http://www.l-orizzont.com/news.asp?newsitemid=57882
3.11.9
Il-PL se jkun qed iwaqqaf Sez zjoni għal-LGBT fi ħdanu. Dan ħabbru l-Mexxej Laburista Joseph Muscat waqt laqgħa fiċ-Ċentru Nazzjonali Laburista li sa ret ma’ delegazzjoni tal-International Lesbian and Gay Association u Rainbow Rose li kienu f’Malta għal konferenza internazzjonali organizzata mill-MGRM.
Muscat qal li wasal iż-żmien li ma nibqgħux nitkellmu b’mod ipokrità fuq din is-sezzjoni tas-soċjetà tagħna u l-PL ddeċieda li jieħu din it-triq.
Il-PL se jkun l-ewwel partit po litiku f’Malta li jwaqqaf sezzjoni LGBT fi ħdanu. Muscat qal li xi xhur ilu l-FŻL waqqaf sez zjo ni tal-LGBT fi ħdanu u din is-sezzjoni kibret ħafna.
Il-PL ħass li għandu jes ten di din is-sez zjoni b’mod formali fl-istrutturi tiegħu fix-xhur li ġejjin. ’Il qud diem meta tkun stabbilita s-sezzjoni LGBT Labour din tin għata anke rwol for mali u tkun rappreżentata fil-Konferenza Ġenerali tal-PL.
Preżenti għal-laqgħa kien hemm il-Kelliem għas-Soċjetà Ċivili u Drittijiet tal-Minoranzi, Gino Cauchi u rappreżentanti tal-LGBT tal-Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Di-ve: PL to set up section for LGBT
http://www.di-ve.com/Default.aspx?ID=72&Action=1&NewsId=65608%20
by di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com
Politics -- 02 November 2009 -- 19:15CEST
In the coming months the PL will set up a section for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender (LGBT) the party’s leader Joseph Muscat announced on Monday.
He was addressing a meeting in the PL’s National Centre with representatives of the International Lesbian and Gay Association u Rainbow Rose who were in Malta for an international conference organised by the Malta Gay Rights’ Movement.
Dr Muscat said that it was time to stop speaking in a hypocrite manner about this section of the society and the PL decided to take this action.
He said that this will be an extension of the LGBT section within its section for the youths.
The PL is the first political party in Malta to make such a move, Dr Muscat concluded.
by di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com
Politics -- 02 November 2009 -- 19:15CEST
In the coming months the PL will set up a section for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender (LGBT) the party’s leader Joseph Muscat announced on Monday.
He was addressing a meeting in the PL’s National Centre with representatives of the International Lesbian and Gay Association u Rainbow Rose who were in Malta for an international conference organised by the Malta Gay Rights’ Movement.
Dr Muscat said that it was time to stop speaking in a hypocrite manner about this section of the society and the PL decided to take this action.
He said that this will be an extension of the LGBT section within its section for the youths.
The PL is the first political party in Malta to make such a move, Dr Muscat concluded.
MaltaStar: “Time to take action” - Labour Party to open LGBT section
 |
The Labour Party is to set up the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) section.
During a meeting with the international lesbian and gay association and the Rainbow Rose, Labour Leader Joseph Muscat said that it is high time to stop being hypocritical with this section of society.
The Labour Party is the first political party in Malta to have a LGBT section. The LGBT section is also expected to have a representative in the PL General Conference.
“We believe that it is high time to take concrete action on gay rights,” Joseph Muscat said.
Labour MP Gino Cauchi, spokesperson for civil society and civil rights for minorities and the FLZ LGBT attended the meeting.
During a meeting with the international lesbian and gay association and the Rainbow Rose, Labour Leader Joseph Muscat said that it is high time to stop being hypocritical with this section of society.
The Labour Party is the first political party in Malta to have a LGBT section. The LGBT section is also expected to have a representative in the PL General Conference.
“We believe that it is high time to take concrete action on gay rights,” Joseph Muscat said.
Labour MP Gino Cauchi, spokesperson for civil society and civil rights for minorities and the FLZ LGBT attended the meeting.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on MaltaStar's website.]
Times: PL to set up gays, lesbians section
Tuesday, 3rd November 2009
The Labour Party is setting up a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) section within its structure, opposition leader Joseph Muscat announced last night.
This section will be represented in the party’s general conference, he said during a meeting with a delegation from the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
“This is not tokenism,” he said, adding the party knew it would be difficult and was expecting criticism from a conservative society.
The party believed it was high time new initiatives were taken when it came to gay rights, and LGBT Labour would be the “first step to a new era”.
