Authors of fiction do something for us that goes far beyond the mechanics of plot. They create, or recreate, a time and a place drawn from both their own experiences and their imaginations. Few authors do that with the skill and dexterity of Alan Hollinghurst. He can imagine wholly fleshed characters as complex and detailed as an individual artist as well as his oeuvre—not only the vagaries of their personality, but the whole body of their work—as he did so effectively in his earlier masterpiece, The Folding Star. This understanding of an artist’s skills extends to his own work. He, in fact, paints a world in more vivid detail than any visual artist can and lets us, the reader, dwell there for a time until we, with much regret, turn the last page. Many authors aspire to this, a lucky few have the skill necessary, and a mere handful, living and working today, do it as well as Hollinghurst.
In The Sparsholt Affair, Hollinghurst brings alive a generational tale that begins at the dawn of WWII in the storied world of Oxford University. An early manifestation of gay culture exists here and the men who people it are enraptured by a young oarsman of great beauty, aspiring RAF pilot David Sparsholt. It is Sparsholt, although he makes only brief appearances himself, that this narrative revolves around via his notorious reputation and later the life of his son, Johnny, an out portrait artist living in London. A fascinating group of academics, artists, and scholars who are those originally enthralled by Sparsholt provide a fascinating supporting cast as they live, create, and age through the decades that follow. Many of them befriend Johnny Sparsholt as a young artist, and we are taught something about aging with dignity, especially in gay culture where youth and beauty are worshipped and the march of time fought, until it is ultimately ignored. Characters such as Evert, a poet and art collector who loved Sparsholt in those Oxford years, age with grace and on their own terms and in Evert’s case, with the love and companionship of an attractive younger man. This theme carries over into Johnny’s life as we come to the present day and he hits his sixties finding himself single for the first time in years.
The Sparsholt Affair is a novel in five pieces—five places in time lovingly brought to life by Hollinghurst, as is his strength. The eponymous “Affair” is one that will be slowly revealed to the reader. Once we feel this world fully, he brings to life this unforgettable cast. They live in our minds—some until their decline and death—and a plot of complex twists and turns is never needed. This may be fiction, but it is an authentic story of fully-drawn personalities that are often flawed, in their very human way, but never boring. This is another device that Hollinghurst uses effectively here, better than any working author today, he tells real stories about characters he’s realized so fully, you’d swear that they lived and drew breath. Hollinghurst has been long and short listed for all the major awards, winning several, and no less can be expected of this extraordinary new effort.
The Sparsholt Affair
By Alan Hollinghurst
Knopf
Hardcover, 9781101874561, 464 pp.
March 2018
Theresa May has refused to condemn Downing Street staff who allegedly outed a whistleblower as gay – putting his Pakistani family in danger.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s special adviser Stephen Parkinson came under fire over the weekend after he put out a statement via Downing Street revealing the sexuality of former Brexit campaigner Shahmir Sanni, who had come forward to expose alleged irregularities in the Vote Leave campaign.
Mr Sanni, who volunteered for the supposedly-independent BeLeave group, named Mr Parkinson as one of the Vote Leave officials who secretly guided their campaign in violation of electoral rules.
In his official statement released via Downing Street’s press office, Mr Parkinson hit back by revealing that he had been in a relationship with Mr Sanni at the time, claiming he had only provided advice to him as his boyfriend.
Shahmir Sanni and Stephen Parkinson
Mr Sanni says the public revelation has forced him to come out to his family in Pakistan, where homosexuality is illegal and strongly taboo – and has left his relatives living in fear of their safety.
Pressed over the issue in Parliament today, Theresa May failed to condemn Mr Parkinson’s actions, and claimed the message circulated by Downing Street was actually a “personal statement” from the adviser – drawing cries of “disgrace” from Labour MPs.
Responding to a question from Labour’s Ben Bradshaw, she said: “Any statements issued were personal statements… they were personal statements… they were personal statements that were issued.
“I of course recognise the importance of ensuring that we do recognise that for some, being outed as gay is difficult because of their family and circumstances. What I want to see is a world where everyone is able to be confident in their sexuality and doesn’t have to worry about such things.”
MPs heckled the PM repeatedly as she claimed the message was “personal”, pointing out that it had been sent via email by Kirsty Buchanan, Downing Street’s Head of Broadcast media, from an official Downing Street email address.
There was no suggestion on the email that it was not an official communication from Downing Street’s press office.
Mr Bradshaw said: “How is it remotely acceptable that when a young whistleblower exposes compelling evidence of lawbreaking by the Leave campaign, implicating staff at Number 10, one of those named issued an officially-sanctioned statement outing the whistleblower as gay and putting his family in Pakistan in danger?
