Quote:

Originally Posted by Irene

I fail to see how this issue is a gay issue. Surely the same can be said in the hetero community. Why is it being raised as a gay issue and not in the broader community?

I think this is more the case. When you are gay you mix with a lot more people you may not have mixed with if you were straight. our sexuality is the commonality that brings people from all backgrounds into the same area. whilst straights are more likely to stick with their ethnic and social groups.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazzymikey

I think this is more the case. When you are gay you mix with a lot more people you may not have mixed with if you were straight. our sexuality is the commonality that brings people from all backgrounds into the same area. whilst straights are more likely to stick with their ethnic and social groups.

I disagree. I think regardless of sexual orientation, younger generations are socialising and forming relationships more with people from diverse backgrounds.

It's nothing to do with being gay or straight, it's how our society is evolving.

This wannabe boyband singer (on the left) is kind of relevant to one of Azul's points.

It's Kamaljit Singh Jhooti from Pakistan via Britain who feels he can only be a big-money star by throwing off his heritage. He has adopted a new name 'Jay Sean' and dresses and uses speech and gestures of African-Americans.

Just sharing this info from the blog, "Stop Racism and Homophobia on Grindr"

"...Anyways, according to this charming individual, if I went into the city and checked into Grindr, I’d have proof just how many of these Asians had invaded our once lovely White Nation.

I work in the city every day, and know this is not true, but thought a little experiment would come in handy. Here are the results:

There were 268 profiles on my cascade. Out of these the breakdown was as follows:

Indeterminate Race (no pic, blank screen, picture of a foot, etc) = 26 people (9.7%)

Latin American = 10 people (3.7%)

Middle Eastern = 3 people (1.1%)

Asian = 39 people (14.6%)

Indian = 1 person (0.4%)

Caucasian (for the dummies, Caucasian means White person) = 189 people (70.5%)



Note these figures are eerily in line with the Melbourne demographic figures of the 2006 Australian Census.

THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU CALL AN ASIAN INVASION, ITS WHAT YOU CALL A WHITE WASH!"

For more: http://stopracismandhomophobiaongrin...on-but-you-can

race don't exist.

beautiful and not-beautiful people do exist.

^
So Azul, what's your point?





.

in general only 3.14159265 in every 1oo people are beautiful.

that's about the same as a circle's circumference ratio to twice it's radius.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_

Are we sharing pictures of crowds?

I like pictures of crowds like this:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6ksi-mZ-RQ

And also illustrations of a real multicultural population like this:

Same Same Media Player

The Mp3 Experiment Seven - YouTube

Same Same Media Player

Pillow Fight New York 2011 - YouTube

Same Same Media Player

New York City - Pillow Fight Day 2012 - Washington Square Park - YouTube

Same Same Media Player

NYC Gay Pride Parade 2011 - YouTube

Quote:

Originally Posted by azulmelb

Just sharing this info from the blog, "Stop Racism and Homophobia on Grindr"

"...Anyways, according to this charming individual, if I went into the city and checked into Grindr, I’d have proof just how many of these Asians had invaded our once lovely White Nation.

I work in the city every day, and know this is not true, but thought a little experiment would come in handy. Here are the results:

There were 268 profiles on my cascade. Out of these the breakdown was as follows:

Indeterminate Race (no pic, blank screen, picture of a foot, etc) = 26 people (9.7%)

Latin American = 10 people (3.7%)

Middle Eastern = 3 people (1.1%)

Asian = 39 people (14.6%)

Indian = 1 person (0.4%)

Caucasian (for the dummies, Caucasian means White person) = 189 people (70.5%)



Note these figures are eerily in line with the Melbourne demographic figures of the 2006 Australian Census.

THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU CALL AN ASIAN INVASION, ITS WHAT YOU CALL A WHITE WASH!"

For more: http://stopracismandhomophobiaongrin...on-but-you-can

Damn white people, how dare they outnumber Asians.

