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In the new issue of Gay News, June 2013

Published in topic:

Columns & Opinions (162)

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Letter from Brussels: Defederalization, Also For and By Gays

Dear Neighbors to the North, You probably couldn’t care less, but in the years to come, the sixth state reform will drastically reshape the political landscape in Belgium. The three regions - Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels – will receive a whole series of powers from the federal government, including financial power.

Reijer's World: ‘Bloody Hell, They Don’t Have To Put Their Entire Head Through I

In 1980, my boyfriend/husband Lefert and I were attending the press presentation of “Taxi zum Klo” [Taxi to the Toilet] in Amsterdam. Very much in awe of this particularly honest film, we spoke with the maker and actor Frank Ripploh. It was so recognizable. We spoke to him about the pictures that were shown in the beginning of the film, of his youth and of his form. We also had these kind of pictures.

Letter from Brussels: The Ultimate Coming Out

Dear Neighbors to the North, For some weeks now, the Flemish commercial broadcaster VTM has been airing “Uit de kast” [Out of the Closet], based on a Dutch television format. Assisted by the lovely presenter Roos Van Acker, a Flemish gay or lesbian is trying to tell the secret to his or her family. Most of the shows I haven’t seen at all. Channel hopping, I would occasionally watch parts of the show, somewhat embarrassed.

Letter from Brussels: Temporary

Dear Neighbors to the North, After it was announced that pope Benedict XVI (a.k.a. Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger) would be “discharged,” the social media were overwhelmed by euphoric posts. Newspapers and magazines recorded more moderate and less critical reactions.

Reijer's World: ‘Look At That Candy Ass, Such Nice Buttocks..’

Every morning, also in the weekend, my alarmclock goes at 7.30. My two black cats run straight to their feeding bowls. They each get a handful of dry food and some snacks. Then, I make coffee in my old filter machine and roll a cigarette I put next to my PC. At a quarter to eight I visit my neighbor, miss Van der Vaart. She’s eighty-seven-years old and has arthritis in her hands.

Letter from Brussels: Working Clothes

Dear Northern Neighbors, On Saturday morning the 2nd of February last all media hell broke loose, on Facebook and other social media, but especially in the Flemish press. Spanking brand new mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever had said that civil servants at public desks are not allowed to wear rainbow colored t-shirts because this would express that they were gay and therefore “not neutral when doing their job.”

Letter from Brussels: Opus Dei

Who thinks that nobody would pay any attention to the shameful and provocative words of the Pope when it comes to homosexuality, unfortunately is wrong. Especially our neighbors to the South are all ears, now the French government has prepared a bill that is ready to legalise gay marriage.

Reijer's world: What Do You Mean, A Double Life?

I have been sexually active since I was ten, in Zaandam. Our family moved to Wormerveer when I was eleven. All new neighbor boys. And I became very popular. In the alley. On the playground.

Reijer's World: ‘When You’re Finished With Him, Can I Do Him?’

The telephone rang. It was Timo from Amersfoort. He was twenty-two at the time, I twenty-eight. “I miss my family so much,” he cried. “Come on,” I said, “I will cheer you up. Jump on a train and come to Amsterdam. We’ll do something fun together.” Timo’s father had come from Italy to The Netherlands in 1962 as a factory worker. He ended up in an expensive boarding house in Amersfoort. A few years later his family came over as well.

Letter from Brussels: As was Said...

The year is almost up, so it’s time for a selection of most “delicate” quotes and citations about gays and homosexuality that made the press (inter)nationally.

Letter from Brussels: Compartments

Dear Northern Neighbors, At the moment you’re reading this column – sometime in the month of November – the election of the Belgian Mr. Bear is already finished. But because this column has to handed in several weeks before the start of the month, I’m not sure whether the election has actually taken place during the first week of November.

Reijer's World: ‘How Much For The Pussy?’

Once again in heat I frolicked around exciting Amsterdam. I was eighteen. Jeans and T-shirt. It was sometime around eight in the evening en it started to get dark. Near the second railroad bridge of the Central Station was a urinal for two persons. There were only a few attractive men. I was just wallking around a bit. In front of the postoffice building a car stopped close to me. The window was opened. “Do you feel like to come with me?,” a nice looking elderly man asked me. I got in.

Letter from Brussels: Naive

Dear Northern Neighbors, To the point of boredom we have to pay attention to gay bashing in this column. It’s still normal procedure to cross a gay man and send him off to hospital. The number of incidents is going up and up.

Porn Trial

Aside from the Olympic Games there was also a porn trial held in London this summer. Simon Walsh, a magistrate with political ambitions, was accused of possessing “extreme pornographic images.” The images were of a fist scene, a man with a gas mask, and “sounding” (to insert things into the urethra). The charge was that these activities would be harmful, so that images of it are illegal. The accused risked a jail sentence of up to three years.

Letter from Brussels: Homo Olympicus

Dear Northern Neighbors, The deadline for me to hand in this column was just before the last day of the Olympic Games in London. An event on world scale, literally, people have been saying for years already just how successful it’s going to be. I wonder if anyone in a job interview would ever bang their own drum so loudly without getting a little negative mark from the head interviewer.

Reijer's World: Attention, Soldier Breed!

My father had been rejected for military service. He was too skinny. Some of his peers in Wieringerwaard who did have to go, came home with great stories. And finally the time came that his first child and only son had to serve the country. He was totally upset, but at birthday parties loudly screamed: “That’s where they will make a man out of him!” Everybody had to laugh.

Letter from Brussels: Natural Gas and More Natural Gas

Dear Neighbors to the North, Not far away towards the East, danger is lurking. Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union, is getting ready to cast its vote on some laws that will prohibit “the promotion of homosexuality.” Whatever that means. Some months ago in Russia, a similar law was passed by the city council of Saint-Petersburg.

‘Come On Bitch, I Wanna Make You Scream Again In The Thermos’

I was once in the Thermos sauna, sitting at the bar with Charlie. He was a big broad black guy from Chicago. We’d had a really nice time together upstairs in a cabin and needed to catch our breath with a glass of juice.

Letter from Brussels: Islam and gays

Dear Northern Neighbors, Last week the Brussels police tried to check the identity of a young Muslim woman. She wore a face covering niqab, hence the id check. It completely got out of control, both on the side of the police officers trying to do their work, as on the side of the woman, a converted Belgian, who resisted her arrest.

‘You Can Continue Sucking Me Off Now’

I live in a senior unit of a “fifty-five and over” apartment complex. The complex consists of two blocks: one four stories high and the other six stories. They’re connected with an arcade. At the main entrance there’s the reception. In the arcade there’s a hair salon, a shop, a laundromat, an Internet café and an activity room with a bar.

Political Pride

Dear Northern Neighbors, the day before Gay News went to the printer, we had Gay Pride in Brussels. No less than 50,000 participants had come to our capital, quite a few more than last year. Traditionally the weather was dodgy: no rain but especially when the sun had gone the temperature painfully dropped to the level of a fresh winter evening. It wasn’t very pleasant so that might explain why the streets emptied out so quickly afterwards.

Reijer's World - ‘Better Take Your Socks Off As Well’

Last year I was all of a sudden struck by a rather serious health problem. My two sisters and a few friends rushed to my aid. In a group mail I informed my steady lovers that I wasn’t available for a while. A few of them sent sweet mails in reply. “Take care and let me know when I can come visit you again.” But hey, nothing is very little of anything, so a few weeks ago I thought of a little mischievous plan. I surfed to bullchat.nl and placed the following add: “Senior gay rims young guy!”