“It’s a disgrace, Prime Minister, you need to do something about it.”
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LGBT rights organisation Stonewall has branded the breach of privacy “inexcusable” and dangerous.
It said: “This public disclosure of Sanni’s sexuality was made without his consent. The severity of this breach of confidence cannot be underestimated.
“Telling someone about your sexuality or gender identity must always be a personal decision. No person has the right to take that decision away.
“Publicly outing someone robs that person of the chance to define who they are in their own terms if they even want to. In extreme cases – as in this one – it can also put the lives of that person and their loved ones in danger.
“Outing someone ignores the many valid reasons a person may have for not choosing to be open about their sexuality to every person in their life. Concerns about personal safety to fears about discrimination at work or in their place of worship all play a part in someone’s decision to come out.
“Some LGBT people are not out because of a real need to protect themselves. We do not live in a world that is accepting of everyone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Not only does the world still have a long way to go, so does Britain, as this irresponsible indiscretion shows.”
It added: “What has happened to Shahmir Sanni is inexcusable. Outing someone can put lives at risk. We will always stand with and support all LGBT people, whether they are out or not.
“No LGBT person should ever have to live in fear that someone might tell the world about their sexuality or gender identity before they are ready. Only that person will know if they are comfortable and ready to come out.
“That choice and decision must always be respected.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Mr Sanni’s fellow whistleblower Chris Wylie called for Parkinson, who is Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, to resign.
Mr Wylie said: “Absolutely he should resign. He should resign for his actions in outing someone and endangering his family, and also for the fact he worked on a programme that resulted in cheating in the referendum.”
He added: “The Prime Minister’s office outed my friend. Number 10 Downing Street labelled ‘official statement’ to journalists around the world outing Shahmir Sanni, whose family in Pakistan had to take security measures for their own safety.
“He was forced to come out to his mum in the middle of the night because Downing Street decided it was appropriate for the government to out someone.”
In his statement, Mr Parkinson had said: “Shahmir became an occasional volunteer for Vote Leave and other Leave campaigns, and we began a personal relationship.
“We subsequently dated for 18 months, splitting up — I thought amicably — in September 2017.
“That is the capacity in which I gave Shahmir advice and encouragement, and I can understand if the lines became blurred for him, but I am clear that I did not direct the activities of any separate campaign groups.”
Mr Sanni responded via an outraged statement through his solicitors.
He said: “It’s sad that Stephen feels he can’t tell the truth about cheating in the Referendum.
“I think he understands why I had to do the right thing and let people know what really happened.
“But I never imagined that he, with the help of Number 10, would choose to tell the world I am gay, in a last desperate attempt to scare me.”
He added: “This is something I’ve never told most of my friends or family, here or in Pakistan, some of whom are having to take measures to ensure their safety.
“He knew the danger it would cause, and that’s why he did it.
“My coming out should have happened at a moment of my choosing – not his or the Government’s.
“Some things are more important than politics and I hope that one day he agrees.”
In a subsequent statement, Mr Parkinson said: “I have seen the statements issued by Shahmir and his lawyers, and am saddened by them.
“They are factually incorrect and misleading.
“My statement to Channel 4 News and The Observer was issued in my personal capacity and was solely a response to the serious and untrue allegations made against me by Shahmir, Chris Wylie, and others.
“It would be surprising if Shahmir, Mr Wylie, or those advising them thought I would be able to defend myself against those allegations without revealing my relationship with Shahmir. Sadly, the allegations they have chosen to make are so serious that I have been compelled to do so.
“I cannot see how our relationship, which was ongoing at the time of the referendum and which is a material fact in the allegations being made, could have remained private once Shahmir decided to publicise his false claims in this way.”
Despite Mr Parkinson claiming his statement was issued in a “personal capacity”, several journalists have come forward with proof that the statement ‘outing’ Mr Sanni was directly released via the Downing Street press office.
Guardian writer Carole Cadwalladr shared a screenshot which shows the statement was sent via email by Kirsty Buchanan, Downing Street’s Head of Broadcast media, from an official Downing Street email address.
She wrote: “This is absolutely indefensible. Number 10’s press office outed a 24-year-old man against his will. Think about it. This was sanctioned and approved by Theresa May’s government.”
President Trump’s opposition to trans people serving in the military has sparked protests
A US judge ruling on President Trump’s trans military ban has likened the policy to the discrimination of black people in the armed forces.
