Pinkboard's SGLMG Graffiti Wall 1

The election and the AGM is finished but the debates still continue.

This wall is for comments and criticisms of the operations and activities of the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras, Australia's largest lesbian and organisation. Please make your comments and criticisms constructive and remember that many people put hundreds and thousands of hours in to make Mardi Gras what it is.

Pinkboard's SGLMG 98 AGM Graffiti Wall

Copyright (C) Pinkboard, 1998-99. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Racism, sexism, libel and other offensiveness is not welcome.

Corporations Law - Sect 232 Duty and liability of officer of corporation (2) An officer of a corporation shall at all times act honestly in the exercise of his or her powers and the discharge of the duties of his or her office. (4) In the exercise of his or her powers and the discharge of his or her duties, an officer of a corporation must exercise the degree of care and diligence that a reasonable person in a like position in a corporation would exercise in the corporation's circumstances.
Wed Sep 16 23:17:17 1998

Corporations Law - Sect 239 Removal and resignation of auditors (1) An auditor of a company may be removed from office by esolution of the company at a general meeting of which special notice has been given, but not otherwise. (2) Where special notice of a resolution to remove an auditor is received by a company, it shall as soon as possible send a copy of the notice to the auditor and lodge a copy of the notice. (3) Within 7 days after receiving a copy of the notice, the uditor may make representations in writing, not exceeding a easonable length, to the company and request that, before the meeting at which the resolution is to be considered, a copy of the representations be sent by the company at its expense to every member of the company to whom notice of the meeting is sent. (4) Unless the Commission on the application of the company otherwise orders, the company shall send a copy of the representations in accordance with the auditor's request, and the auditor may, without prejudice to his or her right to be heard orally or, where a firm is the auditor, to have a member of the firm heard orally on its behalf, require that the representations be read out at the meeting.
Wed Sep 16 23:20:18 1998

(5) An auditor of a company may, by notice in writing given to the company,resign as auditor of the company if: (a) the auditor has, by notice in writing given to the Commission, applied for consent to the resignation and stated the reasons for the application and, at or about the same time as the notice was given to the Commission, notified the company in writing of the application to the Commission; and (b) the consent of the Commission has been given. (6) The Commission shall, as soon as practicable after receiving a notice from an auditor under subsection (5), notify the auditor and the company whether it consents to the resignation of the auditor.
Wed Sep 16 23:21:49 1998

Yeah, well, we're over it all now. Next.
The Smoking Man - Fri Sep 18 0:32:56 1998

Marsdens in their letter of 7 August 1998 to the members stated 'A full explanation will be made by this firm at the Annual General Meeting'. OK I can accept that the AGM represented too tight a deadline. However I think that in due course a full explanation still must be given. When all the 'facts' are in and 'explanations' obtained and remedial actions determined, a proper communication to members needs to be made. Why it is the Solicitors and not the Board that have made such a commitment to a 'full explanation' - well that's another matter.
Delahunt has apparently not resigned - Fri Sep 18 8:19:57 1998

Has Julia Mitchell been sacked yet?
Budda - Fri Sep 18 17:32:28 1998

I agree with "smoking man" Let's move onto the next topic...Law, Politics or social reform.
educate and reap - Fri Sep 18 18:07:27 1998

Julia Mitchell is still at it. If Hand in Hand was anything to go by imagine what slip ups and time losses will happen after Sleaze. Anyone got that dealer's number - I don't want to surface until after New Year.
Fri Sep 18 18:14:06 1998

Forget Julia Mitchell. Is John Marsden still Mardi Gras' solicitor? If so, who's paying his fees? Mardi Gras, or the people on the McLachlan ticket?
Clarence Darrow - Sun Sep 20 23:36:12 1998

So is Sleaze going to be another st8 party? Why is it that they (st8's) always want to follow the trends our community sets in pace... Levis and white T shirts were once 'our uniform' before the trendies took them on board. We have so few 'special' parties...is it too much to expect that we can't 'discriminate' against them just for those nights so we can celebrate our sexuality/diversity without the onlookers!!! It's time we reclaimed our space and our parties.
Melbourne. - Mon Sep 21 15:54:09 1998

Just have a wander, then dancetalk where 'you' feel most comfortable and happy would be a weird way to start.
Tue Sep 22 0:31:34 1998

Wot's happened to this area. No messages left for over a week?? Is everyone too preoccupied with getting themselves up for Sleaze or wot? Surely there are still lots of things to talk, rave and complain about that hasn't got to do with Sleaze. Or is it becuase noone knows this area exists? Have you accidently killed it off without intending to, Panther?
Tired old i donwanna dance party, director - Wed Sep 30 9:56:36 1998

Perhaps even a party director needs to Re-invent themselves.
Chris... - Thu Oct 1 1:32:33 1998

Boycott Pinkboard
Tue Oct 6 10:12:17 1998

Why are we being asked to boycott Pinkboard? Does this have anything to do with how the debates are being slowed down by the difficulty in finding the right graffiti walls? Immediately after the party The Sleaze Wall became hard to find. Did Panther recieve a command to try and put a plug the feedback on what appears to be a less than successful party?
Tue Oct 6 11:30:57 1998

ok mardi gras - the party happened, but only just..perhaps trhe sluggish ticket sales could be contributed to the 1-dimensional vibe of your event(house! hard house! and girly house!) I saw, I heard, and I ended up a the alternative(dung) Wow! live music ..and music from another galaxy. With a theme like wierd you had the perfect opportunity to take G&L sydney into the new millenium.(try listening to gemma, lanny k, mark murphy or seymour)
Tue Oct 6 13:22:31 1998

All the graffiti walls are available if you press "Interact" on the home page.
Panther - Tue Oct 6 22:10:16 1998

Panther, Could we *P*L*E*A*S*E* have a new topic!
Batfink... - Wed Oct 7 5:54:41 1998

Heard a rumour today. Mardi Gras are about to announce a new inquiry into the Fletcher Cook report. Lets hope they've taken notice of that Open Letter in the Q.
Wed Oct 7 19:12:31 1998

That rumor can't be true. And if it is, I bet they set it up with their mates so its a great big whitewash and everyone gets ekkyonerated!
Thu Oct 8 1:05:23 1998

"what's around the corner Boys and Girls"
Thu Oct 8 1:51:14 1998

Is Gary Burns president of the David McL fan club ?????
That's weird - Fri Oct 9 15:40:52 1998

Regional Queen- Is it as quiet in the bush as it is on this wall.
Batfink... - Mon Oct 12 0:00:13 1998

Heard another rumour. Something about Leeson, Kylie and a film clip. Just handed over the rights with no bucks for Mardi Gras? Were other board members consulted? Probably, not. Wonder who drew up the contract? Is this the end of Leeson as party director.
Mon Oct 12 12:59:25 1998

Leeson organised for the dancers that performed with her at MG to perform in her concert at the ent cent. The deal was done for $1 per dancer. The only person who benefitted was GL with free tickets and a credit at the end of the show. As far as I know no-one else knew that this was happening.
Mon Oct 12 17:49:57 1998

Gary love, watch your back! Someone on the MG board must be after your job - and all the perks and patronage that go with it. Does this mean Dicky boy is no longer there to protect you?
The Grouter - Mon Oct 12 23:12:21 1998

Could this "wall" move on...The fat lady wants to get out of bed.
it ain't gona be a pretty tune! - Tue Oct 13 2:42:42 1998

Who else is prepared to give up so much of their time to give you ungrateful never done anything positive for the community queens something as spectacular as the Horny show. Lets see anyone else organise such great parties over the years - say four of five years worth - and give up their time unselfishly for very little reward - all on their own time and for no financial payment or compensation and ask for nothing more. Geat party Gary. Congratulations Gary, you deserve, and have earned better than this shit. Sorry I looked at this pathetic negative internet site. Get a life, contribute to the positive community that you all wish you were a part of.
Not Richard or any MG Board - Fri Oct 16 21:49:46 1998

Oh shucks! Thanks! I now feel so encouraged that I think I'll stick around for the silver anniversary party. Now won't that be a great excuse for decor etc
Gazza - Sat Oct 17 0:13:53 1998

To the "all visitors" to this site...I think that the subject should now be Matthew Shepard.
Sat Oct 17 1:07:13 1998

Has the fat lady got out of bed yet.
Sing, sing, sing - Sun Oct 18 1:03:48 1998

Her bright blue eyes are now open and optimistically focused on the challenges ahead...
"but she's still in bed" - Sun Oct 18 2:01:16 1998

Did anyone make it to the strategic planning day yesterday?
Panther - Sun Oct 18 9:14:07 1998

Yes Panther, Around 30 people turned up for the three hour discussion that looked at all the revelant topics that need change or fine tunning, along with just a dash of creativity. The second meeting is planned for around November and should go a long way to defining Mardi Gras future role as a community organisation.
Batfink - Sun Oct 18 11:55:39 1998

Batfink: Was anything controversial said? I was actually at one of the focus groups meetings, so I don't feel too guilty missing the big one.
Panther - Mon Oct 19 8:40:42 1998

Panther: While there where a several strong points made it was akin to laying the cement base on a building site with other likeminded workers sharing a common goal. If there is to be any controversy it will occur within the building "walls"...David looks like a construction site workman.
Batfink - Mon Oct 19 14:49:14 1998

Why is Mardi Gras' own website still promoting Sleaze? Why hasn't it got info about this strategic planning process - plus the opportunity for people to comment/participate by email? I realise they are all busy inside the bunker, but if this process is supposed to be important, why hasn't updating the website been given some priority?
Tue Oct 20 11:29:47 1998

They've upped the prices again- to $85 this time. Is this what people are telling them they want in this strategic planning process?
Wed Oct 28 16:39:40 1998

Let's face it - $85 is still a bargain. Most of my friends are on six digit salaries and so money is no object. Really anyone not a minimum salary of $50000 pa, probably shouldn't be at the party anyway. Elitism is the way to go - get rid of as much rif raf as possible. Those silly little 20 something sales assistant and apprentice hairdresser types into all that vile techno and tribal music - cut them off at the pass if you ask me. Make it $185 next year. There is enough cheap alternatives during the festival for those who have to count their pennies. For example, the launch is free.
The way ahead - Thu Oct 29 9:40:12 1998

I'm on $48000 - but I'm expecting a pay rise by Mardi Gras. Should get me over the $50000.
Can I still cum - Thu Oct 29 12:24:28 1998

Sorry guys, but the drug dealers (read homophobes) would still be able to afford $185. But then again maybe you elitists deserve each other.
Thu Oct 29 13:45:05 1998

When do tickets for Mardi Gras Party 1999 go on sale?
Christmas presents - Thu Oct 29 18:59:54 1998

One of MGs justification for raising the ticket price is dropping the numbers at the party. They are dropping the numbers by about 12% and raising the tickets by about 13%. Other things that cost at least $85 - a pop concert, an opera, a dinner with cocktails and wine, a new shirt, a night in a lower priced motel, 2 nights on Oxford St.
Panther - Thu Oct 29 19:25:34 1998

Youse rich faggots can't add up and Panther sounds like an apologist for the backroom powerbrokers. The price increase is more than Panther's 13% (closer to 20%) The minimum cost for a single non-concession MG party ticket is $87.40 and can cost up to $91.20. Hope you've added up ya pay cheque right, maybe you earn much less. Put ya glasses on and read the fine print as well as the Report that accompanied the notice of the price increase. There is something rotten in our community.
Get ya facts straight - Fri Oct 30 0:31:43 1998

PS Panther it is now summer time. Your clock needs to be advanced 1 hour.
Fri Oct 30 0:35:19 1998

Facts - Even with that contribution to Mr Packers tax free income it still compares favourably with other forms of entertainment and means a whole lot more to me. Especially when the profits go back into our community.
Panther - Fri Oct 30 7:45:58 1998

Yes, but which people in the community?
Fri Oct 30 10:02:49 1998

I'm sure your VIP passes mean even more to you.
Fri Oct 30 17:54:58 1998

Methinks Panther has chosen the wrong pseudonym. Perhaps he should change his name to Pollyantha!
Fri Oct 30 22:00:47 1998

How many of you who really want to go to the parties can honestly tell me that the the party ticket is the major expenditure for the night. How about adding up what you really spend.
Panther - Sat Oct 31 9:31:31 1998

While the $85.00 in neither here nor there.It would seem than many people in the community do live around the poverty level.I guess these people should volunteer their services for the parade and then have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets, if that offer still exists? And to Mr Elitism.If the party was full of like minded individuals such as yourself,not only would it lack a challenging cultural atmosphere. It would be *Dull*.If your perception of a community is entirely focused on money and 6 digit salaries and enjoying cheap cracks at people less fortunate than yourself.Perhaps you need to be reminded of all the activists and volunteers that have made huge contributions while living in poverty ensuring your rights.
"a better way ahead" - Sun Nov 1 15:47:54 1998

I think parade marshalls get a half price ticket. Volunteers for administration, workshop and party can get a free ticket if they do enough hours (around 3 days I think). They always need volunteers.
Sun Nov 1 18:44:51 1998

"The Way Ahead" is nothing more provocative guppie scum.
Nat - Mon Nov 2 17:34:47 1998

$85 base price for a ticket is a bargain. You get 12 hours of available party time, working out at $7.08 per hour. Your $7.08/hour provides 3 major dance halls, extra minor areas, fabulous floor shows, pyrotechnics, the best dj's & lighting drawn from australia-wide (2 of the 4 lighting designers at sleaaze 98 were from melbourne - say anything?), etc. And an International guest Surley this is the best value around? What else can you get for $7.08/hour? A movie ticket? Snack in a cafe? Night out clubbing? Compare this to Melbourne parties. We get 10 hours, 1 or maybe 2 dance spaces, all local talent, no guests, etc etc. For about $6.00 ish per hour. Now stop complaining about the ticket prices. This must be the best value party in the world. $85 is not always easy to come by, but there is always the opportunity to volunteer. I have gained free entry to many Melboure parties by doing my volunteer service. Plus you get to expand your social networks, learn new skills, work in a fun environment, and support your community at the same time. It somehow makes the party more special to you. I pay my SGLMG membership, party ticket, airfare, hotel etc all for the MG and Sleaze partyies, and I still think I'm getting better value than Melbourne.
Get it together, Sydney - Tue Nov 3 13:37:13 1998

re: tuesday 20th October I went and checked out mardi gras website today and they have finally put up a pie chart of the current disbursement of income among other basic info. As to the rest of it being updated, I agree it is cheesy and I think that the membership need to address the reality of what is involved in generating income to manage this resource more dynmically
Wed Nov 4 2:24:14 1998

An international guest at Mardi Gras? Can you guarrantee us that? And can you guarrantee it won't be some washed out has been whose use by date has long since past? As for international guests, how about Mardi Gras treating us to some decent international DJs (please spare me suggestions that Warren Gluck qualifies as such). While I agree that Mardi gras party is probably worth the $85 cost I think it fair that people question 20% ticket price increases.
Nat - Wed Nov 4 17:27:55 1998

Of course they have to increase the ticket price - to make up the failure to obtain revenue from the Kylie Minogue video resale/replay rights.
Thu Nov 5 6:36:50 1998

Marc Andrews from Love Muscle in London. Junior Vasquez as second choice. David Morales and Frankie Knuckles - I guess I can only dream about that
Votes for overseas DJ's - Thu Nov 5 13:31:34 1998

Well if you are members of Mg then you can organise an extra-ordinary meeting to get rid of the current committee, or just to vote on changes, such as getting rid of straights from the membership. Other than that put your money where your face is and go to another dance party on the night. Stop complaining on this board as it's gonna do no differnce at all, and do something positive.
its me again - Thu Nov 5 13:36:32 1998

Who's me ?
Stop big noting yourself and start whinging - Thu Nov 5 16:04:56 1998

You again - How about doing something even more constructive and join the Party Committee or one of its sub-committees.
Fri Nov 6 8:38:17 1998

What's the point of this board if people can't complain? Should we just use it to tell Mardi Gras how wonderful it is, even when we think that there are things that might need changing, or at the very least, reconsiderin?. Maybe we should just close the board down 'cause precious little petals like "its me again" get all upset when they hear things they don't wanna hear. And heaven forbid that we should suggest changes to the party. No, instead we should just like it or leave it. Get a grip!!! As a Mardi Gras member I'll say all I like about the parties, when I like, to whoever I like in public forums like this.
Nat (feeling much better now that he's gotten that off his chest) - Fri Nov 6 13:19:02 1998

theres a rumour that steve allkins is gunna cash his pension cheque and purchase some danny teneglia cds (like rob davis) see it looks more international already
oxford birthday gal - Sun Nov 8 7:03:24 1998

my names there - Mon Nov 9 8:25:41 1998

Me thinks the thought police are out and about again. Surely the C-word and the live-in aren't behind it all? I doubt they would allow a non-entity to join the precious little clique - mind you if you had a cute bum well... Nat: keep getting it off your chest - that's whot democracy is all about.
deep phlegm - Tue Nov 10 0:32:49 1998

It appears that we are about to be "betrayed". Stay tuned.
Nat - Fri Nov 13 10:04:29 1998

Hey "Votes for Overseas DJ's". Did you know that Frankie Knuckles actually offered himself to Mardi Gras for the 97 party? He was in NZ the week before for the Hero Party and was actually in Sydney the weekend of Mardi Gras. And you know what Mardi Gras told him? They told him that he would have to submit a demo tape.
Nat - Fri Nov 13 14:15:46 1998

Listen, the $85 for the party ticket help funds the parade, the Festival, the launch, the Fair day, the work shop and continue to keep Mardi Gras alive (barely). We are the only gay and lesbian organisation in the world who balances the books (with the skin of the teeth). How do you think it has survived until now. Everyone forgets the Party is a fundraiser. If you think the price is too high, then fundraise for the survival of Mardi Gras and stop whinging.
Eyes Open - Fri Nov 13 22:01:26 1998

So, it had to happen. It would seem that our fantastic Mardi Gras parade and party is about to be stolen. And the thief delivering it will be none other than current party director Gary Leeson. Yep, Mr Leeson is being enticed to that other great city on the other side of the world (London), to put together a "Mardi Gras" parade and party on July 4 next year. They couldn't get it together to support their own fantastic Pride Fair, so now they're gonna try to imitate our parade and party. I wonder what the deal is for Mr Leeson. And where does Richard Cobden fit into this? Londoners are more fickle than we are in Sydney - I wouldn't wish a job like that on my own worst enemy. At least we'll (hopefully) get a new party director.
Nat - Sat Nov 14 11:06:51 1998

Reg Livermore thought he'd be a hit in London too!
Sat Nov 14 23:37:15 1998

Let's hope its a one way ticket! - paid for by Sony?
Sun Nov 15 18:09:16 1998

Hello World!

