Also
See "Special Features"
for issues
which affect us as women and lesbians.
Most
recent first...
Support for lesbian,
gay or bisexual parents
Lisa Saffron, working with ParentlinePlus, is
running a free telephone support group in the autumn.
The group will run once
a week from Tuesday 5th September 2006 to Tuesday
3rd October 2006, between 9.45 am and 11.15 am.
This is for lesbian, gay or bisexual parents living
anywhere in Britain . All you need is a phone (landline or mobile).
The group is a safe place for LGB parents to talk
about parenting issues and share experiences of family life in a supportive
environment.
Lisa Saffron is a lesbian
mother, author of It’s a Family Affair
– the complete lesbian parenting book and founder of PinkParents.
If you are interested,
email Lisa on Lisa_Saffron@compuserve.com
or complete an online application by visiting www.parentlineplus.org.uk.
Go to Parents Together groups and National telephone groups and register
your interest in the Families Dealing with Homophobia group.
---------------------------
Support Required:
Can you help us with
our campaigning and media work?
Stonewall is looking
for the stories and experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual people
to inform our campaigning and lobbying work. If you have encountered
discrimination or have another experience that would help us with
our work, we would like to keep a record of your story. Very occasionally,
and only with your permission, we may offer your story to the media
to highlight the issues facing LGB communities.
Stonewall also receives
many media enquiries asking for gay people to speak about their positive
experiences. We're looking to promote positive examples of lesbians,
gay men and bisexuals to challenge negative perceptions. If you are
interested in challenging these negative perceptions, please go to
www.stonewall.org.uk/casestudy and click on the link to the case study
form where you can let us know the type of media work you would feel
comfortable doing.
There are many areas in
which we need your help:
Parenting
- Lesbian and gay parents, either biological parents or non-biological
parents who have children through adoption or fostering.
Education
- Young people who have experienced homophobia in education in the
last few years, including those with a positive experience of how
their school/college dealt with it.
Education
- Teachers or education staff who have witnessed homophobia against
students or staff, including those with positive experiences of how
their school/college dealt with the incidents.
Employment
- People who have encountered discrimination, bullying or harassment
in employment due to their sexuality or perceived sexuality.
Lesbian Health
- Lesbian and bisexual women who have had positive or negative experiences
of health care in the UK because of their sexuality.
Housing
- People who have faced housing problems due to their sexuality.
Hate Crime
- People who have experienced homophobic hate crime.
Incitement to
Hatred
- People who have come across calls, either verbally or in publications,
for verbal or physical assaults to be made against gay people.
Goods and Services
- People who have experienced discrimination in the UK in
the provision of goods or services because of their sexuality or perceived
sexuality, e.g. people refused a room in a hotel or turned away from
a pub or bar.
Civil Partnerships
- People who plan to have a civil partnership in the near future.
General
- People who are willing to speak about their experiences, positive
or negative, of being gay, lesbian or bisexual and who would like
to be considered for inclusion in general media stories in the future.
If you are able to help
in any of these areas, please complete the case study form at www.stonewall.org.uk/casestudy
and tell us your story.
Many thanks for your help.
With best wishes,
Ben
-----------------
Bullying
in Schools - Message from Ben Summerskill (Stonewall) Chief Executive
Have
you heard about Education for All? Our campaign to stamp out homophobia
and homophobic bullying in schools. Thanks to the generosity
of our supporters we've been able to make an incredible start.
We've already sent out over 3,500 teaching packs to schools across Britain.
We've launched a dedicated website providing information
and resources to both teachers and young people. Later
this year, an interactive play about homophobic bullying will tour schools
across the country.
None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our
supporters. We're hugely grateful. However, I am writing to ask whether
you would now consider lending your support.
Since the launch of Education for All, we've been contacted by young
people with distressing stories of what's happening to them today in
British schools. For some, it's years of name-calling which saps young
people's self-confidence. However, other children have been hospitalised
by homophobic bullies. Children are on anti-depressants
because their school doesn't take this kind of bullying seriously.
Sixteen year-old Michael told Stonewall:
“I can't honestly recall a single day in which I haven't had some
sort of reference to my sexuality. I've received physical violence twice.
On each occasion I had to go to hospital.”
Some lesbian and gay children are now leaving school with the symptoms
of post-traumatic stress disorder. That's a disgraceful indictment
of Britain's schools in 2005.