Wonder what the Grindr demographics are in China?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsquare

Damn white people, how dare they outnumber Asians.

Wonder what the Grindr demographics are in China?

I think this is it - this is why Asians are so disliked by Australians. Since the gold rush and then the introduction of the White Australia policy to the current opposition to asylum seekers - many Australians are not happy with the possibility that the White population will lose its majority numbers.

They are uneasy with the fact that their country like many Western countries now are fast becoming multicultural and soon the majority racial group will see their numbers decreasing and that scares them.

People nowadays are keeping this sentiment hidden because they're afraid of being labelled racists but I believe people should just be honest about it and demand for what they want - if they want to stop migration, then tell your government to stop migration. If you only want White migrants, then demand for it. There are political parties who are demanding for such policies like the Australian Protectionist Party*.

But to those who might be interested in them, let me warn you that they are against gays though.

I just wish some of these people (including any possible SameSamers) would just honest about how they/you really feel about migration issues and non-White people because I am not Australian, so I can't really be offended.

I mean if I was a second or third generation non-Anglo Aussie, I might be unhappy if they/you stated that but I'm not, so if that's how they/you feel about their/your country, who am I to tell them/ you how they/you should feel because like I said I am not an Australian and will likely never be an Australian (considering moving to the US actually).

So, guys just be honest but be polite about it - people can't really attack your opinion or wishes because it is your right to express how you feel.




*http://www.protectionist.net/

Some of the Australian Protectionist Party's primary policies:

5. Protect our people

Implement a zero-net immigration policy, on a “one in, one out” basis. To have sensible immigration programmes that will be geared towards accepting into our country only those people who will readily fit into our society, primarily from traditional sources such as Europe and Britain. To seek a homogeneous society where we can all live in harmony, free from the ethnic and racial strife caused by social-engineering experiments. End Third World immigration and Muslim immigration, and offer economic assistance to those who wish to be reunited with their people’s homeland.

7. Protect our way of life

End the destructiveness of Multiculturalism and Political Correctness. Teach our students about the achievements and values of Australian society and of Western Civilisation. Immerse our youth in the traditions of the Australian national identity and culture. Enable criticism and challenging of ideas in the classroom, but without having a “black armband” view of history deliberately being pushed by teachers as a form of political activism. End government funding for the political ideology of Multiculturalism.

Read more: http://www.protectionist.net/primary...#ixzz1tTySWhH5

From All Together Now's "Talk About Racism" project:

Lauren sharing how her experience with racism taught her that "it's really important to stand up for yourself and your cultural identity"

Same Same Media Player

Lauren- Have you ever encountered racism? - YouTube

Kristy sharing how confused she was after her experience with racism...

Same Same Media Player

Kristy- Have you ever encountered racism? - YouTube

http://talkaboutracism.wordpress.com/

The following is not related to sexual racism but it is the reflection of one international student upon the recent attacks on a group of Chinese students in Sydney (http://www.smh.com.au/national/this-...424-1xiv4.html).

And another reason why I'm posting this here because I'm still trying to understand if there's any connection with this issue and with the negative perception of refugees aka "boat people" as well as the "low status" of Asian men in the gay community, etc. Are they all fueled by racial prejudice or xenophobia? What is the difference between the two? Anyone interested in discussing this?


We came here to learn, but we live in fear
Shuting Dong
May 11, 2012

An attack in Sydney reinforces a Chinese student's perceptions.

A gang of six teenagers were reported last month to have harassed passengers on a train in Sydney. When they confronted a female passenger, she pointed desperately at two Chinese men sitting opposite her and said "Rob them. They are Asian. They are rich.''

The men, who were international students, were taunted as "Asian dogs and pussies" and assaulted. They were left with broken bones and cigarette burns.

One student had his mouth stuffed with a used tampon, which an assailant had removed from her underpants. The gang was later charged with assault and robbery, but no one on the train at the time offered help.

At least, that is the account of events that sent shockwaves through Australia's international student community, particularly those of us from China.