Letter from Brussels - Europe

Dear Northern Neighbors,

More Europe was going to make us richer. More Europe was going to be good for human rights. More Europe was going to be good for all Europeans, also for gays.

The European bubble has popped. National debts are out of control and make it impossible to retain the standards we’ve gotten used to. Greece is the first and possibly not the last example.

Leatherland - Weirdo

For years, I was under the impression that surely, the biggest weirdo in the leather scene must be Herr Rudi. Extravagantly dressed, Mohawk, dominant with an extremely big ego, in short: Herr Rudi. I first met him in 2009 and since saw him several times in Berlin. Our meetings were never warm. Herr Rudi claims to know a lot about the history of leather and fetish in Europe, and is lecturing about this, particularly in the US. For Herr Rudi likes to Google.

Reijer's World - ‘Monogamy Is Bourgeois’

In 1973, on Friday the thirteenth, I met Lefert at the COC in Wormerveer. It may sound as a cliché, but it was love at first sight. I was totally overwhelmed. The only thing I could think of was him. At the time, I was working at the news agency ABC Press Service in Amsterdam. “Come here for a second...” my lesbian boss Loes Robert said. “You are radiating. What is going on?” Well, she was right. I was madly in love. I visited my parents to tell them.

‘Popper Me Up and Fuck My Mangina!’

The week from the 1st till the 8th of August in 1998 was one of the most beautiful of my life. De Gay Games here in Amsterdam. Our own gay international sports and culture gathering. At the time I was working at City Hall for the center of town. I sent out a group mail to all my colleagues if they wanted to volunteer as a steward during the opening and closing ceremonies in the Arena. Within three days I had seventy-five applications.

Letter from Brussels - Married Gays

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Sometimes you come across news items that make you raise your eyebrows. Take the little article in the “China Daily USA” of the 3rd of February: according to a Chinese professor there are at least sixteen million women in the Chinese countryside who are married to a gay man. An astronomical number.

Reijer's Wereld - ‘I Told You, Gays Give Better Blow Jobs’

In 1978 my friend Lefert and I went on holiday to Norway. At the Coen harbor of Amsterdam we drove our car onto a ship of the Fred Olsen line. After we’d found our cabin we decided to kick off our trip with a beer in one of the many bars on board. This is where we saw drunken Norwegians for the first time. Because alcohol is so expensive at home in Norway they don’t know when to stop drinking. The men were shouting at each other and leaning on their drunken women. We decided to sit on deck.

Letter from Brussels - Homophobia Not As Bad As Anti-Semitism?

Dear Northern Neighbors,

With the first caucuses in the United States behind us the Republican competition for the race towards the White House has truly begun. As this magazine went to press only the first results are known: in Iowa Mitt Romney won with just eight votes difference from Rick Santorum. The democratic candidate is familiar: Barack Obama.

Reijer's World - ‘He du geile Sau, du machts mir Affengeil’

I had met Kurt in Amsterdam. A blushing hot 28-year old guy. We had a lot of sex in the Hans Brinker Hotel where he stayed. Now I was visiting him in Berlin for a couple of days. We walked through the snow on Kufürstendamm. It was bitterly cold. I had an appointment with an active Berlin gay group, the AHA: the “Algemeine Homosexuelle Arbeidsgemeinschaft” [General Gay Working Community]. They had a discussion evening and I was going to tell them about my work at the COC.

Letter from Brussels - As Was Said ...

Dear Northern Neighbors,

2011 was probably the year of the destructive tsunami in Japan, and of the euro crisis. But it was also a year with some striking remarks on gays in the media. Like every year in the first edition I’ve made a capita selecta of quotes.

Letter from Brussels - Development Aid

Dear Northern Neighbors,

This time no news from Brussels or Belgium, but from London. The British prime minister David Cameron wants to stop all development aid to all countries which still have not taken homosexuality out of their criminal laws, countries which are persecuting gays and lesbians. With only a few words he speaks of quite a few third world countries in Africa.

Reijer's World - ‘Will You Follow Me To The Toilets, Please? My Boyfriend Wants

I never liked large cafes and discos with loud music. I always had to depend on my tongue-way. So, I frequented the smaller bars. One of my favorite bars has always been the Krokodil on Amstelstraat. I visited this for the first time when I was sixteen. I was going with thirty-four-year old Klaas. In my opinion Klaas was very old. Klaas shared a large flat in Amsterdam-North with two dikes, Lia en Gré. Lia was femme and Gré butch.

Letter from Brussels - Because the Truth Hurts

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Belgian queens were screaming murder a few weeks ago. Why? Well, now that Great Britain relaxed the restrictions for blood donations of MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) they demanded via the media and several forums that the Belgian Red Cross, responsible for blood donations and transfusions in our country, would do the same. Because excluding MSM from donating blood is discrimination, they think.

Reijer's World - ‘Henry, Look... The Boys Have Plants Hanging Over Their Beds!’

In 1976, I was working at the main office of a public school society, the “Vereniging van Openbaar Onderwijs” on the Jan Luykenstraat. After the Christmas drink, I decided to go into town for a while. I was entirely dressed in black, wearing my black cowboy boots. And under my jacket, I was wearing a very shiny golden waistcoat. At the Amstel Taveerne, I met Rob, a guy from Rotterdam. We started talking. “I would like to visit the Argos bar. I heard they have a sling,” Rob said.

Letter from Brussels - Election Campaign Take Off

Dear Neighbors to the North,

Yes, you are reading this correctly. Campaigns for the local elections, which take place autumn next year (!), have started. While at the time of publication of this article, we do not even have a federal government after almost 500 days of negotiations.

Reijer's World - ‘Oh Ronnie, Stop It! I Can’t Hold Back Much Longer!’

It was my very first radio show for the VPRO: the “Homoshow.” The topic was how important it was for famous Dutch people to be open about their homosexuality, as a role model, as an example. It was 1980, I sat next to Klaas, a friend from Haarlem, and we were discussing him. “Wasn’t he gorgeous?” “Yes, he was,” Klaas said. “He was featured on a double spread in the ‘Panorama’ magazine, with only a white pair of pants on and a little golden chain. I’ve saved that issue for years.”

Leatherland - Use(d)

“What’s your Gayromeo profile?” and “Are you on Recon?” are questions I regularly get when I’ve met a nice man. I always have to disappoint the masculine attention because I don’t have online dating profiles. Not just because I prefer to meet someone in person in a bar or something, but also because I simply don’t have the time to update such a profile. Whoever wants to know about me befriend me on Facebook, or check out my website. Besides, I don’t trust some of those dating sites; what do they do with all your information?

Letter from Brussels - In the PC

Dear Northern Neighbors,

My busy work and crowded social life keep me away from the sofa and television so I don’t get to watch anything regularly. To me the arrival of the video recorder was a blessing, although it was always a hassle to get the programming right.

Reijers World - Guess Who I’m Fucking Here?

“What!,” my father yelled. “Have you completely lost your mind? You’re giving up such a gentlemen’s position at the bank. You could work there till your retirement. You want to join a ship? You’ve gone insane. You always have something!” My father was a laborer. He worked as a car mechanic in a repair shop in Wormerveer. Every morning he walked to his work in his overalls. I left half an hour later on my bike to the ABN. I wore a suit with a tie. It was 1969 and there was plenty of work.