Amazingly, given the persistent harassment they receive,
there has never been an attempt to measure the school experiences
of young gay people. With your help, we want to undertake the
first comprehensive survey of the educational experiences
of the hundreds of thousands of young gay people in our schools.
Testimonies from young people such as Michael are compelling but the
results of a reputable national survey will allow us to engage forcefully
with policy makers and educational professionals, persuading
them of the pressing need – all too often still denied - to address
homophobia in our schools. GLSEN, the US body which has done this work
in the past, describes it as a “powerful tool in changing
young gay people's lives.” We believe it would be equally
powerful in Britain.
The young people who contact us have convinced us of just how much work
there is still to do. This pioneering survey will give a voice
at last to thousands of lesbian, gay and bisexual children
who would otherwise remain unheard.
Your support will ensure we can make positive changes to the
lives of thousands of school children. They may have been let
down by their teachers and headteachers. They've often been let down
by their parents as well. But these are our children too. Please help
us fund this important piece of research.
If you are able to help we will, of course, keep you in touch as the
research programme progresses and share the eventual findings with you. ---------------------------------
Friend
of Stonewall
Stonewall
has a long history of success - but there is still much to be done.
Please support our important work by becoming a Friend of Stonewall.
For as little as £5 per month you can help Stonewall
change our world - in return we will keep you involved with our campaigning
work through our newsletters and fact sheets and ensure you get priority
booking for Stonewall events. Your support will make a real difference
to the lives of hundreds of thousands of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.
If you
would like to become a Friend of Stonewall today, please
contact Rebecca on 020 7881 9469 or info@stonewall.org.uk.
The BBC is making a programme about people who made heterosexual partnerships
only to discover later that they are gay.
It
will use the experiences of three or four people who have experienced
this, and will explore society's changing attitude to same sex relationships.
They
are keen to talk to anyone who has been, or is presently going through,
this experience.
If
you are interested please Contact: Benetta Adamson
on 020 7482 3217 / 07770 794 883 / badamson@caledonia-tv.com or Faye
MacLean on 020 7490 8996 / 07810 891 342 / fmaclean@caledonia-tv.com.
Confidentiality is guaranteed.
Time to celebrate!!
The Civil Partnership Bill was passed by the House of Lords!!
It's
wonderful news and we wanted you to be the first to know.
It
could be another year before the first civil partnerships can take place
while registration systems are set up across the country. We'll be in
touch soon to let you know how it is going to work.
The
Bill represents a historic step forward for lesbian and gay people in
Britain.
A
huge thank you for all your support and encouragement over the past
few months - we couldn't have got here without you.
The
service continues but shop closes on 17th December 2003.
It’s
been nearly five years since Libertas! first opened it’s
doors to a delighted crowd of women customers and there is no
doubt that the years in between have been filled with much pleasure
and fulfillment for all of us in the shop. We’ve made
many friends, built a good level of business and, we hope, made
it easier for you to buy the books and videos that you like.
However,
whilst our mail order business has thrived, the sad fact is
that the shop itself has lost money during every one of those
five years. We hoped that the move to the new premises - and
the addition of a low-cost book shop for local people - would
help to solve that problem. Unfortunately it hasn’t.
So,
in order to protect the main, and very successful, part of our
business we have decided that there is no alternative to closing
the Fossgate premises, and trading purely as a web & mail
order business.
The
shop will close on Wednesday 17th December 2003
The new mail-order and web service will recommence (from
different premises) on Monday 5th January
Sadly,
this means that this year’s Libertas! Festival will be
the last (for the moment at any rate) as our new and
smaller organisation will simply not have the resources to organise
such a major event next year.
However
there are also many positive aspects to the change
Our
lower cost base means that there will be free postage on all
orders over £30 (it’s £50 at present).
We
will be publishing a colourful, fortnightly e-news which is
FREE to everyone with an e-mail address - all you need to do
to subscribe is tell us your name and your e-mail address (just
click on the 'get e-news' button on the home page). This web
site already has over 1000 items on it - many unavailable from
anywhere else - and it will be expanded even further in 2004
to include many more products.
Whether
you subscribe to the free e-news or not, you can still browse
our online bookshop 24 hours a day - and order whatever books
you like at the click of a button.
If
you prefer the printed sheet...
you can still receive Dykelife from February onwards. Subscriptions
are £5 per year (UK only) - but in return you will get
5 x £1 vouchers, each redeemable against every £10
spent. As always, it will be sent out in discreet plain envelopes
with no mention of Libertas! If you prefer you can download
each issue of Dykelife, from our web site, for free (Just
click on the Dykelife Subscriptions button).