An online posting by one of the victims, a 29-year-old master's student known as Xuan, was re-tweeted more than 10,000 times within a day on microblogging website Weibo, China's version of Twitter. Thousands more people expressed their disgust over the attack on the site, run by Chinese internet giant Sina.

It made headlines in China, with state broadcaster The China Central Television network warning that violent Australian youth pose a serious threat to the safety of Chinese students.

I learnt of the attack within hours. So did my mum back in Hefei, in the Anhui province of China, who saw it on the news.

She rang me worried she had sent her only child into danger in a foreign country. I imagine many of the more than 100,000 Chinese students studying here received similar calls.

The incident will only add to Australia's reputation for violence against international students, which is mostly because of attacks against Indians. Whether this is deserved or not doesn't alter the fact that every newly-arrived international student is quickly initiated into the terrifying folklore whispered from one graduating class to the next.

Stories are told and retold about racial assaults that the police do little about. When I arrived here in February last year, I was warned to "never, ever, travel at night". The power these stories have on the experience of international students cannot be underestimated. While I have never been subject to overt racism, I am nevertheless always cautious, even on edge.

Like many Chinese, I choose to live as close as I can to the CBD to avoid long trips on public transport. Only once have I left my apartment after 9pm. If I have to travel in the evening, I sit as close as I can to the door. I text my friends when I get on trams and tell them to ring the police if they don't receive a text to say that I have got off.

The reason the Sydney incident struck a chord with many of us wasn't just because it was our worst fear played out. It was the reference to Chinese students being rich. Many of us feel exploited because of our perceived wealth and sense an undercurrent of resentment against us. This latest attack confirmed it.

It is easy to see why Australian youth might perceive us as wealthy. Foreign students are the cash cows of a more than $16 billion international education industry, the third-largest export industry of Australia. We also serve as a significant source of domestic economic growth. Research by my own university last year found that every Australian undergraduate student is subsidised to the tune of $1200 by international student fees.

My annual tuition fee for a bachelor of arts degree is about $26,000. Books, rent, food and everything else is on top of that.

As international students we are not entitled to the student discount on myki fares that local students receive. A seven-day pass, single-zone for student concession card holders is $9.20. For us it's $18.40.

In the rental market we pay more too because we usually can't get access to mainstream housing. Student accommodation is usually above $200 a week.

It sometimes feels like we are "ripped off" every way we turn. But does paying more for everything necessarily mean that we are rich?

There are Asian students who come from wealthy families. But I also know many Asian students who work here in crappy jobs such as kitchen hands and supermarket shelf-stackers to support their study. Some of my friends don't return home for holidays until graduation to save money, even though most of us Chinese students are precious only children.

I am from a lower-middle-class family. My parents work in a hospital and spent half their life savings to educate me here. They don't take annual leave and mostly work six days a week to support me. While we are better off than previous generations of our family who came from villages in the countryside, we don't consider ourselves rich.

I, like all of my friends here, have come to Australia, not because we have money to burn, but because we don't have the same opportunities to pursue our ambitions back in our homeland. We come because our dedicated parents would sacrifice anything they could to help us to get a better, Western education. We come because we admire Australia's diverse culture and its lively academic atmosphere. We come to accept and try to fit into a society so wonderfully different to our own.

It is a shame that many of us don't feel that acceptance and respect returned. I would like to feel safe in Australia, at home even, but it is hard to relax enough to make real connections here with nightmare stories such as Xuan's circulating.

Shuting Dong is an international student at the University of Melbourne.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/soc...#ixzz1uXOLpMlq

You know, I often wonder why they prefer to go to uni in the cities, clearly there's more crime in larger urban area's, but obviously, the more prestigious Uni's are in the cities. However it's safer out here, an I have a few Chinese mates from the mainland going to uni here with me. I think more should come out west. :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

You know, I often wonder why they prefer to go to uni in the cities, clearly there's more crime in larger urban area's, but obviously, the more prestigious Uni's are in the cities. However it's safer out here, an I have a few Chinese mates from the mainland going to uni here with me. I think more should come out west. :P

Good point. Maybe these universities like yours should be more aggressive in promoting their courses and programs to foreign students?