Dr Muscat expressed hope that other political parties would follow in the PL’s footsteps. He expressed his belief that although the country was conservative, things were changing.
An LGBT section was set up recently within the party’s youth section.
Dr Muscat said the party had chosen to break new ground, adding it was time to stop being hypocritical about the issue of gay rights.
Louise Ashworth, a member of the international association, stressed how important it was for people in high places to stand up for gay rights.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
---
Monday, 2nd November 2009 - 17:50CET
The Labour Party is to set up an LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ) section, party leader Joseph Muscat announced this afternoon.
He said that while he understood that the party may be criticised for this initiative from some conservative quarters, the party was seeking to break new ground.
This, he said, was not tokenism, but an initiative to uphold the rights of such people.
LGBT Labour will have representation on the party general conference.
Dr Muscat made the announcement when he met a delegation from International Lesbian and Gay Association.
He said he was sure that this initiative would eventually be followed by other political parties.
The PL youth section set up an LGBT section some months ago.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
The Labour Party is setting up a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) section within its structure, opposition leader Joseph Muscat announced last night.
This section will be represented in the party’s general conference, he said during a meeting with a delegation from the International Lesbian and Gay Association.
“This is not tokenism,” he said, adding the party knew it would be difficult and was expecting criticism from a conservative society.
The party believed it was high time new initiatives were taken when it came to gay rights, and LGBT Labour would be the “first step to a new era”.
Dr Muscat expressed hope that other political parties would follow in the PL’s footsteps. He expressed his belief that although the country was conservative, things were changing.
An LGBT section was set up recently within the party’s youth section.
Dr Muscat said the party had chosen to break new ground, adding it was time to stop being hypocritical about the issue of gay rights.
Louise Ashworth, a member of the international association, stressed how important it was for people in high places to stand up for gay rights.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
---
Times: Labour to set up LGBT section
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091102/local/labour-to-set-up-lgbt-sectionMonday, 2nd November 2009 - 17:50CET
The Labour Party is to set up an LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ) section, party leader Joseph Muscat announced this afternoon.
He said that while he understood that the party may be criticised for this initiative from some conservative quarters, the party was seeking to break new ground.
This, he said, was not tokenism, but an initiative to uphold the rights of such people.
LGBT Labour will have representation on the party general conference.
Dr Muscat made the announcement when he met a delegation from International Lesbian and Gay Association.
He said he was sure that this initiative would eventually be followed by other political parties.
The PL youth section set up an LGBT section some months ago.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
It-Torċa: L-istedina lill-Papa għandha tkun irtirata
[Dan l-artiklu mhux fuq is-sit tat-Torċa s'issa.]
1.11.9
Il-President ta’ Malta għandu jirtira l-istedina li għamel lill-Papa Benedittu XVI biex jagħmel żjara f’Malta u dan minħabba li f’diversi okkażjonijiet Joseph Ratzinger għamel dikjarazzjonijiet offensivi fil-konfront tal-komunità gay u lesbika. Din hija s-sustanza ta’ ittra li l-attivista gay, l-inġinier Patrick Attard, kiteb lill-President ta’ Malta, George Abela.
Fl-ittra msemmija Attard ipprovda għadd ta’ kwotazzjonijiet li f’diversi okkażjonijiet għamel Joseph Ratzinger, qabel u wara li sar Benedittu XVI, li fihom ipoġġi f’dawl ikrah lill-komunità gay u lesbika. Dawn id-dikjarazzjonijiet jistgħu jkunu interpretati bħala li jnisslu fost il-Kattoliċi stmerrija u kundanna għal min huwa ta’ tendenzi omosesswali.
Meta kiteb lill-President, Patrick Attard żvela wkoll li huwa diġà kiteb lil Benedittu XVI biex jgħidu li matul iż-żjara tiegħu f’Malta, li mistennija sseħħ f’April tas-sena d-dieħla, mhumiex il-Maltin kollha li se jkunu qiegħdin jilqgħuh, sakemm ma jagħmilx apoloġija lill-komunità omosesswali ħalli hija wkoll tkun tista’ tilqgħu b’dirgħajha miftuħin.
Patrick Attard għalaq l-ittra tiegħu lil George Abela billi urieh ix-xewqa li Malta tkun pajjiż fejn min hu differenti mhux biss ikun ittollerat imma wkoll aċċettat.
1.11.9
Il-President ta’ Malta għandu jirtira l-istedina li għamel lill-Papa Benedittu XVI biex jagħmel żjara f’Malta u dan minħabba li f’diversi okkażjonijiet Joseph Ratzinger għamel dikjarazzjonijiet offensivi fil-konfront tal-komunità gay u lesbika. Din hija s-sustanza ta’ ittra li l-attivista gay, l-inġinier Patrick Attard, kiteb lill-President ta’ Malta, George Abela.