Mon Nov 16 14:04:11 1998

Forget the sugar daddy. I have a sugar sony!
Mon Nov 16 22:57:56 1998

it'nt the world an impressive thing
Mon Nov 16 23:05:55 1998

There's nothing like payouts from Sony to hide the fact you're a phoney
Tue Nov 17 18:22:11 1998

send twee leeson packing - MG needs some warts removed from its arse rather than a kicking - perhaps his departure will rebirth the old cow...look what happenened to the oxford! now its alive again - here's to some decent music when he's gone
see you next year - Wed Nov 18 14:43:08 1998

All this bitching is about the inevitable. We are all talking about MG. Coming from two dykes who have been on a committee within MG we've seen the fur fly on many occassions. Including the finding of a second budget for board eyes only(they're broke my arse, they've got money in other accounts friends). MG has had the power for twenty years and will soon come to the end when they decapitate themselves. Everyone working there is working for themselves, not the community. It's time we stopped relying on them for our lifestyles and made a stand for ourselves.
Two dykes in the know. EAK!!! - Thu Nov 19 15:38:25 1998

Hi there Goblin :-)
Nat - Fri Nov 20 0:10:53 1998

Re: Two dykes in the know, EAK!!! Michael Chapman and friends - please don't give up. Mardi Gras will become democratic sooner rather than later. You can count on my/our support.
New Member - Fri Nov 20 23:50:27 1998

Is the Goblin reading?? So much hoo ha about a price rise. I like the fact that Mr Ticketek costs us all a minimum extra $2.40 on out tickets. What's wrong MG in advertising the real price of tickets. It is good to see that members are now paying for the $130000 loss of Sleaze 98.
Sun Nov 22 1:11:31 1998

why not have a Pink lottery...It worked for the opera house?
Sun Nov 22 9:39:08 1998

Did Sleaze loose $130,000 (ie made no money at all and lost 130,000) or were they down on budget by $130,000??? And what's all this we hear about the twee one being on a four party contract - I thought directors weren't meant to receive any renumeration?????? The result of a lawyer, perhaps?????????
Tweedle Dee - Sun Nov 22 22:28:26 1998

I thought Sleaze was a fundraiser!!!
we all lost - Thu Nov 26 0:58:38 1998

It is - the question is, who gets the funds it raises?
Fri Nov 27 9:47:33 1998

MG gets all the funds MG raises except for a little bit. They do however provide assistance for events and floats for the MG Festival and Parade. They provided lots of materials for my float this year as well as design advice and help building it.
Panther - Sat Nov 28 11:24:00 1998

Pollyantha's at it again!
Sun Nov 29 10:06:54 1998

Mardi Gras is kind like a student union, too many hacks spoiling the broth - try something new old boy and maybe the community will come back
boredbeyondbelief - Tue Dec 1 13:42:43 1998

boredbeyondbelief - how true. And the Eng Frat has seized control of the Board.
Tue Dec 1 18:59:54 1998

Mardi Gras sucks, especially the festival. they suck beyond belief and don't represent the community. They opt for events that are status quo, and don't really support the gays and lesbians out there working for nothing to develop gay and lesbian culture. it's who you know, not how dedicated you are. We are not going to sumbit anything else for Mardi gras ever again. There is so much brown nosing going on, i think they forget where they came from and who they are supposed to be supporting. Give it up everyone...the festival committe regect 100% gay and lesbian events for "queer mixes"..not good enough, one gay, ten straights..not good enough !!!!!!!!!Don't be fooled, give your hard earned dollars to the community, not some feeble collaboration that only benefits straights. Take a look at the prices !!! Support 100% gay and lesbian events that have a reasonable door charge. You're paying that extra $20 for straights!!! Mardi Gras is no different than any other business, it's not for the community, it's a big wank by losers who know how to use power. Mardi Gras don't even know what colour their roots are, it has been so long since they had their natural colour. Wankers..losers...capitalists, artless, tastleless, brown nosing = Mardi Gras
True Believer - Sat Dec 12 11:29:40 1998

Okay folks, here are a few real questions for you - and when you've finished, ask why the Sydney queer press are not following them up. Last year New Weekly managed to get exclusive photos of Kylie & Dannii at the party, and The Terrorgraph was allowed to take pics in the VIP parade viewing room. The gay and lesbian press were out in the cold. Who owns these rags? Think hard now. The Showgrounds has been given to Fox studios lock stock and taxpayers' barrel. Who owns Fox studios? The F A C E of Mardi Gras this year, with a recording deal to boot, no doubt an appearance at the party & god knows where else, is Dannii Minogue. No real problem there, but why is a straight woman the face of Mardi Gras? Anyway, so which label is Mardi Gras now producing its CDs through? Mushroom. Which has recently changed hands. Who owns Mushroon Records? Now, have you got the answer to those three questions? What, it's all the same answer? Well done! So now let's ask El presidente and the Sydney queer press to explain whose careers are benefitting from having handed Mardi Gras to Rupert Murdoch. Mardi Gras no longer belongs to the community, it is a stepping stone for an elite and closed circle to big time jobs. And the press are too afraiid of losing more advertising to the mainstream to tackle the issue. Go figure guys and girls. Go figure.
True Cynic - Mon Dec 14 15:10:58 1998

PS - who L I E D to the members of the party sub-committee & told them New Weekly snuck in uninvited. Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho! with all those VIPs sipping Bollie just standing around and watching them take the pics? Please dear people.
Mon Dec 14 15:19:18 1998

Sydney Gay, Lesbian and Minogue Mardi Gras - has a nice ring
Mr Fox - Mon Dec 14 18:04:02 1998

True Cynic...yes yes yes yes....I agree..at last an honest person...Oh yes...and why don't Mardi gras feature Australian talent on their pathetic CD ???? Last year there was only one Australian act Ms.K Minn ow gee...and she just snuck in on a second pressing !!!! There we no gays or lesbians on it..not even overseas artist. This is pathetic. We are the laughing stock of the world. And true..true cynic Mardi gras are elitist. Tight assed little circle of tight asses. i hope they all die of boredom. And true too, they are all trying to climb the ladder into straight media..pathetic losers..They are supposed to be Gay and lesbian public servants...we pay them with our memberships and party tickets...typical. Better get the regulation "little square glasses" and crop do, oh yes and better know someone's firend of someone..ooh almost forgot, better be totally talentless, mmm even the receptionist has attitude !!!! (wonder what the cleaners are like). Let us tell you Mardi Gras and all you maggots who buzz around their shit..we don't like you..in fact we are repulsed...
Reclaim MG now - Tue Dec 15 0:51:32 1998

You sad bastards who don't like Mardi Gras,who can't enjoy the most fantastic and enjoyable event on the planet, should move to Melbourne!! That means you Everlasting Night/True Cynic.
Technowarrior - Wed Dec 16 5:23:08 1998

Dear Technowarrior, you have obviously never had to deal with anyone from mardi gras, and by the sound of your name, you are young and artless. And what is so wrong with Melbourne anyway ?
Mornington gal - Wed Dec 16 13:07:33 1998

Two dykes in the know...please tell us more....
fascinated - Wed Dec 16 13:09:43 1998

Yes, well Technowanker, isn't it you always whinging because Mardi Gras aren't satisying your thirst for trance and hard house? Sounds like the juvenile pot calling the kettle black - and Melbourne parties would be more to your taste anyway dear.
Everlasting Cynic - Wed Dec 16 15:28:12 1998

Someone who defines themself by their taste in music ........
Get a life - Thu Dec 17 8:01:00 1998

True Cynic: Can we ask if a certain lawyer has anything to do with Fox??? We are wondering when the announcement of the appointment of Top-Dog Dyke (now that she's bombed out in the Melbourne gig) as CEO of Moore Park Trust will occur??? Will Tricky Dicky be able to pull this one off, too??? Who'll be invited to the celebration cocktail party??? Who'll be invited to the loo to share a needle??? Lets hope there's no hidden cameras in the choosen venue.
Things go better with coke - Thu Dec 17 16:44:17 1998

I can only hope that the Mardi Gras board will soon issue a statement of the bottom line profit (or is it a loss?) for Sleaze 98. Or do we have to wait until the annual accounts are published in July next year? Remember Dave, you promised 'accountability' ........
My bet is on a $100000 loss - Thu Dec 17 17:47:20 1998

Well, that certain lawyer was the loudest voice in favour of the Goverment handing the Showgrounds to poverty-struck gay-friendly Rupie for zilch, and the most vicious attacker of those who did not believe the wealthy should become more so at the expense of NSW taxpayers. He spoke for all of us he said at the time - we wanted big glitzy Hollywood films starring gay icons such as (quote) Tom Cruise and (quote) Kevin Bacon, not the sort of arthouse wank that people like Clover Moore would go and see. So maybe you can draw our own conclusions there. I don't know about anything going better with coke.
True Cynic - Thu Dec 17 20:55:54 1998

I don't give a damn who plays at the party, who goes to it, or that it in fact happens at all. The festival is the testament to Australian queer talent. Mardi Gras Board and staff (and anyone they knows) has the last word on what gets included. this is where the cracks appear. A small sliver of basically artless, talentless clerical workers dictate what is "cool" to the rest of us. The only way to recify this is to take the festival back. An uprising !!! How bizarre that within our own community, which is a minority in itself, there has to be a revolution to re-establish the grass roots foundations of the Mardi gras. Don't want to fight, but the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
Nutter - Thu Dec 17 21:16:43 1998

Whose calling David Mac a clerical worker. Don't you know he's been promoted to insurance clerks supervisor. Had to do something with that law degree, after all he'd be a danger to his clients if he ever had to represent them in court. Sort of goateed johnny marsden!
Fri Dec 18 0:42:24 1998

Fair enough Nutter, you don't have to care. But remember that the parties pay for the festival. ask yourself whether you believe Dannii Minogue is an appropriate role model for young gay men and lesbians, whether Mardi Gras really needs to promote itself any further to the readers of New Weekly and New Idea, and for whose benefit it does so?
Hmmmmm - Fri Dec 18 1:16:11 1998

Danni Minogue - Mardi Gras icon/model/performer at the 1999 Party. Hell, hope not. Already have our tickets but if it is true, night might be better spent at the local pub. We were polite for your 'gig' this year, but not again. Please tell me it is not true - or even a rumour.....
Fri Dec 18 2:55:50 1998

Goodness Gracious. Dannii minogue. is a certain party director (re)turning straight?
Fri Dec 18 9:53:12 1998

It's true - Dannii has been signed to Mardi Gras Music (their own label under Mushroom) to record a song called Everlasting Night, which is currently being remixed, for release as a single off the Party Anthems 99 - The Shows. The Shows! Get the picture? The party director is obsessed with Minogues, driven to a Minogue inspired frenzy you might say. Just count the Minogue shows in recent years, not just counting live ones. ;-)
Fri Dec 18 12:49:22 1998

Add Leeson and Minogue1 and Mingoue2 and you get 666! What does this mean?
Fri Dec 18 17:15:02 1998

I wonder if Minogue 1 and Minogue 2 ever had any "copyright problems"?
Fri Dec 18 18:10:45 1998

Have you ever checked out the Ddaannii official web site - the one she works on herself. Its full of statements about her committment to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Community and what a fab time she and her sister have at the parade and party - not!
Fri Dec 18 18:32:44 1998

Dear Hmmm, well I am sorry, the party has not payed for any acts I wanted to see. Ms Dunny Minnowgoooey can go root herself, she is not gay or lesbian, she is hardly all human...this suck bad...I can't belive mardi gras would pass up authentic Australian gay and Lesbian singers and songwriters for Dunnit. Words cannot descibe the indecency of this act, which further pushes our own artists down the ladder and back into the straight world...shame Mardi gras shame
even nuttier - Fri Dec 18 18:41:29 1998

Yeah mardi gras...hang your head in shame, not only have you managed to piss legitimate queer talent off again, but you insult us with this crap about "Everlasting Night", or should I say "Neverending Nightmare". We will fight you in Oxford Streets, we will fight you in King Street, in the bars and clubs to regain our festival...with real live queer people performing...shame shame shame...you will all die in hell.
Totally disgusted - Fri Dec 18 18:46:38 1998

if dannii is the official face of sg&lmg, who will be doin' her make up? p'aps M A C will be the official cosmetic brand ? is that the only way we'll see ru paul and k.d on stage ?
dockerdyke - Fri Dec 18 21:37:45 1998

Danni Minogue may be the chosen face of Mardi Gras, but all we have to do is just not buy the product. I know I won't. Stay away Danni, don't spoil the night. Expect a boo from me and friends if you do appear.
Booooo... - Sat Dec 19 0:26:20 1998

Hey f**k off. Don't put shit on Dannii for this - anyone given this opportunity would jump at it. It's not her fault, it's the wankers at Mardi Gras and their f**king career ambitions. Why give Dannii hell for it, she doesn't know anything about the damn politics of all this shit. Let her be and go after the real assholes.
Sat Dec 19 2:23:50 1998

Who are these real assholes ??? Who is responsible for this corruption and misuse of power and community funds ? It can't be all of them down at "Style headquarters" can it ? Maybe. Too bad Clinton can't redirect one of those missile to fly in the door of a certain rat hole in Erskineville.. Mardi Gras have betrayed us..Yeah don't boo Danni, the brain transplant hasn't healed yet..if she is the face of Mardi gras are we all dribbling straight girls with tatooed eybrows, fake boozies, reconstructed noses and no voice...yep..I guess so, especially the part about no voice... Give Paul Van Reyk some community feedback Fax him 9516 4446, they are seriously asking for community group feedback...clog the fax machine..
Act Now - Sat Dec 19 10:07:26 1998

Who is Paul Van Reyk and why should we fax him? I will if it will assist in bringing some reality into the M/G organisation.It was pointless trying to change during the recent elections. Very undemocratic the way they are held. I heard that the parade broadcast will only be available to those who subscribe to Foxtel? I won't boo Danni - just won't buy her music as I feel she has nowhere near the talent of Kylie anyway.
Wake up M/G - Sat Dec 19 12:31:11 1998

Forget Paul Vank Reyk. He's just the tame lap dog mardi gras paying heaps of money so they can pretend they're interested in what the community thinks. He's supposed to be preparing their strategic plan, but i bet he won't have anything in it that the dark goateed one won't like. Fluck 'im.
Sun Dec 20 2:10:21 1998

Dump Danni. Bring back Hen's Teeth!
Sun Dec 20 2:11:11 1998

Woo Hen's teeth !!! Sister you are as old as I am, though I do remember them as being really quite awful...and whimpy...lot's of better lessie groups about now...watch for mardi gras events, that are not really mardi Gras events (if you know what I mean !!) The ones that didn't make it into the festival diary are the best ones !!!
Chooks Gums - Mon Dec 21 16:18:06 1998

Really Paul Van Reyk is a lap dog? Darn I really thought my fax would make a difference, never mind, there is always my automatic machine gun when all else fails.....
Act now - Mon Dec 21 16:20:41 1998

With so many pissed off people, and so much Mardi Gras angst, why have the old guard still got control? Where were all the pissed off members at the AGM? Who ran for the committee? We have to stack the meeting and sack the board... stack and sack, stack and sack, stack and sack...
repeat after me - Tue Dec 22 20:23:52 1998

Dannnniiiii is a perfect face of Mardi Gras - lots of make up so you can't see what's really going on underneath, and willing to do just about anything for money.
Tue Dec 22 20:26:12 1998

Dannnniiiii is a perfect face of Mardi Gras - lots of make up so you can't see what's really going on underneath, and willing to do just about anything for money.
Tue Dec 22 20:26:19 1998

Here Ye! Here Ye! Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is now a wholly owned subsidiary of News International. The new board of directors are: Lachlan Murdoch (President) Piers Ackerman (Secretary) Terry McCrann (Treasurer) Frank Devine (Parade Director) Miranda Devine (Party Director) Ros Reines (Festival Director) James Murray (Chaplain) Ken Cowley (Strategic Planning) Ray Chesterson (Police Liaison) Kim Williams (Queer Film Director) Col Allen (Media Liaison) Melissa Hoyer (Frocks Arbiter) Susan Harben (HIV/AIDS liaison and token lesbian) Richard Cobden (Footstool and token gay man0.
Tue Dec 22 20:50:59 1998

You mean its now the Murdie Gras?
Tue Dec 22 20:51:40 1998

Revolt !!! the only way to change things is not support the party and festival. try to go to as many events that Mardi gras did not sanction !! we have to vote with our pink $$..we pay their salaries..Boycott Mardi gras events..let's have a big party in the park opposite the showground..Most of the people that do all the good work in mardi gras are volunteers anyway.. write to the rags and express your opinion i am..especially with the "dunni" affair...would Berry Gordy (founder of Mowtown Records) have said "o we better record a few white acts before we take care of the black acts we are set up to support" !! I think not...
Boycott Mardi Gras - Wed Dec 23 0:38:31 1998

This is making me sick...I'm thinking of going straight..at least they support their artists...
on the turn - Wed Dec 23 0:42:12 1998

Why haven't we read about any of this in the Star Observer? Is it because that wussie wimp Dominic O'Grady is so afraid of all the big bag people down at Mardi Gras. losing all his free party tickets? And his promise of 30 nanoseconds with Daaaaannnniiiii? Careful Dominic, the Goblin might get you!
Wed Dec 23 6:53:14 1998

How dare you call Dominic O'Grady a wussie wimp!! It's just not true! Everyone knwos he's a wimpy wuss!
Tim the Spunk - Wed Dec 23 11:32:02 1998

Dominic O'Grady's old boyf, Malcolm, is a spunk.
Wed Dec 23 11:39:25 1998

Why have a McLachlan when we can have a M$$$$lachlan?
Wed Dec 23 16:13:50 1998

Sorry, that should've read: Why put up with a stupid McLachlan when we can have a rich M$$$$Lachlan?
Wed Dec 23 16:14:56 1998

Dominic O'Grady has been the most supportive editor, and yes, the Star did run the story about Dunni (see last issue), and the tone was, well, supportive of the opinions expressed here good on you Dom.
Fan of the Star - Thu Dec 24 12:15:45 1998

Maybe it should be McMardi Greed ? Please post your favourite new name for Mardi Gras here:
Vegetarian - Thu Dec 24 12:17:35 1998

How about Mardi Gross as in Gross out and Gross profit?
Mon Dec 28 2:02:40 1998

How about the Lachlan Brothers sort of Gay festival !! (thats D McLachlan and Lachlan M.)
Mon Dec 28 9:34:10 1998

Then there is Murder for Gratis...Let's kill Australian queer culture.
Mon Dec 28 9:35:34 1998

Hmmm....Mowthe Grass...the other man's grass is always greener, the sun shines brighter on the other side.
Suburban myth - Mon Dec 28 9:39:31 1998

Of course ! Money Grab...
Mon Dec 28 9:40:55 1998

Just be honest...Rupert's Het (but willing to make a buck) sellout circus.
Send in the Clowns - Mon Dec 28 9:42:42 1998

I feel sick
Mon Dec 28 9:44:31 1998

Howzabout Mouldy Grouch, to describe all the arseholes who are attacking David McLachlan and his attempts to ensure the future of Mardi Gras ... just as John Howard secured the future of Telstra .. Jeff Kennett the future of electricity ... by privatisation! ... sorry Murdochisation!
Mon Dec 28 12:16:06 1998

It's got to be Murder Gras..for all the spirit and enthusiasm for true queer culture it has been shooting down.
Duck! - Tue Dec 29 8:01:10 1998