I think UNE does do this pretty well, we do have one of the largest multicultural Uni's in Australia. I agree with you that more Uni's like mine out in the country should promote themselves on these facts. next door to me I have a Saudi family, both parents are Uni students. The neighbours on the other side are a lesbian couple with a daughter, across the a Philipino/Indigenous family. Next door to them a Sudanese family, once a year we all come out an have a street party, we get along fine out this way. :]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

I think UNE does do this pretty well, we do have one of the largest multicultural Uni's in Australia. I agree with you that more Uni's like mine out in the country should promote themselves on these facts. next door to me I have a Saudi family, both parents are Uni students. The neighbours on the other side are a lesbian couple with a daughter, across the a Philipino/Indigenous family. Next door to them a Sudanese family, once a year we all come out an have a street party, we get along fine out this way. :]

Maybe you should be the university's Cultural Diversity Ambassador and they should send you to China, India, the Middle East, etc and woo more foreign students eh?

In fact, UNE should send a whole bunch of Cultural Diversity Ambassadors all over the world and bring back all those foreign students with you! You should propose this - you'll get to travel the for free bruh!

Hahaha I think they have sometihng like that going already...mmm might look into it. :] We are a culturally diverse town.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

Hahaha I think they have sometihng like that going already...mmm might look into it. :] We are a culturally diverse town.

Do it bruh - DO IT!

Lol ok chill bitch! I will look into it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marko

Lol ok chill bitch! I will look into it.

Black Leaders and Gay Advocates March in Step


The Rev. Al Sharpton, center, with Jeffrey Campagna, left, a national gay rights organizer, and Benjamin Todd Jealous, right, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., at a news conference in New York this month to announce a march to protest the stop-and-frisk practice by the New York police.


By KATE TAYLOR
Published: June 9, 2012

For years, gay rights organizations and major civil rights organizations viewed each other warily. African-American leaders often saw the gay rights groups as insensitive to racial concerns, and some resented the movement’s use of civil rights language to make the case for same-sex marriage. Advocates for gay rights, in turn, sometimes blamed socially conservative African-Americans for their defeat in crucial electoral battles.

But since the relationship reached something of a crisis with the passage of Proposition 8, California’s ballot initiative against same-sex marriage, in 2008, leaders in both movements have made an effort to bring their groups closer together.

Now, conversations among leaders in the gay, black and Latino communities have borne significant fruit: On May 19, the board of the N.A.A.C.P. voted to endorse same-sex marriage.

And then, last Tuesday, representatives of several national gay rights organizations gathered at New York City’s Stonewall Inn, often described as the birthplace of their movement, to announce that they would march to protest the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practice, under which the police each year have been stopping hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, most of them black or Latino, in an effort to prevent crime.

Some of the gay rights leaders specifically cited support from the N.A.A.C.P. for same-sex marriage as a reason they decided to oppose the stop-and-frisk policy.

“We need to find ways to strengthen our alliances and really strengthen our commitment to one another,” said Jeffrey Campagna, a national gay rights organizer who is coordinating the involvement of gay rights groups in the march on June 17 against the stop-and-frisk practice.

Julian Bond, a former chairman of the N.A.A.C.P. and a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, said he saw the association’s support for same-sex marriage as a way to acknowledge the contributions of gay rights advocates — most had not come out publicly at the time — in the civil rights movement.

“I knew these people, whom I just assumed to be gay, and I knew what they were doing on my behalf — and I hoped on their behalf, too,” he said. “I was grateful for it, and when the chance came, I wanted to pay them back.”

The same-sex-marriage and stop-and-frisk issues are only the most visible signs of closer collaboration.