The
business will continue to be run by Ann and Jenny and you will
still be able to order by phone or mail or online; you can still
pay by credit/debit card; and we will still be pleased to order
any special, non-stock, lesbian books for you. If you’re
a mail order customer already, then we are sure that the only
changes you will notice will be good ones.
Everyone
will receive a further Dykelife update at the end of November
(with full details of our sale in December). But basically
most of our contact details will be unchanged. The web site
address remains the same; the telephone number is still 01904
625522 and our e-mail address will also be unchanged. The only
difference will be to our postal address which, as from the
new year will be Libertas! PO Box 649 York YO31 7ZL
This
has not been an easy decision to make, and it is particularly
distressing to break up our wonderful and dedicated team in
the shop. But however hard it is for us, however sad, we feel
that it is the right thing to do. And provided that we retain
your support over the years ahead, we’re certain that
this move will guarantee our long term service to the lesbian
community.
Jenny
Where
are the Women?
Are
you fed up with male dominated quiz shows?
Are
you bored with the lack of women on News discussion panels?
Phone
these complaint lines and ask "Where are the Women?"
BBC
Complaints Line 0870 010 0222
Channel
4 Viewers Enquiries 020 7306 8333
ITC
- For Complaints about ITV 020 7255 3000
Broadcasting
Complaints Commission 020 7233 0544
Contact
Fawcett (See Below) for more Info and register your protest
action to:
Women
who work full time earn on average only 80% of the average
hourly pay of men who work full time.
Women
who work part-time earn on average 60% of the hourly pay
of men who work part-time.
44%
of women and 8% of men in paid work, work part-time.
The
mid-skilled childless woman is estimated to earn £241,000
less over her life time than her male equivalent. if she
has two children, she will lose a further £140,000
over her life time.
The
pay gap is exacerbated for certain ethnic groups. Indian,
pakistani and Bangladeshi women earn on average only 84%
of the average hourly earnings of white and black women.
Female average hourly earnings are lower than male houlry
earnings in all ethnic groups.
Women's
low paid and unpaid work throughout their lifetime often
leads to poverty in retirement. retired men receive an average
income of £174 per week, compared to an average of
£94 per week for retired women.
Women's
work is still undervalued. jobs which are poorly paid and traditionally
regarded as low status are still heavily 'feminised'. Better
paid jobs tend to be those where men are in the majority: the
lowest paid jobs tend to be those where women are in the majority.
(Info
supplied by the Fawcett Society).
The
Fawcett Society goes back a long way - promoting women's rights
for over 130 years. In
fact, it was Millicent Fawcett and the Suffragists
who helped win the vote for women.
Aims
& objectives
Fawcett wants to see women and men equal partners at home, at
work and in public life. We demand a fair deal for women. We
believe every woman should have financial security, work-life
balance, educational choice, representation, autonomy and equal
treatment.
What we do... Fawcett achieves real results
We identify the barriers to equality and offer solutions.
We examine laws and policy proposals for their impact on
women and publicise the results to politicians, the media,
women's organisations and individual women.
We
ensure that women's concerns are at the
heart of election debates.
We
commission and conduct research into gender
inequalities.
We
bring together experts and non-experts to take part in debates,
share ideas and develop solutions.
We
exposeinequalities, raise
awareness and educate through extensive coverage in the
national and local media.
We
produce exciting campaign packs for our
members and the public so they can raise issues affecting
women themselves.
We
work directly with decision makers to develop new policies.
History:
Fawcett has been promoting women's rights since 1866. In fact
it was Millicent Fawcett and the suffragists who helped win
the vote for women.
Fawcett trust
The Fawcett Society receives an important part of its income
from the Fawcett Trust (reg charity number 29633), which funds
research, educational and other charitable aspects of Fawcett's
work.
The
trust's objectives are to promote the equality of women with
men, particularly in political and economic opportunity, by
advancing public education about the position of women in society,
and in particular about the ways in whic women may take better
advantage of the political, economic and otehr opportunities
open to them.
Make
a donation to the trust.
UNISON
Equalities
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Self-organised Group
(the LGBT Group)
Lesbians
and gay men are still denied equality in the workplace - too often we
face discrimination and harassment instead of a fair deal. Joining UNISON
gives you a voice in Britain's biggest union, which is committed to
working for lesbian and gay rights.
Lesbians
and gay men in UNISON organise locally and nationally to support each
other, to identify discrimination, to increase awareness of lesbian
and gay rights and to campaign for change. Together we can speak up
for our rights at work and improve each other's lives.