Fl-ittra msemmija Attard ipprovda għadd ta’ kwotazzjonijiet li f’diversi okkażjonijiet għamel Joseph Ratzinger, qabel u wara li sar Benedittu XVI, li fihom ipoġġi f’dawl ikrah lill-komunità gay u lesbika. Dawn id-dikjarazzjonijiet jistgħu jkunu interpretati bħala li jnisslu fost il-Kattoliċi stmerrija u kundanna għal min huwa ta’ tendenzi omosesswali.
Meta kiteb lill-President, Patrick Attard żvela wkoll li huwa diġà kiteb lil Benedittu XVI biex jgħidu li matul iż-żjara tiegħu f’Malta, li mistennija sseħħ f’April tas-sena d-dieħla, mhumiex il-Maltin kollha li se jkunu qiegħdin jilqgħuh, sakemm ma jagħmilx apoloġija lill-komunità omosesswali ħalli hija wkoll tkun tista’ tilqgħu b’dirgħajha miftuħin.
Patrick Attard għalaq l-ittra tiegħu lil George Abela billi urieh ix-xewqa li Malta tkun pajjiż fejn min hu differenti mhux biss ikun ittollerat imma wkoll aċċettat.
MaltaStar: Gay activist asks President to withdraw papal invitation
http://www.maltastar.com/pages/ms09dart.asp?a=5169
31.10.9
Gay activist Patrick Attard has written a letter to President Dr George Abela asking him to withdraw the invitation to Pope Benedict XVI (Josef Ratzinger) to visit Malta unless the Pope withdraws his statements on gay and transgendered people.
According to Dr Attard, on the 1st October 1986 Cardinal Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith sent a letter to all Bishops saying that it is understandable that hate-crimes against gays increase if they are awarded more civil rights.
In his letter the pope said, "But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase."
This was also echoed in his speech delivered on the 22nd December 2008 where he said that the blurring of gender leads to the auto-destruction of mankind.
"la Chiesa parla della natura dell'essere umano come uomo e donna e chiede che quest'ordine della creazione venga rispettato. Qui si tratta di fatto della fede nel Creatore e dell'ascolto del linguaggio della creazione, il cui disprezzo sarebbe un'autodistruzione dell'uomo e quindi una distruzione dell'opera stessa di Dio" stated the Pope.
According to Dr. Attard, in his writings he regularly calls gay relationships a intrinsic moral evil and objectively disordered.
"As a leader of an organisation representing more than 1 billion people his teachings spread homophobia and transphobia world-wide and justify and inspire innumerable hate-crimes against a minority whose only fault is being different"
Dr. Attard has also sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI clarifying that not all Maltese welcome him and invite him to make an apology so that they can also welcome him.
"People who remain silent or apologise to such speeches are as guilty as a witness to a crime who fails to come forward", concluded Dr. Attard. "I am not anti-clerical or anti-Catholic and wish we could live in a country where people not only tollerate different people, but they accept them too as long as they don’t impose."
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on MaltaStar's website.]
31.10.9
Gay activist Patrick Attard has written a letter to President Dr George Abela asking him to withdraw the invitation to Pope Benedict XVI (Josef Ratzinger) to visit Malta unless the Pope withdraws his statements on gay and transgendered people.
According to Dr Attard, on the 1st October 1986 Cardinal Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith sent a letter to all Bishops saying that it is understandable that hate-crimes against gays increase if they are awarded more civil rights.
In his letter the pope said, "But the proper reaction to crimes committed against homosexual persons should not be to claim that the homosexual condition is not disordered. When such a claim is made and when homosexual activity is consequently condoned, or when civil legislation is introduced to protect behavior to which no one has any conceivable right, neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when other distorted notions and practices gain ground, and irrational and violent reactions increase."
This was also echoed in his speech delivered on the 22nd December 2008 where he said that the blurring of gender leads to the auto-destruction of mankind.
"la Chiesa parla della natura dell'essere umano come uomo e donna e chiede che quest'ordine della creazione venga rispettato. Qui si tratta di fatto della fede nel Creatore e dell'ascolto del linguaggio della creazione, il cui disprezzo sarebbe un'autodistruzione dell'uomo e quindi una distruzione dell'opera stessa di Dio" stated the Pope.
According to Dr. Attard, in his writings he regularly calls gay relationships a intrinsic moral evil and objectively disordered.
"As a leader of an organisation representing more than 1 billion people his teachings spread homophobia and transphobia world-wide and justify and inspire innumerable hate-crimes against a minority whose only fault is being different"
Dr. Attard has also sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI clarifying that not all Maltese welcome him and invite him to make an apology so that they can also welcome him.