Leatherland - Rabbit

My shirt sticks to my body. Something creaks. What’s that? I’ve got perspiration on my forehead. There’s hardly any light. My eyes have to get used to it. A rabbit rushes across the track. My heartbeat accelerates. I light a cigarette. My only weapon, apart from my cell phone. In the distance there’s light. I feel the keys in my pocket, rather sharp. You never know. There’s nobody here, everything is quiet. The air is balmy, my neck clammy. I look up. There’s no moon. Was that a shooting star? It’s a plane.

Letter from Brussels - Done! Fini! Stop!

Dear Northern Neighbors,

A few weeks ago a new case of homophobia, with the usual violence and bloodshed, shocked the Belgian and particularly the Brussels’ gay community. Someone called Bart and his friend were bashed one night after already having been verbally abused. When he turned to a pitta bar for help, some customers there thought it better to assault him too instead.

Reijers World - Joop, Hold His Legs For Me Please...

“You never guess from where I’m calling you, sis!” I called Carolien on my cell phone. “No idea,” she says. “In the dunes of Zandvoort, after so many years.” She quickly replies: “And, have you had any visitors yet?” “No,” I say laughing. “I just got here. I have little bottles of water and port with me, still have to settle in a bit. I haven’t done this for ages. First walked all the fucking way from the station to Zeezicht beach pavilion, had a cup of coffee there and then walked into the dunes behind it. It’s lovely here, but not very busy.”

Letter from Brussels - Fewer Weddings, More Divorces

Dear Northern Neighbors, The Belgian Federal Economic Department, our “ministry” of Economic Affairs, also keeps records of the national statistics. Due to the calculations of civil servants at the National Institute for Statistics (NIS), resorting under the FOD Economy, we now have the latest figures concerning the number of gay and lesbian marriages in Belgium.

Leatherland - Mister

Four Europeans took part in the thirty-third International Mr. Leather competition in Chicago this year. Three Germans managed to get into the top twenty but it was a Frenchman who walked away with the jackpot: a travel budget of 5000 dollar and an endless series of prizes ranging from clothes, DVDs and books. Eric Gutierrez (1967), Mr. Leather Europe 2010, was elected on Sunday 29th of May from amidst fifty-three candidates as the new International Mr. Leather 2011.

Reijers World - Masculine Boy With Feminine Orientation Is Looking For...

With straights things are always more straightforward. Like with sex for example: the guy fucks and the girl gets fucked. That’s why gays used to have more trouble. I remember the couples from the Zaan region to the North of Amsterdam: a sturdy laborer from the harbor with a tottering queen with a hairdressing salon. Or another couple: a butch taxi driver and a fragile looking nurse, dressed up in a petticoat and her hair in a beehive. These couples made a clear statement on the streets, but whether the situation was clear-cut in the bedroom?

Leatherland - Fuxxx

Fuxxx, that’s the new Cockring. The logo was on the front of the building for a while already but the interior was under construction until the last moment. At the opening night it turned out to have been worth all the effort: a new gem for Amsterdam Gay Capital.

Upon entering it’s very clear: we’re not in the Cockring anymore, but in Fuxxx. The coat check has moved, looks bright and clear, and another novelty: a pat down at the door. I found some friends at the upper bar, amongst which I. And T., who’re organizing the infamous Fetish Flash Mobs in our city lately.

Letter from Brussels - Forty-Three

Dear Northern Neighbors, Forty-three is the number of homophobe incidents, discrimination and violence, registered by the Belgian police force over the first nine months of 2010. A ridiculously low number.

It was the parting Minister of Interior, Annemie Turtelboom, who included this number in her answer of the Parliamentary question of Zoé Genot, a French-speaking member of Ecolo (Green). The answer also contained the numbers for the previous years: thirty-four in 2008 and fifty-six in 2009.

What Do You Mean, A Double Life?

I have been sexually active since my tenth in Zaandam. Our family moved to Wormerveer when I was eleven. All new neighbor boys. And I became very popular. In the alley. On the playground. With rented rowing boats on the Guisveld. “The Breed boy dares to take it into his mouth.” The news spread through the neighborhood like wild fire. I got really busy. But things didn’t stay that way. My neighborhood boys all got girlfriends and they forgot about me. And I didn’t want to be different. I also got myself a girlfriend. But I wasn’t completely satisfied. Where to find men though? In the big exciting city of Amsterdam of course.

Leatherland - Tradition

I was sitting at an outside table in the sun with a friend when a guy approached us with a question. As the stranger addressed us with “Sir” my friend looked up suspiciously and whispered something about a golden rule that “Sir” is a title one has to earn. I didn’t mind however, after all, my friend had organized the event and I had done some writing for the program book. Also, I saw the guy was wearing a chain with a padlock around his neck and we were dressed in full leather uniform. That was exactly what the man was acquiring about, namely whether I had bought my clothes. Not “where” but “whether.”

Letter from Brussels - Illusion

Dear Northern Neighbors,

The integration of homosexuals in Belgian society is an illusion. At least, according to the – by the way straight – actors in the Flemish soap opera “Thuis” (At Home), who are playing a gay couple. This story line in the popular soap has caused a storm of criticism in the last couple of weeks.

Leather Land - Boven (Upstairs)

There was an opening of an exhibition at “Boven” (Upstairs) in the Warmoesstraat. On the wall were drawings of muscled, hairy men. These men all turned out to have something with cats. Why, I don’t know. I didn’t ask the artist either; I was too busy to watch my Prosecco and my drinking tempo. For I’d only been there five minutes when a bearded man asked me if I had fully recovered. At first I didn’t know what he was talking about.

Letter from Brussels - Fatal Hypocrisy

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Some days ago, pedestrians discovered the floating body of Marc Gesquière in the river de Leie, near Waregem. The police formally states that Marc Gesquière took his own life. On the day of his disappearance, Sunday February 20, three witnesses saw him walking along the Leie in Kortrijk. The current had transported the body to Waregem.

Letter from Brussels - The Child Wish: Egoism, Despair or Altruism?

Dear Northern Neighbors,

A few weeks ago Flemish viewers of the current affairs program “Koppen XL” saw the Belgian-French couple Peter and Laurent (the broadcast is now also on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiC7oG8fgwU). The lovebirds got married a few years ago in Brussels and later moved to the southern regions of France, to Lodève.

Leather Land - Intimate

A TV channel was looking for panel members for a new program on sex. I talked about sex on TV before and one of the female editors asked me to come around for an interview. Perhaps I was what they were looking for. I thought it would be just an introduction, so I was a little shocked when they took me to a room with a spotlight and a camera installed. “No, it’s really only an introduction,” the editor assured me.

Letter from Brussels - 198 Casualties of Anti-Gay Violence

Dear Northern Neighbors,

The message was in one of our Flemish newspaper at the beginning of this year. Last year 198 people in Brazil died of homophobe aggression. 198 casualties. Just fewer than 200, as if that makes a difference. Figures from our country are not known. Statistics rather focus on something else instead on homophobe violence. Belgian statistics on anti-gay aggression vary, depending on the source.

Letter from Brussels - As They Said

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Another year is over. Another year older too. Time for a few remarkable quotes from 2010 on gays and everything around it.