From
April last year Devon County Branch has had an elected
LGBT Officer and a group that has steadily grown in
numbers. Contact is by email, telephone/mobile and post.
In
addition some members of the Group meet each month, in a pub just outside
Exeter. If you'd like to join in (coming to meetings isn't essential,
but is enjoyable), or have questions you need answered, or you're
experiencing problems at work,
Telephone our Branch Office in confidence on 01392 382530
write
to:
LGBT
Group,
UNISON
Devon County Branch,
Matford Offices,
County Hall,
EXETER,
EX2 4ZZ.
Do
the maths!
UNISON
has over1.3 million
trade union members.
So how many are lesbian, gay,
bisexual or trans (LGBT)?
If you work for the police, NHS, councils, utilities,
or
anywhere where you can join UNISON there’s a UNISON Group for
you.
If you’re in Cornwall or Devon (or other parts of
the Southwest)
contact
our lesbian co-convenor on lgbt_devon@yahoo.co.uk
to
join UNISON and go on the mailing list for information and events.
Local
Cornish Lesbian Alex Parks came storming through at the Fame
Academy contest final on Saturday night and won herself a million
pound record contract.
Name - Alex
Age - 19
Hometown - Truro, Cornwall
Skills - Singer/performer
Alex
was born and bred in the pretty village of Mount Hawke on the
Cornish coast. She loves surfing and hanging out on the beach
and has fronted a surf-rock band.
Aside
from her singing abilities Alex has loads of circus performing
skills and can mime, juggle and does a bit of magic. She is
also learning to ride a unicycle.
Alex
has been writing rock songs since the age of 15 and has been
performing since her early teens too. Her favourite artists
are Ani Di Franco, Annie Lennox, Skin and Jimi Hendrix.
Alex
says she would love to release her own album and be happy!
Stuff you never knew
about Alex:
Favourite Song - Walking On Broken Glass, Annie Lennox
Favourite
Artist or Band - Ani Di Franco
First
Album Bought - International Velvet, Catatonia
Favourite
Record of 2002 - So Much Laughter, Ani Di Franco
Alex's musical idol - Ani Di Franco.
Here
are some of the reviews that floated around about her after
she won Fame Academy 2003
Fame
Academy winner Alex gets to work.
LONDON (Reuters) - Fame Academy winner Alex Parks, fresh from
victory on last night's live television contest, was straight
in the recording studio today to record her debut single.
The
spiky-haired 19-year-old beat Alistair Griffin in the final on
Saturday to win a million pound recording contract with Polydor
and a 12-month showbiz lifestyle. Carolynne Good had earlier come
third in the contest.
Alex,
the bookies favourite for much of the series, sung John Lennon's
"Imagine" and "I Am Beautiful"
by Christina Aguilera to widespread praise from the panel of judges.
She
also performed her own composition -- "Maybe That's What
It Takes" - winning major accolades from hard-to-please
Fame Academy head teacher Richard Park, who said the song was
"extraordinarily moving".
After
Alex and Alistair had performed their final songs, the choice
of winner was given to the viewing public. The BBC said 4.5 million
viewers voted in the final.
After
weeks of life in the Academy Alex will now be able to enjoy a
luxury lifestyle, including a modern London apartment and a sports
car.
Last
year's winner, David Sneddon, went on to top the charts with his
debut single "Stop Living The Lie", and enjoyed
top 10 success with his album 'Seven Years - Ten Weeks'.
The
current series of Fame Academy began on 26 July, when about 4.9
million viewers watched the two live shows.
Since
then, viewing figures have risen, despite competition from ITV1's
talent show "Pop Idol", which is broadcast at the same
time.
About
5.8 million people tuned in to see the result of last week's show,
the BBC said, compared to 6.2 million for Pop Idol.
Last
year's final attracted more than eight million viewers.
Hot
favourite Alex wins Fame Academy.
By by Simon Holden
Alex
Parks, the little woman with the big voice, has won Fame Academy.
The red-hot bookmakers' favourite captured the hearts of millions
of BBC viewers and beat Alistair Griffin.
Alex, 19, was clearly overcome with her win and seemed too shocked
to speak afterwards.
She
told BBC3 viewers "I can't feel my body. I think a lot
of people deserved to win it. I'm happy." Asked what
she liked most about her time in the Academy she said "always
the singing."