"People who remain silent or apologise to such speeches are as guilty as a witness to a crime who fails to come forward", concluded Dr. Attard. "I am not anti-clerical or anti-Catholic and wish we could live in a country where people not only tollerate different people, but they accept them too as long as they don’t impose."
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on MaltaStar's website.]
Illum: Il-lesbjani, gay, bisesswali u transesswali u r-reliġjon
1.11.9
Minn nhar il-Ħamis sal-bieraħ saret f’Malta l-konferenza tal-ILGA Europe bit-tema “Biex negħlbu l-ostakoli reliġjużi u kulturali għall-ugwaljanza LGBT”. Attendew għaliha l-imsieħba ta’ din l-ONG mill-Ewropa kollha flimkien mal-attivisti tal-fergħa Maltija, l-MGRM.
Il-konferenza serviet bħala l-laqgħa ġenerali annwali tal-organizzazzjoni u opportunità biex il-membri tal-ILGA u attivisti fil-kamp tal-LGBT jiltaqgħu jiddiskutu temi ta’ interess għalihom u biex jaġġornaw ruħhom dwar żviluppi li jkunu seħħew.
It-tema tal-konferenza hi ta’ importanza partikolari għal dawk li jgħixu f’soċjetajiet taħt influenza reliġjuża bħalma hi Malta, iżda mhux biss. Il-fuljett iimqassam lid-delegati jisħaq fuq l-importanza li r-reliġjonijiet jaċcettaw lil min mhux eterosesswali. Fil-fatt fost il-kelliema mistiedna kien hemm Juris Calitis, pastor tal-Knisja Anglikana fil-Latvja u Pav Akhtar, Imaan fir-Renju Unit.
Fetħu l-konferenza bid-diskorsi tagħhom il-President tal-Kamra tad-Deputati Louis Galea u d-Deputat Laburista Evarist Bartolo. It-tnejn tkellmu b’mod li ntlaqa’ tajjeb mill-konferenza u nies li tkellimna magħhom fissrulna li kienet sorpriża għalihom li żewġ politiċi Maltin tkellmu b’mod rispettuż tad-dinjità u d-drittijiet ta’ min hu gay jew lesbjana meta Malta tbati minn fama li għadha lura sew f’dan il-kamp.
Tkellimna wkoll ma’ Ulrike Lunacek, MEP fi ħdan il-Grupp tal-Ħodor fil-PE li tmexxi wkoll il-grupp ta’ MPE favur id-drittijiet LGBT magħmul minn MPE minn kull grupp politiku.
Lunacek, fid-diskors tagħha waqt il-konferenza, saħqet fuq l-importanza li gays, lesbjani, bisesswali u transsesswali jkunu soċjalment attivi bid-deher u mhux iċedu għall-pressjoni li jaħbu l-preferenzi sesswali tagħhom biex jindara l-fatt li huma nies bħal ħaddieħor u jonqos il-preġudizzju fil-konfront tagħħom.
It-tema tal-konferenza hi ta’ importanza partikolari għal dawk li jgħixu f’soċjetajiet taħt influenza reliġjuża bħalma hi Malta iżda mhux biss. Il-fuljetti mqassam lid-delegati jisħaq fuq l-importanza li r-reliġjonijiet jaċcettaw lil min mhux eterosesswali.
Minn nhar il-Ħamis sal-bieraħ saret f’Malta l-konferenza tal-ILGA Europe bit-tema “Biex negħlbu l-ostakoli reliġjużi u kulturali għall-ugwaljanza LGBT”. Attendew għaliha l-imsieħba ta’ din l-ONG mill-Ewropa kollha flimkien mal-attivisti tal-fergħa Maltija, l-MGRM.
Il-konferenza serviet bħala l-laqgħa ġenerali annwali tal-organizzazzjoni u opportunità biex il-membri tal-ILGA u attivisti fil-kamp tal-LGBT jiltaqgħu jiddiskutu temi ta’ interess għalihom u biex jaġġornaw ruħhom dwar żviluppi li jkunu seħħew.
It-tema tal-konferenza hi ta’ importanza partikolari għal dawk li jgħixu f’soċjetajiet taħt influenza reliġjuża bħalma hi Malta, iżda mhux biss. Il-fuljett iimqassam lid-delegati jisħaq fuq l-importanza li r-reliġjonijiet jaċcettaw lil min mhux eterosesswali. Fil-fatt fost il-kelliema mistiedna kien hemm Juris Calitis, pastor tal-Knisja Anglikana fil-Latvja u Pav Akhtar, Imaan fir-Renju Unit.
