Australia is a country with beautiful beaches, tropical weather and friendly people. You might even call it paradise.
And so long as you aren’t gay, you may be right.
Being the ignorant American, I expected to encounter the same gay-friendly environment that I found in Canada. Australia seemed progressive enough. I assumed that Australia would afford its gay citizens all the rights and privileges that we’re fighting for in the states, like marriage and adoption rights.
But as it turns out, when it comes to equal rights, Australia is worse off than the states. I’ve been told that gay people would get hit if they held hands outside of the city. In fact, walking down a street of downtown Sydney, a homeless man harassed me for being gay. Gay people can’t marry in Australia. Gay people can’t even adopt in all but one state and territory.
Australia isn’t anywhere to be seen on the top 10 list of gay-friendly countries. The United States is number 7.
While this country is breathtakingly beautiful, don’t be fooled: this is no paradise. The fight for equal rights is just getting started.
January 7, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Michael is nearer the truth than Davey’s post and almost everyone else’s comments.
All gays I know could not care a toss about ‘rights’ and causes and fights etc. They just get on with life.
I am not happy that Davey has been in one part of one city in this vast and contrasting land for 5 minutes and makes what many to believe to be a judgement. It is a very distorted view.
If you or anyone ‘judge’ this country on the basis of his comments and believe them to be the turth, the whole truth…etc, and you decide not to visit and find out for yourself, then that is no loss.
Why? Because if you are that stupid then I don’t think we need you here….ha!
Cheers,
Greg in Adelaide
January 7, 2010 at 5:39 pm
BRAVO!
January 7, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I’m shocked and surprised to learn about an unfriendly to gays environment.
This reinforces my choice not to travel to homophobic countries. It makes me happier than ever to live in Canada.
I know how much you were looking forward to your visit to OZ, Davie. I’m sorry the place has a vulgar response to equality. SHAME,SHAME,SHAME!
January 7, 2010 at 4:47 pm
DonM:
I am sure if I went into “Smallville”, Saskatchewan and set up a gay rights stand and started carrying on, I would be able to write a blog detailing the homophobic responses that I was getting from Canadians. Anywhere outside the major cities where there is a plurality of views you are bound to find conservative and reactionary views – be it Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Denmark, the UK, the USA or Zimbabwe.
I have Canadian gay friends. I know the work they had to put into educating and changing views of a very long time. I know that they are STILL fighting to protect what they have (you have one very conservative national government…) and wish to advance the causes of equality everywhere.
Australians are a very tolerant society these days – previously, because of our isolation from the rest of the world and our innate suspicion of anything “new”, we were conservative in the extreme. This is changing. The growth of information sources, the influx of migration from all areas of the world has contributed to a major change in the way Australians see others that are different. This is not to say there are times when I feel embarrassed by my fellow Aussies (debates over asylum seekers for one, but hardly different to other developed nations debates)but I am proud to be in a country where gains are being made and we are changing. We thank our brothers and sisters in Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden etc for leading the way and giving us inspiration and we will do the same to our persecuted community members in Uganda, Iraq and Lithuania.
I hope Davey finds that he has seen an extreme view of Australian society (he doesn’t say how he has got this view apart from one slightly mad homeless man and probable internet research)- no, we are not a paradise, however….you can see it from here! (And I am sure some clever Kiwi is going to say…”Yeah, it’s New Zealand!” LOL)
January 7, 2010 at 5:18 pm
I never knew that about Austrailia. I would never have thought it I mean, they gave us, Darren Hayes, Dame Edna, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Danni and lets face it, outside of the US one of the worlds biggest gay icons ever Kylie! lol love me some Kylie
January 7, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Back to Canada, Davey
Actually I encourage you to visit Vancouver someday. It’s about as open-minded as Toronto (maybe more?), but it’s beautiful, and the year-round mild weather is awesome (if you can stand the excessive rain, that is)
January 7, 2010 at 10:44 pm
I’m going to be in Vancouver for a month, end of Jan until start of March for
the olympics! I’m so excited for the nice weather vs -30 Alberta weather!
January 7, 2010 at 5:55 pm
The situation in Australia is one of relatively wide support for civil unions (~75/80%) and marrage (~65/70%) according to most polls but lack of political action at the Federal level. Most states recognize same sex relationships in all areas bar adoption.
Interestingly, gays have been allowed to serve openly in the military since 1992 but this is an issue the US still struggles with in 2010!
If you read the Wikipedia article on LGBT rights in Australia you’ll get a much broader picture of the situation that one websites list of top 10 countries to be gay.
In Australia’s defence, I feel I must also add:
- we second longes living people on the planet
- we have universal health care for all citizens
- our educational outcomes are better
- we normally always do much better in International surveys that the USA such as Freedom Index ect
January 7, 2010 at 7:21 pm
I stumbled upon this review in the New York Times about Costa Rica.
