So what do you do if you live in a society so repressive a woman could not be a TV talk show host but you want to be one—except you’re a gay man in a Muslim country? Ali Saleem of Karachi, Pakistan, plays a glamorous widow, Begum Nawazish Ali, on TV and says ‘Maybe, yes, I am a diva.’ He talks about sex (off-limits), politics (forbidden), and gossip (encouraged). He is open about his own sexuality and remarks, ‘Sitting senators have sent requests to be on the show’ (even though he flirts with them). The show’s been on, according to the New York Times (1/3), nearly two years with nary a peep from the Pakistani government or religious fundamentalists. Maybe they just can’t figure him out.
From the ‘Just-Who-Do-You-Root-For?’ file: the News of the Weird column in the Chicago Reader (12/22) reports that because the feds and Texas don’t recognize gay unions, William Dodson—the domestic partner of convicted Enron exec Michael Kopper—won’t have to forfeit the illegally gained assets he got from Kopper. Straight spouses had to give theirs back. We’re talking $9 million.
The Chicago Sun-Times (11/19) starts an essay about gay marriage and Black America: ‘You and I both know that if gays got up and walked out of the church, there’d be no deacons, music, ushers and, in some cases, no pastor.’ Jasmyne Cannick, a lesbian blogger, writes that Black pastors who use gays as scapegoats need to stop because their own friends, relatives and associates are targets. Cannick echoes other writers in saying gay issues (e.g., same-sex marriage) are used as distractions by conservatives and the present administration from more serious issues, such as health care and Social Security reform.
For those extremely ‘civil’ civil union ceremonies and gay weddings, the Chicago Tribune (12/26) says you can pick up rainbow-jeweled rings; double-bride thank-you cards; and ‘His and His’ towel sets. An industry is growing up to celebrate lavender nuptials even before every state legislature comes around. Some folks spend $60,000 and some much less, but there are national magazines like the one from the Rainbow Wedding Network; gay wedding expos; gay wedding books; and gay-friendly photographers. Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here … to make money.
R.I.P. Ruth Bernhard, 101, photographer of female nudes. A quote from a book about her (Ruth Bernhard: Between Art and Life, by Margaretta K. Mitchell): ‘Woman has been the subject of much that is sordid and cheap … To raise … the image of woman has been my mission.’ Bernhard talked freely of her affairs with men and women in the book: ‘I allowed life to give me presents.’ (The New York Times, 12/21).