Fetħu l-konferenza bid-diskorsi tagħhom il-President tal-Kamra tad-Deputati Louis Galea u d-Deputat Laburista Evarist Bartolo. It-tnejn tkellmu b’mod li ntlaqa’ tajjeb mill-konferenza u nies li tkellimna magħhom fissrulna li kienet sorpriża għalihom li żewġ politiċi Maltin tkellmu b’mod rispettuż tad-dinjità u d-drittijiet ta’ min hu gay jew lesbjana meta Malta tbati minn fama li għadha lura sew f’dan il-kamp.
Tkellimna wkoll ma’ Ulrike Lunacek, MEP fi ħdan il-Grupp tal-Ħodor fil-PE li tmexxi wkoll il-grupp ta’ MPE favur id-drittijiet LGBT magħmul minn MPE minn kull grupp politiku.
Lunacek, fid-diskors tagħha waqt il-konferenza, saħqet fuq l-importanza li gays, lesbjani, bisesswali u transsesswali jkunu soċjalment attivi bid-deher u mhux iċedu għall-pressjoni li jaħbu l-preferenzi sesswali tagħhom biex jindara l-fatt li huma nies bħal ħaddieħor u jonqos il-preġudizzju fil-konfront tagħħom.
It-tema tal-konferenza hi ta’ importanza partikolari għal dawk li jgħixu f’soċjetajiet taħt influenza reliġjuża bħalma hi Malta iżda mhux biss. Il-fuljetti mqassam lid-delegati jisħaq fuq l-importanza li r-reliġjonijiet jaċcettaw lil min mhux eterosesswali.
Times: Don't take Alternattiva for granted - new party chief
Sunday, 1st November 2009 by Cynthia Busuttil
The new head of Alternattiva Demokratika, Michael Briguglio, has warned against taking his party for granted.
"Our vote is small but it is very important," he said, soon after he was confirmed as AD's new chairman in an uncontested election.
Michael Briguglio. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
"Our vote is small but it is very important," he said, soon after he was confirmed as AD's new chairman in an uncontested election.
The 34-year-old sociologist - who is the youngest leader of a local political party - said AD still had a number of supporters who could determine the outcome of a general election.
He said AD's 4,000 votes in last year's general election was more than double the difference between both parties.
He said AD's 4,000 votes in last year's general election was more than double the difference between both parties.
Mr Briguglio said the party had four priorities - social and ecological justice, civil rights and the economy.
"We believe in sustainable development which balances all these. We believe that to have economic progress you must have social progress. It does not make sense to have a strong economy and poor people, or pollution everywhere," he said.
He explained that AD should work in favour of strengthening the welfare state and a social Europe.
"We believe in decent and accessible public services, inclusive education and healthcare. These need strong financing and therefore, unlike other opportunists, we cannot be in favour of politics which remove progressive taxes," he said.
Speaking to a roomful of people at Juliani Hotel in St Julian's, Mr Briguglio said the party should open up to more people. "We need to have horizontal structures so that all those who want to work within the party will find a place," he said.
Moreover, the party needed to be better organised. "We have to be present in people's everyday lives and continuously network. In that way we can build relationships of trust with more people," he said.
Mr Briguglio said the party should create alliances with organisations and individuals who were prepared to work with AD despite not being its members.
However, he emphasised that AD was "an independent and autonomous party". He said unlike other parties which just paid lip service to divorce and the rights of homosexuals, without inserting them in their political manifestos, for AD these would be key issues.
Mr Briguglio is not the first politician in his family - his father, economist Lino Briguglio, had set up the Democratic Party in the 1980s, which many considered as a precursor of AD, while his mother was one of Malta's first feminists.
"My father never tried to influence me with any ideas whatsoever, but ironically he was the biggest influence because I grew up with an open mind and was never afraid to read various books and network with different people," he said.
The other members of the new AD council are Stephen Cachia as deputy chairman, general secretary Ralph Cassar, deputy general secretary Henrik Piski, treasurer Simon Galea and international secretary Arnold Cassola.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
"My father never tried to influence me with any ideas whatsoever, but ironically he was the biggest influence because I grew up with an open mind and was never afraid to read various books and network with different people," he said.
The other members of the new AD council are Stephen Cachia as deputy chairman, general secretary Ralph Cassar, deputy general secretary Henrik Piski, treasurer Simon Galea and international secretary Arnold Cassola.
[Click on the hyperlink above to view the comments on the Times' website.]
[See video interview and more comments here.]
