Been There Done That

28 Mar 2018

The End of Summer – and the end of cricket …. for a while ?

Activism, Anniversary, Community, Diversity, Gay, HIV, Icons, Inventions, Pop Culture, Visibility

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The End of Summer – and the end of cricket …. for a while ?

Soon we’ll miss the hot days of summer – but we’ve milked the most out of the last 5 months.

We note the election of the first openly lesbian politician to the parliament of Tasmania – an important and proud moment. We also note that gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk is to be honoured with the naming of an airport terminal in recognition and respect for his role in that city’s gay history. We contrast this with the opposite circumstances our Australian cricket team has recently heaped upon themselves.

The end of summer brings us the annual international car race lakeside at Albert Park, the end of Summer time and the fun of April Fool’s Day, and more importantly this year the addition of PreP anti-HIV medication to the list of pharmaceuticals whose cost are subsidised by our government.

In France, homosexuality was decriminalised in 1791 and the Napoleonic Code became French civil law in 21/3/1804, carrying forward the belief that private acts by private individuals were not a matter for state intervention. It influenced later French colonies too, in contrast to English Law and the legacy still held in British colonies.

Anniversaries around this time include Stephen Sondheim (gay US composer and lyricist of stage shows), Marlon Brando (US movie star and philanderer on both sides of the fence, according to reports), Lady GaGA (US singer, performer and gay icon), and (Sir) Dirk Bogarde (UK gay movie star, best known for his portrayal of a gay victim), and the first version of Monopoly, known as The Landlord’s Game, where properties were ‘rented’ not bought and sold.