of lesbian-related activity. And also because homosexuality is illegal (thanks go to Queen Victoria for that one).
Of course, the real questions here are clearly: what, when, why, where, who?
Hmm… I thought it was just intercourse between men that has always been illegal. My readings around the subject and the history behind it has suggested that there has never been legislation against lesbians because it was believed that two women couldn’t have penetrative sex.
In fact, my understanding was that there was legislature drafted regarding lesbians, but Queen Victoria dismissed the idea as she didn’t believe that two women could have sex.
It’s interesting that it’s deemed so negatively since homosexuality has been around for centuries. In fact, it’s heavily debated by historians as to whether Achilles had male lovers, including his cousin Petreclus (spel), which was never disputed by ancient Greeks because many stories include Zeus as having male lovers…
The wording of laws laid down by the British in their overseas colonies generally refers to ‘unnatural sex’ of any kind (for example, this is the wording in the Indian Penal Code). I believe you’re right, though, about Queen Vic and the idea of lesbians (the very idea!).
Keep in mind that Malaysia is a Muslim country – and that religious authority figures have found ways to harass everyone, from teenagers holding hands to non-Muslims in clubs without ID proving their religion. I totally agree with you about the historical context as well: if, for example, you read the Kama Sutra, which is a Hindu text that was written thousands of years ago, references are contained therein to sexual conduct between men and between women. It was mainly the result of outside influences, such as the Moghuls and the British, that kind of messed things up.
Yeh I get you on the Muslim country point. It’s strange because it’s a natural thing that happens even in the animal kingdom. I mean, you get homosexual pigs who won’t breed with sows because they’re only interested in the men!
Oh yeh, I totally forgot about the Kama Sutra being a Hindu text!
Queen Vicky’s actual involvement in the Labouchete Amendement is pretty widely disputed now. She kind of just had to go along with whatever parliament put in front of her. Women were left out in the original legislation because the men behind it simply didn’t know (or want to know) anything about lesbianism. Later on, lesbian activists used the ‘Vicoria hated gay women’ slant to explain why there was such a relative oppresion of gay expression during the Victorian era.
That’s not to say that she wasn’t a massive, queer-bashing closet-case. There’s just nothing in writing…
It’s interesting that you say in Malaysia people are harassed for holding hands – in the most religously Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia, men hold hands in a way I would only hold my partner’s hand.
I smell Referendum! Bite nails!
The British want a Conservative Parliament?
Many ignorant votes!
To Custard-
Zeus was said to have had relations with a young mortal boy named Ganymede, he was turned immortal by Zeus in order to be his lover and cup bearer. This ended up contributing to the starting of the Trojan war though. So the rumours may be true, homosexuality does, in fact, cause war.