MaltaToday: The luxury of diversity
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/11/01/t14.html
1.11.9
Actress, campaigner and politician VLADIMIR LUXURIA is in Malta for an international conference on gay rights. She talks to Raphael Vassallo about her struggle against prejudice, both in and outside politics.
There is a certain commotion at the San Gorg Corinthia Hotel in St Julian’s as I arrive for my appointment with Italian transgender celebrity Vladimir Luxuria – currently in Malta for the 31st annual International Lesbian and Gay Association conference, and the first event of its kind to be held locally.
The hotel lobby is bustling with activity, what with conference guests arriving by the coach-load, and Malta Gay Rights Movement officials scurrying about to iron out the inevitable organisational hiccups here and there. ILGA members are immediately distinguishable from other guests by means of their plastic name-tags, and even more so by the bright purple sashes to which these are attached.
At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, a few are immediately identifiable even without such external paraphernalia. Curiously, however, Vladimir Luxuria herself does not quite fit into that category. For someone best known as an outspoken gay activits and a winner of 2008’s L’Isola Dei Famosi – Italy’s raunchy answer to the Survivor reality show – she is surprisingly inconspicuous in real life. (Note: though Luxuria is physically and legally a man, I have chosen to refer to her in female terms for two reasons: one, out of respect for her own wishes; and two, because gender is invariably more complex an issue than the reproductive organs with which one is born).
“Politics is a cynical and cruel world,” she later tells me, as we finally settle down for an interview overlooking St George’s Bay. I have just asked her about the rather blatant prejudice with which she was received during her brief career as a representative in Montecitorio: a prejudice perhaps best encapsulated by Alessandra Mussolini’s notorious jibe, “Meglio Fascista che frocio” (“Better a Fascist than a faggot”).
“If I were the sort of parliamentarian who would be absent more often than present, or who didn’t take my job seriously, then they would perhaps have found other things to criticise me about. But I wasn’t that sort of representative, so they picked on me for the only two things they could – that I’m transgender, and on the Left.”
Vladimir Luxuria can claim the honour of being Europe’s first openly transgender member of parliament, and the second in the world after New Zealand’s George Beyer. Naturally, however, not everyone considers this to be a compliment, and attempts to discredit her as a politician have occasionally bordered on the downright ridiculous.
At one point, the Italian parliament even had to pause to discuss her choice of bathroom, after a female Forza Italia MP complained about finding Luxuria in the Ladies (as opposed to the Gents, which – let’s face it – would have caused as much of a stir, if not more). So how does she cope with being attacked on such a trivial level?
“Oh, but it’s not trivial,” Luxuria counters. “It is just one more way to try and deprive someone of their identity as a human being...”
Identity issues in fact lie at the heart of Luxuria’s struggle against homophobia.
“In Italy there was general agreement in parliament over a law against homophobia,” she points out, “but while politicians on both the Left and Right agreed to include the words ‘sexual orientation’ in an anti-discrimination law, there was no agreement on the words ‘gender identity’. The Right simply refused to accept that there are different ways of identifying oneself with the sex of one’s birth. It is a concept that frightens certain people. To them, you are condemned to the gender in which you are born – regardless of whether your soul is male or female.”
Implicit in these assertions is the existence of a causal link between violence against gays, and recent legislation aimed at ‘normalising’ homosexuality – in Malta as much as elsewhere. For though Vladimir Luxuria concedes that the landscape has significantly changed since the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s – “We are no longer seen as extra-terrestrials, coming from another planet to destroy the sexual order of the Cosmos,” she quips – transgender persons remain particularly vulnerable to discrimination and above all hate crimes, which Luxuria argues have increased in both number and severity in recent years.
“The fact that there is more acceptance of gay issues globally, also means that the people who hate us, who fear us, are now feeling more threatened than before, and therefore have become more radical.”
Another aspect of the shifting landscape concerns a general hardening of the Catholic Church’s stand on homosexuality, ushered in under Pope Benedict XVI.
“Papa Luciani – the Pope who reigned for a very short time, and over whose death a shadow still hangs – had signalled a different attitude, when he said that ‘God is both Father and Mother’. But Ratzinger felt he had to publicly correct his predecessor on this point, reasserting that men are men, and women women. Under this new Pope, the Church had stepped backwards.”
Luxuria also identifies a paradox in the evident discomfort of the Catholic Church when dealing with homosexuality in general.
“In traditional Church iconography, ‘good’ has always been portrayed in transgender terms,” she claims. “I am reminded of the old Byzantine debates, when the Church discussed whether Angels were male or female. After much debate, they ended up agreeing that they are, in fact, neither...”
More recent developments also suggest an almost comical side to the issue. Luxuria invites me to consider the irony of the Pope’s recent appeal to disgruntled Anglican priests, who were leaving the Church of England in protest at its acceptance of same-sex marriages and the ordination of gay priests.