Around the country, gay rights groups have joined minority advocacy organizations in political battles on behalf of voting rights and affirmative action. And in California, Oregon and Colorado, gay rights organizations have formed partnerships with immigrant rights groups to fight aggressive immigration laws.

And even before the national board of the N.A.A.C.P. voted to support same-sex marriage, that organization and other civil rights groups got involved in marriage battles on the state level. In North Carolina, the N.A.A.C.P. paid for radio and print advertisements, direct mail and “robocalls” urging black voters to oppose an amendment banning same-sex marriage; the amendment passed in May. In Maryland, where the State Legislature voted to legalize same-sex marriage in February, the Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network and Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights were prominent supporters.

“You must be for the civil rights of everyone, or you’re not for the civil rights of anyone,” Mr. Sharpton said last week.

One indication of the new rapport: Chad Griffin, who is taking over on Monday as president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s leading gay rights group, plans to have lunch on one of his first days in Washington with the president of the N.A.A.C.P., Benjamin Todd Jealous.

Mr. Jealous explained the newfound collaboration with a reference to Bayard Rustin, the pacifist and civil rights advocate who was black and gay.

“In the last four years, with the increase in hate crimes across the country, with states attempting to encode discrimination into their state laws and constitutions,” Mr. Jealous said, “it’s become clear that, just as Bayard Rustin admonished us all, that we would either stand together or die apart.”

The distance that has long existed between the gay rights and civil rights movements has complex roots. In addition to the strain of social conservatism that pervades many black Protestant churches, gay rights advocates’ use of the phrase “civil rights” and comparisons of the two movements have sometimes offended African-Americans, according to Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University.

“When gay and lesbian people say, ‘Hey, we understand, because we’ve been oppressed, too’ and ‘Like black people, we...,’ that’s a nonstarter for many black people,” he said.

Keith Boykin, an author who has written about homosexuality in the black community, said that “when people hear civil rights and gay rights, they think that people are trying to equate the two movements.” As a result, he said, “we sometimes get caught up in these hierarchies of oppression.”

For its part, the gay rights movement has sometimes struggled to be racially inclusive.

“Fifteen years ago, the leadership of the gay community, certainly in terms of organizations, was overwhelmingly white gay men,” said Marjorie J. Hill, the chief executive of GMHC, an H.I.V./AIDS organization.

Dr. Hill, who is black, said the more diverse gay rights organizations became, the more natural it was for gay rights and civil rights groups to form alliances.

The communication between the two communities has picked up since the disclosure in March of a memorandum by the National Organization for Marriage, the leading group opposing same-sex marriage in the country, that described a goal to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks” over same-sex marriage.

Leaders in both movements had already perceived a need to create relationships after gay rights advocates and minorities found themselves pitted against each other in fights over same-sex marriage.

“In the aftermath of Proposition 8, it was all about ‘the blacks and the Latinos, they didn’t vote for us,’ ” said Andrea Guerrero, the executive director of Equality Alliance San Diego, a group that works with immigrants and minority communities.

“Similarly, in the immigrant community, there’s been a sense of ‘they only call on us when they need us for their issue — they never come and help us on our issues,’ ” she said.

To address that divide, she and Delores A. Jacobs, the chief executive officer of the San Diego LGBT Community Center, decided to test political messaging about nontraditional families and the need to keep families together that they hope could be used in future campaigns to advocate both immigrants’ rights and same-sex marriage.

After Oregon voters in 2004 approved an amendment banning same-sex marriage, with the major group supporting the amendment using an African-American talk show host as its spokeswoman, a gay rights organization called Basic Rights Oregon decided to review its own lack of diversity and its failure to form close relationships with minority communities, according to its executive director, Jeana Frazzini.

It deepened a relationship with a Latino immigrant rights group, Causa. Since then, Basic Rights Oregon has fought local anti-immigrant ballot measures and pushed at the state level for illegal immigrants to be able to get driver’s licenses and, for those who came to this country as children, to pay in-state tuition at public universities. Causa and Basic Rights Oregon have also joined forces to run an ad on Spanish-language radio to promote legalizing same-sex marriage.