She
has been championed by headmaster Richard Park all along. After
she sang a version of John Lennon's Imagine Park told her: "That
was absolutely special. I don't think British television has seen
a 19-year-old come on to the BBC and perform at that level."
Alex,
from Truro, Cornwall has won a year's stay in a London flat, a
car, champagne and a recording contract.
Chirpy
runner-up Alistair Griffin, 25, said he expected to come second
to Alex Parks. He also took a pop at Richard Park who rarely complimented
him.
"I
thought he might pull out of criticising me just for one moment
but he didn't."
"I
came here to be myself and I hope people would love me just as
I am. As my grandmother would say 'I don't have much but I do
see life."
Chart-topping
star Daniel Bedingfield caught Fame Academy host Patrick Kielty
off guard after singing with both finalists.
Asked
him for his opinion on Alex and Alistair, he said: "I
think Alex has something very unique and very special. I think
that British music needs that at the moment".
Alex
Parks Herself In Fame's Hot Seat.
Pre-show hot favourite Alex Parks was celebrating after winning
the Fame Academy final and earning herself a £1 million
record deal."I'm happy!" said the 19-year-old,
after pulling in the most phone votes to beat fellow finalist
Alistair Griffin in the live TV showdown.
Tomboy
Alex, who thrilled the studio crowd and the judging panel with
her performances throughout the evening, will live like a celebrity
in a luxury apartment for a year, as part of her prize.
After
nine weeks, Fame Academy had whittled down 13 students to the
last three, with the winner, second and third place all voted
for by the public.
Alex,
from Truro, Cornwall, was an out-of-work clown and was not planning
to audition for the BBC1 show before her father sent a video of
her to Fame Academy.
But
she has won the hearts of the judges and wowed the live audience
with her versions songs by Tracy Chapman, John Lennon's classic
Imagine, and her own work.
Clearly
a nervous performer, Alex looked overwhelmed when the results
were read out.
Speaking
afterwards, Alex said:"I want to do well in the industry
and try and keep to my own path".
"My
legs were like jelly after the first two songs and I just got
it back together to keep performing. I was so overwhelmed I was
worried my voice wouldn't come out."
Alex
Wins Fame Academy!
She's
still in her teens, but in winning Fame Academy 2003 Alex now
has a flash motor, a top London pad and a record contract worth
a cool mil...;
It's
been one of the most dramatic live showdowns yet, and this night
had it all - nerves, fabulous singing, and speculations about
who's going to be number one. And while lovely Ali gave it his
all, the Yorkshire lad, failed to win more votes that his spikey
haired rival, the Cornish pixie, Alex...
We
take a look back at the Cornish girl's memorable stay...
Despite
the pressures of life in front of the cameras, Alex has kept her
cool and often set standards during her stay.
There's
no doubt that one of her greatest achievements is managing to
stay away from the bottom three - a massive vote of confidence
from the general public if ever there was one.
Even
on week seven's live show, despite suffering from a sore throat
and not having the chance to rehearse, she managed to pull off,
to quote Vocal Coach Carrie, a "magical" performance.
"I think Alex is a unique artist. She's not just excellent,
but she's also different," Carrie said of her, and David
agreed. "I don't think she has any idea of the potential
she has," he commented.
Highlights?
There have been plenty: it's every aspiring artist's dream to
perform live on Top Of The Pops, and after a close run battle
on Radio One, the stunned Cornish lass edged out Alistair to do
just that. "It's amazing. I was going to sleep last night
and still couldn't believe it," she said at the time.
Then
there was her coded messaging with Carolynne. Whether it was talking
cryptically about pigeons and chickens or whispering furtively
amongst themselves, the pair never gave away their innermost secrets.
And when Kevin chided Alex for whispering, she came out with the
classic catchphrase "Everyone whispers in Cornwall..."
But
it hasn't all been a bed of roses for Alex. She's had her tiffs
too - notably with Pete, whose comment about her "stale"
breath strained their relationship somewhat.
The
now legendary snog between Pete and Carolynne also tested her
loyalties. "The Pete and Carolynne thing is doing my
f***ing head in," she said at the time, "I
feel awkward, I feel stupid, I don't know what to say."
She"s
also had her doubts, claiming from time to time that she never
really wanted to win the competition, and even questioning her
own desire to stay in The Academy.
Only
a week before the final show she indicated that walking out "would
be best for everyone," but fortunately she talked herself
round and made it right through to winner's podium...
In
the end, she was just too far ahead of the pack for the others,
and she has deservedly waltzed off with the prize of a lifetime.