“My private teacher told me you could only find out if you were gay by trying it out. So we did, and afterwards he told me how courageous I was, which made me feel I was special, a member of a little club.” (Cinematographer Joachim Lafosse, in a testimony as a victim of pedophilia, in ‘De Standaard’)

Letter from Brussels - Away with Léonard

Dear Northern Neighbors,

The unthinkable has happened. Several parachute catholic organizations and famous Flemish personalities are responding severely to the renewed controversial statements of out archbishop, Monsignor Léonard. Whether he’s worth the title I - as a devote catholic - dare to doubt it.

Letter from Brussels - Open Letter to Jozef De Witte

Dear Mr. De Witte,

We don’t know each other, and that’s just as well because something tells me we wouldn’t get along at all. We don’t have to, it’s hard enough already to stay in touch with the people who I can appreciate, and who can appreciate me as well.

Pink Point - Don’t Forget The Neighbors

I’m outside the bar “Le Baroque” in Brussels having a beer with a feeling of déjà vu. Is the atmosphere here taking me back? Certainly, I know that feeling of peace and quiet and security. Yet, I have to dig deep to match the sensation. Of course, my early years in Amsterdam, the Reguliersdwarsstraat. How is it possible that nowadays, Brussels, the city where the language battle is fought out so intensely, can have the peaceful ambiance of a gay street in the city center? Rue marche au-Charbon, or simply the Kolenmarkt in Dutch, has the spirit of Amsterdam of yesteryear.

Letter from Brussels - Generally Hypocritical

Dear Northern Neighbors,

An American court has ended the Pentagon policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” which – in brief – forbade the army leadership to ask (future) soldiers about their sexual preference, while being open about their homosexuality was illegal for gays and bisexuals, at the risk of losing their job. A district court in California ruled this policy “unconstitutional.” Since the implementation of this policy, 12,500 gay and bisexual soldiers were made redundant.

Pink Point - The Old Days

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

“In the old days everything was better,” my grandmother used to say. “In the old days beetroot tasted like beetroot,” she said, forgetting the period they replaced the beetroot with flower bulbs. Maybe “the old days” are over-romanticized. One thing I’m sure of though: in the old days things were clearer. Gay, straight, in my grandmother’s time they’d never heard of bisexual.

Letter from Brussels - Electoral opportunism

Dear Northern Neighbors,

I just read an article about how a gay Brit was bashed in the center of Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago. Badly injured. The next homophobe incident in what once was the gay capital of the world.

Still, don’t get me wrong, but there is something positive about this fact: it made the national press in Holland. It’s something that doesn’t happen here in Brussels when a gay man is hospitalized after having been attacked.

Hivos-Homophobia meter: '10% wants to lock gay people up’

The Homophobia Meter of the Humanist Development Organization shows that ten percent of the population thinks gays deserve punishment – a little time in jail will turn them around. A similar percentage is against formal rights for homosexuals.

These are a few of the results of the Homophobia Meter, which could be filled out the past months on the Hivos site. Marijke Haanraadts of Hivos: ‘Shocking,’ because ‘the visitors of our site are not representative.’ The Hivos spokesperson means to say she thinks the real percentage of homophobia in Holland will be even higher.

Pink Point - Pride

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

Weeks before a major event in the city I find myself dreading it. Whether it’s Queen’s Day, New Year’s Eve or Gay Pride. Weeks before the event I ask myself why I should take part this year and start looking around which holiday destination tickles my fancy.

Letter from Brussels - And the Others

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Bart and Luc are a couple, for a quarter of a century already. Bart is Bart Kaëll, a fifty-year old Flemish troubadour, who’s been performing for over twenty-five years at local fairs and functions. Luc is Luc Appermont, sixty years old, who’s been anchorman at the BRT for centuries, and at the end of his career at the Flemish commercial station VTM.

Pink Point - Disbelief

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

After ten years of Pink Point you’d think nothing would surprise me anymore. I’ve seen and heard it all by now, I often think. Still, one shift is enough to supply me with anecdotes and experiences for this column. Not one day is the same at Pink Point and eight hours can pack a lot of action.

Pink Point - Descartes

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

Kartezio! Kartezio! someone is calling out passionately. It’s a peaceful day at Pink Point with quite a bit of sun, I’ve finished refilling one of the postcard racks and am just dusting off a new display when a repeated Kartezio! Kartezio! rips my eardrums. I look up to where the sound is coming from and am not very surprised to see a tourist with an enormous pair of sunglasses on his nose. As if I could have missed it the first four times he shouts again: Kartezio!

Letter from Brussels - Election Fever

Dear Northern Neighbors,

First and foremost, so that you understand: the deadline for this column was just before the Dutch as well as the Belgian elections. And what was in the Dutch newspapers? Leading man Rouvoet of the ChristenUnie (Christians United) said that Jonathan de Geer, one of the recruiters of the party, couldn’t have been on the ballot if he had had a boyfriend... A celibate queer is ok, a gay relationship is not.

Letter from Brussels - The Ultimate Hypocrisy

Dear Northern Neighbors, Perhaps it was only a few weeks ago that you first heard the name Roger Vangheluwe or that of George Rekers in the (Dutch) media. Or how our most favorite bishop, monseigneur Vangheluwe, reluctantly admitted he had been sexually abusing his nephew for years. The American preacher George Rekers rented himself a male escort to carry his luggage on a European round trip.

Pink Point - Change of Name

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

I attended my first lesbian wedding. I’ve experienced a wedding of two men before, saw it from very close-up you could say, but after two years it ran out of steam so my advice to these two brides was: “A divorce within twenty-four hours is free of charge girls.” I talked to a sister of one of the brides and she admitted that she was envious of the newly weds.

Letter from Brussels - Thousand and One Nights

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Perhaps you’ve never heard the name Layla Hachichi. The 18-year old Moroccan-Belgian girl died in Antwerp in October 2009 after having been tortured. The investigation found that her death was probably the result of a derailed ritual aimed at “saving her from her psychological suffering.” It seems like she was tortured to death to save her from being a lesbian.

Pink Point - Just Like In The Movies

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

“April wears a white hat” springs to mind when I cycle to Pink Point in the morning with snow covering the road. It is a little strange, the temperature well above freezing, not a cloud in the sky. Locking my bicycle on a lamppost, I notice that the snow suspiciously looks like foam.

Letter from Brussels - Hypocrite

Dear Neighbors to the North,

The following news probably did not make the Dutch (or Belgian) front pages, although: you never know.

An American senator, a member of parliament for the state of California, admitted to being gay in a radio interview. The confession of the republican Roy Ashburn does have an unusual aftertaste. The man in question was, in his capacity as senator, a notorious opponent of gay rights.

Letter from Brussels - Homophobia Award

Dear Northern Neighbors,

The central bureau of Flemish gay/lesbian/bisexual federations Çavaria has nominated the Flemish minister for Welfare, Jo Vandeurzen (CD&V) for the annual Homophobia Award, an award for someone who has openly and publicly damaged the image of gays or who’s been very negative about the subject in general over the past year.

Pink Point - Amsterdam is Beautiful at Night

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

More and more often I think of this song by the late Dutch singer Willie Alberti. A song in which he sings of the beauty of the city at night. That also reminds me of my own early days in the city. At the end of the eighties, the beginning of the nineties, when everything seemed possible. I understand that the older I get, the more often I think “been there, done that.”

Letter from Brussels - As Was Said

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Many of us have had a turbulent year. The financial and economical crisis hits everyone; no one is spared. 2009 was also the year in which well known, and lesser-known people had something to say about homosexuality. Here’s my annual selection.