In the ad, a woman describes how she and her husband struggled to accept their gay son, then says that she does not want him to face discrimination when he finds someone to marry.

“As a Latina, I believe in loving my neighbor, in treating others as we would like to be treated, and in never turning our backs on family,” the woman says. “Marriage has brought so much happiness to my life, and I wouldn’t want any member of anyone’s family — gay or straight — to be denied that chance at happiness.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/ny...ef=todayspaper

Quote:

Originally Posted by azulmelb

many Australians are not happy with the possibility that the White population will lose its majority numbers.

They are uneasy with the fact that their country like many Western countries now are fast becoming multicultural and soon the majority racial group will see their numbers decreasing and that scares them.

People nowadays are keeping this sentiment hidden because they're afraid of being labelled racists

I just wish some of these people (including any possible SameSamers) would just honest about how they/you really feel about migration issues and non-White people because I am not Australian, so I can't really be offended.

So, guys just be honest but be polite about it - people can't really attack your opinion or wishes because it is your right to express how you feel.

I am a white New Zealander ( well a bit of Maori ) and my country has gone even further than Australia with the opening of the flood gates to "Third Worlders".

The white birthrate is below replacement level so importing 'skilled' Third Worlders is the solution.

Apparently there is a skills shortage that needs filling by outsiders when kiwi youth unemployment is around 20 - 25%?!!!

These guys come from authoritarian or democratically weak, corrupt cultures where life is VERY cheap. I don't want them coming to my country, they bring those attitudes and practices with them.

I feel bad for the refugee / boat people, they are escaping from hell ( the rich first world countries have played a big part in making it that way re: Middle East, East Timor), I don't blame them. But how many do you want to take in? If we said "Ok boat people are allowed in" how many would turn up on our shores - there are literally 100s of millions of them eager to get out?

In Auckland the gay scene has been transformed in little over a decade, asians everywhere, as many as or more than white guys - at the clubs, at the sauna - all gawking at the few white guys "I likeee very mucheee!!". Where have all the white boys gone, oh yeah that's right - over the ditch.

There's literally billions of them in Asia, so NZ and Australia need to protect our Western culture while adjusting to Asia possibly being the economic power house of this century ( thought there are some scary reports coming out of China and its massive debt bubble on par with Europe and the Yanks ).

I'm about ready to vote right wing for the first time in my life for an anti immigration party.

http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and...706-21kro.html

But you're too pretty to be Aboriginal...'

Celeste Liddle

When I was at University for the first time, I remember some bloke telling me on a pub crawl, "You're the best-looking Aboriginal woman I've ever met". I'm not too sure, even to this day, whether he thought this unfortunate line might lead to some groping in a booth later on, but I did know I would never forget it.

Clearly, he thought Aboriginal women were generally unattractive, which is ridiculous and offensive. And additionally, as he so clearly asserted, my alleged attractiveness could only be judged in contrast to that, rather than on its own merits.

It’s not the first time I’ve heard this. In year 8, I was told by some wonderful classmates that I had been voted the ugliest girl in the year. This, in its own twisted way, gave me some sobering context to the absurd “compliment” this bloke was attempting to make.

Even back then I never paid much heed to looks, so I was also caught off-guard by his comment (hence I didn't formulate a good rebuttal for about a week). Yet by that simple remark, he had objectified me and subjected me to racism, and still today I wonder what the hell he was thinking. Needless to say, if he did receive some pub booth love later on that day, it was not from me.

The thing is, I am not the only Aboriginal woman who has been told this. There was once a Facebook group called, "But you're too pretty to be Aboriginal..." (now defunct), which was full of anecdotes from women who had similar encounters.

