TO MEN OR NOT TWO MEN– Two psychologists from Victoria University are conducting a survey into how gay men negotiate their relationships and the different types of sexual agreements or arrangements they make. ‘Gay men may be monogamous, or they may agree to have other partners outside their primary relationship. To date there is little research on how these arrangements are made or how they function,’ said Dr Hosking. Participants in the survey must be over 18, identify as gay men (not bisexual), have been in a relationship for at least six months and be permanent residents of Australia. To take part, go to http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1171670
WEDDED BLISS AT WESTPAC -Westpac Bank has joined companies such as Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank, Qantas, and IBM in declaring that it will recognise the same-sex marriages of their employees. Spokesperson for Australian Marriage Equality (AME), Alex Greenwich, says the move is a positive one and has invited the Australian Government to follow suit. A full list of the companies that give partner benefits and entitlements to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples can be found on the AME website: http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/employers.htm
QUEER DUTY-FREE– The Australian Customs and Boarder Control Service will now recognise same-sex couples and their dependants as families in response to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Same-Sex-Same Entitlements report. The service issued a statement last month declaring that the definition of family under the Customs Tariff Act had been amended, meaning that same-sex couples and their children can now pool their duty-free concessions when traveling overseas together. Convener of Gay and Lesbian Equality WA, Rod Swift told Melbourne’s MCV newspaper that while this may seem like a small victory, it is important from a symbolic point of view.
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT– Newspaper reports last month tried to ‘In’ lesbian MTV VJ, Ruby Rose, by linking her to US male model, Didier Cohen. The reports were based on the fact that Rose and Cohen had been spotted ‘spending time together’ on his recent visit to Australia, have been in contact on her Twitter account and plan to catch up when she is in the US on a working holiday this month. Rose’s manager, Mark Byrne, has strongly denied the claims and Rose herself posted on Twitter that her being with a man was as likely as ‘an alien snowboarding in Iraq with a poodle’.
CARDINAL COURTS CONTROVERSY– Cardinal George Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney and the head of the Catholic Church in Australia, has publicly agreed with controversial comments made recently by the Pope that condoms are ineffectual in fighting the spread of HIV in Africa and may even make the problem worse. Speaking to Sky News over the Easter Weekend he said, ‘The idea that you can solve a great spiritual and health crisis like AIDS with a few mechanical contraptions like condoms is ridiculous,’ and that Catholic countries in Asia, such as the Philippines, had a lower rate of HIV than others such as Thailand.
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