In contemporary society everything is about marketing and large scale enterprise. Success equals money and media coverage. Superficial monster productions bring crowds screaming to their feet. And each and everyone is trying to scrounge those 15 minutes of fame. Who doesn’t adhere to these superficial priciples isn’t taken serious. In the arts it’s all about visiblity at whatever cost. Visibility in the eyes of the popular media or the heavily funded incrowd. But he who follows the siren’s song of his own heart, far away from the maddening crowd and its hysteria, faces hard times ahead. So our roving Gay News reporter, always in search of the odd man out, decided it was high time to pay a visit to Adriaan van der Harst in his studio in Scheveningen.

“Get up”, the commander said. Martin struggled to stand but was hampered by his pants hanging around his ankles. The commander took him under his arms and put him on his feet seemingly without effort. Martin felt small next to the big, uniformed man. The commander rubbed his hand through the bristly hair on Martin's chest. “We are going to make you as smooth as your partner”, he said, motioning to G. “No. Please”, Martin said, but the commander clamped his mouth shut. With his hand over Martin's mouth the commander and pushed him backwards to the desk.

When the initiators of the Homomonument on Amsterdam's Keizersgracht came together for the first time in the late seventies to plan their new monument, one wish was clear: they envisaged a "living monument," not "some pathetic thing on a pedestal." Now fifteen years after the monument was first unveiled, this vision rings more true than ever before. 2003 promises to be a very busy year at the Homomonument.

Far from Heaven

Splendid melodrama tribute On May 12, in the Gay Preview in Cinecenter, Amsterdam Far From Heaven by director Todd Hayes will be playing. Nominated for several Oscars, the movie unfortunately didn’t win any. In a dazzling tribute to melodrama filmmaker Douglas Sirk (amongst others All That Heaven Allows, 1955), Hayes tells the story of housewife Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore), who sees her bourgeois life collapsing all around her.

In Holland there’s a rising interest in the Japanese manga. Not only on the tube, regularly showing manga animations, but also in a large exhibition early 2000 in the Rotterdam Kunsthal (Art Hall). Eroticism in all its many variations has always played a big part in manga. Especially the yaoi-manga tells many stories of sentimental relationships between young men.

The Belgian religious scientist living and working in Groningen, Patrick Vandermeersch, has written an in-depth study on flagellation, “The flesh of passion.” On the cover Luca Signorelli's “The whipping of Christ,” two near naked men whipping a well-built, tied-up Son of God. Who had hopes for a book about catholic S/M, sorry!

Idols, Pop Idol, Deutschland sucht den Superstar. The singing meatmarkets, by whatever name they’re known, are up there on the front page, right next to the war. Well, it’s a war of sorts. Who’s got the nicest voice, the cutest looks. And who’s the easiest material for the big bosses to leash to one of their stranglehold contracts. Artistic freedom? My ass. These idols are old enough to attract a screaming mass of hormone driven kids, but way too young to map out their own future. That is left to the ‘experts’ with the almighty dollar sign in their eyes. Even the thousands of candidates never making the finals bring in an extra buck as the subjects of ridicule on cleverly marketed DVD’s.

Underwear left behind it’s secretive underwear image long ago and now clearly reflects the personality and taste of its wearer. Attractive underwear makes you feel comfortable and attractive yourself. It’s the first thing we put on and the last to come off in those specially exciting moments. Underwear, now to be seen. And felt!