As women, our looks are ripe for commentary from strangers from the day we're born. Throw in the "Aboriginal factor", and this becomes significantly heightened. With sad regularity we are judged not only on our general appearance, but also on our "fairness", our "exoticness" or our attractiveness in comparison with other Aboriginal women. There also seems to be a degree of shame attached to what "looking Aboriginal" meant by some of these comments. I know that I have been told that I look Mediterranean/Maori/Native American/Spanish/etc like so many other Aboriginal women, and the inference often seems to be "anything other than Aboriginal" is good.
Despite years of defecting them, I have not become desensitised to comments about my appearance, and I am sure others can relate. I’m therefore not particularly surprised that some people may want to celebrate Indigenous women's youth and beauty as a way of building self-esteem, and eradicating these stupid stereotypes.
Which leads me to the annual Miss NAIDOC awards. Miss NAIDOC is a competition for young women during the annual NAIDOC Week celebrations that has existed in many forms (from a pageant to a simple written application and interview) for a number of years. I’ve long questioned the motives and relevance of such an initiative. In the past, my issue was as simple as the fact that they were using the archaic title "Miss" for the young women’s competition, when the equivalent competition for young men was entitled “Mr NAIDOC”. But lately, Miss NAIDOC has grown as a competition and morphed into a full-blown beauty pageant (in a way that the men’s competition has not).

In this article referring to the event in the NSW North Coast, it notes that, "the girls will be judged on their walk, the way they present themselves and their responses on their application form as to why they should be Miss/Little Miss NAIDOC". Over in Perth, where the competition was resurrected last year after a 15 year gap, it states, "the process for all finalists involves a six week training course on everything from the art of the perfect poise to public speaking". Both these competitions are open to girls between 18-30 years old, and indeed this seems to be the case across the country. Additionally, whilst the competitions have an undeniable focus on community, particularly shown here with Rockhampton region entrants requiring endorsement from Indigenous community organisations, this community focus is linked with competitions such as "Miss Photogenic" and there is special attention drawn to how "absolutely stunning" these girls looked like on the night of the NAIDOC Ball. A fashion show, or at least a great big dolling up session for the NAIDOC Ball, seems to be a big part of the program.

So much of this doesn’t feel right to me, particularly if we are trying to raise the self-esteem of our young women. Firstly, why are we attempting to do it on such "colonial" terms? Why are we reiterating the importance of poise, deportment, and the ability to be photogenic? Are these borrowed values (which have also been challenged for years by the feminist movement) really the values that our community’s young women should aspire to?

I understand the need to celebrate our youth, particularly considering that they represent the majority of our community, but I also question why we should reinforce the notion that attractiveness has an expiry date by setting an upper age limit of 30. Particularly when we are a community that celebrates its elders and consists of so many proud, strong and beautiful women beyond that age bracket? Aren't there other ways that we could celebrate our dynamic young women that don't revolve around how they walk and look in a frock?

Pageants for our young women can’t be a good thing. Not when we are aware of how our women are already objectified. We should be giving our young people the tools to fight the effects of homogenised notions of “womanhood” and “beauty”, particularly considering that they are already combating societal notions of “Aboriginality” when it comes to their appearance.

I am proud that there are determined young black women who are standing up to represent their community. I am proud that they are already engaged in their communities and that they aspire to make change. I understand that they may enter this competition with open eyes and may walk away from the experience completely empowered. I just wish that there were better ways in which these amazing young women could be celebrated in the context of our national week. Perhaps a young Indigenous women's forum during NAIDOC where they can discuss the issues affecting them as a group and walk away empowered by leadership workshops and sisterhood bonds? I don't pretend to have the answer here, but I don't really think that the answer lies in "Miss NAIDOC".

^
I read Celeste's interview yesterday and I was really shaking my head at the confused, cross cultural, one-eyed, wrong-headed, borderline-hypocritical things that was coming out of Celeste's mouth

The cut and paste thread is STILL going!! WTF!!!what is wrng with these loonies that they can't follow rules of posting a lnk not the entre article!!