Sydney Gutless & Lame Blahdi blah. What a flicking waste of time energy and resources. If we spent more time working for our community's betterment and less time stitching sequins on frocks we may all be a lot better off. Or to put it more simply, how may HIv+ Pensioners could be fed from the $$$$$$$$$$ the MG pours into the increasingly unexciting Minogue sisters? MG represents nothing about me or my life. A celebration of consumption, denial and sheer selfishness. Sure, the organisation provides a nice spring-board for power hungry Fagocrats but, *what have they done for you lately*? Personally, if I had $$$$ for a party ticket I'd rather do something socially responsible with it., or at least spend on a better value investment. How do they think they get away with it.? When the revolution comes, I have a special round of Ammo just for MG.
PinkPunk - Wed Dec 30 4:10:00 1998

i have an itchy fanny!
Dawn O'D - Wed Dec 30 4:12:26 1998

PinkPunk - you'll need silver bullets to wipe most of them out!
Wed Dec 30 7:26:46 1998

I am glad to see that the larger community are appalled by this Minogue obsession...none more than we at Gloss...Gay and Lesbian Original Singers and Songwriters..I guess we are the ones Mardi gras expects to "maybe sign" after they "make a splash" with Dannii. It's not good enough. One wonders if Berry Gordy thought Motown should release a few "white artists" to "make a splash" before he supported black artists, which Motown label was set up to promote. No, sorry Mardi Gras you're going arse end up on this one. If you don't have cultural integrity from the onset, then how can you have any in the future ? How can anyone trust that you will really strive to support Australian gay and lesbian musical talent when your first project blows us all out? Gloss barely got into the Mardi Gras, they granted us (after 50,000 phone calls) an "extra event" tag. gee thanks..not even in the diary with the other (four) music events. Considering we are the only music event in the Mardi Gras that is 100% queer, and we mean everyone who performs, produces and promotes is a gay or lesbian !!! Plus for two years now we have presented gay and lesbian original music every month for free !!!! It's not fair, and now the release of "Everlasting Night(mare)" has nailed the coffin shut. Please support 100% gay and lesbian talent during Mardi Gras: Thursday Feb 11 Hopetoun Hotel 8.30pm $5 over seven queer acts plus full on queer band Thursday Feb 18th Imperial Hotel 8.30pm $5 SuperGloss 100% queer Funk/Rock/Dance/Pop/ Live band Thursday Feb 25th Hopetoun Hotel 8.30pm $5 another seven gay/lesbian original music acts from all over Australia !!! All people living with hiv/aids are admitted free.. let's hope other events can follow our example
Gloss 100%queer music - Thu Dec 31 8:56:45 1998

I have heard thw same story from heaps of hard working community groups like yourself who Mardi Gras sees as "not commercial" enough. Frankly I would rather pay $5 and see the real thing, than $20, $50 or $70 for an event that basically is mostly straight/and or derivative. Good on you for admitting plwha's for free, I think you are the only event that has been so generous and put people before profits. The Mardi Gras needs more of this.
I'll be there - Sun Jan 3 9:25:11 1999

Oh boy. What a can of worms, and you ain't heard the worst of it yet folks! When you find out who one of the other live acts at the party is going to be, Dannii will pale into insignificance. Hoooooooo boy.
A Working Class Man - Mon Jan 4 19:13:23 1999

Jimmy B ????????????????????
You must still be on drugs - Mon Jan 4 22:35:25 1999

You should talk. I stopped M U C H earlier than you!!!!
You laugh now, but .... - Mon Jan 4 23:42:35 1999

Jimmy B. Wot? He's decided to copy his son and use a gay audience to get him ahead?
Mon Jan 4 23:58:23 1999

Oh that has to be a joke..Jimmy Barnes..hard drinking woman f*cking, further from gay as any man can be ???? Please tell me it isn't true ?? Mardi Gras has to change their name to "Countdown"
it's a joke right ? - Tue Jan 5 7:21:59 1999

How about Molly Meldrum as master of ceremonies ? Wow i can see it now Brian Mannix doing a fine rendition of "Everybody has to jerk", Livvy with a touching ballad "I honestly (want to) glove you", got to have Johnny Farnham with his ode to masturbation "One is the lonliest number", not forgetting The Whitlams love song to thin men "There's no aphrodisiac like boneyness"..every gay and lesbian event must have Russel Morris doing "Come and see my real (big) thing"...I can't wait and and special guest Johnny Young..just to amuse the kiddies and tell us about his arrest in Thailand...and all those lovely young (read 12 yo) boys he seemed to be recruiting...put's a real "queer edge" on things...ooohhh c-o-u-n-t-d-o-w-n !!!
Young talent time fan - Tue Jan 5 7:31:07 1999

If you need any more evidence of just who is running the show - still - just note that the committee formed to oversee Mardi Gras Music consists of Richard Cobden & Gary Leeson, president and secretary of the Minogue Fan Club. You can expect Warren Gluck to be playing the entire night in the RHI this year. And who is Jimmy B knocking about with all over town these days - yep, it's Dannii!!!! Until a significant percentage of the membership takes a stand and overthrows the ruling elite, nothing will change and Mardi Gras will continue to become more and more like Las Vegas on wheels.
True Cynic - Tue Jan 5 13:36:00 1999

And which current MG board member just finished working on producing concerts for J.B.?
Tue Jan 5 16:23:55 1999

Happy New Year
Tue Jan 5 18:06:10 1999

But on the other hand we can't have k d lang because she doesn't do anything suitable for a Leeson Gras show. But lesbians just get in the road anyway so what the hell huh?
Tue Jan 5 19:23:48 1999

I am saddened, but not shocked that there is so much brown nosing going on..I try to be a true believer...but some people are just evil..they don't care about us little people in the community doing it tough to promote our culture..the sooner we stop kowtowing to them the better. Just don't go to the party..for one year..just find something else to do that is not organised by Mardi Gras...Go to events that are not Mardi gras event (better and cheaper anyway) There is no use whinging about it, we have to unite and boy/girlcott Mardi gras..let them know where we stand..I for one am not using their pathetic little logo on any advertising for events..Everyone who is in the arts who wants to be included in the festival is too scared to stand up against them because they think (and are) blacklisted...well I will stand up..and in the press too..stay tuned for the smallest cheapest ad in the Star that this struggling community group putting on Mardi gras events with absolutely no funding or help from Mardi gras can afford. it will be a BCard size in some lonely corner of page 47 !!!!So what!!!
Crying in my sleep - Wed Jan 6 2:19:23 1999

To show what you think of the Leeson-Cobden Minogue Murdoch fan club, wipe your arse with your Mardi gras party ticket, cut it into bits and send it to Gary Leeson c/o Mardi Gras. Then keep your eyes and ears open for a party being planned for the night, courtesy of the generous hands of Ms Dawn O'Donnell (one of the community's real angels), to be held at Technology Park in Redfern. This was the venue for the Danny Tenaglia party on NYE, and it was a total sensation. Forget the Mardi Gras Minogue concert and get back to your roots!
Front end loader - Wed Jan 6 14:36:10 1999

Well good on Dawn, a fantastic idea, but will the Mardi Gras Cocktail Cabinet care. After all, they'll have no trouble filling their coffers with money from eager suburban straights.
Wed Jan 6 15:39:45 1999

Why hasn't anyone from the Mardi Gras Board appeared on this wall to defend their actions? Is it because they are indefensible? Is it because they're shit scared of sticking their heads up? Do they have to wait until Cobden's hand is up their backs telling them what to write? Whatever the reason, come out from hiding. Mclachlan and co - prove that you're not wimps.
Wed Jan 6 21:25:08 1999

Are there any members of Mardi Gras $board$ that were part of the original march and protest? If not, why not? It yes, why have they sold out to the media moguls?
Vote for change - Thu Jan 7 2:25:11 1999

Don't bother asking the Cocktail Cabinet to answer questions. they're all f***ing lawyers. Getting an actual answer to any real questions you might pose would be harder than getting blood out of Bob Carr.
Thu Jan 7 3:13:52 1999

I'm at technology park...how much is it ?? How about a rogue float ? the anti mardi gras committee float...whhooo wouldn't that draw media attention !!! If Mardi gras are using staight media..than so can we...get onto the Terrograph and the smh, they would love the story, imagine the egg on their faces when this stuff is splashed around in their precious staight press. Who knows a cranky journo at the smh ?? Me....
Beat them at their own game - Thu Jan 7 9:58:11 1999

Apparently that party Front End Loader is talking about is going to be a fund raiser for Bobby Goldsmith...I heard that the eastern distributor consturction has made it almost impossible for BGF to put up their grandstand this year, so that's why a group of BGF people have come up with this party idea. At least the maggots at the Minogui Gras won't be able to demand a percentage of what BGF makes from it like they do with the grandstand tickets. If you've already bought a MG party ticket, why not sell it to a straight and donate the money to BGF. After all, the MG party is for straights now, isn't it? might as well make some money out of them for a charity like BGF.
Thu Jan 7 15:53:28 1999

How much is the party ticket at Technology Park ?? I'd rather give my $$$ to BGF frankly, at least the profits go to gay and lesbians
Rebel - Thu Jan 7 16:45:16 1999

Will the Tech Park Party be hetro free? If so, we have 3 M/G tickets for sale!
Fri Jan 8 1:30:59 1999

Sell them to three Jimmy Barnes fans from Wollongong. You might as well.
Fri Jan 8 3:39:32 1999

I they wanted a rocker like Jimmy Barnes, why didn't Mardi gras approach Marie Wilson,? she is getting really big, and is at least a lesbian ....Short sighted they are..
grrlrockr - Fri Jan 8 12:45:12 1999

I do not believe for one minute that Jimmy Barnes will be performing at Mardi Gras. Some of you people are just too gullible. I suspect that a lot of these messages have been sent by just the one person who has an agenda of their own, whatever that may be. I for one will be going to numerous festival events, the parade and the party, and I intend to enjoy every moment of it.
Can't Wait for Frebruary - Fri Jan 8 14:44:40 1999

I remeber Mardi Gras 98 as a very gay party. Sleaze 98 - a slightly different story.
RHI for me - Fri Jan 8 15:42:16 1999

And when Jimmy's screeching rendition of You Make Me Feel Might Real is nought but an unattractive memory, will you then believe dear Can't Wait?
Fri Jan 8 21:04:13 1999

Why didn't they ask Monique Brumby to record a dance track for the party grrlrockr? There are many questions. But I'd prefer Monique (and I'm a poof, not a dyke) because she's out, and Marie isn't really.
Sat Jan 9 2:38:11 1999

Can't wait for February...well, well! If it isn't Miss Gary Leeson herself paying a visit to the grafitti wall. Must be lovely to see how much people think of you, dear. Oh, and could you please tell us who really is performing at the party this year, sweetie (apart from your darling Dannii, that is). The secrecy is so terribly outdated - rather like your shows, in fact.
Sun Jan 10 15:13:52 1999

No, I am not Gary Leeson. In fact, I am as appalled as you by the total control he and his vile boyfriend have over Mardi Gras. You, however, are a sad, miserable git. You may now hide under anonymity on this board, but I know who you are.
Still Can't Wait - Sun Jan 10 23:02:20 1999

Is it possible to discuss this and bitch about it without trading or making nasty personal insults? Surely.
Mon Jan 11 7:09:06 1999

To Surely - The problem is that the issues raised above are very much based on the actions of certain individuals. In my mind it is very hard to separate the issues from the individuals.
We can only dream of of a Cobden free MG - Mon Jan 11 8:58:59 1999

I'll prob still go to the party as will most of you, but if you dont like the shows, simply go outside and leave some room for the rest of us who enjoy them at least we might then be able to see or breath
cut the crap - Mon Jan 11 11:22:30 1999

What's all this about a Mardi Gras party in Feb???? Isn't the *only* Mardi Gras party to be seen at on this Saturday night?
Someone who lives too close to that *other* place called Mardi Gras - Mon Jan 11 11:34:23 1999

Sure it can be discussed without trading insults, so long as the "anonymous" one doesn't resort to childish behaviour such as accusing someone who doesn't agree with him as being Gary Leeson.
Mon Jan 11 15:43:27 1999

What's wrong with being accused of being Garry Leeson?
Mon Jan 11 16:29:38 1999

that's a good question. being accused of being Richard Cobden would be something altogether different.
Mon Jan 11 22:16:24 1999

Yeah Monique Brumby would be OK, but i prefer Marie Wilson..anyway there is a list of gay and lesbian singers and writers that could be on Mardi Gras recordings..but it seems Mardi gras are only interested in staights for their recordings. Just Boycott the whole thing kids, it sucks.
grrlrockr - Mon Jan 11 22:43:29 1999

grrlrockr...hear hear.
front end loader - Tue Jan 12 12:30:05 1999

I wondet if anyone at MG would care to explain what this piece of code on their home page is doing:


<applet code="webmeasure.applets.PageGather.class" codebase="http://telstra.imrworldwide.com/" width="1" height="2"></applet>

Tue Jan 12 22:20:55 1999

Would you care to explain? Let me guess... umm... its some secret code for the devil. Or perhaps its a message for extraterrestrials. Ho hum. Alll this conspiracy stuff is getting very boring.
Tue Jan 12 23:09:55 1999

Someone who knows someone on the board's great aunt's former husband told me that the code means that Jimmy is actually joining Olivia Newton John and John Farnham on stage for a rousing dance version of the Telstra theme song. The show finale occurs when Lachlan Murdoch emerges from a giant pink cake and is fawned on my the entire board dressed in New Limited t-shirts, after which there'll be a long speech by the editor of New Weekly about how grateful they are for all the favours Mardi Gras has done them over the years.
Wed Jan 13 0:33:27 1999

All these people who are attacking Mardi Gras in this scurrilous fashion should be ashamed of themselves. They are only undermining it and giving comfort to our enemise like Fred Nile and Piers Akkerman. So what if some of the people involved are getting special favours. They deserve them! They devote all their time for the good of the community and all they get is attacks, ingratitute and anonymous insults. Can you blame them if they turn elsewhere for a bit of support and $igns of thanks. Back the board! Give them a go! If you don't like what they're doing, shut up until you can prove you can do it better.
An unashamed fan of the dark handsome one - Wed Jan 13 8:33:42 1999

Piece of Code - I would guess that this is collecting details of what pages a person goes to. Whether this is just on the MG site, or if it is on all sites I don't know. (I think there is some security in place to protect the surfer.) What telstra has to do whith it I don't know. IMR Worldwide is "dedicated to ... services for web site audience evaluation and market research".
Panther - Wed Jan 13 8:56:42 1999

Well I've just left 'Home" where miss Danni is today filming the film clip to the mardi gra's anthem, "everlasting night". It's bound to become a bit of an anthem despite being a rather ordinary song. Yes and every drag queen in sydney is down there trying to get her head in the cameras view......... Quite a depressing site really. Personally I cant stand Dannii, or her music , but whilst you guys and gals buy her records she will remain to grow in her sisters shadow as a gay icon and reap the pink dollar........We all say we would much rather support a young gay or lesbian artist (or at least an entertainer with talent) but I guess I sorta agree with the unashamed fan above...............the board are our representatives, so if we dont like what they're doing why did we vote for them ..................ooohh ......ok....right........ you didnt vote at all did you..............well then stop your whining.
insider - Wed Jan 13 15:11:08 1999

I only have one piece of advice for the Baord re Mardi Gras Party and that's - words sweetie words.
In lip synch heaven - Wed Jan 13 15:30:24 1999

In this city you hear so much about the supposed control and influence that Richard has over Mardi Gras. OK he was a former president and currently volunteers his services to work on a couple of committees. He has not however held an elected position for a number of yeras. Surely the integrity of the organisation is based on it being controlled and run by those who are actually elected by its members. Surely the current board and their predecessors do not allow themselves to be the mere puppets of one person. Surely they offer themselves for election on the basis of what they and not somebody else has to offer. Surely the members would not tolerate a situation other than the organistion being run by the duly elected board. I cannot accept that this is not the reality. It saddens me to think that so many people are so cynical.
Et tu - Wed Jan 13 16:44:47 1999

Dear unashamed fan: I get sick to death of people like you who,exactly like the board of our beloved Mardi Gras, cannot accept the organisation being criticised. Can I remind you that the members of the board offer themselves for election in the full knowledge of what they're getting themselves into (commitment of time, emotion etc etc). It's not as though serving on the board is like bloody national service that can't be avoided. To suggest nobody should carp about Mardi Gras and its elected officials is similar to saying that nobody should ever criticise the government so long as the trains and buses run sometimes. Unfortunately, one of the reasons why people feel so alienated by Mardi Gras is precisely because it refuses ever to listen to criticism (or gives the impression it refuses), and therefore people come to believe the board is arrogant and aloof. I voted in the election, I did not vote for any memebrs of the current board, I have been a member of the organisation a lot longer than half the people currently on the board, and I will certainly not stop criticising decisions I don't agree with. And that includes Piers Akerman's employer making money out of Mardi Gras thanks to a straight girl who has never done a sod for our community. (and I wonder if she's a member of MG??)
It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want to! - Wed Jan 13 17:21:56 1999

hey, I don't like danni and hate F r e e!fm... does this mean I'm straight now? "The powers that be"..... stand up Rivkin, Murdoch, Leeson et al. stand charged with blanding out our community. guilty guilty guilty
homophobic qween - Thu Jan 14 0:57:01 1999

mardi blah-blah keeps queens in the closet- who would want to come out as danni as your ambassador, lycra your national costume, and hinrg! as your national anthem?
westiebeatfreak - Thu Jan 14 3:23:35 1999

vanessa wagner has an alt.single out to keep it (su)real this summer (apparently mardi gras passed on the opportuity to release it )Watch for the new hit single eclipse danni and shame McMardiGras back to the middle class bush week it really has become
tully'srollinginhusgrave - Thu Jan 14 3:32:15 1999

Thankfully Westiebeatfreak there are a lot of us who don't like Dannii (she has no idea how to entertain on stage), hate Free FM(cheers to Out FM and Dex FM), never wear lycra and love styles of music other than hi nrg and handbag. We also love Mardi Gras which isn't all of the above (just stay out of the RHI). Things aren't as bad as some would make out, but sure, there is always room for crticism and improvement, so long as the criticism is constructive and honest. I think that there is some honesty lacking on here lately, much of it posted by one bitter and nasty anonymous person who has some agenda of their own. Just watch him take a gratutitous swipe at me now. I do agree that the Cobden/Leeson stranglehold on the party committee has to be addressed. That said, I think that the Mardi Gras parties have been more queer and with more diversity of music, than ever before. Personally, I have enjoyed that last few tremendously.
Nat - Thu Jan 14 8:45:27 1999

Go Nat Go..........in full agreeance, with the all of the above could have written the whole thing myself (except that I have worn lycra once, but dont stress, I learnt my lesson)...... Like you and many others I cant deal with Free Fm, find Out FM a lot more stimulating, and a lot less annoying. I mean does every second song played on free have to be an irritating camped up dance version of what would otherwise be a great original........pick up your act Free FM
Nat II - Thu Jan 14 10:35:16 1999

Just when we thought out Fm was the saviour, guess what ? A certain staff member had to plead with then not to realease a CD which would virtually be a Mardi Gras bastard child..yes Out are considering issuing a CD, complete with the Minogue Robots and get this Cher !!! The pleading led to a chance for real Gay and lesbian musicians to be on this one...say a prayer
grrlrockr - Thu Jan 14 11:37:24 1999