“Pope Ratzinger said that any of these disgruntled Anglican priests could become Catholic priests... even if they were already married. Now, he is facing internal dissent over this issue. But it makes you ask: is the Church’s homophobia so strong, that it has even helped it change its attitude towards celibacy of the clergy?”
At this point, I can’t help asking Vladimir Luxuria for her own views on the deep-seated prejudice against persons who do not fit into conventional sexual stereotypes. Why, in her view, is there so much hatred directed towards gays in general, and transgender persons in particular?
She almost sighs as she answers, as though pained to have to once again go over the same old hurtful territory.
“There are a number of different reasons. The first and most evident is selfishness. Some people have a tendency to define ‘normality’ according to themselves; they love themselves so much, that they consider themselves to be the rule, and everyone else the exception. So if they are straight, it follows that it is ‘good’ to be straight, and that being gay is therefore ‘bad’. This, by the way, is the same attitude that causes discrimination according to race or religion...”
Another issue is that some people have what Luxuria calls “weak personalities”.
“These people are afraid of anything that can threaten their sense of identity, because their identity is so fragile to begin with...”
However, the most dangerous of all causes of homophobia is sexual repression – people who are themselves homosexual by nature, but have subconsciously repressed their sexuality.
“When people like this see others who are free and happy, comfortable within themselves and with own sexuality, it makes them resentful and angry. These are the people who are likelier to resort to hate crimes against gays.”
On a more positive note, Vladimir Luxuria is also confident that the international struggle for gay rights has now reached ‘unstoppable’ proportions.
“Now, even people within rightwing parties are beginning to change their rhetoric,” she asserts. “In the past it used to be a case that ‘left’ meant ‘pro-gay rights’, while ‘right’ meant ‘anti’. Now the two sides are in competition with one another to win the gay vote, and the political voice against gay issues is losing strength. They can slow us down, but they can’t stop us.”
Actress, campaigner and politician VLADIMIR LUXURIA is in Malta for an international conference on gay rights. She talks to Raphael Vassallo about her struggle against prejudice, both in and outside politics.
There is a certain commotion at the San Gorg Corinthia Hotel in St Julian’s as I arrive for my appointment with Italian transgender celebrity Vladimir Luxuria – currently in Malta for the 31st annual International Lesbian and Gay Association conference, and the first event of its kind to be held locally.
The hotel lobby is bustling with activity, what with conference guests arriving by the coach-load, and Malta Gay Rights Movement officials scurrying about to iron out the inevitable organisational hiccups here and there. ILGA members are immediately distinguishable from other guests by means of their plastic name-tags, and even more so by the bright purple sashes to which these are attached.
At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, a few are immediately identifiable even without such external paraphernalia. Curiously, however, Vladimir Luxuria herself does not quite fit into that category. For someone best known as an outspoken gay activits and a winner of 2008’s L’Isola Dei Famosi – Italy’s raunchy answer to the Survivor reality show – she is surprisingly inconspicuous in real life. (Note: though Luxuria is physically and legally a man, I have chosen to refer to her in female terms for two reasons: one, out of respect for her own wishes; and two, because gender is invariably more complex an issue than the reproductive organs with which one is born).“Politics is a cynical and cruel world,” she later tells me, as we finally settle down for an interview overlooking St George’s Bay. I have just asked her about the rather blatant prejudice with which she was received during her brief career as a representative in Montecitorio: a prejudice perhaps best encapsulated by Alessandra Mussolini’s notorious jibe, “Meglio Fascista che frocio” (“Better a Fascist than a faggot”).
“If I were the sort of parliamentarian who would be absent more often than present, or who didn’t take my job seriously, then they would perhaps have found other things to criticise me about. But I wasn’t that sort of representative, so they picked on me for the only two things they could – that I’m transgender, and on the Left.”
Vladimir Luxuria can claim the honour of being Europe’s first openly transgender member of parliament, and the second in the world after New Zealand’s George Beyer. Naturally, however, not everyone considers this to be a compliment, and attempts to discredit her as a politician have occasionally bordered on the downright ridiculous.
At one point, the Italian parliament even had to pause to discuss her choice of bathroom, after a female Forza Italia MP complained about finding Luxuria in the Ladies (as opposed to the Gents, which – let’s face it – would have caused as much of a stir, if not more). So how does she cope with being attacked on such a trivial level?
“Oh, but it’s not trivial,” Luxuria counters. “It is just one more way to try and deprive someone of their identity as a human being...”
Identity issues in fact lie at the heart of Luxuria’s struggle against homophobia.
