Guerilla Gayfare

Professur

Professur

Well-Known Member
Guerilla Gayfare' challenges prejudices
By Elizabeth Mcmillan, THE CANADIAN PRESS


HALIFAX, N.S. - A club in Halifax named after a character on the television show the Trailer Park Boys isn't typically considered a gay bar.

But Bubbles Mansion was on Friday night.

Close to a hundred people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community showed up at the downtown club around midnight.

There weren't any signs or explanations, but the crowd of people wearing white shirts socialized on the dance floor as top-40 music blasted.

The unexpected invasion was part of Guerilla Gayfare, a monthly event where people from the gay community go to a stereotypically 'straight' bar.

Organizer and co-founder Jeff Myles said the event isn't meant to be hostile, but it does create exposure for the community and offers an alternative to the few venues known for being 'gay friendly.'

"It's more of an opportunity for a group of people who may not necessarily go to these places on their own to feel more comfortable," said Myles. "There's obviously the comfort and strength in numbers."

Guerilla Gayfare started in the United States and gained a large following in cities like Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles.

The first Canadian chapter started in Ottawa and the idea spread to Halifax.

Friday's event was the 15th time Guerilla Gayfare hit the Halifax bar scene since April 2008.

The location is always secret until the night before the event.

Friday was the first time Scott Young attended a Gayfare event and also the first time he went to a bar in Halifax other than Reflections Cabaret, a gay bar.

"I don't go to any straight bars really. I'm kinda nervous to go. I don't know what they'll think or how they'll act or what," he said.

Myles said that while many people are accepting, the event has encountered homophobic comments.

"A lot of people take it for granted but there are still people who are opposed to the lifestyle," he said.

Myles said there haven't been any incidents of violence and he hopes there won't be.

"It's generally such a large group that it's intimidating, to be honest. Someone who would generally bully or cause a bit of a scene might choose not to," he said.

Alanna Felt who started a similar event in St. John's, N.L., said it's difficult to know how often homophobic incidents happen at bars, but that hateful language is still common, even in sober settings.

She said many people don't want to risk a nasty confrontation.

"A lot of people will avoid places where they're going to feel unsafe," Felt said. "(St. John's) is certainly not an environment where everyone is free to be open and out."

She said that Guerilla Queerfare (it has a different name in St. John's in hopes of being more inclusive) offers people a chance to be open about their sexuality in a safe setting.

Felt said having a dress code calls attention to the event, but also lets people celebrate their sexuality.

"A huge amount of prejudice still exists so it's important to make ourselves as visible as possible, as often as possible," she said.

Both St. John's and Halifax held events on Friday that coincided with Pride Week.

Bubbles Mansion patrons in Halifax didn't seem too concerned about the number of men dancing with other men Friday night.

Some people didn't even know there was a special event happening.

"I don't think anyone notices," said bartender Samantha Cavanagh.

Although he wasn't part of the Gayfare event, Koby Daniels was wearing a white shirt and he did notice what he called "an irregular crowd."

"I'm straight, but I don't mind anyone. I don't want it to be rubbed in my face or anything, but I'm who I am and they're who they are. Everyone is having fun," he said.

As more and more Gayfare participants arrived at the bar, Young was looking forward to a fun night out. He wasn't worried about anyone's reactions.

"It's 2009. It's OK to be gay," he said.
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source


Draw your own conclusions.
 
Good to see them patronizing local businesses BEFORE BURNING IN HELL FOR BEING GAY. I'm sure the bartenders appreciated the extra customers and tips FROM EVIL STOLEN GAY MONEY. The right of people to nonviolent protest is explicitly stated in the Constitution BUT FAGS AREN'T PEOPLE. It's nice too, to see that no straight people they interviewed felt offended by it, EVEN THOUGH JESUS HATES QUEERS.
 
Altron said:
Good to see them patronizing local businesses BEFORE BURNING IN HELL FOR BEING GAY. I'm sure the bartenders appreciated the extra customers and tips FROM EVIL STOLEN GAY MONEY. The right of people to nonviolent protest is explicitly stated in the Constitution BUT FAGS AREN'T PEOPLE. It's nice too, to see that no straight people they interviewed felt offended by it, EVEN THOUGH JESUS HATES QUEERS.
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Which makes no sense, since Jesus was a queer.
 
randomJACKASS said:
Well it's proven that homophobia (defined as negative feelings about homosexuality) is indicative of latent homosexuality.

So what have we learned here?

Fags are gonna burn in hell, but....

People who are offended and make a stink about fags are also gonna burn in hell!

Case closed!
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Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?
Adams HE, Wright LW Jr, Lohr BA.

Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602-3013, USA.

The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.

PMID: 8772014 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Yeah, 35 'homophobes' are more than enough basis to judge the entire human race ... provided you're gullible enough to put any faith in A: their 'homophobe' selection criteria B: their lack of bias or C: their entire fraudulent profession.
 
Professur said:
Yeah, 35 'homophobes' are more than enough basis to judge the entire human race ... provided you're gullible enough to put any faith in A: their 'homophobe' selection criteria B: their lack of bias or C: their entire fraudulent profession.
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You're sounding pretty touchy on the subject.....A little homophobic perhaps?

:flame:
 
[sarcasm]Tsk. Openly gay people acting like they have every right to be openly gay. Horrifying, ain't it?[/sarcasm]

"They say if you're afraid of homosexuals it might be because subconsciously you are one. This worries me a little because I'm afraid of dogs." --Emo Phillips
 
Professur said:
or C: their entire fraudulent profession.
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yeah everyone's full of shit but you huh?

please, explain how the discipline is so full of krap. and please don't launch into some shit about freud. we all giggled at that as undergrads, and only later realized that there was something more too it than the penis and buttocks tee hee.

yawn.

i bet my profession is fraudulent too! all that fancy figuring and all.
 
See I have no problem with gays and am not homophobic. But I guess in some backwards ass way it means I support faggotry, ergo I'll be burning in hell soon!

:flame:
 
The same Europe that's about to achive pure diversity (one where the "native" inhabitants are outnumbered by the immigrants) & the new rules placed by such a diverse crowd (how do you say Sharia in Dutch)
 
Gonz said:
The same Europe that's about to achive pure diversity (one where the "native" inhabitants are outnumbered by the immigrants) & the new rules placed by such a diverse crowd (how do you say Sharia in Dutch)
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I know! Fierce, warring, feudal, nationalism is the only way to go! Hate thy neighbor is just as much of a virtue as naked raw greed, right Gonz?

:gun: :gun2: :gun3: :gun4: :massacre:
 
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