But what's the agenda Nat?
Thu Jan 14 18:33:27 1999

You tell us.
Nat - Thu Jan 14 19:06:35 1999

waaaaaaaaah, I wanna know about the agenda!!!!!
Thu Jan 14 20:57:27 1999

for your diary...outfm is back on air from 9am thursday jan 21 thru till feb 24. on the 25th the free bimbos take over.
Fri Jan 15 0:14:09 1999

Free to be corrupted
Fri Jan 15 7:41:06 1999

free to change stations
Fri Jan 15 10:00:14 1999

I thought it was Free Free Free Nelson Mandela
Always behind the times - Fri Jan 15 11:56:49 1999

Ive bought my ticket - now let the fun begin. Don't you just love Sydney!
Fri Jan 15 13:24:56 1999

dunni!mynose pretends to be a lesso in her new McMardigras! vid
tryhadergal - Fri Jan 15 14:44:09 1999

Well things aren't looking up Sydney. Here in Perth Stollie, one of Mardi Gras' major sponsors, are running a 'win a free ticket to Mardi Gras to see the queers put on a freak show for you' comp at a S T R A I G H T pub. The delightful prize includes tickets to the party for Shazza and Dazza. So now you'll have to put up with interstate str8 spectators as well. The advertising campaign for it is H U G E. Time to flush.
Fri Jan 15 20:51:36 1999

Is anyone else having problems accessing the Mardi Gras site? Can get the home page but nothing else. Not even the email on the site will work!
Thanks - Sat Jan 16 12:22:32 1999

Re Perth: What's this all about? Tell us more.
Sat Jan 16 14:15:16 1999

Well Stollie are running a Mardi Gras promotion at a place called the Leederville Hotel - pubs don't come much straighter believe me. There's a huge advertising campaign on radio and in the str8 street press. Come to our Mardi Gras promotion and see the funny drag queens perform for you and then win a trip and party tickets to see more drag queens at The Mardi Gras in Sydney. We've becomea freak show for suburban str8s. How is it that Stollie are allowed by Mardi Gras to do this? I guess the answer is as long as the board members' careers are advanced they don't give a stuff.
Sat Jan 16 16:09:13 1999

methinks that part of the deal with Stolle was that they get free MG tickets to give away to punters. Fact of the matter is that here in Perth Stolle have ventured into the straight pubs with their freebies and are offering them to STR8s. Now it isn't as if we don't have gay venues here in Perth...or lesbians...or gay men. What the HELL is MG thinking about right now???
sandgroper - Sat Jan 16 16:24:18 1999

A nice well paid job with Rupert ot Kerry and the chance to meet lots of straight celebrities I guess.
Sat Jan 16 20:17:34 1999

but what's the agenda!!!!!!!!!!?????????
Sat Jan 16 21:42:56 1999

okay, so i've just spent the past hour reading this board tonite, and let me say this - that if 5% of what is being said about the s.g.l.m.g Board is true, then they should be lined up agianst the wall and shot. Let me also say that every member of SGLMG that did not vote at the agm should join them. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I don't live in Sydney or even NSW, but for me coning to Sydney at MG time is like Christmas for the global G & L community. It is the "magic" of mardi gras that we should be worried about and not a stupid party or the board that organises it. MG is our time, to make of it what we want, it is the unoffical stuff and the people that make mardi gras and keep the spirit alive. I know the politics of a situation can be hard to handle, when you are surrounded by it, but you either need to make a decision for change or put up. It will be quite stange to see what has happened to Mid-summer in 10 years or Adelaide Feast in 15 years and what is being said about their "boards" then, but it is up the Melbourne and Adelaide and Perth to keep a hold of their respective festivals and for the community to direct the way. I think that it this time for Sydney to do the same. Stop talking about it over the net. and mobiliise your forces and use the gay press in the other states to make the rest of Oz. know whats going on. But remember that no matter what the SGLMG Board does, it is the Sydney Gay and Lesbian community, its' pride, its' struggle and its' future that make Mardi Gras what it is! So don't loose it just because the politics are souring the mix. I wish you well in the struggle against the forces of darkness and "progress"
don't cut of your hand cause your fingers broken - Sun Jan 17 0:09:26 1999

But surely somethin's wrong if I have to pay $75 to become a member, and p-r-o-v-e that I'm gay or lesbian, then $85 for my party ticket...or I can be a str8 red neck yobbo and wander into the Leederville Hotel in Perth 'n get my ticket for nix. Rumblings all around the country are that the MG Board are letting this turn into a tourist attraction rather than a celebration of who we are as lesbians and gay men. Sack 'em I say and elect a Board who wants to give MG back to the community - not to Murdochunity.
Sandgroper - Sun Jan 17 11:15:28 1999

Yeah Thanks.....Mardi email does not work you are right, however I have got through to the festival pages etc..
Lucky4me - Sun Jan 17 11:49:03 1999

Hi Sandgroper. I'm a Sydney-based gay journalist on a national daily newspaper (please don't shoot me..some of us do care about all this) and I'm here to tell you your comments inrigued me more than most of the inane scuttlebutt posted on this wall of late. After reading your message I phoned the Leederville Hotel/Shark Bar on Sunday evening. Sure enough, they did run a big promo courtesy of Stollie last Friday night. I told the duty manager, Jeremy, who I was and why I was ringing. He told me yes, it was to win 2 air tickets to Sydney and 2 tickets to the party. "Is your pub a gay pub," I asked. "Oh shit no, mate," he answered. I asked him who won the raffle. "It was really, really funny," he answered. "There were two gay ladies in that night and they won the prize." Now, I am just a hack, so I will leave it to the people who use Pinkboard to draw their own conclusions about the fact that the manager of a straight pub thought it was "really, really funny" that two dykes won tickets to Mardi Gras being offered by a major MG sponsor in a straight pub. Sandgroper, would you be a real love and give me the names of a couple of gay pubs in Perth...I'd like to ring them and find out if Stollie approached them first to do the promotion. You can e-mail me on saxon3@hotmail.com . Many thanks.
Sun Jan 17 23:38:05 1999

While you're there Saxon3, check outFm, and see what they are dishing up this year on a CD ??? I think it might be Cher ?? Inane scuttlebutt really, sir...
grrlrockr - Mon Jan 18 9:06:16 1999

I'm really looking forward to read the full story of Stolligate ... or leedrevillegate ... on the front page of the SSO this Thursday. I bet that ace editor, Perry White O'Grady already has his top reporters working on it. And we'll see it, despite MGM studio threats to withdraw advertising if they publish ... won't we??
Mon Jan 18 9:36:34 1999

i'm not gay either, sure i love to eat man arse, but freeFM nauseates me, more than my protease- so i guess im not a queen anymore YAY!
free to tune OUT - Mon Jan 18 20:21:03 1999

Sorry, grrlrockr, maybe inane scuttlebutt was a bit strong (I had a really bad day...) In fact a lot of what is said on this wall is very important...if only someone at MG would take any notice. You might be interested to know that sandgroper did contact me and as a result I spoke to the manager of the Court Hotel, Perth's only gay pub, and he was spitting chips about the Leederville promotion. Stollie never mentioned it to the Court even though they sell bucket loads of the stuff (they only found out when they heard the radio ads), but surprise surprise, turns out the guy who owns the Leederville is a straight man called Peter Clements and he used to be the Perth rep for Stollie! Wonderful behaviour by one of MG's major sponsors. Not.
the hack - Tue Jan 19 18:48:47 1999

Salt Lake City here we come!
Tue Jan 19 20:49:56 1999

hmm...hack..good work jimmy...now let's find out if the rumours about Jimmy Barnes are true...I caught the news tonight with the "face of mardi gras" singing "neverending nightmare", hmm assorted bald girls swirling around a new brunette Dannii who was trying hard to look like she was enjoying it...and there he was amongst the drags...Jimmy....a brave man seeing most of his fans are homophobic westie thugs..but then he had dyed his hair blonde, so maybe he thinks that's a "gay" thing to do. All they want is the publicity, and the sycophants down at rathole headquarters are just frothing at the mouth cause they think they are now the "in crowd" in mainstream aussie rock circles. O how pathetic, what a sellout...only in Australia
grrlrockr - Tue Jan 19 20:58:32 1999

can someone print this wall out and fax it to Mardi Gras 10 times in a row.....
clog the machine - Tue Jan 19 21:00:58 1999

It will sit in someone's intray for six months like your party ticket request before being tossed in the trash lovey.
Tue Jan 19 21:34:25 1999

you seen the lastest "freefm" party ad? talk about d#ckheads! so i guess us dykes aren't welcome at your alleged community events huh? well i actually dug some of your music till now - almost as bad as the wildfm posters
never ever again from this gal - Tue Jan 19 23:31:11 1999

If the allegations about Stolli are true - what can be done to cancel Stolli as a sponsor - or at least get an apology from them? Over to you Mardi Gras - you are reading this wall aren't you?
Wed Jan 20 8:22:55 1999

I think all the booze companies should be ditched anyway, add the straight sponsors as well, Mardi Gras has degenerated into this pathetic freak show because of corporate bucks (and the pursuit of them)
Wed Jan 20 8:55:03 1999

I believe that the board of Free FM is entirely male. That, plus the batant phallic ad for their party does say it all about their interest in lesbians. It's also virtually "owned" by Central Station records. Community radio - what a joke!
Nat - Wed Jan 20 11:08:18 1999

Well grrlrockr, look what just popped onto my screen at the office from the A.A.P. newswire. (Warning: have a sickbag ready) Sydney, Dec 20 A.A.P. - Pop star Dannii Minogue kisses a woman in her new video music clip, but said this lesbian element to her performance is not meant to shock audiences. The kiss is featured on the music clip for the 27-year-old's latest single, Everlasting Night, which hit the stores this month. "There is a lesbian element to it - scenes with myself and a girl called Sheridan - but it's not confrontational, it's not done in a really raunchy way - it's not like a Madonna video where she's tongue-kissing some girl on a hotel bed. It's not for shock value," Minogue told AAP. The video aimed to show lesbians did not necessarily "all look like dykes on bikes, they're not all running around in leather". "Lesbian girls can look like whatever," she said. Must be a reassurance to all you dykes out there that Dannii has now given you her permission that you "can look like whatever". Jeeeez. New Zealand and the Hero party are beginning to look most attractive: apparently it's still a gay and lesbian community event!
Hack Hack Hack - Wed Jan 20 15:00:38 1999

Oh, I am so glad that there is a "lesbian element" to it..phew I thought the (mardi gras) whole thing was supposed to celebrate, not just the "element", but to validate and reinforce the lifestyle choice. I want lesbianism to be confrontational !! i don't need barbie to tell me that, as a lesbian i can be "whatever" !! Have we been diluted down to this, pity it isn't more like madonna !! Mardi Gras has homogenised itself (and us as a community) so much to be palatable to a straight audience. Why are they (mg) trying to please straights anyway,? it's not their celebration. it's ours. Dannii is a farce..easily digested by straght women (cause she doesn't really kiss Sheridan with her tongue..Dannii loves dick and she's letting us know)..as for straight men..well she just fulfilled their #1 fantasy.
grrlrockr - Thu Jan 21 0:29:15 1999

oh sorry Dannii we don't all fir into your "beautiful people" stereotype. If you knew anything about the gay and lesbian community you'd know that the majority of us a very ordinary, and some downright dags...but this wouldn't fit into your "new image" for lesbians would it ? Who is pretentious little cl*t teaser , and what is she doing in my mardi gras ?
F off dannii - Thu Jan 21 0:46:13 1999

This is a true story. I had a dream last night. Mardi Gras Board had a meeting and kicked both Richard and Gary off the Party Committee. The next thing both R & G are seen running from Fortress MG screaming 'They've taken my baby'. Shades of Lindy Chamberlain.
What doest it all mean - Thu Jan 21 14:01:06 1999

Is Tricky Dickie actually on the MG party committee? I think he just lurks around like a big scary monster. There is also a suggestion in the Gossip column of SSO today that he and Leeson have "divorced".
Nat - Thu Jan 21 17:13:29 1999

There is a goddess!
Thu Jan 21 17:52:39 1999

Does that mean Gary is going back to his wife and child?
Thu Jan 21 18:25:25 1999

I think that's getting a bit personal, don't you?
Thu Jan 21 19:48:57 1999

News flash...i think Dannii is a closet lesbian..call it dye intuition..but after seeing the interviews, I think the lady protest too much to be straight..and she didn't look into the camera when asked "how do you feel about being gay"..i thought she would say "well my friends who are gay tell me..." but no she got personal...back with the old "all dykes don't look like truckdrivers" line...come out dannii
Dannii is a closet dyke - Fri Jan 22 7:58:35 1999

Hey hack.......what do you think....I agree, I think the dyke intuituion is working Dannii is a closet lesbian...this saves mg..ass if it's true..I think she's testing the acceptance (here in little old colonial oz, which really, she would only come back to out of sufferance and mega publicity) Dannii is a closet, and maybe the girlie Sheridan is here squeeze in reality?
is this possible? - Fri Jan 22 8:15:31 1999

come out dannii, and gives us all a break, and a proper kiss I might add
Fri Jan 22 8:16:45 1999

You've obviously never heard Dannii when she talks about dick, and I don't mean you know who.
Fri Jan 22 9:14:44 1999

Danni is straight, yes everyone she does like dick ( I prefer to say cock) which doesnt bother me one little bit,,, too many of you seem prepared to embrace her if she is a dyke and condemn her if shes not. Get a grip arent we past all this he's gay so he must be nice bshit........Come on........lets exercise a little intelligence. .........back to the issue ---> Bottom line is Danni is worshipped by a few Queens with some pull in the community, She is "not", a gay icon, ( sorry Today Tonight but shes not) . Maybe this publicity stunt may help her in her quest, but reality is most poofs and dykes dont buy her records. I think for her to become an icon she needs to do something outstanding for the community, not herself ie become someone that we can admire or at least .........who am I kidding she will never be an icon , F off Danni, I tried to be nice, tried to be diplomatic and intelligent but I hate u Danni, and everything u stand for and I hate the S.G.L.M.G. for doing this to me.............Im losing it ......how embarassing
I want my pink dollars back. - Fri Jan 22 10:24:19 1999

Apparently the party still hasn't sold out, last year it was sold out by this stage. MG will blame the economic turndown, but maybe sydney and the reast of oz and the world are jsut waking up to mg board and what the party really represents. The party is ours, str8's should be kept out and that includes the guest performers. When will mg wake up and smell the stink that they are creating.
i give up, beam me home scotty! - Fri Jan 22 19:52:11 1999

Five questions about Danni Minogue. If she applied to join Mardi Gras, which box would she tick? And if she didn't tick the GLHT boxes - that's gay, lesbian, homosexual, transgender - would the Board let her join. If the Board let her join - why her and not everyone else who ticked the same box? Finally, has DM applied to join Mardi Gras - if not why not?
Please explain - Sat Jan 23 0:25:58 1999

Good point, i still say she's a closet leso..but alas her new song should be to the tune of Danny Boy...."oh Dannii girl, the dykes the dykes are calling..from Oxford street, way down to Erkineville.....ha ha
rock on - Sat Jan 23 8:01:47 1999

I can accept Grace Jones as a gay icon, at least she is capable of doing major positive damage, but Dannii ?? suggests all us dykes look like her..she wishes..then she'd have an excuse to f*** herself...like she's f***ing us over.
Sat Jan 23 8:12:40 1999

Murdoch strikes again! From Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation - US Glaad condemns Fox "I wasn't aware that the Reverend Fred Phelps was moonlighting at Fox News." --Scott Seomin, Glaad Entertainment Media Director New York January 22, 1999 - The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad) today condemned the January 21st edition of Fox Files, airing on the Fox Network, which featured a segment entitled, "Undercover in the Night," supposedly exposing what Fox calls a "gay underworld." Glaad learned of the segment while it was in production and called the senior producer, Pamela Brown, to offer itself as a resource to the show. To Glaad's knowledge, the show has never covered any aspect of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community prior to this segment. In no uncertain terms, Brown rejected Glaad's offer of assistance. When more egregious concerns came to light, Glaad Entertainment Media Director Scott Seomin then spoke to Fox Files Attorney Diane Brady, followed by Fox News President Roger Ailes, who gave assurances that the story was "fair and accurate." Glaad Executive Director Joan M. Garry, said, "This inflammatory, misleading and shameful segment doesn't deserve to be called 'news,' much less journalism. We witnessed the same out-of-context sensationalism with the reporting on Andrew Cunanan; and are outraged that this school of yellow journalism is thriving at Fox." The show, which purported to tell the story of "gay gangbangers," ranged over a wide variety of material, using tape with blurred faces and no possible way of substantiating a large portion of the segment. The only attributions provided were for those whom Fox called 'experts,' who were given on-screen identification. With the exception of LGNY editor Duncan Osbourne, no lesbian, gay, or transgender person was identified with more than a first name. Additionally, many of the examples of behaviors which were said to be part of the "gay underworld" were demonstrated in tape snippets which were never identified as to location, date or source. "There is no better demonstration that I can think of in the past decade where sensationalism ruled over substance," said Scott Seomin, Glaad Entertainment Media Director. "This piece made the supposed documentaries made by religious political extremists look like Pulitzer Prize contenders. It tarred an entire community with the brush of brazen stereotypes that serve to fuel hatred against us. Not since the 1970 scare shows have we seen such blatant disregard for truth, context and journalistic integrity when talking about our community." Glaad has issued the following demands to Fox News and the Fox Network regarding "Undercover in the Night": � That no portion of "Undercover in the Night" be aired again - at any time, whether on a repeat of this edition of Fox Files, or also in any repurposed format (e.g., Fox's cable arm, the Fox News Channel); � That an on-air apology be made to viewers by the Fox Network during the next edition of the Fox Files, to air on January 28, 1999. � That a written statement be issued by Fox News to be distributed to Glaad's constituency, and the larger lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as a whole; and � That the Fox Network agree to work with Glaad on a future story on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender street youth, one which avoids the exploitation and sensationalism displayed in "Undercover in the Night." Glaad is the nation's lesbian and gay media advocacy organization. Glaad promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of combating homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. www.Glaad.org
Sat Jan 23 11:06:10 1999

Why do you think Lachie is getting married dear?
Sat Jan 23 15:08:47 1999

Why should'nt stolli give away ticket's to mardi gras in a straight hotel. Why don't you ask where the other 3000 comps tickets go to, it sure ain't the gay communitie. i.e. grace bros, ticketek etc etc. And also why did ticketek get comps tickets for the launch at home, and why none of the paying members????
Sat Jan 23 22:39:23 1999

Is there a problem with ticket sales to the Mardi Gras Party this year? Heard on a radio station in Melbourne (and not Gay and Lesbian station Joy Melbourne) a competition to win tickets to Sydney, staying at Manor House, watch the Parade and go to the Party.
Vote for Change - Sat Jan 23 22:43:05 1999

you seem to think Mardi Gras is for you. you've been wrong for years.
Sat Jan 23 23:22:44 1999

MArdi Gras hasn't been for us since they sold out to the straight communitie, which was about early 90's.
Sun Jan 24 10:17:51 1999