Marsha J Pechman, a federal judge in Seattle, is hearing a challenge aimed at blocking the effort to exclude trans people from serving.
This week, in comments reported by Bloomberg, she compared the policy to the historical exclusion of blacks from the military and the ban on mixed units. She said it had been an “error” that the courts signed off on those past decisions.
The judge is being urged to rule that Trump’s controversial policy is unconstitutional.
American LGBT advocates the Human Rights Campaign and the state of Washington argue the government has failed to demonstrate that allowing trans people to serve would damage military readiness or unit cohesion.
Last week, the White House announced it was seeking to formally ban such individuals “except under certain limited circumstances”.
It came after Trump stated last summer that he would ban trans people from serving in the military “in any capacity”.
At the time, the president said that the armed forces “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption”.
However, his claims have been roundly criticised, including in a letter signed by 56 retired admirals and generals who said the discriminatory policy would harm morale and downgrade military readiness.
Critics have also argued it will force trans members to hide their identities while depriving the military of talent as well as reinforcing harmful and inaccurate stereotypes.
Judge Pechman is expected to make her decision next month, after receiving more information on the proposed ban from the government.
Trump’s policy would overturn a decision made by his predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2016 which lifted a ban on trans people serving openly in the military.
Marc Lange and Carl Blea, possible hate crime survivors (Photo: Provided by the family)
A man and his husband were walking through Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, while on vacation. They’d had a night of dancing and were heading back to the condo where they were staying when they heard a man shout something and shoot at them.
It was 2:30 a.m. and the bullet struck Carl Blea, going through his thigh, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reported. His husband, Marc Lange, said that the two were lucky as Blea acted quickly and tried to pull the two to safety.
Speaking by phone from the hospital, Lange confessed he feared they would both be dead if they didn’t act so fast. The two both believe that they think they were the target of a hate crime because they are gay. Lange went on to call it “a random act of hatred.” Despite local news reports claiming it was a robbery, he said he’s told the police what happened multiple times.
Local news even reported that there was a struggle between the gunman and the couple, but Lange said that he’s concerned local authorities are attempting to cover up the incident because it would hurt tourism. The city is a popular beach town for American travelers.
“We never uttered a word to [the gunman],” Lange said.
“This was not a robbery went bad. It was a hate crime as Carl Blea and I were walking hand in hand,” Lange later wrote on Facebook. “We never spoke to the man who shot us. He yelled at us and then pulled out a gun and shot at us. This is not correct. We told 3 different set of police officials the same story. There were no witnesses, the street was empty.”
The trial of the wife of Pulse shooter Omar Mateen has taken a dramatic twist – after it emerged that Mateen’s father was an FBI informant.
Forty-nine people died at Orlando’s Pulse gay club during a horrific mass shooting in June 2016, when Omar Mateen, who had pledged support for ISIS, opened fire at the crowd.
At the time it was the most deadly mass shooting in recent US history, though it has since been surpassed.
Mateen was killed in a shootout with the local police during the attack, but his wife Noor Salman is currently standing trial over allegations that she knew about the attack in advance.
But there was a dramatic development in the case this week, as Salman’s lawyers pushed for a mistrial – alleging that prosecutors failed to provide information to their client.
The defence alleges that Omar Mateen’s father Seddique Mateen was an FBI informant between January 2005 and June 2016 – details they claims were concealed ahead of the trial.
The FBI had previously confirmed it investigated Omar Mateen twice ahead of the attack but concluded he was not a potential terrorist.
The Intercept reports claims that FBI agents consulted Mateen’s father, who was already an FBI informant at the time of the investigation into his son.
Salman’s lawyers claimed: “Because the government violated Ms Salman’s Fifth Amendment right to due process and Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial, this Court must dismiss the Government’s case.
“In the alternative, if this Court does not dismiss this action, it should order a mistrial in order to safeguard these fundamental constitutional rights. Indeed, an analysis of the government’s conduct in this case establishes a consistent pattern of withholding evidence that directly impacted presentation of Ms Salman’s defense.”
(Getty)
However, the motion was dismissed.
Judge Paul Byron denied the motion, saying: “It doesn’t change the dynamic about this case involving Noor Salman.”
Salman, 31, stands accused of obstruction of justice and of aiding and abetting Mateen over the attack.
She stands accused of knowing about the plans for the attack in advance, but her attorneys and family insist she did not know what her husband was planning.
Prosecutors believe that while planning the shooting, Mateen asked Salman whether attacking a Disney site would have a bigger impact than attacking a nightclub.
It was also previously alleged she had “driven him to the gay nightclub, Pulse, because he wanted to scope it out” and “was with him when he bought ammunition and a holster”.