It's a waste of earths precious resources to waste hard disk and bandwidth capacities like that!! And as recyclers always tell us, every small effort counts.


Dear Same Same poster,

please make an effort to respectfully obey the rules of the forum.

The rules are there for a reason and only work if everyone follows them.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

I was based in a small town for a few months. The Abbos there were SCARY. They would shuffle towards you like zombies to humbug you for smokes or money and get aggro when you didn't oblige. Got shown "Hollywood Boulevard", a street where the Abos all lived - burnt out shells of houses, car wrecks, empty tinnies in piles everywhere, groups of them collected around open fires staring as we drove past. It was unbelievable. A no go area after dark.

The police caught one of them screwing a dog. They bite each others ears off in fights.

Some would be passing through from their remote communities to visit the city and leave their kids here "with family". The kids ended up scavenging the local tip and offering sexual services outside the local pub ( punk head rudeboy86 would probably give that the thumbs up )

I walked into the local deli and smelt dog shit and said to my coworker "I think one of has stood in something." I checked my boots - clean, "No not mine must be yours mate haha, fuck it stinks like dog shit!". Then I noticed that my co worker and the lady at the counter looked real awkward / embarassed. Then I realised the pong was coming from a group of Abo kids in front of us. Ooops.

So its probably not surprising that I didn't find any of the abos hot, scream SEXUAL RACIST!!! if you want but I don't care.

There were some cute local white boys - one of them was hitched to the town bike,they would walk around together pushing a pram looking like the perfect wholesome young couple. But she loved cock, would visit the local mine sites and do the rounds.

Wow you are so awesome pointzer! When I grow up, I want to be just as boring as you are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by museboy

Wow you are so awesome pointzer! When I grow up, I want to be just as boring as you are.

You got a big chip on your shoulder about white guys obviously.

PS how did you get into NZ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pointzer

I was based in a small town for a few months. The Abbos there were SCARY. They would shuffle towards you like zombies to humbug you for smokes or money and get aggro when you didn't oblige. Got shown "Hollywood Boulevard", a street where the Abos all lived - burnt out shells of houses, car wrecks, empty tinnies in piles everywhere, groups of them collected around open fires staring as we drove past. It was unbelievable. A no go area after dark.

The police caught one of them screwing a dog. They bite each others ears off in fights.

Some would be passing through from their remote communities to visit the city and leave their kids here "with family". The kids ended up scavenging the local tip and offering sexual services outside the local pub ( punk head rudeboy86 would probably give that the thumbs up )

I walked into the local deli and smelt dog shit and said to my coworker "I think one of has stood in something." I checked my boots - clean, "No not mine must be yours mate haha, fuck it stinks like dog shit!". Then I noticed that my co worker and the lady at the counter looked real awkward / embarassed. Then I realised the pong was coming from a group of Abo kids in front of us. Ooops.

So its probably not surprising that I didn't find any of the abos hot, scream SEXUAL RACIST!!! if you want but I don't care.

There were some cute local white boys - one of them was hitched to the town bike,they would walk around together pushing a pram looking like the perfect wholesome young couple. But she loved cock, would visit the local mine sites and do the rounds.

Pointzer, this being Australia and all, you are able to express yourself as you would like, however, when people like you go on with this sort of shit people like Azul decide to label all white people as racist, and most of us aren't and don't appreciate being seen that way. So, as a fellow white person may I respectfully ask you to fuck off and die with yor racist billshit.

Ta xx

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsquare

when people like you go on with this sort of shit

You claiming it isn't true?

Go find out for yourself. Plenty of small towns just the same.

Would love to see how long before your hypocritical facade of white liberal guilt cracks and crumbles under real conditions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dsquare

people like Azul decide to label all white people as racist

"people like Azul" have a chip on their shoulder and with cooperation from self loathing queens like you engage in beat ups on white people like the ridiculous "sexual racism" nonsense.

You can take your self hating PC shit and go fuck yourself Dsquare.