Wasn't that when Richard Cobden took over?
Sun Jan 24 21:56:11 1999

I think Richard Cobden was elected by Mardi Gras members to the board, as were all the others!
Vote for Change - Sun Jan 24 23:27:51 1999

Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue ...
Sun Jan 24 23:59:14 1999

Remember back when the decision to outsource the ticketing of the 2 parties to Ticketek was made. One of the main reasons for justifying the decision was that Mardi Gras was not in the business of ticketing special events. Instead the organisation wanted to concentrate on its core activities, that is party, parade and festival. Low and behold and just a few months later, we learn that Mardi Gras is now in the business of music production, forming its own music label. A special committee is formed for this purpose and organisation resources applied for the purpose. No community consultation was involved. The Sony contract was up for renewal and it was decided to do the whole thing in house. No prizes for guessing who is on the committee.
Oh well - Mon Jan 25 14:22:43 1999

Slapper C & the gay divorcee who gives good party?????
If I right do I win the prize - Mon Jan 25 16:22:48 1999

And that's why we are having Dannii rammed down our throats and up our arses.
Mon Jan 25 16:39:41 1999

no prize because I told you that ages ago. Sheesh. Read the wall.
Mon Jan 25 20:32:53 1999

Hi. This may seem like a dumb question but will ask it anyway as I want to know the answer. Who owns Ticketek? I gather it is the obvious answer - but just not sure.
Thanks - Tue Jan 26 0:55:22 1999

leave me alone
Danni - Tue Jan 26 11:19:34 1999

From the NSW Crimes Act - Section 556A. (1) Where any person is charged before any court with an offence punishable by such court, and the court thinks that the charge is proved, but is of opinion that, having regard to the character, antecedents, age, health, or mental condition of the person charged, or to the trivial nature of the offence, or to the extenuating ircumstances under which the offence was committed, or to any other matter which the court thinks it proper to consider, it is inexpedient to inflict any punishment, or any other than a nominal punishment, or that it is expedient to release the offender on probation, the court may, without proceeding to conviction, make an order either: (a) dismissing the charge; or (b) discharging the offender conditionally on his or her entering into a recognizance, with or without sureties, to be of good behaviour and to appear for conviction and sentence when called on at any time during such period, not exceeding three years, as may be specified in the order.
Friend at the Bar - Tue Jan 26 11:26:14 1999

Thank God for 556A!
Dickhead - Tue Jan 26 11:27:36 1999

dear Danni (sic) can't you even spell your own name ?? you know it is spelled k.y.l.i.e !!!
Shauna the 'orrible - Tue Jan 26 12:21:31 1999

I really love you danni...there are a few blues tunes i wrote when i was important, maybe you could look them over...grovel.
Shauna the pathetic - Tue Jan 26 12:27:36 1999

To friend at the Bar - which will it be? character, mental condition or extenuating ircumstances?
Tue Jan 26 13:35:21 1999

To Shauna - That's a despicable, low-life, retrograde, uncalled for attack on David McLachlan. He's trying very hard to do a difficult job as Mardi Gras president. OK, so the job has got to him and he's showing the strain, by making a silly mistake. What's the difference between Kylie and Dannniii anyway? I bet you've made worse mistakes. There's plenty of other people around Mardi Gras who have. So I think you should stop all the snide and vicious attacks on David and get right behind him.
A patriotic Mardi Gras supporter - Tue Jan 26 17:47:03 1999

Actually patriotic (as in patriarchy?) I think Shauna was referring to the fact that Dannii has been reconstructed to look lie Kylie. Are you overreacting here?
Tue Jan 26 18:40:10 1999

Does this mean Gras has accepted a cheap carbon copy rather than the real thing?
Tue Jan 26 19:53:58 1999

Forget Danni. What about the Sydney Morning Herald and Metro. They're planning a Metro Mardi Gras supplement for the second year in a row. And with the rates they're charging, they're likely to make somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000. How much of that is cumming back to Mardi Gras or the community? Bugger all, I bet.
Lachie - Tue Jan 26 23:16:19 1999

Oh for God's sake. Wake up! There are no $100,000 p/a jobs going at the Sydney Star Observer! Why would they advertise there?!
Wed Jan 27 4:16:03 1999

No, the spelling of la Minogues name was referring to the faux pax at the single launch, when Mr. Big introduced Dannii, he said "and now here's Kylie Minogue" !! dannii was seen to skulk into a corner 'orrified.
rockrgrrl - Wed Jan 27 16:01:06 1999

Richard Cobden is an "idiot" with a short memory.
dickeater - Wed Jan 27 16:02:27 1999

So supporter, if the job is too big for him, then let him move over and let someone else do it. Maybe he has the same problems with other girl's names ?? Like does he call Happy Crappy ? or maybe he calls Bev as little as possible, and then he might even call Dannii Kylie ??? Hmm seems like a simple enough name to remember..It's what the gay and lesbian community won't forget that should worry him.
rockrgrrl - Wed Jan 27 16:23:08 1999

I bet David doesn't forget every girl's name. I bet he remembers that Wendy Brady is called Wendy. But that probably becuase he thinks he's Peter Pan.
A very lost boy - Wed Jan 27 22:09:33 1999

David can't be Peter Pan. He's Noddy - a puppet on a string.
Thu Jan 28 6:12:42 1999

There you all go again. Attacking David McLachlan when he's doing his best to get Mardi Gras on despite all the obstacles. (Anyone seen the showground and Moore Park lately?) How about you stop all the bitching and get right behind him. Otherwise you'll put so much shit on him that he's likely to crakc up. And we don't want that. We know what happens when Mardi Gras prezs crack up and it isn't pretty.
A passionately patriotic mardi gras supporter - Thu Jan 28 7:43:03 1999

What's important, passionately patriotic, isn't so much a MG president "crackin up" - but the real issue of whether they are delivering to the members, who voted them in, the true and equitable representation that they were appointed for in the first place. The arguments, sometimes personal, against the board members on this graffitti wall tend to reflect the underlying evaluation that this was once the case - but is no longer so. On the evidence given I'd have to sadly agree that this is the right interpretation. As for cracking up, it's hard to pity someone's distress when they've done everything possible to shun you away from sharing in the good times.
Thu Jan 28 10:46:48 1999

... and the dreams that you dream of dream really do come true ...
Thu Jan 28 11:14:47 1999

isn't that "and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true" ???
Judy - Thu Jan 28 11:50:51 1999

I agree with "sharing the good times" post. The Erskineville style council are dishing up what they like, and have you ever spoken to any of them ? Puffed up little private school boys with extremely well paid jobs....of course Dannii would appeal to them in all her vaacuos glory !! She does represent them..but they are about.01% of the actual gay community. Don't you think if Mardi Gras were starting a label they should have asked for submissions of interest from the gay and lesbian community ??? I didn't hear anything..they just produce Dannii without asking anyone ! don't you think it would be fairer to put the idea out into the community and see if there are any musicians out there who are A. queer B. great writers or singers C. Willing to be an out and proud representative of the community ? Well they have certainly short changed the community on that one. they are all tricky dickey little lawyers and doctors etc..tasteless, boring middle class boofs, with nothing going for them except they have managed to sieze the power to do this from us...and then they wonder we revolt !!
bring down the house of Mardi gras - Thu Jan 28 12:00:01 1999

I agree bring down the house....the revolution has already started with Squirtz alternative festival..not much yet..but i say let's get behind it
squirtee - Thu Jan 28 13:23:31 1999

David is actually a very nice, very sincere and well meaning guy. I know him as a social acquaintance, and we still acknowledge each other when we see each othe, although we rarely chat anymorer. I trust him and his intentions as president of Mardi Gras. I just don't trust others around him and I really would love to know just how much power Cobden does still have. Maybe I'll try to catch David's ear socially and see what I can glean.
Nat - Thu Jan 28 16:36:54 1999

Careful Nat or the Cocktail Cabinet will chew you up & spit you out too.
Thu Jan 28 18:43:27 1999

It's come down to spying...this really must be a war
foot soldier - Fri Jan 29 8:16:32 1999

It is, Blanch, it is!!
Bubba Jane - Fri Jan 29 12:50:28 1999

I wouldn't call it spying.
Mata Hari - Fri Jan 29 15:24:11 1999

it sounds like many people aren't happy with Mardi Gras or the direction it is going. The simple answer is work with it for change or leave!
15 years involvement and still going strong - Fri Jan 29 21:59:49 1999

I wonder which alleged prominent community member exchanged punches instead of the usual angry words with a journalist - see Gossip in SSO. Hmm.
Fri Jan 29 22:20:40 1999

The Daily Telegraph gets the Sisters banned from the Opera House, while Mardi Gras does deals with other arms of the Murdoch octopus. And all that mealy-mouthed David Mclachlan Murdoch can do is murmer platitudes about tolerance. If he had any guts he'd stand up to the Murdoch monster and tell them to f... off.
Sat Jan 30 8:41:15 1999

Yeah, but he is the Murdoch monster, and we created him
Sat Jan 30 8:55:40 1999

It's a bit hard to stand up to your owner when you are nought but a puppy, er puppet.
Sat Jan 30 13:01:42 1999

I read all this vitriol, clever comment and well informed thought on this page and i agree with some. i do think the MG committee think they are doing a great job with this huge event. after reading the latest stuff that arrived from them about listening to the people, well the 'nearly 200 people' who responded, they have some plan. they can really only act on what they know about i suppose. i wonder why so few members respond?
local_guy - Sat Jan 30 23:27:05 1999

gucci,prada,gucci thats all that really matters girls, so party, party, party !!!
Sat Jan 30 23:54:07 1999

Noticed in the "new idea" a pic of Dannii who it says is involved in the "gay mardi gras" mmmm lesbian not mentioned..well one down..one to go
be prepared - Sun Jan 31 7:55:07 1999

local_guy - could be several reasons. Perhaps they don't care. Perhaps they are only members of Mardi Gras to buy party tickets. Perhaps they think responding is a waste of time because they believe the Board is so up itself it won't be interested in what they say.
Sun Jan 31 10:05:50 1999

Well folks! Put your money where your dicks are and roll up to the inaugural Queer As F*ck Fest presents Squirtz! This year an alternative party, next year an alternative art exhibition and party and the year after, who knows? An alternate parade? Tickets are only seven bucks. Get a program from the Darlo Bookshop or Signal. Or check the website http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Castro/6267 and don't forget the one night only Glory Holes Of 1999
AlternativeQueer - Sun Jan 31 12:37:44 1999

Now here's a quick quizz. Bisexuals are not allowed to be members of Mardi Gras, right? If a dyke has sex with a man, does that make her bisexual and thus ineligible to join or belong? If a gay man has sex with a woman, does that make him a gay man and thus ineligible to join or belong? What if the dyke and the gay man have sex with each other? Does that rule them both out? Does it count as sex if the only reason they had sex was to get the dyke pregnant? if it does, what if the gay man fires blanks?
Please explain - Mon Feb 1 6:37:34 1999

Alternative Queer...I wish squirtz would just answer their emails....the community is already knocking on their door, but no-one seems to home
waiting - Mon Feb 1 8:49:34 1999

Please explain: What happens if I have a wife and children, does that mean I can't be a member of Mardi Gras anymore?
I was but now I think I am - what an everlasting nightmare - Mon Feb 1 12:18:01 1999

Are you prepared to deny their existence, stop consorting with them, and give a false address to the child support agency? If so, you might just be allowed to stay.
MG(tm pending) door bitch - Mon Feb 1 12:38:09 1999

You'll have to leave the kiddies at home I'm afraid. Perhaps Mardi Gras should be made to organise childcare so it's not seen to be discriminating.
Mon Feb 1 17:35:46 1999

What now? The ex-prez "meets" the anti-violence project?
Gotta getta grant - Mon Feb 1 19:02:40 1999

my wife and i have been mardi gras members since it inseption - each year we answer it honestly and get our membership - not because of where i put my cock but because of our involvedment in our community.
darlinghurst resident - Mon Feb 1 23:14:11 1999

Which is exactly as it should be darlinghurst resident.
Tue Feb 2 2:09:08 1999

Bloody straights...can't even spell what the hell is an "inseption" Do we come to your boring str8 events..no..so please leave us with some space where you are not !! Just once a year please...not much to ask even a Darlinghurst resident..and yes it is about where you put your "cock". Yuk..lesbians read this wall too you disgusting man, I bet you're one of those swingers and your wife likes pussy on the side and you hassle the hell out of lesbians all night for a threesome..and kiss and grope your wife in front of self respecting gay and lesbians who are not impressed or amused. The point of Mardi Gras is not to make you feel all warm and fuzzy, or entertain you because you live in Darlinghurst, please move to the suburbs where you can hiss and jive about where you stick your cock.
diehardyke - Tue Feb 2 3:13:54 1999

get over it diehardyke, pull your head out of the ghetto. fifity percent of the human race have cocks, and the crap you're spouting here is completely unjustified. do you like people you don't even know labeling you?
A poofter - Tue Feb 2 16:14:08 1999

If given the choice as to who I would spend the evening with - darlinghurst resident or dieharddyke, I know who I'd choose. And diehard it aint you love.
Tue Feb 2 16:45:53 1999

Yikes - that awful pre 90's siege ghetto mentality rears its ugly head again. Until we can learn to live with and accept str8s, how can we expect them to do the same with us. Darlinghurst Resident is welcome to party with me anytime.
Diehardpoof (but anti str8 I aint) - Tue Feb 2 18:13:44 1999

If a certain Barrister keeps hitting people, he may even be cooling his heels by February 27 and miss out all together.
Then who would carress Danii's ego - Tue Feb 2 18:24:44 1999

Get over it, you unfashionable git. A slap on the face is the new gay greeting - its so much more manly. No more of that kissy kissy crap. I'm looking forward to the launch on Friday so I can slap as many of my friends as possible.
Barnzie's Little Book of Modern Etiquette - Tue Feb 2 19:06:07 1999

Then why do you all complain about the parties being too straight ? Why do you whinge when women want to go into the Shift..what's all the stuff about "flicky" straight girls hair in your face ? Go on invite every straight in Darlinghurst, they are all there anyway..according the "No Idea" it is now the "gay mardi gras" anyway..next year it will be just mardi gras and you'll have 20,000 straight couples bonking in your boyzone...giggling at your gay antic..be warned.
livehardyke - Wed Feb 3 9:19:37 1999

Dickey C needs a good spanking himself..sour mouthed sycophant..dannii's little ass wiper..
headmaster - Wed Feb 3 9:25:02 1999

I think you generalise just a little too much livehardyke. Not all gay men think and live the same. Now I'm really gonna stir up and old debate and suggest that we should call it the Queer Mardi Gras, which will include people because of their attitue, not their sexuality.
Nat - Wed Feb 3 13:46:04 1999

Excuse my typos. The key word above is "attitude", not attitue, although I'm sure you all realised that.
Nat - Wed Feb 3 13:48:21 1999

I wonder if the SMH will run an article on how we wonderful gay creatures behave. I can see it now - "Former Mardi Gras President attacks Independent Candidate and Anti-Violence Campaigner is spate of vicious attacks". Followed by 'why should we help people who can't even behave themselves in public? Good one Richard - thanks for using your status as a 'pcm' with responsibility.
Wed Feb 3 15:59:36 1999

So who did he punch ?? And where?? And why??
And And And - Wed Feb 3 16:20:12 1999

Who can explain why he does anything. More to the point. What do his mardi gras control freak mates think about it?
Wed Feb 3 16:31:54 1999

I think it's outwageous!!
Wed Feb 3 19:15:08 1999

I wonder if SMH will run an article on how we are not allowed to visit our partners in hospital, how we get bunged if we love a person of the same gender who is 16 or 17, but not of the opposite gender, how we get bashed up just because we are gay or lesbian?
Firday's SMH MG Special - Wed Feb 3 21:00:17 1999

Oh, is that the reason why the ex-pres attacked another gay man? it's because he was a gay man!
Wed Feb 3 22:39:36 1999

Sorry, I meant other gay men!
Wed Feb 3 22:40:27 1999

oh Nat..don't send me an invitation to that party darls it would be full of obnoxious teenagers from Parramatta and trendy residents of Darlinghurst..May as well just drop any adjective and call it "mardi gras" and be done with it. Then in 100 years time the story can surface that a bunch of gays and lesbians originally concieved mardi gras as a protest march, but that would be suppressed as it would probably put staight people off from attending. And what happens when all the gays and lesbians are jack of parading up and down Oxford Street creating a spectacle for the already staight tourist crowd ? Who will supply the "outreagous" show then ? Maria Venuti ? What straight will put in endless unpaid hours of work to make it happen ? I there are no better reasons than to have a big piss/drug/F*ck up then you can do it on any night of the week.
leave me out - Thu Feb 4 8:12:30 1999

Richard punched a journo..refer to goblin sso gossip, maybe there will be further developments..
Thu Feb 4 9:41:01 1999

Well actually it was a journo's boyf. And it think it was a vicious slap rather than a manly punch.
Thu Feb 4 10:28:31 1999

more please..does a slap count?
Thu Feb 4 10:33:33 1999

No wonder we have trouble gaining support for eaual age of consent, legal relationships etc. when, by our PCM's actions, we are seen to be so vial. Why does the MG GM continue to be rude to volunteers in the office, why does he consider that his 'poo poo' doesn't stink, why didn't someone, who wasn't elected pay for the stuff ups on 1998 and before. Given the draft report regarding the future of MG, it is obvious that the staff has serious input - nothing significant is to change because that's the way they want to keep it - nice and easy. Well, from talking to 78ers, I thought MG got to where it is today by fighting for what it wanted, on our behalf. Conservatism does not get politicians to change their opinions on mass. David Mc needs to address what the membership asked for - the next AGM is only 6 months away, and no one wants a repeat performance.
Please David, show leadership - Thu Feb 4 11:12:35 1999

I think they all should be put through management training courses..brush up on their communication skills etcc..Yes I have seen a lot of nastiness in the MG office, especially to volunteers..it's like "oh minion I don't have the time for you" they are always bustling around like their going to avert world war three if they don't get to their press junket on time..typical businesmen, I've seen them in multinat corps all over the world...same smell, same arrogant attitude..ha ha
volunteer - Thu Feb 4 12:48:35 1999

Please David, show leadership - there you go again. heaping shit on David McLachlan. Doncha know he's got enough on his plate. Ex-presidents who don't know how to behave in public who he can't control, a repressed irish catholic upbringing to live down, growing up on the northern beaches - hey that rings a bell,he might have a story to tell - all these trials and tribulations, so leave him alone. Let him got on with it. I'm sure he can do what he's doing for mardi gras without your help.
I'm rootin' - Thu Feb 4 13:17:20 1999

That should have been signed -
I'm rootin' and tootin' for Davey Mc - Thu Feb 4 13:18:27 1999

I'm rooting - Give us a break! David is the Pres of an organisation owned by its membership. The old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" doesn't apply here. We, as members, are here to help, and will be over the next month. But, you can only help so far as you are being heard. David will not succeed with MG without serious criticism until the 'old new guard' is removed. This includes the GM, the RC connections etc. Last year, the movement against MG was vocal and the debate became extremely bitter mainly because of RC's interference and behaviour. The AGM was a joke with RC at the back, LG at the front, and Bev not knowing where to turn. The old boys should fade away - they don't own MG anymore - the new breed does and with a serious level of new blood (not tokenism), the dickheads who are still holding onto 'power' should go. Freud would have loved to analyse their relationships with their mothers. Woops, maybe I've gone too far - but it would explain a lot!
Thu Feb 4 19:15:38 1999