Pink Point - It Will Do

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

I can’t deny that from the moment I knew I’m homosexual, I was also aware of the fact that I’m a real Size Queen. When I was in Berlin just recently, I discovered that it’s also not just about length, it was easily three fists high, but even more about girth. The most exciting part of exploring for the ultimate size is the start. Jeans’ crusades, so to say.

Letter from Brussels - Top Banker

Dear Northern Neighbors, You undoubtedly already know I’m a bit skeptic when it comes to gay marriages. For me the arrangements for registration were enough of a safeguard against hassles with break-ups, sales and deaths, et cetera. I’ve also made my claim public that most gay marriages in Belgium are passport marriages; seven out of every ten gay marriages in Belgium are between a European and a non-European. Who can top that?

Pink Point - Tear Down That Wall

In a rather awkward way I was recently reminded of why we should be so bloody happy with our Pink Point and our habit of being openly gay, when my travel partner and I were holidaying in Oberwesel. This is a little town on the banks of the Rhine which is at its best when they put on the fireworks “Rhein im Flammen” (Rhine on Fire) as the climax of their annual wine festival. So that Saturday-night we were sitting on long tables together on a jam-packed boat waiting for the fireworks and having something to eat.

Letter from Brussels - Young Boys

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Our southern neighbors now suddenly have a problem with a passage from the autobiography of their present Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand. The man might be the nephew of the late French president François Mitterrand, in his biography he talks about his preference for the paid love of “young boys” in Thailand.

- Letter from Brussels - Crisis? Or something else?

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Friends who live in the center of Brussels, had told me repeatedly over the last couple of weeks that the nightlife had been unusually quiet for months already. It wasn’t just for the summer months because they said they had noticed in spring already that the bars in the heart of Brussels are in decline. This ruins the entire atmosphere in town too, of course.

Pink Point - Burning Sensation

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

Almost September already, and the summer season at Pink Point is almost over again. Although the weather wasn’t completely stable it was still a beautiful summer with a lengthy short pants season. Outside in the streets my jaw regularly drops as I spot all those nice legs walking past.

Letter from Brussels - Treatment For Homosexuality

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Some weeks ago the American Psychological Association (APA) published a report with the title “Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation,” in other words, a report on the results of a psychological/ psychiatric treatment to “cure” someone’s homosexuality. A workgroup of the APA tried to make a synthesis of no less than eighty-seven American studies about the subject from the period 1960-1987.

Pride at the Homomonument

This Pride’s Friday it was time for the sixth edition of the hilarious Drag Queen Olympics with classic elements like the Stiletto Sprint and the Handbag Throw, and the Tug of ‘Love’, which showed up the girls’ less attractive features. New element this year was the celebration of the ‘Biggest Whore’, a prize awarded by the one and only Dutch sexpert whore Xaviera Hollander, the Happy Hooker herself.

Pink Point - Crusade

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

A wonderful sunny Sunday afternoon. I’m arranging the drinks in the fridge - a habit I developed when I worked in a supermarket for half a morning when I was sixteen years old. After I noticed what filling shelves did for my cuticles I was out of there with the speed of light. I have my back to the entrance when a friendly voice asks me whether I like to read.

Letter from Brussels - Yasmine

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Flanders’ best-known gay icon has passed away. Singer and VRT anchor Yasmine, born Hilde Rens, has taken her own life on Thursday 28th of June. Some newspapers used the phrase: “Left this life.” Everybody prefers to avoid the harsh “killed herself,” or even worse “suicide.”

Pink Point - Stupid Questions

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

It’s an official fact, this is my thirty-seventh Pink Point column and that means I’ve been scribbling about Pink Point’s daily life for three years. Rarely, very rarely, I don’t know what to write about, but in 99% of the times my fingers just go over the keyboard without me having to think. The anecdotes just bubble up without any hesitation.

Letter from Brussels - Gay Power

Dear Northern Neighbors,

I got my inspiration for this column from and article in the French weekly magazine “Le Nouvel Observateur” of the 21st of May. It was about the power of networks in France and on the cover a few of them were already listed as a sort of teaser. I was very surprised to see “Gays” listed amongst them...

Pink Point - Drink or Drown

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

Last year’s trend at Pink Point has continued this season unfortunately. Of course we often spot new trends in the streets, because we’re there every day, but we could see this one coming for a while. Dancing on the monument has turned into drinking on the monument.

Letter from Brussels - Congenital?

Dear Northern Neighbors,

I don’t know if it’s the same with you, but here the discussion on whether homosexuality is congenital or not is in full swing again. Over the last few months almost all national and international media have paid attention to it, and several (pseudo) experts have been given opportunity to share their various study material and opinions.

Pink Point Is Crossing Borders

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

Most tourists and locals know by now that if you need some information on our capital’s scene you can come to Pink Point. We know of all the parties and even sell tickets to a lot of them. With magazines such as “Gay News” and “Time Out” in stock, and a variety of volunteers as staff we can bring you up to date on all the different aspects of gay life, whether it be leather, dance or alternative.

Letter from Brussels - Number 5 In Europe

Dear Northern Neighbors,

I don’t know whether to congratulate you or to express my condolences... I’m talking about Holland moving up from number twelve to the fifth on the scale of cannabis using nations in Europe. This according to a study of 2007 as a follow up to 2003. Especially cannabis use among Dutch youth is getting problematic.

Letter from Brussels - Election Fever

Dear Northern Neighbors, The Flemish and European elections are on their way again. On the 7th of June we’ll go to the ballot. Our country seems to be in some sort of permanent constitutional crisis and we haven’t cooled down yet from our last parliamentary election of 2007. To the contrary, I have the impression our MPs as well as members of government are dragging themselves from election to election, from campaign to campaign, with only one goal in mind: a seat in either the Flemish or European parliament.

Pink Point - Butch

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

As toilet breaks are always an issue at Pink Point and most of my colleagues could use one halfway their shift, I make a point in going for a short visit on my days off whenever I’m in the neighborhood. I also use the opportunity to have a nice cup of coffee there, or even a cappuccino, which is a real treat, especially when made with experience and knowledge. During one of these visits, my colleague and I were surprised by a hunk dropping in quickly, just to pick up the latest issue of “Gay News.”

Letter from Brussels - Gay For Fun

Dear Northern Neighbors,

It seems that the Jewish society in our tiny country has lost every sense of humor. A couple of weeks ago everyone who means something in that community was on the front page of newspapers claiming this caricature or that clip about Jews was unacceptable.

Pink Point - Go For It

True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

I must admit that I hardly notice most visitors of Pink Point. I’m often surprised by how much I forget of a day. All aspects of my bike ride in the morning I’ve forgotten completely by the time I cycle home again. Your eyes and your mind filter all information and most of it is chucked out again. Still, there are few people you will not easily forget. I was chatting to a colleague when a guy stepped into the kiosk.

Letter from Brussels - Election Fever

Dear Northern Neighbors,

I don’t know exactly what the situation in Holland is like, but here in Belgium a public personality should be rather careful if, for example, they want to criticize our fellow citizens of immigrant descent. Freedom of speech or no freedom of speech, the Center for Equal Opportunity and Racism Watchdog will not hesitate to file a complaint. Before you know it you’re in a correctional courtroom.

Pink Point - Fishchick

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

Something was in the air, so much was clear that day right from the start. At regular intervals people would pop in asking where the COC building was or what time the transgender demonstration would start. Come again? Transgender demonstration? No, I hadn’t heard about that one. “Perhaps I’d better go home and check the email.”