“In Italy there was general agreement in parliament over a law against homophobia,” she points out, “but while politicians on both the Left and Right agreed to include the words ‘sexual orientation’ in an anti-discrimination law, there was no agreement on the words ‘gender identity’. The Right simply refused to accept that there are different ways of identifying oneself with the sex of one’s birth. It is a concept that frightens certain people. To them, you are condemned to the gender in which you are born – regardless of whether your soul is male or female.”
Implicit in these assertions is the existence of a causal link between violence against gays, and recent legislation aimed at ‘normalising’ homosexuality – in Malta as much as elsewhere. For though Vladimir Luxuria concedes that the landscape has significantly changed since the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s – “We are no longer seen as extra-terrestrials, coming from another planet to destroy the sexual order of the Cosmos,” she quips – transgender persons remain particularly vulnerable to discrimination and above all hate crimes, which Luxuria argues have increased in both number and severity in recent years.
“The fact that there is more acceptance of gay issues globally, also means that the people who hate us, who fear us, are now feeling more threatened than before, and therefore have become more radical.”
Another aspect of the shifting landscape concerns a general hardening of the Catholic Church’s stand on homosexuality, ushered in under Pope Benedict XVI.
“Papa Luciani – the Pope who reigned for a very short time, and over whose death a shadow still hangs – had signalled a different attitude, when he said that ‘God is both Father and Mother’. But Ratzinger felt he had to publicly correct his predecessor on this point, reasserting that men are men, and women women. Under this new Pope, the Church had stepped backwards.”
Luxuria also identifies a paradox in the evident discomfort of the Catholic Church when dealing with homosexuality in general.
“In traditional Church iconography, ‘good’ has always been portrayed in transgender terms,” she claims. “I am reminded of the old Byzantine debates, when the Church discussed whether Angels were male or female. After much debate, they ended up agreeing that they are, in fact, neither...”
More recent developments also suggest an almost comical side to the issue. Luxuria invites me to consider the irony of the Pope’s recent appeal to disgruntled Anglican priests, who were leaving the Church of England in protest at its acceptance of same-sex marriages and the ordination of gay priests.
“Pope Ratzinger said that any of these disgruntled Anglican priests could become Catholic priests... even if they were already married. Now, he is facing internal dissent over this issue. But it makes you ask: is the Church’s homophobia so strong, that it has even helped it change its attitude towards celibacy of the clergy?”
At this point, I can’t help asking Vladimir Luxuria for her own views on the deep-seated prejudice against persons who do not fit into conventional sexual stereotypes. Why, in her view, is there so much hatred directed towards gays in general, and transgender persons in particular?
She almost sighs as she answers, as though pained to have to once again go over the same old hurtful territory.
“There are a number of different reasons. The first and most evident is selfishness. Some people have a tendency to define ‘normality’ according to themselves; they love themselves so much, that they consider themselves to be the rule, and everyone else the exception. So if they are straight, it follows that it is ‘good’ to be straight, and that being gay is therefore ‘bad’. This, by the way, is the same attitude that causes discrimination according to race or religion...”
Another issue is that some people have what Luxuria calls “weak personalities”.
“These people are afraid of anything that can threaten their sense of identity, because their identity is so fragile to begin with...”
However, the most dangerous of all causes of homophobia is sexual repression – people who are themselves homosexual by nature, but have subconsciously repressed their sexuality.
“When people like this see others who are free and happy, comfortable within themselves and with own sexuality, it makes them resentful and angry. These are the people who are likelier to resort to hate crimes against gays.”
On a more positive note, Vladimir Luxuria is also confident that the international struggle for gay rights has now reached ‘unstoppable’ proportions.
“Now, even people within rightwing parties are beginning to change their rhetoric,” she asserts. “In the past it used to be a case that ‘left’ meant ‘pro-gay rights’, while ‘right’ meant ‘anti’. Now the two sides are in competition with one another to win the gay vote, and the political voice against gay issues is losing strength. They can slow us down, but they can’t stop us.”
L-Orizzont: Malta ma’ tal-aħħar fid-drittijiet tal-LGBT
2.11.9 minn Gaetano Micallef
 Mappa tal-Ewropa bil-pajjiżi u d-drittijiet legali li dawn jagħtu lill-‘gays’, transesswali u bisesswali tpoġġi lil Malta fost dawk tal-aħħar. Fil-fatt l-uniku dritt legali li Malta tagħti lil dawn in-nies huwa dak fil-qasam tal-impjiegi, fejn il-liġi Maltija tgħid li ma tistax issir diskriminazzjoni skont l-orjentazzjoni sesswali tal-individwu.
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