It’s definitely cheaper than Australia (in most cases) and quite gay friendly (it’s legally not in your top ten, as gay marriage is not yet deemed as a right, but the gay scene is boiling here, gay clubs are BY FAR the hottest spots in town, there are many people who are out and lead productive lives, and I haven’t heard of gay bashings nearly at all ever in my life..).
Whereas many people are conservative in their acceptance, they don’t care that much about what other people do with their lives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/opinion/07kristof.html?th&emc=th
January 7, 2010 at 8:00 pm
There’s an old Roman saying, “Don’t go to Cathage and expect to find Rome!”
If you don’t like it leave.
January 7, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I prefer the saying
“When in Rome, do lot’s of Romans”
January 7, 2010 at 9:54 pm
i got a better idea…why dont all us gays take over a country…and we all move there and have our silly gay parades, gay days, our cocktails (no pun intended). We can have theatre and clubs. We can blame all of mankinds problems on the “breeders”, and take no responsiblity for our own actions.
momma mia….why are so many gays drama queens? i think a bunch of gays need to pull their balls out of their asses and act like men…
this is a freaking soap opera!!!!!!
January 7, 2010 at 10:57 pm
That reminds me…what ever became of the “Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands”?
January 7, 2010 at 11:56 pm
Or conservative puritan people who don’t like to mix and mingle can go get a country of their own and let the entire world be as it is meant to be: HAPPY AND GAY!!
January 8, 2010 at 7:08 am
I’d totally join this world if you’d have me
Though I actually also met gays as mean toward straight women as some conservatives towards gays… sad world…
anyway I help building up a happy and gay world let’s start
January 8, 2010 at 4:21 am
David Mancinelli, how many hours of your life have been wasted whining about what other people are doing? Why don’t you ease up, grow a pair, and stop playing a lead part in the soap opera that you are gnashing your teeth about.
January 8, 2010 at 8:10 am
point well taken i will remain silent… grazie amico
January 8, 2010 at 6:18 am
david- your puritan self-loathing bit is getting old. i’m beginning to suspect you aren’t gay at all, rather some deeply-troubled straight conservative who feels the need to troll a gay guys blog.
January 8, 2010 at 8:13 am
Josh,
u dont like what i have to say…do not read it…my point is not all gays think alike we all have our own opinions. And i am very opionated. But my opinions are usually wrong, so why this bother you in the first place?…….but i will take your words into consideration, grazie amico
January 7, 2010 at 10:25 pm
I found your comparison to San Francisco amusing. I live in SF and there are few places here I would walk down the street holding my BF’s hand. The “Gay Paradise” you look for is to be found in only a few blocks in a few large metropolitan areas or out-of the-way places like Provincetown, MA, Key West, FL or Catalina Island, CA where gay people have “ghettoized” themselves.
I say, “Scratch a straight man deep enough and you’ll find a homophobe.” Even the most liberal, accepting straight people I know will occasionally let their internalized homophobia leak out. It’s a rare straight person who will think it’s okay if their kid turns out to be gay. Even Cher, bless her diva soul, had a real problem with her daughter Chastity coming out. Though Sonny was supposedly cool with it.
(A gender thing?)
Most of us have a problem with people who are different than us. We have to accept straight people with all their faults and prejudices. It would be lovely if they accepted us, but that’s not in our control.
Now how about some of those Speedo pics?
January 8, 2010 at 4:09 am
Scratch a straight man deep enough and you’ll find a homophobe.
You sound like feminists who say that deep inside every man lays a misogynist in hiding. I just don’t buy it. People may be uncomfortable because they are ignorant and don’t know much about gays but I certainly don’t feel they all hate gays.
January 8, 2010 at 1:44 pm
I would say…scratch a homophobe deep enough and you’ll find yourself an insecure gay person…
January 8, 2010 at 7:17 am
Many but by far not most or all straights are homophobic! and those that are, are so mostly with emphasis on the “phobia” part of the word. they are afraid cause of lack of knowledge and of ways how to meet homosexuality.
they simply never learned how to deal with it. they don’t know any gays nor have ever learned in school or in books anything about homosexuality other than prejudices they learned from parents and friends. So help them by showing more presence and take away the fear of the unknown.
But a great bunch of straights are tolerant and loving to the very core of their hearts! scratch as long as you want!
especially people of the younger generation!
so yes: many (but not most) people are in one way or other at least slightly homophobic. let’s deal with that and change it.
January 8, 2010 at 7:32 am
Oh and by the way,
scratching deep enough I found in many a homophiobia the underlying cause to be some experience in the past with another person of the same sex that actually led to good but uncnown and unconventional and thus frightful feelings.