But Salman’s uncle Al Salman insists that the 30-year-old was “simple and innocent”, and that she had been abused by Mateen.
On the first White House news briefing after President Trump reaffirmed his ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. military, White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah declined to address the issue, nor did any reporters from mainstream media outlets ask about it as part of their questioning.
The main focus from reporters on Monday during the 20-minute briefing, characteristically abbreviated for the Trump White House, was instead the “60 Minutes” interview Sunday night with porn star Stormy Daniels and the details she revealed about her alleged sexual affair with Trump. Other questions were about the U.S. expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats as a result of Russia’s apparent use of a military-grade chemical weapon in the United Kingdom, which killed a former Russian spy.
The Washington Blade was seated in the third row and had a hand up during the briefing, but Shah declined to recognize the LGBT outlet for a question. At one point, Shah looked directly at the Blade, but skipped the publication for another reporter. That’s consistent with the Trump White House record of virtually ignoring the Blade during the White House briefings.
Had the Blade been called on during the briefing, the LGBT outlet would have asked about the transgender military ban, which was made public late Friday night just as the weekend started at a time when media coverage was limited and the White House wasn’t taking questions on the issue.
At the close of the briefing, another non-mainstream media standing in the aisle sought comment from Shah on the transgender military ban by shouting out an inquiry. Shah looked at the reporter as he exited the briefing, but had no response.
The Blade followed up with Shah after the briefing by submitting two questions via email to him and other staffers in the White House.
Here are the questions:
1. Did the president, Vice President or anyone at the White House seek to influence the findings in the report from Secretary Mattis made public Friday?
2. Multiple courts have ruled prohibiting transgender service is unconstitutional. Isn’t the policy a non-starter?
Trump announced he’d keep his ban on transgender service in the military following a report signed by Defense Secretary James Mattis recommending limited access to transgender people in the armed forces. The expectation is the policy will be unenforceable because six courts — four trial courts and two circuit courts — have determined barring transgender people from the U.S. military is likely unconstitutional.
The citizenship question, announced Monday night, will discourage people from responding to the census and will violate the Constitution’s mandate for “actual enumeration,” the state’s lawsuit argues, according to The Washington Post.
“The Census numbers provide the backbone for planning how our communities can grow and thrive in the coming decade,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “What the Trump administration is requesting is not just alarming, it is an unconstitutional attempt to discourage an accurate Census count.”
The census hasn’t included a question about citizenship since 1950. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the question would allow better enforcement of voting laws.
Adding a citizenship question is likely to make people more wary of filling out the survey, causing undercounts ― especially in communities with large immigrant populations, HuffPost and The Washington Post have previously reported. An undercount could cost states like California seats in Congress, federal funding based on population and electoral college votes in presidential elections.
“It is long settled that all persons residing in the United States — citizens and non-citizens alike — must be counted to fulfill the Constitution’s ‘actual Enumeration’ mandate,” California’s lawsuit states.
Eric Holder, a former U.S. attorney general who now heads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said Tuesday his group also will sue Trump’s administration.
“The addition of a citizenship question to the census questionnaire is a direct attack on our representative democracy,” Holder said in a statement.
For his debut feature movie, London based Finnish filmmaker Mikko Makela has returned home to tell his compelling tale of a romantic summer encounter between an unlikely pair that literally sizzles on the screen.
Leevi (Janne Puustinen ) has been studying in Paris and comes back home to somewhat reluctantly help his estranged father (Mika Melender) renovate their old remote county cottage so they can sell it to help re-finance their ailing family business. The two men couldn’t possibly be more different with their opposing views on practically every aspect of their lives. The father is a gruff conservative, and it is not just Leevi’s sexuality that disturbs him but his son’s insistence on taking up French citizenship to avoid being conscripted into the Finnish Army that he totally hates.
It soon becomes obvious that Leevi has no skills or inclination for the work at hand and so his father is forced to employ the services of a contractor to help with the rebuild. However In the isolated community they live in, the pickings are few and far in between, and the only candidate is a Tareq (Boodi Kabbani) a Syrian refugee who was once an architect. The father however is fit to explode and cannot refrain from a stream of racist comments.
Luckily Tariq doesn’t speak Finnish so although he may pick up on the father’s unfriendly welcome, he is unaware of the extent of his attitude. However, though the workmanlike Tariq and geeky studious Leevi appear to be totally opposite and no more than just merely polite to each other, the moment the father is called back to town, they quickly discover they have a great deal in common.
