From The Editor: DNA #298 – The Health Issue, And Feature Story, Gays Incarcerated
Usually, my editor’s letter relates to the theme of the issue. This month our theme is health. However, it’s Gary Nunn’s feature on the incarceration of gay men that I’d like to highlight.
Gary’s feature tells the story of the historic imprisonment of gay, bisexual and same-sex attracted men, from the famous incarceration of Oscar Wilde to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany during World War II, to prisons designed specifically for gay men in New Zealand, Italy and Australia, and concluding with Chechnya and Iran, where the incarceration of gay men continues in modern times.
Many years ago, an elder from our community said to me, it’s all very well being out and gay now, but things can turn dramatically and quickly, and your name will be on a list and you could find yourself in prison. At the time I thought he was being overly alarmist. We were living in a moment of huge Pride celebrations; our civil rights were being granted, and consensual sex between men was being decriminalised.
It seemed unlikely to me that modern Australia would be popping me into a concentration camp anytime soon. But the gay men, lesbians and trans people who existed in Berlin in Germany’s Weimer Republic in the 1920s and ’30s must have felt the same way. They could not have imagined the horrors that were to come with the rise of Nazis. They could not have imagined the arrests, the torture, the executions in the street, the destruction of their thriving subculture or the brutality of the concentration camps that were in their very near future.
As for gay concentration camps in Australia, well, Patrick Abboud’s award-winning podcast investigation The Greatest Menace reveals that we came pretty close with Cooma Jail, designed specifically to house men convicted of sex with other men. It was state-sponsored custodial homophobia and it happened within living memory.
Other gay prisons mentioned in Gary’s story include the island of San Domino in Italy, pre-World War II, and New Plymouth Prison in New Zealand. I had no idea of either of these histories. It is shocking to read them now.
The fact that gay, bisexual and same-sex attracted men are still being locked up in some modern countries should alarm us all. Iran and Chechnya are just two of the countries we know about. There are 64 countries around the world that criminalise consenting sex between adult males. We don’t know the stories of the men who are imprisoned in those countries.
Could it happen to us in modern Western democracies like the United States, Australia, Canada or The United Kingdom? It seems unlikely, however, it has seemed unlikely before and yet it has happened.
Gary’s incarceration feature is long and contains some distressing details. I hope you are able to make your way through it. It’s important for us to remind ourselves that our freedom requires vigilance. Gary’s feature explains why and when we lose our freedom.
On a brighter note, yes, this is the Health issue and Brandon Bentley’s features on mental, physical and sexual health are welcome. We don’t believe in body shaming but there is also room to suggest that being that little healthier might also make you happier. I would be happier if I had a little less tummy!
I mentioned Oscar Wilde, and coincidentally we have a feature on the Australia Ballet’s original new work, Oscar. Matt Myers speaks with the lead dancers playing Oscar and his lover, Bosie. The Wilde story is a good one to know, so why not experience it through the medium of dance?
Also reviewed this month are the books Fourteen by Shannon Molloy and Queer by William Burroughs. Queer was written in the 1950s but not released until 1985. Find out why in Guy Davidson’s story, and how it has been adapted for the screen with Daniel Craig in the lead role. Similarly, Fourteen has been out for a few years but it has recently inspired a touring stage show and re-release. Portia Turbo reacts to the book – and there are tears!
It being the Health issue there are, of course, lots of stunningly fit bodies to enjoy. I hope you enjoy every bit of the issue.
Print and Digital versions are out now! Get DNA #298 – The Health Issue here.