Letter from Brussels - 1 AIDS Casualty = 1,029 Euro

Dear Northern Neighbors,

World AIDS Day is several weeks behind us. For most of you it was probably a World AIDS Day like any other, with some attention in the media, many silent demonstrations and somewhat more noisy benefit parties.
For me it was a very extraordinary day. Whoever analyzed the national and international press items on that day couldn’t help but notice the increasing criticism AIDS experts voice, most of the time not in a direct way but very clear nevertheless.

Pink Point - Groupies

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

We’ve had them from day one, here at Pink Point, and every volunteer develops his own technique to deal with them. I’m talking about flocks of tourists who come to the Westermarkt as an Anne Frank House stopover in their rush from de Zaanse Schans on their way to the Keukenhof. They’ve often sat in the bus for hours and they’re so relieved to be out that they often swarm to the kiosk like vultures would a starving wildebeest.

Letter from Brussels - Quotes From 2008

Dear Northern Neighbors,

The year is almost up. The American elections have turned back the clock for married gay folk in California and I thought to look back at some remarkable things that were said in the Flemish press by or about gays in the past year. I hope you have fun reading it!

Pink Point - Tolerance

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

Although the integration of Muslim citizens is still a hot topic in both Dutch and Amsterdam politics, we notice at Pink Point that more and more Muslims are finding the way to our gay information shop. We are long beyond surprise when a girl with head scarf enters the shop to inquire about the girls’ nightlife. Gay Muslim boys we see more often lately as well.

Pink Point - Caipirinhas

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

I’ve been raving about Pink Point’s ten-year anniversary for a while already, but last 24th of August was the actual celebration. The night preceding saw the opening of the already infamous Club Church so I was still a little dizzy when I arrived at the kiosk at 1.30 p.m. Why do I always say yes to everything, I wonder? Right then and there I decided I was going to practice my no’s... Yeah, right!

Pink Point - I'm In Love!

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

It’s summer and don’t we know it here at Pink Point! The temperature inside the kiosk gets over twenty-five degrees and that always makes me horny. Doesn’t it have that effect on everyone?

Right after opening shop a group of students of the People to People Student Ambassador Programs walk in. The Americans look around and my radar stops short at a dark boy with the most amazing green eyes I have ever seen.

Pink Point - Reputation

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

I wrote such a proud little piece on Pink Point’s ten-year anniversary last issue and straight after I was confronted with several people who’d never even heard of the kiosk. Fortunately the second case was not surprising but the first one really took me by surprise. I was in my favorite bar at the Zeedijk, enjoying a beer (or two, maybe three etc.) when an HP approached me - no, I’m not referring to Hard Porn this time, but to someone with Husband Potency.

Pink Point - Naamsbekendheid

To The Point - Waar gebeurde verhalen vanuit Pink Point, de homo- en lesbo-infokiosk op het Homomonument. Zie http://www.pinkpoint.org

Hoewel ik afgelopen nummer trots vertelde over ons tienjarig bestaan, werd ik meteen daarna geconfronteerd met een keur van mensen die nog nooit van Pink Point hadden gehoord. Toegegeven, het tweede geval was op zich niet verwonderlijk, maar de eerste verbaasde me enorm. Ik stond in mijn favoriete kroeg op de Zeedijk van een biertje (of twee, drie... et cetera) te genieten toen ik werd aangesproken door een toekomstige H.P., in dit geval geen Harde Porno maar een Huwelijks Potentieel.

Pink Point - Retrospectief

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

Usually I don’t have much trouble filling this page, but this time I really had to think. Because what do you write for a ten-year anniversary? Am I going to dig up all kinds of nice memories of the past ten years or look forward to the next ten to come?

Letter from Brussels - HIV Positive? Pay!

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Last month the Belgian newspapers published the results of an unusual survey amongst general practitioners on their front pages. The study, which was initiated by a Belgian magazine for general practitioners and the Vlekho-school, focused on what they thought of, for example, the health costs of smokers.

Pink Point - Countryside

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

One stormy day four dapper and perky looking girls walk into the kiosk. I immediately know they’re from the country, don’t ask me what it is exactly that gives it away but you see it instantly. Maybe it’s the jacket that’s a little too tight, the style that’s just out of fashion, or maybe it’s the caps with AMSTERDAM embroidered on it.

Pink Point - Politeness

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

Sourpuss

In the morning my cat wakes me up. It’s running circles on my belly like mad. Meowing it lets me know it’s hungry and that it’s about time I got up and tend to that primal need. This lady is 21-years-old already and when it comes to getting her way she really takes after her name: Coco. The last few years she’s lost all politeness and sleeping in is not tolerated anymore.

Pink Point - Just Visiting

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

Sourpuss

It’s a cold Sunday morning. I’ve just put all the postcard racks outside and it feels like my fingers will freeze off at any moment. Fortunately I can quickly warm up with the radiator, which is snuggled under my stool. It may be winter outside but my ass is warm, sweetie.

Pink Point

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

Sourpuss

“You’re a horrid person.” With this sentence the woman in the hospital finished. During my job as a male nurse, once again I hadn’t complied with the “urgent” request for a tranquilizer from a patient. I do know that, for certain people, I’m not a pleasant person indeed, but to consider myself as horrid is a little bit too extreme in my opinion.

Pink Point - Just My Day

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

People often ask me if the things that I write about in this column all actually happened to me at Pink Point. Well, I can only say yes to that. It might sometimes seem strange, but everything I write about has really happened. Recently, I’d been open for just five minutes, a little after 10am, when a completely drunken man from India popped up in front of my counter.

Pink Point - Minding the Homomonument

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

The Homomonument has been well-known for years, both nationally as well as internationally. Since last year there’s also of course the new signboard with information on the symbolism and background of the monument in various languages.

Pink Point - Cockring

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

“This has also to do with gays, doesn’t it?,” was the opening line of a woman who started talking to me. Absent-mindedly, I looked up from the magazine I was reading and followed the glance of the woman to a key ring with two ♂♂. I answered confirmingly. “And this,” the woman continued, “isn’t this the ribbon they’re always wearing when there’s a party or something?”

Letter from Brussels - Gays And The Community Question

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Are you following the political events in Belgium, now that Leterme has not been able to get the parties that won the last elections around the table to form a new government and that we could head for an independent Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels?

Pink Point - Peace

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

After all the parties of the past months it’s time for Pink Point to get ready for the Summer season. Summer is our busiest time, so we always extend our opening hours.

The gorgeous weather of the last weeks made lots of tourists flock our way again. Our gay pride rainbow flag is regularly confused with the lately very popular Peace flag. Not everyone notices that our flag is missing the letters Peace and that sometimes causes confusion with the visitors of Pink Point.

Pink Point - Les Misérables

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

After all the parties of the past months it’s time for Pink Point to get ready for the Summer season. Summer is our busiest time, so we always extend our opening hours.

My previous column - in which I wrote that the average Amsterdam queer rather sits behind the computer than in the bars - got quite a few replies. I struck up a conversation at the Point with a middle-aged man from Delft. He had come especially to Pink Point to speak to me on the subject.

Pink Point - Monday, Monday

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See http://www.pinkpoint.org

There’s a group of hopeful American tourists standing in front of me at Pink Point. It’s Monday. “We’re leaving for France tomorrow and we’d like to have a fun night out tonight. Where should we go,” they’d asked me, looking full of expectations.