What then flourishes in the father’s subsequent absences is a deep and profound relationship between the two young men, which when its physical side manifests becomes a very sensuous and loving experience. However, with the thought of the end of summer looming and with Tariq wanting to reunite with his Syrian family, and Leevi intent on getting back to Paris and his studies, they both know that there are tough decisions that must be made very soon.
It is a remarkably mature debut from Makela who very competently tackles several issues at once, from Leevi’s sexuality, his father/son relationship and also the growing unrest in the world about refugees and immigrants. The romance aspect is handled beautifully thanks to not only the very real chemistry of the two lead actors pitch-perfect performances but also Makela’ s direction that avoids the usual pitfalls of indie gay moves that always make the physical encounters seem like a poor soft core porn films.
The film has been in the works for some time so the fact that one of the protagonists is a hunky foreign manual worker that falls for a local lad, just like in God’s Own Country, is pure coincidence, but one we feel sure that audiences will be happy if it does become a trend.
A Moment In The Reeds leaves you wondering what would happen if the story had ended differently, and maybe Makela will be tempted to make a sequel to his very entertaining tale. He is a fresh new voice in queer cinema a genre which Finland suddenly seems to be adopting after last years Tom of Finland and Screwed. Long may he, and his fellow filmmakers continue.
The study, which tracked more than 500 couples in Vermont over the course of 12 years, also revealed that women in same-sex marriages were the most likely to break up.
Lesbian unions are twice as likely as gay marriages and 1.5 times as likely as straight marriages to end, according to the research.
Professor Esther Rothblum, the study’s author and a visiting scholar at the Williams Institute who also teaches women’s studies at San Diego State University, said that one explanation was the results was that women expected more than men.
“Other studies on heterosexual couples have found that women have higher standards for relationship quality than men,” she said.
“We suspect that similar dynamics may be at play with the lesbian couples in our study, leading to the higher dissolution rate.”
The Williams Institute research also revealed the reasons why same-sex unions last.
For lesbian couples, with every extra year that the relationship lasts, the odds of a breakup are reduced by a huge 13 percent.
If you’re a learned pair of female lovers, you’re also better-suited to the world of relationships, with each year of education causing the odds of a split to plummet by 16 percent.
Older couples are also less likely to break up.
If you’re wondering whether having children will help or damage your marriage’s chances of lasting, the study found that having a baby has no effect.
Another author of the study, Kimberly Balsam from Palo Alto University, said the study was “crucial in combating stereotypes about same-sex couples,” adding that she hoped it would “inform policy and program development to support healthy relationships for all couples.”
The author of the research, Ritch C. Savin-Williams, explained that the study proved sexuality was a “continuum,” adding that he wants it to help clear up misconceptions and stigma about bisexual people – in particular, bisexual men.
“Men have gotten so much cultural crap put on them that even if a man does have some sexual attraction to guys, they would never say it,” Savin-Williams said.
The hometown of anti-gay Vice President Mike Pence will host its first ever Pride festival in an effort to distance themselves from the former governor.
Erin Bailey, a high school student, has organised the Columbus Pride Festival in an effort to prove that Mike Pence does not represent all of his hometown.
“I feel it is important for members of the LGBTQ community to know that Columbus is a welcoming and diverse community,” Bailey said to Huff Post.
“Even though Mike Pence is openly anti-gay, that doesn’t mean that all of us in his hometown are.”
The controversial vice president has one of the worst records on LGBT rights of any US leader in history.
The event is planned for April 14 and will be the first of its kind to be hosted Columbus, a small city with under 50,000 people.
Organiser Erin Bailey, a student of Columbus Signature Academy-New Tech, also said that as well as welcoming LGBT people to Columbus, the event could help distance the liberal-leaning town from the ultra-conservative Veep.
The 18-year-old said: “We are so much more than just a small town that he grew up in.”
“It is important for this event to be happening now so that others know that even in this time of hatred, we don’t all agree with it. This is an opportunity to show support for an all-inclusive community.
“This is something incredibly important to me, and I want to make a difference in not only our small Indiana community but in the world as well. Gay rights are human rights.”
Other LGBT+ groups in Columbus have welcomed the plans as the first of their kind, though they are by far the first pro-LGBT movement in Columbus, according to Pride Alliance Columbus.
“As an ally, it’s very important to me that Erin’s event, as wonderful as it is, is not seen in a vacuum. PAC has been in existence for almost 20 years, and our mission is inclusion for all,” said Pride Alliance Columbus’ president Jill Tasker.
This isn’t the first bit of potentially bad news for the anti-LGBT Vice President this month.