In one particular case a guy once fooled around with friends like all young people do and they ended up giving each other a h******b. after that he felt so guilty and was deeply troubled by the thought he might be gay or WORSE: others might think he’s gay. If he had known and truly incorporated from early childhood on, that sexuality is ok regardless whom you share it with, it might have turned out as sth. different than homophobia. a nice memory for example?
January 7, 2010 at 10:36 pm
That’s pretty bad news. I can’t imagine it will be that way forever. I have found when chatting, that the gay Aussie guys are HOT and BOLD. Listening to these guys, I never got the impression that they had to be in the closet. But it makes sense to me what you are experiencing. Very MANLY stuff goes down under!
January 8, 2010 at 12:03 am
for the record, NOT ALL OF AUSTRALIA IS TROPICAL. sydney certainly isn’t; the city has distinct four seasons each year. if you wanna experience the tropics, head up north to Queensland.
January 8, 2010 at 12:11 am
So sad and I still want to visit there. From what I have seen in pictures it is a beautiful country. Hopefully the gay rights issue will improve.
January 8, 2010 at 12:57 am
I told you you should have come to Cape Town instead!
January 8, 2010 at 1:25 am
hey there, well you are in Sydney although it is full of gay people, Melbourne is a much nicer city and it is not strange to see gay couples walking the streets holding hands, we have our gay pride week (midsummer) starting on the 17th of January you should come Melbourne is doing countless number of relies to change the laws in our country and as i am gay myself i love to walk down the street holding hands with a guy knowing i am being my self and not scared of what other think, if you take a step back and look at our beautiful country i think it is well worth staying around and being apart of the minority.
it is better to be talked about than not to be talked about…….
January 8, 2010 at 2:14 am
LOL it was so funnie to hear that you were harrased by a homeless man being gay lol its funnie and sad at the same time cuz i felt bad lol but anyways poor davey is fooled by the fabulous beaches and sexy australian guys.. davey did you think you can have a fling with any australian mate? aye?
January 8, 2010 at 4:28 am
I think a number of the people reading this post have taken it to mean that Australia is gay-unfriendly. Just because it’s not on some top 10 list doesn’t make it the southern version of Iran. I tend to agree with the commentors who say that the Aussie gays just don’t make an issue of ‘rights’. Aussies, from my month-long experience down there are extremely laid back. Instead of getting their panties (or manties) in a twist about people’s right to marry they just get on with their lives and love each other despite not having government recognition.
Traditionally, people who feel marginalized seem to live their lives as if they have something to prove. They seem to feel meaningless without being able to fight the good fight. If you’re not being killed, jailed, tortured, etc. for your differences what does it matter if you don’t have the right to marry? Mormons don’t have the right to plural marriage and they aren’t marching for it. They’re living their lives. I’d rather spend my life loving the person I love than fighting for the government to recognise it and missing out on the fine details. Why worry when you can be happy?
Lastly, if enough of us were living our lives as an example and slowly integrating our lifestyles into society, soon enough the prejudice would erode. One of the previous posters said he would much rather move a boulder now than wait for the drip drip drip of water to slowly eat away at it. The problem with moving it is that you’ve still got the rock. It’s just resting somewhere else. Instead of the in-your-face measures many people resort to, the most effective – albeit somewhat slower – way to influence people is to live as a quiet example.
January 8, 2010 at 6:36 am
Sure you could choose to move a boulder, or you could choose to wait as water slowly erodes it. But why not just blow it up with a small amount of dynamite. Isn’t that how some people decide to do things?
Tee hee hee
January 8, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Comparing USA to Australia.
I can get my same-sex partner a visa for Australia, but not if I move to USA.
I have lived in various states in USA, and in small towns. I would not want to live in these by choice. But, the same goes for small towns in Australia or in UK, France, Spain.
Has Davey Wavey, ever lived as an open gay man in small town America? Doesn’t sound like it, or small town anywhere.
It’s a stupid arguement to dismiss a whole continent based on “I’ve been told”.
I expected better from our Davey.
January 8, 2010 at 1:42 pm
lucky belgium is second place Yahoe !!
January 8, 2010 at 3:53 pm
I’m not Australian and therefore I will not comment on how homophobic or not Australia is as I cannot know. I will comment, however, that homophobia is omnipresent and Australia should not be judged poorly based upon the actions of some. As for the lack of legal protections for gays in Australia, blame politicians, not the people.
January 8, 2010 at 7:02 pm
people just need to get over it!!!! THIS IS HOW WE ROLE!!!!!! XX
January 8, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Hey Davey, Unfortunately there is still a LOT of negative, ignorant attitudes towards gay people all over the world. BUT NEVER FORGET, it’s people like YOU who are paving the way for CHANGE, for understanding and for tolerance. How can anyone watch you, and not fall for your warm heart and great sense of humour, all the while NEVER even focusing on the fact that you’re gay!! SOLDIER ON DAVEY ! It can be a cruel, cruel world…….but we will CHANGE IT , one step and one person at a time !