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at t

Cottaging

The urinal, for those who are desperate a blessing, for others a desperate eyesore. For those less accustomed to this Amsterdam phenomenon: I’m talking of course about the public urinals in “canal green” with one, or sometimes two, slabs of granite against which a man, or a woman with a pee-tube, can piss.

Formation: Will Balkenende’s Gold Turn Out To Be Tinsel?

Many people heaved a sigh of relief after the elections. The weeks of one-liners and reactions to the delusions of the day were finally over again. Now we’ve come to the absolute opposite: spokespersons and diplomats trying to form a government construct complicated long sentences that don’t actually reveal anything, pure gibberish. Don’t disturb a chook sitting on an egg. The Hague is scrambling to get itself together because the voters have made an unparalleled mess.

Pink Point - Irrespective Of Who You Are

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

Now that the winter season of Pink Point is getting near again and the days are getting shorter, we think it’s time to look back on this past summer. A turbulent summer with a COC Amsterdam that manages to keep playing keek-a-boo, a reliable SOS party that is forced to move location all of a sudden and a Gay Pride that was saved from disaster at the last minute.

Pink Point - Express Yourself

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument. See www.pinkpoint.org

In beautiful summer weather our Homomonument is not just a resting point for heated elderly tourists, doing Amsterdam by touring car in two days and unable to skip the Anne Frank House of course. “Mind you, she’s not home.” After queuing for two hours outside they scuffle through the turning cupboard and off they go; one hour left for Marken.

Pink Point - A little Bridge Too Far

To The Point - True stories from Pink Point, the gay and lesbian info kiosk at the Homomonument.

The fact that all the doors of Pink Point are wide open again can only mean one thing: It’s summer! After a stormy winter, when it often felt as if the little kiosk was going to be blown away, it’s good to feel the weather change.

The number of times our Most Frequently Asked Question: “Where’s the Anne Frank House?” is heard, is increasing dramatically.

Letter from Brussels - Eurosong Gays

Dear Northern Neighbors,

Are you also happy we’ve left the Eurosong craze behind us? Or not? I am! While I’m writing this down the countdown to the Big Finale is still going. Some countries still have the pre-rounds to go, like Belgium. And according to the papers everyone in Belgium is looking forward to the finale in Athens on the 20th of May. It has transpired by now that many gays in Belgium get a hard-on when you mention the Eurosong Festival.

Letter from Brussels - Prostate Clinic

Dear Northern Neighbors,

We have to admit: Dutch gays can find bars, saunas, discos, clubs and porn cinemas in the most remote areas of Holland. We can’t claim that here in Belgium. A gay café in a godforsaken Flemish farmer’s community will not be found for a long time. In contrary, a part of the Belgian gays has to drive many kilometers in order to find a gay bar in hopes of finding a mate to relieve the calloused hands from masturbation duties.

Gay Capital - Amsterdam and Gay Tourism

Early this year the results were published of an inquiry into Amsterdam as a gay tourist destination in the 21st century, which was conducted by the department of Leisure Management of InHolland College. The researchers wanted to know if Amsterdam will stay an inviting holiday city for gay people. However, they stress the fact that this inquiry has more far-reaching implications. With the present changes in world economy, many production facilities are transferred to low-wage countries and regions. But for the creative and innovative tasks personal contacts remain very important, and these will be increasingly concentrated in so-called “creative cities.”

How were things in 2004?

Who knows the past knows the future. But there’s nothing we forget so easily as the past, so we invent the future again and again. We learn less and less from the past but we do try. Maybe we will learn after all from the bad and good things of 2004.

In January people really realize how expensive going out has become. More and more people start to avoid bars and restaurants because of the, in their opinion, high prices of food and drinks. For a couple of businesses there will be no other option than to close up shop. Gay Holland discovers that you also can have a swell time at home.

Henning von Berg's Rise to Fame

Early February the seventh edition of the "Gay Map Amsterdam" was published. This useful guide to Amsterdam's gay life has a tradition of cover pictures by well-known photographers. This year's cover guy was photographed by Henning von Berg. Von Berg is no stranger in Holland. Mister B exhibited a selection from his photographs in 1999 and the recently published edition of the yearbook "Gay 2004" contains an extensive portfolio dedicated to his work.

Will Young and Gates be for keeps?

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.

Urinals, pigs, dirt freaks

Undinism means sex in water. This can be in a bath tub, a swimming pool or in the sea. The website of Score FC shows a picture of a guy tied up, obviously immersed in water, a form of undinistic masochism with a hint of hypoxphilia (lust for lack of oxygen).

Urinals, pigs, dirt freaks

The dictionary of perversions

After a long journey through the S" we've finally made it to the T". Kicking off with a special preference: the tafephilia, or the desire to be buried. Most people have a mortal fear of being shuffled in a coffin under the ground alive and some go to any length to make sure their coffin will not be sealed before it's absolutely certain they're dead

Perversions

Sodomy refers to the Biblical town Sodom of which never one single trace was found. For a long time theologists told the tale this mythical city was destroyed because of the homosexual sins of its inhabitants, but these days they presume it wasn't because of homosexuality, but for negating the laws of hospitality.

Two sisters on line

They never knew each other. Mom never told Dorothy Dallas about her affair with the milkman until the day they took her to the hospital. “Dorothy Darling, there is something you should know. You have a sister, she lives somewhere in Europe. I had to leave her there. You know how times were.” Mom died and DD started searching. Mom didn’t leave much money. DD was not a BB (Blond Bimbo). She applied for a job on an airline company. To make a long story short; DD found PP Penelope Pill. Penelope lives in Amsterdam and because sisters need to be in touch, they both bought a computer and now they are two sisters on line.

The dictionary of perversions

Till the mid-nineteenth century slavery was a normal thing and till this very day in some remote corners of the world it still is. In the Fifties of the last century the catholic church withdrew her moral approval of slavery. Pretty quick, since a mere hundred years before all westeren countries had abolished it. Maybe we can expect the church's approval of gay marriage by 2095!

Saints, spikes, stripping

The dictionairy of perversions continues with the 'S', don't try this at home :)

In thru the backdoor

For those of you still not in the know, the Sunday Tea Dance is back in Amsterdam and currently residing in The Back Door, formerly known as The Soul Kitchen. On May 6th, the one year anniversary of the new Tea Dance will be celebrated with a gala party which will also serve as the re-opening of the newly renovated Back Door. The man behind this rebirth is a young, enterprising American, Casey. Having traveled the world over, Casey has found in Amsterdam the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream.

Bitch partyqueen, Toos Visser

Sometimes things don’t work out the way you’ve planed it. Sometimes things don’t work at all. Should we bitch to other people about it or should we dive into our own heart? We haven’t heard from her in a long time, but here she is again. Gayamsterdam.com gives you Toos Visser.

Shoes

Retiphism is a posh word for shoe sex. Rétif de la Bretonne was an eighteenth century French author, who, in his novels and autobiography, devoted lots of attention to his preference for ladies' shoes. He wasn't alone, since other celebrities like Goethe and Baudelaire also had a soft spot for it. Goethe asked his girlfriends to send him their shoes, so he could press them to his heart. William Rossi, author of a somewhat outdated standard work on shoe sex, thinks Goethe did several other things with those shoes. Footgear is popular as a fetish. Women build up entire collections, the most famous one belonging to Imelda Marcos. According to Rossi's vulgarized version of Freud men are supposed to dream of feet as genitals sliding into shoes, in their turn symbolizing the vagina.