You're wrong. Mardi Gras used to be an organisation owned by its members. It's fast becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of News International. The completion of the transfer will be David McLachlan's legacy.
Thu Feb 4 22:08:24 1999

To the person who calls me Pollyantha, yes I am an apologist for anyone who put in hundreds and thousands of hours of volunteer work to get the fffabulous festival, parade and party going, whatever their motive. I have been there with various community organisations, and I am still doing it with Pinkboard. I don't necessarily agree with the decisions of the board, so I speak up at the AGM (and other AGMs too) and other forums and on Pinkboard. But I do support the organisation and it's aims and objectives.
Panther put the Kettle On - Thu Feb 4 23:46:41 1999

Why is it that a Bisexual man who has references from a past co-convenor of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby is unable to become a member of Mardi Gras (pg.6 SSO, 4/2/99)? What is going on? Should we not be welcoming those that actively fight against homophobia? It just seems strange to me that any party boy, whose only contribution to the community is complaining about the beer being served at parties, is some how more them welcome to join Mardi Gras!
Equality in Diversity????? - Fri Feb 5 0:06:23 1999

Whinge.
Fri Feb 5 0:42:44 1999

Not a whinge..that is a valid opinion..if the bi boy was refused membership, and Dannii gets to be queen of mardi gras..there is something rotten in Erskineville for sure. Mardi Gras needs to define it's policies, that seem to be different for celebrities and ordinary people..I feel sorry for the bi boy, though he is welcome at many other events and parties, and the more support alternative events get, the stronger they will become until only the priveleged few will be passing the gates of the showgrounds (oops Fox studios) in the future.
sad story - Fri Feb 5 9:02:22 1999

The priveleged few? Don't you mean Sharon, Darren and Richard?
Fri Feb 5 9:28:37 1999

From my memory, the Tent at Sleaze was the only venue to have a full dance floor all night (ie. Not necessarily drug related movement). Gee Wiz, the music must have really bad. Thanks Dot, not everyone was born in the 80s or has a totally blinkered view of music. Diversity in music is important so you can vary and adjust the level of your night. Shame, there is not more diversity between the main rooms. No doubt Dot will, once again, spin his choice of good music over the years that have stood the test of time.
Grateful in Diversity - Fri Feb 5 9:37:57 1999

sorry sad story, that whinge wasn't for you, I agree 100%. It's just that Panther told us to come and whinge here so I did.
Fri Feb 5 13:20:49 1999

Dot may be a great retro born in the 50's dj, but why does he have such a catty disposition ? He made me feel downright suicidal with that attitude of his..like away with you unimportant no body...it has really upset me....I don't understand how people can carry crap around with them for years and years, so what if we had a disagreement eight years ago ? How can the community function as a unified body if people don't let go of their anger ?
shocked to see u 2 - Fri Feb 5 17:33:06 1999

'diehardyke' and others you are assuming alot when i say my wife and I. I am a guy yes but is my wife a woman or a man?
Darlinghurst Resident - Sat Feb 6 22:34:02 1999

Happy 21st Birthday Mardi Gras
Sat Feb 6 22:37:46 1999

A drag queen DR
Sun Feb 7 3:44:13 1999

I find it sad that as someone who fought for Gay rights in 1978 can see peoploe just as committed to the same causes slapped down today. SunHerald Page 63. Also, the fact that many people may *not* know what their final sexual orientation is, means that they *must* tick the Gay/lesbian/Homosexual/Trannie box to become a member of an organisation which (until 1995) accepted their struggle (both internal and external) with open arms and support. I know, they did for me, I sleep with a man (at times) therefore I am welcome....until 1995. To become a member is more than getting party tickets. It's feeling an 'official' part of the community. Now many of us cannot *be* a part of this 'official' community, because the board simply don't want us. We are the 'fence-sitters', the 'too-hard' basket. The 1995 decision was made to cut down on the straights going to the party. I know, I was there and saw the straight problem and was at that 1995 meeting. It appears that the decision in 1995 has been gradually used to enclave Mardi Gras and maintain their haven. I didn't march for this discrimination in 1978. Thank you Mr McLachlan, for you and your board forcing more people into hasty decisions, intolerance, feeling that they have nowhere to go & feeling that they are less than straight and also less than 'gay'. Thank you for throwing everything I fought and bled for in 1978, back those 21 years.
A 78er - Mon Feb 8 1:17:31 1999

well darlo..if your "wife" is a woman then you are heterosexual...if your wife is a man you are gay...if your wife is a trannie...then i guess you're between a cock and hard place
the definer - Mon Feb 8 9:20:11 1999

78er, let hope the community can work together to rectify this very serious issue of exclusion and discent. I believe it is time for the current Mardi Gras board to call for public debate immediately! Their current tact of sweeping this issue under the carpet will not resolve anything.
ConcernedQueer. - Mon Feb 8 11:09:48 1999

Dear ConcernedQueer, In 1995, the original debate was to have Trannies and Bis INcluded in the automatic acceptance area. Once that was defeated there was a motion for Trannies alone. This was passed. Then a motion for the exclusion of Bis which was defeated, then a re-wording of the motion (to make it a different one) which was also defeated - after some debate, then another rewording of (what amounted to) the same motion which was marginally passed (after asking for a recount). It is my belief that even though the current President has mooted that this issue will have to go to the membership, unless proxies and/or members attend the AGM (or possibly an EGM) then nothing will eventuate from (even) this. I am hoping that a lot of vote-stacking and scare-mongering does not happenin at this time, but I suspect that it will. As it is, the media debate is excellent and brings this apparent hipocrisy out in the open. Now, if only the Bi-community gets behind this groundswell, perhaps we can see something happen to stop this shameful discrimination.
A 78er - Mon Feb 8 11:49:58 1999

Dear definer, If your wife is a woman and your lover is a man, what does *that* make you? You see, it all comes down to labels, doesn't it? If you have a relationship with someone of the same sex (regardless of whomever else you have a relationship with) what does *that* make you? Just having a 'wife' or 'husband' of the opposite gender does not make you a heterosexual.
a questioner - Mon Feb 8 11:53:04 1999

And just being a heterosexual doesn't make you the enemy.
Mon Feb 8 13:16:02 1999

Debate? Debate? People want to debate the membership policy? The decision was made in 1996, and it was quite clear. We don't need another debate. We made our decision in 1996, and it was extremely clever. We decided we would let Bis, hets and other uncertainties apply to join - that way no one could accuse of being discrimatory or intolerant. Of course, that didn't mean we had to let them join! Clever tricky dicky made sure there was a clause in the articles that would allow right-minded boards to knock their applications back. We didn't make a fuss of it at the time, because that would've given the game away. But it's worked a real treat until now. Until a few malcontents and trouble makers decided to kick up a fuss. They knew what they had to do if they wanted to join. Tough if they're stupid or honest. Hopefully, our fearless leader, David Mac will kill this issue off. Otherwise he'll have to move for a change in the articles - one that will stop Bis and straights from applying. That way we won't have anymore time wasted by this distracting nonsense.
100% gay all the way, no time for Bis or hets today! - Mon Feb 8 15:07:56 1999

Twenty-two thousand people at the SGLMG launch heard stirring speeches about our lack of basic human rights in the areas of relationships and age of consent laws. And the media coverage is practically zero. Two days later Network 10 - the Parade telecaster! - pounces on the "Bisexuals not allowed in Mardi Gras" story and suddenly in prime time we're made out to be the villains - we're discriminatory and so don't deserve any reciprocal respect. I'm just your average ghetto queen and already a few confused straight friends - and the guy behind the counter at the video store - have questioned or laughed at me about it. I just hate the media - and I'm jealous of the people who can manipulate it. I'm also grateful to have some friends who actually understand that it's important for gays and lesbians to foster our very own culture, organisations, parties and festival. We need to keep getting that message out to everyone, especially well-meaning bis and straights who want to participate. Of course you can, sometimes, but it has to be on our terms!
fastlove - Mon Feb 8 16:07:06 1999

Dear 100% and Faslove, Is that what we marched for in '78? Intolerance, enclaving and discrimination? Bisexuals deserve support, they have same-sex relationships, too. Straights? I, personally, don't think they need to be involved as members of the organisation at all. However, the issue is bisexuals. They marched, they supported, they helped, Mardi Gras slaps them in the fac for their trouble. I expect a long, public and divisive fight at the next AGM, if not in the media beforehand. If Mardi Gras (who preach diversity and equality and beg for acceptance) is publicly shown to be exactly that which they publicly decry, than public sympathy will ebb, the right-wingers will leap on the band-wagon demanding that Mardi Gras practice what they preach, funding can disolve and the community would fracture. I think in this year of Equality=Diversity, Mardi Gras could do a lot worse then acknowledging Bisexuals and their equal place in the community. Of course if 'tricky dicky' *did* word the clause specifically and the interpretation is being used to MG's (secret agenda) advantage. If persons have been counselled to lie on the forms, then I suggest that *all* members be vetted and unimpeachable proof of their sexuality provided. This way, can the Mardi Gras regualtions (regarding joining) be fair for all. If they're going to exclude, have them be fair about it, or be ready to be exposed for the hypocrits they have allegedly become. Note that the statement above is unworkable, thus the onus is upon Mardi Gras to either accept the Bisexual memberships, or to seriously weed out the closet Bis and Straights in the organisation.
A 78er - Mon Feb 8 16:32:18 1999

"Tricky Dicky"? Don't you mean "Slapper"
laughing man - Mon Feb 8 16:35:23 1999

No, "A 78er", I'm not for intolerance and discrimination. I'm for continuing to form and promote our very own lesbian and gay - not bisexual - cultures. There has to be ways bisexuals support us and participate without joining organisations like SGLMG which have repeatedly defined themselves as "gay and lesbian". I think bisexuals are part of the queer community and I try to respect and support them. But, just like gays and lesbians have, I believe that they have their very own issues, subculture and yes, organisations. I'm not bi and I don't want to join a bisexual organisation. But I hope we can still get together on the things we really have in common, party, celebrate diversity and fight real discrimination and intolerance...
fastlove - Mon Feb 8 17:06:03 1999

The bisexual community has put a web site together for those of you interested in the membership debate -http://www.queer.org.au/~glenv/mardigras/
Educate before you hate - Mon Feb 8 17:16:51 1999

fastlove, be honest with your self and everyone, if you had your own way it would be just Gay....Lesbians wouldn't be included either. Fortunately you don't have that option any more! It is time Sydney and Australia caught up with the rest of the western world and moved to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) model. With the Gay Games coming we are going to look like a bunch of bigotted and intolerent fools....don't believe me, go to San Fran and see!
Queer = GLBT not GL - Mon Feb 8 17:27:09 1999

This is the year that the baby turns 21. Many things have changed since the original march that gave basic human rights to all of us. (if you where there or not) Many miles still lay ahead if the original goals are to be achieved in their entirety.
Pink Soldier - Mon Feb 8 17:36:27 1999

Fastlove the very reason we need to include bisexuals in our battle is that we still don't have equal rights. Asking bisexuals to help in the fight for equality and then not including them is hypocrytical and insulting. Bisexuals suffer the same intolarence as gays and lesbians, this should be enough reason to include them. A gay basher doesn't bash you half as much because you are bisexual. Parents don't disown you half as much because you are bisexual (in fact they disown you more, yes biphobia has reached the straight society also, I should know). Employers don't discriminate against you half as much because you are bisexual.....The heterosexist world lumps us all in the same basket and to them this mean Mardi Gras.
strength in numbers. - Mon Feb 8 18:27:49 1999

I don't think we can blame Tricky ... er Slapper for absolutely everything you know. It's a lot of weight even for him to bear.
Mon Feb 8 19:01:50 1999

Why not? he's got the shoulders, the arms, the wrists and the palms of the hand to carry it.
Mon Feb 8 19:26:00 1999

First, let me invite everyone to continue this important debate on this wall. SGLMG does read it and it will form an input into the process of redefining the membership.

This is an extremely complicated question. The issue of membership is very mixed up with the issue of attending the parties. Most people join SGLMG for party tickets, not to belong to the organisation. (Were there any stats on this in the member survey last year?) Should we have separate membership types?

The purpose of the party is to enjoy our homosexuality, not our heterosexuality. The sexual side of this is very important. I am sure that many bi's would be attending the party to celebrate that side of themselves. Should we police heterosexual behaviour at parties? Would bi's, if admitted to membership, be willing to abide by rules of this type? How can we make the party less appealing to non-community heterosexuals?

What are other options? Parallel, co-operating organisations? What can we do about the people who have lied on their forms to get into the party? How do SGLMGs commercial interests conflict?

I always compare this issue to a Serb National club allowing Croats to be members. Or a Catholic Church allowing an Anglican service to take place.
Panther - Mon Feb 8 20:21:37 1999

Funny how often I have heard 78er's complain about the current direction of Mardi Gras. If there is one group that deserves a say it is the 78er's. Why not create a 78er's Lobby group that can be used to get Mardi Gras back on track.
Mon Feb 8 11:59:11 1999

For Christ sake why is the integrity of the membership base so tied to the integrity of the 2 big parties. The issues surrounding membership are far more profound than who goes and doesn't go to a party. Mardi Gras does not simply equal party party. The sooner membership entitlement and party ticket entitlement are separated the better. Separate solutions (if such a thing exists) for separate problems.
Counting teh blood on the carpet - Mon Feb 8 22:58:03 1999

There are solutions to the party membership question. They have been suggested to Mardi Gras. We are waiting to see if they are taken up. In the meantime, what was once a Lions Club has become a leagues club.
Tue Feb 9 0:05:20 1999

Yes there is more to Mardi Gras then a party, but if this is the reason bis are not included then check out this page to see just how flawed the current policy is - http://www.queer.org.au/~glenv/mardigras/facts.htm
Educate before you hate - Tue Feb 9 0:13:19 1999

Panther I disagree with your analysis, I am a bisexual man in a polyamorous relationship with a women and a man (my family). If a Mardi Gras party is not a place I can *openly* celibrate my sexuality with my family with out fear of prejudice, then please tell me where my family is welcome in society?
Educate before you hate - Tue Feb 9 0:21:54 1999

The overwhelming majority, like 99 percent of Mardi Gras members joined for the purpose of going to the party. A very substantial number must have lied about their sexual orientation to account for the sheer numbers of str8s in recent years, particularly @ Sleaze.However it appears there are members who are str8 and have ticked str8, which makes it even more outrageous that bis should be rejected. Mardi Gras surveyed the membership but only about 200 people responded according to their report, most of whom said they loved the party last year etc etc. and were quite happy with the direction Mardi Gras was heading in, sponsorship and all. 200 people. Hmm. It's impossible and ludicrous to police heterosexual behaviour at the parties. The most important point is the one about ethnic minorities. A Serb national club way well permit Croat members (okay i'm dreaming) but it would N O T be overrun by people demanding to attend and showing no respect for customs and values. So, we either educate the str8s who have no attachment to our community other than a desire to attend our parties that they should respect the fact that it is our party and do something else that night, or Mardi Gras (or someone) puts on a party with Jimmy Barnes and Dannii for them elsewhere. As the screaming packs waiting for Madonna demonstrated last year, it's the 'international acts' that are attracting them. It will be way too late when the first stage diving incident occurs.
An 82er - Tue Feb 9 3:10:42 1999

Educate - This then is an issue that has to be decided by the *membership* - is the party about homosexuality or all sexuality? We are constantly bombarded by heterosexual images and ideas. That is everywhere we go, and in everything we do. I think we are quite entitled to demand that our party, then, is a haven from overt heterosexuality. The Mardi Gras Party is not a place in society, it is a private party. It is not about tolerance and acceptance of others, it is about celebration of self.
Panther - Tue Feb 9 8:54:14 1999

I have a horrible theory. If all the straight members of Mardi Gras got together, formed a ticket and attended an AGM, they would have the numbers to take all board positions, change the name of the organisation and change the organisation forever. We have allowed our organisation to be infiltrated by persons not committed to the gay & lesbian communities and who are simply in search of a good time for 2 nights of the year. The chances of a takeover happening are very remote - though I suggest not impossible. Those who introduced the sytem of aligning party ticketing policy with membership have a lot to answer for.
Let's just hope the unthinkable never happens - Tue Feb 9 9:21:00 1999

There's no problem guys. It's happened before and it will happen again. A public forum will be called. A few speeches will be made, emotions will run a little high. And then RC will stand up and make in his very eloquent way a totally logical and forceful argument supporting his point of view. Everyone will be impressed. A vote will be taken supporting his point of view (with a few dissenters). And life will be back to normal. He has more intellect in his little finger than all us queens put together.
And I love him for that - Tue Feb 9 9:48:02 1999

Let's just hope the unthinkable never happens - the unthinkable already is. The hets are taking over mardi gras, and they don't have to be members. There names are Murdoch, Minogue, Barnes ...
Tue Feb 9 9:52:02 1999

Don't worry, even if MG is overrun by hets - glbt people will find another avenue to celebrate ourselves. MG does the best it can, but GLBT is bigger than the MG organisation. Remember also that all organisations have a life span - but MG is probably not over it's life span yet. One day we will outgrow MG - that is inevitable. What we do need for now however, is vigilance - against our own fear and ignorance - and against those elements that would seduce us will brass treasures. As for RC, he may argue well (I've never heard him myself) but there is no match for those whose focus is fixed and unwavering.
pep talk - Tue Feb 9 10:20:07 1999

Panther, if the march in 78 wasn't about the right to love whom ever we choose, then what was it about? Can you not see that you are treating my bisexual family just like society treats all us queers? Going by *your* concept on what Mardi Gras is about, trannies are not welcome either, this of course is ridiculous. For your information I will unlikely be going to the party, too many biphobic people in the one place, I don't wish to be spat on (yes this has happened). Can you see similarities in the behaviour between biphobic and homophobic fear? But I'm sure everyone has justified their reasons for hating and discriminating against bisexuals, so I'm quite possibly wasting my time trying to educate. Yes the oppressed have become the oppressor. My family will let you have your precious little party all to your self, as I said Mardi Gras is more then a party, to me it is a method I can reach out to other bisexuals coming to terms with their same and opposite sex attractions, they too deserve images which represent them, or do you all think they deserve a closet or worse?
Educate before you hate - Tue Feb 9 10:32:10 1999

The more I see some comments, the more I wonder what 1978 was really about. Was it that we were standing up for our rights to be recognised as people, not things? Yes. Was it that we demanded equal rights to love whom we choose? Yes. What is the Bisexual Agenda? The same. The pity is that to engage in the homosexual portion of their relationships, they *must* look to the overwhelming Gay model of Mardi Gras - there is no other leading model. However when the very place where they are told they can find solace and support refuses them, on the very grounds that we were refused before 1978, what are the Bisexuals to think about all that we 'allegedly' stood up for? The oppressed becoming the oppressors, I really cringed when I first read that...but I can see how it is perceived as truth. Given the chance I would counsel the Bisexual and Pride entries of the Mardi Gras Parade to make *this* issue *the* issue for the Mardi Gras Parade. Banners and slogans and shirts proclaiming the actual issues. "Bisexuals are Gay too."
A 78er - Tue Feb 9 11:03:24 1999