Don
Toronto, Canada
January 8, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Considering that there are many many countries in the world wherein you can be incarcerated or even executed, whether legally or illegally, I would still consider Australia to be quite liberal. It’s true that it could be much better over there, but at least they’re trying, unlike some countries who refuse to even accept the homosexuals are human beings.
January 8, 2010 at 8:26 pm
A country is just a country … and despite what they think it wont change who you are! So to be honest … who gives a f**k if Australia, America, UK or China didn’t accept gay guys! It’s their loss to be fair ‘coz we all soo kind and if they got to know us perhaps that rethink. It’d be different if the president of the country was gay i feel … hypocrites, thats all they are!!
Soz bout the mini rant,
Love and Peace
Jack xx
January 8, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Try heading to Tasmania. The people there apparently love gays. My boyfriend is from Hobart and they’re like all gay there. From what I’ve heard from him, most of the people are really good with it and have no problem. Unless they’re bogans. I think you might have been in a wrong part of Sydney because Sydney has one of the biggest gay scenes in the world and is one of the best gay friendly cities as well.
January 8, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Yeah we australians are in general conservative, some are sexist, some are racist, while some are all 3..
and others are none of these things..
We’re a free country, with many varying views.
ohh yeah..and Tasmania is the best state – gay – straight – or bi….
January 8, 2010 at 10:35 pm
( I always knew the Tasmanian devil was gay)
January 9, 2010 at 7:25 am
I had this whole massive thing typed, but meh.
As always, try not to put yourself in situations which are likely to become hostile.
Australia is really a remarkable society.
Most judge people individually, if at all.
Just chill and enjoy yourself.
Will.
January 9, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Carlos, “you’re-a-trip,” and so-funny, as-always
’! … … davvi
February 10, 2010 at 8:35 pm
you wont get hit if you hold hand. There’s a rather large gay community here in Australia and I think we’re relitively open to that. Sure, we don’t have marriage or adoption rights, but I think (aside from the homeless man) that people are deffinitely open to the idea of gays. Maybe I’m just saying this as part of the younger generation- I’m not sure about the oldies!
Glad you enjoyed your time over here! I am studying at the Conservatorium of music this year.. which is pretty much right in the middle of the Botanical gardens!! Glad you liked it there.. it really is very pretty.
February 16, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Oooh controversial statements made here. I was born and raised in Manila and had lived in Bangkok for 2 1/2 years. I am currently living in Adelaide (South Australian capital) but I have spent some time in Sydney as well.
I am afraid that I have to agree with Davey: it can be scarey to be gay here. The men are not that gorgeous (most blokes here do not go to the gym) but they are HHHHUUUUUUUNNNNNGGGG!
March 2, 2010 at 7:46 pm
How dare you say that, I disagree that you can even form an opinion on what its like to be a homosexual person living in sydney when your only just visiting. I love you, don’t get me wrong and this isn’t just another form of hate mail but you have alot of viewers and you’ve just slandered Australia as a unfriendly place for gay girls & guys alike.
I have lived in sydney for a very long time, but I’ve also had the opportunity to spend prolonged amounts of time in places all over the world. Its true that you will find gay hating, discriminating bigots all over the place. My girlfriend & I are comfortable with PDA and we have never, ever been criticized or beaten on for this. Sydney is NOT the conservative, violent place you have advertised it to be. We are the city of one of the greatest Mardi Gras in the world, and how dare you compare us to the melting pot of filth that the states are. Look around davey wavey, everything’s better down under (except for possibly the candy).
April 4, 2010 at 10:04 pm
I have read a Davey’s post and also a few of the comments and the thoughts seem to be more far fetched throughout.
I grew up in North Queensland in a small town and i have lived in most of the capital cities and some of the smaller towns in the last 10 years and i have never had a problem.
Australians are happy go lucky and we generaly dont care about things like gay rights. Well i should say that we do but dont let it consume our lives.
Someone posted that we get taught not to touch each other (huggind and so on) but thats totaly untrue.
Dont make a descision based take Davey’s Post as he only experienced one tiny part of the country and i guess spoke to a small amount of people, To alot of us it seems that Americans spend to much time dwelling on things.
I hold hands outside the cty all the time and i have never even had somone say a word to me. I guess the real faggy guys might attract attention but well thats going to wherever you go. Im gay and i still make fun of them.
July 29, 2011 at 4:38 pm
[url=http://dsojllhy.com]Hello
[/url]
August 4, 2011 at 2:26 am
No one cares about Melbourne. Deal with it.