Homosexuals, church and Islam.

Lately we have been put back in the Middle Ages where religious people wanted to change the world into a better place. Can and will homosexual gay men and women put op with this? I don’t know but I do know Toos Visser has something to say about this subject.

Satin and satinism

Satin isn't a special material but the result of a weaving method creating its smooth and shiny surface. Satin can be made from cotton, silk, wool, viscose. It must be an old weaving method, since paintings by Vermeer for instance show women wearing the most beautiful satin dresses. De Sade describes how exciting boys dressed in satin clothes look. For a long time satin was worn mainly by women who wanted to make themselves beautiful. When boys wore satin it would bring out their feminine side, which so delighted De Sade.

Is your penis too big?

Does it hurts when you and your boyfriend have sex? Is the size of your boyfriends dick too large and don’t you know how to solve this problem? Toos knows!

Is your mother in law a pain in the butt?

Is your friend’s mother NOT what the doctor ordered. Are you the black sheep of the family and there is nothing you can think of to change her attitude towards you? Well Toos knows a couple of tricks you haven’t thought about.

Computer problems?

Is your sexlife a bore? Does your friend spend more time at the computer then up your ass? Toos, our international problem solver knows the answer.

Toos goes International

Are you not afraid of the truth? There’s no turning back behind this point. So know what you’re doing when you continue.

Sadism

For a long time sadism amongst men wasn`t really considered a perversion, since men were expected to belittle their partners and mistreat them. Sadism was, as it were, the natural expression of masculinity. Masochism in men and sadism in women was what needed explanation, according to the shrinks. Only when such behaviour was the main aim of sex and not copulation, would there be a question of perversion.

Sacofricosis, satyriasis, pillory

In the alphabet of perversions the `s` is the letter which will please many people, since it covers so many concepts. So much so, that it will take several months before we get to the `t`. It starts off with a nice variation many men will remember from their childhood. Sacofiosis (pocketfumbling) stands for self- stimulation through a hole in the pocket of boys` trousers. In 1792 a book against onanism was published: B.C. Faust`s "Treatise concerning the necessary improvement of clothing, wherein it is demonstrated, that the moral and physical deterioration of mankind is caused by the dressing in trousers". It dealt with the dangers of trousers. Not only were most trousers too tight, in order to piss, the fly necessitated boys to use their hands to take out their dick. And also pockets, with or without holes, enabled boys to secretly fondle their genitals continuously.

Disasters, Stretching, Rubber

On the P of Perversions follows Q and unfortunately that letter has little to offer as far as perversions are concerned. The only word I could find was Queening. Which doesn`t mean you`re turning somebody into a queen, which would`t be a perversion but a profit to our gender. No, it means that a woman (and in this case she`s the queen) sits down on the face of a man as a form of submission. With her ass up his nose or her cunt in his mouth. According to my source it`s a European perversion. In Amsterdam gay circles I`ve never heard of something like it.

Public and/or private

A member of a right-wing party in the Second Chamber (the Lower House/the House of Representatives) voted against opening marriage to gay couples. This person is seen regularly at sex parties in Amsterdam, Paris and who knows where. In the Lower House he specializes in right-wing denunciation of drugs and wants to see more police blue on the streets and for Justice to adopt stronger policies. What haunts the feeble mind of a right-wing politician voting against gay marriage by day and seeking his pleasure by night amongst gay men?

pornophilia, pornography

In US feminist circles a gathering of ladies fighting porn constitute themselves as the keepers of morals. Andrea Dworkin thought up the slogan Pornography is the theory, rape the practice". But sociologists maintain that free distribution of porn will prevent sexual crimes.

Pedophilia or boy love

These days one of the most controversial perversions is pedophilia, the love of boys or children. It`s called pedosexuality when actual sex is involved. Many people don`t even know the difference. Some scientists make a further distinction between pedophilia as the love of children not yet in their puberty and efebophilia, the love of pubescents. We`ve had a short period when the emancipation of pedophile love had some support even from within the police force, but this came to an abrupt end shortly after 1980.

Police sex

Weird maybe, but cops leave me cold. Soldiers and slaves, football-players and fighters, yes, they tickle my fantasy. But cops, no tickling there. And yet it`s a small step from soldier to cop. Even tentatively putting out my feelers to a cross-breed like the military police I don`t turn a hair. American cops, English bobbies, Dutch ME`s, French mounted police, Belgian Government Police, Spanish Guarda Civil, they all do nothing for me. Latin America death squads I find repugnant.

Everything you always wanted to know, but were afraid to ask

Why are gays so obsessed with the size of a penis, their own and other`s? Answering inquiries about the size of their dick, unflinchingly many add an inch (or two). As if this adds to their personality. Yet, we all know that the extra well-hung amongst us belong to the "happy few" (we choose to forget the disadvantages) and that they are hard to compete with. (A tip: try an intelligent conversation and witness an instant shriveling up)

Dictionary of Perversions: Bear, blood, buttocks

When dealing with the B of bestiality and bondage. I left out so many other perversions beginning with a B, that I return here to this letter once more.

Dictionary of Perversions: Penetrating passive pages

Pages are men who submit to women. Their perversion is called pageism. For a woman submitting to a man there is no expression since this is supposed to be natural. For men submitting to another man, for money, lust or power, there are many expressions: slave, slut, captive, whoreboy, she-male, masochist. But in gay circles I never heard anybody using the word page. It just sounds too tame, too dull.

Eyes, armpit, orgy

Odontophilia means tooth sex. Some people like to have the imprint of their lover`s teeth in their skin or to be bitten by him in their dick. A variation of the licking of shoes is the licking away of dirt between molars and teeth. Other people get horny from somebody pulling their teeth or from pulling their own. A mouth doesn`t hold many teeth, so a tooth pulling afficianado will have to change lovers often - leaving behind a trail of mumbling mouths. But for these there are the fetishists, who like nothing better than sticking their dick into a toothless mouth.

Greek principles revive in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, delightful city, slipping imperceptibly from a long autumn into a stretched-out spring. Let`s hope an autumn not followed by winter doesn`t bring us a spring without summer. Gay life out in the open on the streets of Amsterdam is too enjoyable a feast to have to miss.

Wet clothes, necro-sadism

The preference for telling salacious stories is called narratophilia. More decent, erotic preaching is homilophilia and when the tales are very dirty narratophiles speak of coprolaly or drivel-about-shit. Lots of literature is a form of narratophilia like the works of De Sade or Dutch writer Gerard Reve. Unfortunately the telling of salacious stories almost always happens in a small gathering, most of the time between two people in bed. When will bars install, as part of or adjacent to their dark room, a narratophilia area? Next to video cabins, porn-drivel-rooms?

Sex machines, mass sex, mud sex

"American Sex Machines", published in 1996, is a book by Hoag Levins devoted entirely to sex machines for which at one time or another in the US a patent has been applied for. Being invented to prevent lonely pleasures, it turned out these early sex-aids served masochistic enjoyments just as well.

The dictionary of perversions - masturbation and monosexuality

In contemporary society onanism is probably the most frequent sexual act. I think individualization goes hand in hand with onanism (no pun intended). The more people are thrown back on themselves and the more space they have for themselves, the higher the chances are they will sexually pleasure themselves.

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