Bet you the Board must love having the bisexual drama thrown on their laps right in the middle of the Festival. Give them a break for the time being. Let the festival come and go and visit the issue in the light of day. The bisexuals have obviously gone for maximum exposure by raising the issue at this time.
Fair's fair - Tue Feb 9 12:01:37 1999

Thanks, Panther I agree with everything you said. Definitely, membership of the SGLMG organisation needs to be separated from the desire to attend the (very precious) Parties. What are the options? Associate memberships? Bis and straights could join and get one (or no?) Party tickets for their membership? I support the idea of gay men, lesbians, bis and trannies having their own organisations and coming together as a queer community where their interests coincide. GM&Lesbians have chosen to do that with the Mardi Gras organisation and the reality is it's a fragile coalition which still has to be fiercely defended from all kinds of forces - such as "dilution" into some sort of promotion of pan-sexuality and "difference", commercialisation, external and internal homophobia, mysogyny, and lack of understanding of what a g&l organisation should be aiming to achieve. While all those battles are raging maybe bisexuals could support their own organisation, define what it is they want out of membership of or affiliation with SGLMG and then, if they want to, work for a new kind of coalition. It looks like that's what's happening. I'd never deny the support some bis and straights have given Mardi Gras. But why does a Croat want to belong to a Serb organisation? I can see some reasons which should see one being accepted as a member (there should always be exceptions to rules)but how can you justify it being an automatic thing...? While the link between SGLMG membership and party attendance is problematical, there is a parallel between the two. If you think you belong at a SGLMG Party because you are really part of the queer community, and you're invited by a member of SGLMG, welcome! If you're not gay or lesbian and you support the idea of us having our precious little g&l space, thanks for not coming along and turning it into something else. I'll try to respect your space in return and party, celebrate or demonstrate with you at another more appropriate time...
fastlove - Tue Feb 9 12:05:25 1999

Dear Fairs fair, The actuality is that Mardi Gras refused 2 prominent bisexual persons their memberships, adjacent to the Mardi Gras Festival. The people concerned would have reacted the way that they have regardless of when it happened. Happily for them (and unhappily for Mardi Gras) they coincide with their "Equality in Diversity" 1999 Festival. A very poor response to make in light of the slogan for the Festival this year. Making the most of the unfortunate (for Mardi Gras) timing of the decision is a logical thing to do. I, for one, hope that these gay people (yes, Bisexuals have gay relationships, too) continue to take their case to the media and even as far as calling for an EGM to discuss it. I note with some interest that a Board Member (last night at the Hypothetical) allegedly stood up in defence of Bisexuals joining Mardi Gras and against the discrimination that is being served toward these valuable members of the Gay (meant in the all-inclusive manner) community. Further, remember that Bisexuals were blatantly supportive by their assistance in our struggle from 1978-1981. Remember same-sex relationships are the issue here. A bisexual has them, as do gays and lesbians.
A 78er - Tue Feb 9 12:24:21 1999

party party...you're life is centered on who comes to a party...really pathetic
Tue Feb 9 12:30:36 1999

The issue with Bisexuals doesn't appear to revolve around the Parties at all - only the gym-bunnies and their hang-off str8 girlfriends seem to have this as an issue. The issue seems to be who can join the organisation. Although I note that many bisexuals have been Parade and Party Marshalls and Rangers in the past - when Mardi Gras needed them. Food for thought.
A Past Marshall - Tue Feb 9 12:33:27 1999

Dear 78er. That was Happy Ho at Hypothetical. I don't think she quite went as far as to say she supported bisexuals joining Mardi Gras. Her comments were kinda guarded. Though I think she is open minded on the matter. But let's face it she is the token independent.
The debate has begun - Tue Feb 9 12:36:25 1999

fastlove, ask any straight member of society whether they think bisexuals are a part of Mardi Gras and they will say yes. So we are in a unique and dispossessing position of being represented by an organisation we cannot even become a member of, but does a lot to pretend it does, this is from SMH 25-11-98 "Speaking at the launch of the 1999 Mardi Gras Festival, McLachlan emphasised that while the event communicated directly with lesbians, gay men, transgenders, bisexuals and the "I will not be labelled" set, it was not programmed or promoted "to exclude those from outside our communities". Are you all blind, don't you see that the dispossession of bisexuals from Mardi Gras is the same dispossession gays and lesbians receive from main stream society. I should know I have run a bisexual youth group, and let me tell you how often I had young people coming to me in total disarray about them not understanding their same and opposite sex attraction, the only images they receive are heterosexual and homosexual (especially around Mardi Gras). If you think these images add up to bisexual, you have no idea of the issues at hand, and are just as arrogant as a straight person that tells you that straight images can be interpreted as gay images. Mardi Gras is not just for the 1999 version of Gay and Lesbian, it is for all Gay people (as 78er has said we were all gay in 78). Yes I am Gay, but am I gay enough is the question you all ask your selves, while hiding behind the straight at parties issue. Have the courage of your convictions and come out and say that you are biphobic, and that your hatred of bisexuals is based on ignorance and intolerance.
Educate before you hate - Tue Feb 9 13:15:12 1999

Hey! I've been a marshal for Mardi Gras since 1988 and I'm bi. Why is this suddenly happening? Aren't we good enough for them anymore?! I remember being asked by the young guy running the marshals to help out and there was a lot of us. There weren't many gays, helping out with the marshals because most of them obviously were too busy partying. Too busy to help and when bi's ask for something in return, we get kicked in the teeth. Thanks Marid Gras. You know where to find us when you need us again. Just be ready for a different answer.
long time marshal - Tue Feb 9 13:18:20 1999

OK, I'm biphobic. Just as I'm homophobic, and probably locked in a very out-of-fashion idea of defined sexuality. But I would also marshall at a bisexual march, support, help out, and go along to bi fundraisers with bi friends *without* demanding membership of a bisexual organisation. "Educate...", I think you've identified heaps of reasons why bisexuals need to work on their own issues. Maybe SGLMG can and should assist with those issues, like helping all queer people define, understand and celebrate their sexuality. I think it does that now by being strongly gay and lesbian and inviting people to participate in the festival, if not become members. (It's even helped a few confused straight friends of mine realise they're happy and proud to be straight!)And maybe in the future MG will become queer. But if I was bi, would I want fiercely g&l people as *members* of the bi organisation I belong to? Only if the very nature of the organisation changed.
fastlove - Tue Feb 9 14:30:08 1999

fastlove, would you think it is appropriate and fair, if you heard a politician say "politics isn't for gays, it was and always will be for the family", now we all know gay and lesbian people have always been involved in politics, they were just not out, because they were/are oppressed, the similarities between how bisexuals are treated by the current Mardi Gras policy is frightening. Yes the nature of Mardi Gras might have to change to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender just as most international and USA organisations have already made this transition without too much pain. The question is whether you are willing to acknowledge our existence and our involvement in Mardi Gras and the Gay community as a whole, or are you happy for us to remain closeted and invisible? Mardi Gras is for all Gay people not just homosexuals, and to suggest otherwise is a cop out that is no different then the many cop outs that we hear politician and straight community leaders use against gay people all the time.
Educate before you hate - Tue Feb 9 15:43:54 1999

I just read all of the info on the Australian Bisexual Network/ bi discussion site listed above and it's worth looking at. It gave me a better understanding of the other side of the issue. I guess I react strongly to it because the desire for inclusion in SGLMG comes across to me as a very strong attack on my own gay identity and community identification. It seems to accuse me and all SGLM members of being discriminatory because most of us don't want the highly successful and relatively focussed g&l organisation to which we belong to suddenly become a pan-sexual one, (and then likely lose direction completely and collapse). It also comes across as being a really orchestrated campaign by just a few people happy to smear SGLMG in the straight media. They seem keen on getting bi inclusion in SGLMG and being able to buy party tickets rather than, say, getting more support for ABN, promoting services/support for bisexuals or even affiliating ABN with SGLMG. And meanwhile, the same old issue (which comes out in the SGLMG membership stats quoted), is how can we ever stop straights (or straights hip with being identified as bi) who are not identified with the g&l community and just want party tickets, becoming members of SGLMG? Another completely new membership structure?
fastlove - Tue Feb 9 16:15:37 1999

the debate that is occurring here is critical to the future of mardi gras and reflects the dynamics of the way sexualities are constructed...perhaps mardi gras is in danger of being too static and not open to the fluidity associated with sexuality (tho I speak as a gay man). One question tho: a couple of people are running the line that as bisexuals they are gay too - but does this make you straight as well?
keanu - Tue Feb 9 16:16:57 1999

fastlove, While I agree that the converse doesn't work. I must point out that bisexuals were first welcomed as a part of the Sydney Gay Mardi Gras. When it became the SGLMG, there was a percieved isolationist policy. Both bisexual and transgender people wondered if they were being edged out. Then the fateful meeting in 1995 where several votes (with rewording) had to be made to get the bisexuals 'outlawed' from automatic membership. Fastlove, may I ask if your views (as earlier stated as 'phobias') extend to transgender people as well? Just as a clarification. I think the bisexual lobby is correct in asking "Why then, and not now?", and/or demanding equality in membership. If there are closeted bisexuals and hetrosexuals in the SGLMG, why? Perhaps an even stricter policy enacted to exclude all but G&L is required and the mechanism to initiate such a thing. I believe that this would be too divisive for the organisation to attempt as they would lose a lot of public support and community support. It is the perceived hypocrisy that is getting to bisexuals. My suggestion is: Firstly, SGLMG Inc needs to define (unequivocally) what G&L is. They then need to address whether bisexual people (*whom by definition have same sex relationships*) are counted in that G&L definition. If they are, SGLMG have no grounds to exclude them from membership. (The issue of heterosexual partners of bisexual people is another, also divisive yet, different issue which would need to be addressed at another time.) To address your question of "...if I was bi, would I want fiercely g&l people as *members* of the bi organisation I belong to?...". I believe that perhaps that this illustration is apt: SGLMG started out needing all those who identified as having a same-sex relationship, to be on their lobby. Now that they have public profile and 'acceptance' (some say mainstream credibility) they no longer need the numbers which they once had. Thus the gradual and surrepticious 'weeding' out of the membership. I would suggest that SGLMG need to inform the membership of it's policy before enacting it in such a 'final solution' manner. To deny those, who helped Mardi Gras in the past is like saying that their past contributions (indeed, also saying that their same-sex relationships) have been invalid and that they are not required to be a part of the organisation which they helped create. When looked at in this light, I think the issue becomes more one of arrogance and hubris more than protection of a culture (which I might add, bisexuals *are* a part of).
A 78er - Tue Feb 9 16:30:08 1999

Yes, point(s) taken "Educate..", especially about visibility and understanding in the g&l community. Can you then help come up with some ideas about solutions to the membership/direction problems for SGLMG I've mentioned above? PS - Maybe you should change your handle to "Educate so you *don't* hate" :-)
fastlove - Tue Feb 9 16:31:40 1999

keanu, I must admit I was waiting for someone to ask that question. To have a relationship with someone of the same sex makes you gay/homosexual. To have a relationship with someone of the opposite gender makes you (allegedly) heterosexual. To have a relationship with both does not make you any less attracted to one. Thus it does not make you any less gay, as you are still attracted to and/or seeing someone of the same sex. In short, in my opinion, no, it does not make you straight.
A 78er - Tue Feb 9 16:55:24 1999

I have not been in any sort of relationship for over 10 years now (unless you count my relationship with my dog). I have occasional short term encounters, lasting any where from 2 minutes to 2 hours. I am something of an expert at vertical sex. The last time a person actually stayed the whole night and got horizontal was August 1996. I got rid of them as soon as I could the Sunday morning after as I wanted to walk my dog. I have no desire or longing to enter into any sort of relationship in the foreseeable future. So please don't define my sexuality by my relationships. I'm sure I'm gay. I hope so anyway.
Tue Feb 9 17:18:35 1999

I think the decision to refuse the Bis membership of mardi gras was a carefully thought out plan by President David mcLachlan. David is open minded and believes that bisexuals belong to the gay and lesbian community. He also knows that many gay men and lesbians don't accept Bis. He wanted to change their attitude. They only way he could do this was through education. If he had've let the bisexuals in, they would've faded into the woodwork. This way, they've been given a profile and a platform to promote their cause. More people are now thinking about bisexuality, and coming to an acceptance of bisexuality because of the debate going on. I think what is now happening is what David intended to happen by rejecting their membership. What other reason could there be?
Tue Feb 9 17:22:08 1999

other reason? He did it because he's thick intolerant ignorant fascist.
Tue Feb 9 17:23:54 1999

You forgot pig
Tue Feb 9 17:29:15 1999

Keanu, in answer to your question, bis are *not* straight, we are gay or queer or part of glbt. This is the defining reason why we should be included in Mardi Gras. As an Out bisexual man in every aspect of my life, I am 100% certain that the straight world lumps us together as gay, queer, whatever. And I can tell by the way I'm treated at work by some people and how my family walks around the issue, yes the same things as gay and lesbian people have to put up with, this alone makes me gay and not straight. (Believe it or not that question made me laugh, because it just seems so silly to me, but as my sig states....)
Educate before you hate - Tue Feb 9 18:02:24 1999

that's thick intolerant facist pig *with power* to you
DMc - Tue Feb 9 18:11:38 1999

Fastlove, I will need to think more about how the membership policy can be changed to better represent our diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. It does seem there are 2 types of members, ones that are just joining for party tickets and those that want to get invlolved in the organisation in some way. Perhaps membership could be built around these 2 distinct groups. Note sig change....
Educate so you don't hate - Tue Feb 9 18:25:49 1999

~~~~~~~~~~Courtney Love~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If we are going to have talentless, straigh, white-trash at the parties why can't we have Courtney Love and Hole appear?
I have this fantasy where Hole come up through the RHI floor at 3am and launch full-tilt into Rockstar (a song about deadbrain conformist buttheads). As the Marshall stacks smoke and Courtney spreads her immense *genuine* charisma throughout the RHI, I imagine hundreds of sequinned disco fags shrivel and die at the sound of real rock and roll.
Those who survive realise that they live in a fools paradise of market mediated conformist crapola on toast and are forced to re-evaluate the entirety of their lives. The Blahdi Blah committee all realise their folly and ritually suicide.
Later on, I have a beer with Courtney
PinkPunk - Tue Feb 9 18:32:41 1999

Educate before you hate- I can assure you that my friends and myself (lesbians & Gays) will give you our full support and encouragement.
What a bitter group some, have become - Tue Feb 9 18:45:59 1999

I'm starting to find this MG membership situation surreal. As a bi woman I have always considered my self part of the GLBT community, now I'm hearing so many people telling me I'm not. Until now they have found me quite unremarkable at the nightclubs, volunteering my time, attending rallies or just hanging about. If they don't ask me, they probably assume I'm a dyke ? I don't know, but most people I met didn't really seem to care too much before, where they just being polite ? Is this everyone's true (unaccepting) colours coming out now ? The level of prejudice I'm feeling now is quite distressing. Incidentally, I am still a member of SGLMG (having been a volunteer longer than I've been a member), and as I have always ticked the bi box, I wonder what they will do with my next renewal.
Lizz K - Tue Feb 9 18:50:46 1999

I don't know where this biphobia thing comes from. Most gay men I know are not biphobic although I know it's more substantial among lesbians. It's a pity we're so insecure about such things but then society does force heterosexuality on us, and most bi people seem, I say S E E M, to eventually take the easier option, at least in terms of their primary relationship. But I've seen plenty of triads at MG and Pride parties and never felt threatened by them. In fact I felt almost envious. Sigh
Tue Feb 9 19:39:36 1999

Once again, the Bi community feels a need to be included in our activities. So be it - if we are going to ignore own own stunning performers for the shows, then we may as well ignore the need to keep our sexuality-based organisation pure. The Board can't have it both ways - either support own own gay and lesbian entertainers by letting them be the stars of our parties or let in Bis, straights, anyone to the membership. Consistency will reap its own rewards.
Support US - Under-utilised Stars - Tue Feb 9 19:46:43 1999

DMc - You have power - sure, until I decide to take it away from you and give it to someone else.
Your mentor and control - Tue Feb 9 19:47:26 1999

Hey, Support US, the bisexual community has always been included in Mardi Gras activities. They have marched, marshalled both party and parade, worked security, danced onstage for local performers at both Sleaze and Mardi Gras, arranged staff, been crew, helped at the workshop and been many other places. remember bisexuals have been a part of this community as long as anyone else has.
Tue Feb 9 20:28:31 1999

my question was a genuine one, educate before you hate, and I'm sorry it made you laugh...but I still think it was a legitimate question..and my mind is far from being made up over this issue which is why this board is so important to hear the arguments and debates
keanu - Tue Feb 9 21:30:55 1999

keanu, your question *was* a legitimate one. The issue is a pressing one and one which does deserve debate and understanding on both sides. On the side of those who are militantly bi-phobic and on the side of the bisexuals who feel slapped in the face and betrayed by those they considered leaders in their community. This forum is *very* important - although the question is begged whether *any* members of the board do actually read and take note of this forum. I hope that they do. They need to read these postings, especially those pertaining to the way that their adminsistration is perceived.
Tue Feb 9 21:59:25 1999

The board may not be reading but we are listening. We visit regularly but say much (we don't want to seem negative and on the attack all the time - also we offered our services but they never came back), although I think it maybe "Its Time" (to use a Whitlamism)to let it fly again. And New Member - Fri Nov 20 23:50:27 1998 thanks for the support. Keanu keep an open mind and we need more of those.
We're here, we're queer and we want an inclusive vision for our community - Wed Feb 10 3:10:24 1999

Woops. The second line on that post should have read "We visit regularly but don't say much". Panther these colours screwing my eyes at this hour. Especially that orange, white and black on the party/parade wall.
Wed Feb 10 3:19:54 1999

This is what happens when i try to get a phone call or email reply from mardigras and hey i'm an 'official mardigras event! - Wed Feb 10 4:15:11 1999

Can't wait for the community forum/extraordinary meeting (or whatever form it takes). I want front row seats to watch the shit fly. Can you get tickets at Ticketek yet?
Wed Feb 10 9:12:58 1999

fastlove, I've heard the same rhetoric of doom and gloom and social decay somewhere else, oh that's right it is the same method the religious right use to fight the evil homosexual lobby. Is gay and lesbian culture that fragile that it will collapse by including bisexuals. I don't thing so!
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 9:22:43 1999

Support US, I know for a fact a bisexual was one of the performers at the Mardi Gras launch. All that is happening now is closeting, you know the same type the straight community enforces on gays and lesbians, perhaps worse because you should all know better!
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 9:30:51 1999

As one of the contributing (gay) artists for this years festival, I had to laugh at Support US's comment, because (my gay) work is being sponsored by Bi Pride Australia. I don't recall receiving any financial support from the Gay members of my community for this show. We are all in this together. http://www.artoz.com/parking/
quicksilver@artoz.com - Wed Feb 10 9:44:01 1999

Courney Love is a market conformist pinkhon. Wake up and smell she's the same drivel that's been churning outta the corporate rock box for years.... Now back to the glbt issues which are much more interesting
bloodpunk - Wed Feb 10 9:48:39 1999

Who is David Mc's mentor? Dawn o'donnell? Oh yeah - she no longer pulls the strings.
Wed Feb 10 9:49:35 1999

Bi's should be able to come to the party and be part of the community...all I ask is that you ditch your "het" side for that time and let your gay/lesbian side shine through...this is the side of you we are most interested in and appropriate for these times....I mean you are not going to flounce around you queer side at your sisters wedding in front of your grandmother are you ? If Bi's are kinda "split"...then leave your str8 half at home from a month and celebrate your gay/les side...ok ?
easy - Wed Feb 10 10:04:11 1999

hi easy, things are not as simple as a 50/50 split, we cannot just "ditch" any part of us, we are not schizophrenic. But I assure you if you saw me and my bi/queer friends at the party you would not conclude we were het. And yes if we did want to go to the party, we would be going to celebrate our queerness and our bisexuality. If you believe excluding us from membership will protect your party from undesirables then please visit this page to see how ridiculous this argument is - http://www.queer.org.au/~glenv/mardigras/facts.htm I'm really beginning to think that a separate membership structure needs to be set, one for those that think Mardi Gras is a big party and others that wish to be involved in the organisation its self.
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 10:57:57 1999

I think it's important to separate the concept of promoting our own g&l identity and culture from the idea of discrimination - the Human Rights Commission accepts that distinction. I think straights and bis should not become members of SGLMG simply because they are not gay or lesbian. If they wish to support us and participate in our community and culture there are many other avenues to do so. I am grateful to straights and bis for their support and understanding and I try to understand their points of view. I think MG tries to be inclusive by recognising and exploring a diversity of different sexualities in its activities, but it still remains a fundamentally g&l organisation. I don't think some bis now want to be thought of and accepted as "the same", ie happy to be seen as gay or lesbian, celebrating MG as "easy" suggests - becoming members of SGLMG *as* gay or lesbian, and supporting everything SGLMG aims for without changing it. Some bis now want to be seen as proudly and distinctly bi within the MG organisation and have their past and present contribution to MG recognised. But these bis must then want to change MG into an organisation which more overtly supports and promotes their specific, and different concepts of identity and and culture, (as ABN does) alongside those of gays and lesbians. If that's the case, it would involve fundamental and difficult changes to what is now a homosexual male and lesbian organisation. Agreeing to incorporating this different perspective would mean further debate. Do we also accept straights who are involved in the community as members of MG? (& do we acknowledge the straights who lie to be members?)How? If we could agree to such changes, what would the aims and objectives of a new MG be? How could g&l interests be protected from a potentially huge bi or straight involvement? And again, how can we ever stop straights (or straights hip with being identified as bi) who are *not* identified with the g&l community and just want party tickets, becoming members of the organisation?
fastlove - Wed Feb 10 12:05:08 1999

Fastlove, I think now (well after the Festival) is as good a time as any to have this massive debate. Of course, the issue is not simply about bi's being members of the organisation. And all the questions you raise should be part of the debate. If we have to take two steps back to hopefully move 10 steps forward, then I think it will be worthwhile. I'd also like to say that I visit Pinkbaord fairly frequently. And the quality of the comments on this topic is the best I've read. I may not agree with a point being made, but it seems that those participating in this topic are making sensible and mature comments about issues they feel passionate about. Makes it worthwhile visiting the site. Let's hope this is indicative of the quality of the debate to come.
Take a bow fastlove et al - Wed Feb 10 12:23:10 1999

fastlove,the thing that concerns me about your response - above - is that you seem to automatically assume/believe that the bisexual community do not have the same issues and/or share the same culture (albeit with some differences) that the GL community has. The communities have been overlapping for years inasmuch as they all concern same-sex relationships. This fundamental fact seems to be eluding most people here. Let me repeat: the issue is **same sex relationships**. The bisexual community have them. Also, the bisexual community *were* recognised by past Board Members and past Presidents and at past MG launches the words "Gay", "Lesbian", "Transgender" *and* "Bisexual" have all been used (indeed in the same breath) to describe the community - especially after the organisations name change. This was (to my understanding) to partially allay fears that the SGLMG was going to disenfranchise members of the bisexual members of the community (and indeed the organisation) who had made genuine contributions to the formation and continuous running of the organisation and events. In regards to your comment "...these bis must then want to change MG into an organisation which more overtly supports and promotes their specific, and different concepts of identity and and culture...". I'm sorry but I had to chuckle at that. It's an assumption without asking, really. Mardi Gras has become the organisation it is throuhg the concerted efforts of the Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual community. If the bisexual members of the community had wanted to change Mardi Gras, they would have. There was no need for a 'change' (in objectives) per se, as there was no reason for it. Mardi Gras then catered to the entirety of the community. Now, that focus is shifting and Mardi Gras is seeming to become more narrow in it's focus (I use the word 'narrow' to denote viewpoint and lack of wider perspective). Radical members of the commnunity may applaud this; however, members of the community who once felt a kinship to Mardi Gras, who once donated massive amounts of time and effort, who once worked in so many areas of the organisation and who weren't subject to the amounts of prejudice and discrimination that they are now subject to. Bisexual members of the community are now feeling disenfranchised and betrayed by Mardi Gras, not for the lack of goint to parties - because tickets are easily obtainable from sympathetic and understanding members of the organisation - it's the issue of suddenly being unable to become (or rejoin/renew) members of the organisation that many of them fought to create.
A 78er - Wed Feb 10 12:58:25 1999

I'm a queer amongst queers, I'm bisexual.
Wed Feb 10 13:18:31 1999

There is one thing which has intrigued me since this issue exploded. One of the bisexuals applying for MG membership had as a referee, Mr Sam Levy a past co-convenor of the Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby. This position is clearly an important and highly regarded position in our community. And whoever holds this position should have a clear understanding of community issues. One would have assumed that before being a referee, Mr Levy would have made reasonable inquiries about the MG membership policy (if he did not already know it)and then reached the conclusion that the applicant was an appropriate person to be a member. Clearly he got it wrong. How could we trust such a person to handle on behalf of our community difficult and complex negotiations and lobbying with the likes of government officials and the media? Matters like recognition of same sex relationships and equal age of consent. He supported a totally inappropriate person to be a member of our pinnacle community organistion. The mind boggles. Let's just hope his successors show better judgment. Could it be on the other hand that Mardi Gras got it wrong? Or could I be so cynical to think that maybe some points scoring has gone on here?
What would Stevie have done - Wed Feb 10 13:19:14 1999

Sorry, 78er, if I made too great and assumption. There are of course overlaps - it's the nature of bisexuality, isn't it? But I also think the issue is about more than "same sex relationships", which we might have in common, it's about constructed sexual identities and culture, and the differences g&l's and bis really do have. (Or maybe for g&l's it's all about bi's "opposite sex relationships"?) Oh hell, I'm getting facetious now and sick of reading my own stuff. Anyone else want to come to the defense of the distinct and different g&l identities and cultures which are worth preserving? I don't want SGLMG to be narrow in it's focus - just clear&unhypocritical in it's membership and focussed in it's purpose.
fastlove - Wed Feb 10 13:28:35 1999

Yes strange that someone with references from Sam Levy could be rejected by the board, if you want to read his references your self check out this link - http://www.queer.org.au/~glenv/mardigras/Glenn.htm
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 13:31:13 1999

fastlove,here's a thought on a way to get people to (at least contemplate to) tell the truth on their MG application forms/renewals. Make them (*all* members) submit an actual, legal, witnessed under law, Statuatory Declaration regarding their sexual preferences. They're prosecutable and enforcable by law. However, of course, that depends on the membership makeup after the next AGM/EGM and whether any members object (meaning that they have something to keep secret).
Wed Feb 10 13:38:33 1999

fastlove, I agree that there will need to be some changes, first of all the articles need to be changed to include bisexual and transgender. As for your fear that it will change gay and lesbian culture, I wondering how fragile it must be for you to be so scared. As for the changes within Mardi Gras, it is a community organisation and should change to reflect the community it represents, to the rest of the world Mardi Gras represents bisexuals, even David McLachlan has said so. Question: What should happen if the strident defence of a culture is at the expense of another culture or individuals? Basically that is what we have now, the leaders of Gay and Lesbian culture oppressing the Bisexual movement. I'm sorry there are never any excuses for oppression, and especially when it is coming from people who should know better.
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 13:52:08 1999

Dear 'What would Stevie...' my understanding is that Sam Levy has a great deal of respect in the community. I know I respected his point of view. Therefore, knowing the issues as he did/does and knowing the policy (as it *was* enacted prior to this new wave of apparant discrimination) as he did/does, we can only assume that he did *not* get it wrong. To assume that a man of this caliber would make such a grave error is assuming a lot. I would suggest that the 'appeal' process (that this recommendation from Sam Levy was attached to) was nothing of the kind. A debate or discussion between board members and the propsective member did *not* happen, neither were any questions asked. All that was said was a simple statement from the Mardi Gras President, referring to clause 4(10) (I believe) regarding the purity of the cultural identity of Mardi Gras. Were this simply a gym-bunny who 'wanted to go to the party', I would be the first to applaude the decision (whilst being critical of the 'no comment' stance of the so-called appeal). However, I cannot understand the issue when it is someone who has worked with Mardi Gras and the community for so-many years; with a demonstrable contribution to the community - the entire community. This is what needs to be answered and addressed by the Board. It was nice to see that Happy Ho, a Mardi Gras Board Member (reportedly) stood up at the Hypothetical (as mentioned by an earlier poster) and spoke critically about this issue and (perhaps) the way it was handled. Perhaps the Board Members are beginning to see the groundswell heading their way in the media and in the organisation.
A 78er - Wed Feb 10 14:15:09 1999

I can see how refusal to allow bisexuals to become members of SGLMG could be seen as oppression, just as the refusal to allow straights to become members can be seen the same way. But SGLMG doesn't oppress people by actively preventing them from participating in its activities in any way. Instead, it comes from a totally g&l perspective and tries to reach out from "that side" of the sexual spectrum to include everyone back along the Kinsey scale towards "totally straight". (And with the parties, it encourages members to simply invite friends who respect g&l space.) And if you acknowledge that bi culture is in fact different, then you have to acknowledge that g&l culture is different too. What we have in common may include SGLMG activities but bisexuals must either "do their own thing" completely (go ABN) or fundamentally change Mardi Gras, moving it's orientation back towards "pansexual", to incorporate bis as members. Is it a case of bis wanting to have it both ways? ;-)
fastlove - Wed Feb 10 14:34:48 1999

fastlove, your premise is that the bisexual members of the community have a differing agenda than the G&L members of the community. I would suggest that this is incorrect. Their agenda (regarding same-sex relationship issues/acceptance/prejudice) is the same and the G&L members of the community. (I *must* hasten to add the Transgender members of the community as well - although I believe that they may well have many other issues which I may not know about). The bisexual members of the community are not interested in changing Mardi Gras to a more 'Pansexual' organisation - although it *was* more that way when it started out. What they are asking - and understandably so - is for the return to what the organisation *was*. That is to say: Just and fair to all who support, work with/for, fight for acceptance in the wider community. There are issues concerning specifics in any organisation - I'm certain the perceived 'straightness' of the bisexual community members is one of them. However, this does not discount not diminish nor invalidate their same-sex issues (their inherent 'gayness' if you will). To say that it does, or to suggest that their 'gayness' is not good enough to be a part of this organisation which many of them helped to pioneer and create, is tantamount to saying that their relationships are invalid in the eyes of that very organisation. I am not saying that you think this, but it is the general direction in which those type of statements head. The inalienable fact is that bisexuals have been in Mardi Gras since the outset (since 1978 - before there *was* a Mardi Gras - and even before that). Their same-sex issues with society are exactly the same as extreme Kinsey cases, yet *now* they are being (literally) told to form their own organisations when they have been involved in Mardi Gras for numbers of years. Many did not join for the parties, but indeed went to them anyway, due to the availability of tickets from understanding and supportive SGLMG members. Thus the party attendance is *not* the issue. Let me quickly address your contention that bisexual 'oppression' is the same as heterosexual 'oppression'. How? In the case of the bisexual members of the community, they also have same-sex relationships. The straight community do not. Thus the 'oppression' from Mardi Gras is seen as being same-sex persons in SGLMG stating to other same-sex relationships that they are not welcome. This is another crux of the matter.
A 78er - Wed Feb 10 15:06:37 1999

What would Stevie have done - When? before she spent the weekend away with Tatts? After she spent the weekend away with Tatts? or during the weekend away with Tatts?
The mouth from the south - Wed Feb 10 15:23:29 1999

There's a new festival event been announced. Educate, fastlove and 78er are gonna get together over a bottle of bubbly at a Newtown restaurant (to be named) and argue the issue out. Tickets only $15 and if it's a Thai restaurant a free spring roll for all attending. Seriously keep your points coming, it's great intelligent and thought provoking reading.
Wed Feb 10 15:49:17 1999

fastlove, you have forgotten about a few things I have said earlier and keep missing the point that Mardi Gras already represents us, it just does not allow us become members or contribute to the organisation as bisexuals. We are not asking for straights to become members, bisexuals are a minority within gay and lesbian culture just as gay and lesbian culture is a minority within mainstream culture. How would you react if mainstream culture told gays and lesbians they have no right being a part of it? You would all scream oppression and discrimination (yes I know this happens). Bisexuals have been welcomed for quite some time in USA and International organisations, and they still remain the minority in those groups, don't worry there is going to be NO takeover, we are just asking to be respected and acknowledges as a member of the queer community, so that we can continue our work in assisting other bisexuals as well as gay, lesbian, transgender people.
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 15:49:19 1999

"78er" & "Educate", I appreciate your patience and explanation of how you feel and the chance to explore this. Perhaps we agree more than we think - I've certainly been educated a lot. I don't have much more to say (really!). I consider bisexuality a different construct and identity to the g&l models. I do feel threatened by bisexuals who say things like "we're all bisexual really" - so there'd be no point in pursuing a g&l identity or cultures. That is an example of a different bi agenda. If membership of bisexuals to SGLMG was simply automatic, and (this is the crux for me), it didn't matter what connection they did or didn't feel with the gay & lesbian community, SGLMG would cease to be the organisation it is. Plus I would think MG would then logically have to welcome any straight as a member too or be accused of "oppression" of another sexuality. For example, straights who had one same-sex experience when they were 14, or those into "different" sex like B&D or S&M, or watching same-sex erotica. I support the status quo policy on bisexual membership for those with a definite connection with the community - so we can work together on the issues we have in common - but drawing a line somewhere so everyone understands it. I think straights should appreciate that we need our own organisations and not be granted membership, however much support they offer. (Gee, the Telstra marketing department could all be members if support was the only criteria...) But anyway, the membership policy isn't really working if you can just lie and be granted membership. I'm also puzzled by the recent high profile bi membership rejections. Were those guys really after *automatic* membership all along, and testing the system? Or is the Board really after some kind of policy direction from the membership? Or both?
fastlove - Wed Feb 10 16:07:29 1999

The mouth from the south - In answer to your questions. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Her weekend away with Tatts was just as productive as everything else she's ever done.
The beast from the east - Wed Feb 10 16:09:19 1999

Bis who say we are all bisexual are ignorant and lacking any knowledge on the issue, personally I've mostly heard that from straight people that have no idea what it is like to be in a same-sex relationship in a heterosexist world.
Educate so you don't hate - Wed Feb 10 16:29:13 1999

Mardi Gras are happy to announce the Official Alternative Mardi Gras party, otherwise known as the screw-the-old-bitch-and-to-hell-with-the-cost party, tickets on sale now. I don't recall being asked whether I considered the financial risk of such a venture to be worth the satisfaction that board members may feel at the opportunity to tell Dawn O'D to get stuffed. I find almost (but not quite) impossible to believe that the MG board can be so vindictive as to spend God knows how much of our money without any consultation simply to attempt to crush any alternative party. A party, moreover, the profits from which are to provide essential food items for plwha's How much is the Mardi Gras alternative party at Home costing, what profit (if any) do they hope to make? I think we should be told.
Rupert of Hentzau - Wed Feb 10 17:41:32 1999

fastlove, firstly, thank you for helping me to crystallise my thoughts on this (somewhat contentious) issue. This discussion has aided me in seeing where the exact nature of the 'schizm' has formed. The bisexual members of the community (in my mind) have never wanted to subvert Mardi Gras. Further, they have been members long before the "declare your sexuality" issue of 1995, and Mardi Gras has not altered it's focus, save to become (recently) more rigid and (apparently) discriminatory in it's membership policy. This is with a number of bisexuals already in the organisation, having joined *before* there was a cap put on memberships and a bi/straight filter. They joined when it was automatic to become a member. Therefore to say that their 'open' joining would alter the focus of Mardi Gras in a detrimental (my wording not yours) manner does imply that bisexuals joiing Mardi Gras have already done so - dangerous thinking, really. Regarding your concerns that MG would have to admit straights as a matter of course: Mardi gras was set up for various reasons, one of those was to address and support those who have homosexual (used in the all-inclusive manner) relationships. Straights do not have these and as such they already have their entrenched mainstream culture. Bisexuals helped form Mardi Gras and have been members (as noted) for many years before 1995. They constantly fought for the same same-sex rights and celebrated these same-sex rights. Now the ability to aid in the further development of the organisation which they formed is threatened, nigh-on removed. Bisexuals (in general) do not think that everyone is bisexual, that's also narrow-thinking. Bisexuals simply want to ensure that they continue to receive the same opportunities and rights in the community that they always have had (until recently). Finally, regarding the recent high-profile issues. Whether there is a hidden agenda by the board to cause discussion or not, to refuse membership (under the terms and conditions of membership as mooted in the membership form) to people who have worked with/for Mardi Gras and the community for years (especially refusing it at this time of year) was, I believe a hasty and ill-concieved action. Indeed instead of starting debate (at the outset) it has generated negative publicity in the mainstream press and our local press. Radio and Television are pointing out the apparent hypocrisy and I can just see Mr Nile and company rubbing their hands with glee as they gather data to present to various government bodies, stating: "They want acceptance, yet can't even get theior own house in order." *That* bothers me. What we have now, is an opportunity in which the Board can address (within the current guidleines) the current furor (of their own making) by simply contacting these refused individuals and actually (honestly) looking at their cases (and any future applications/renewals) and *honestly* determining whether these will be an asset to the organisation (MG) *by their actions* not by the declaration of their less than 100% gay predilections. The fact that they have same-sex relationships (not merely a one-off youthful experiment, nor a penchant for same-sex erotica) seems to have escaped most people. Does it make them any less of a member of the community if they don't have 100% same-sex relationships? I think that question needs to be answered. I feel it does *not* make them any less. They do the same work, they support the same issues, they march, they protest, they get bashed as readily as any others do. Why should they be considered less? Why were *we* considered less in 1978?
A 78er - Wed Feb 10 18:13:05 1999

I hear the Marching Boys are reforming yet again to become the Marching Barnseys as nice bookends for the Marching Danniis. End heterophobia. Drop the Gay and Lesbian from Mardi Gras now!
Wed Feb 10 19:54:07 1999

continued ...

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