Americans have gay newspapers, imagine!

By SOPHIA BARAKA

Obama-land has gay newspapers for the gay community. Some go as far back as 1976.

The most prominent among them is the Philadelphia Gay News, fondly known as the PGN. It is a 40-page weekly newspaper and runs full-page colour advertisements on almost every page. Philadelphia Gay News recently won nine awards in the Local Media Associations’ 2012 Editorial Contest, ranking sixth in the nation among weekly newspapers.

The expensive adverts include exotic cars, highly esteemed university colleges, furniture, HIV care centres, unique gifts, absolutely outrageous cocktails, health, wealth and medi-spa lists and legal and professional directories — just in case someone wants to discriminate against you. The adverts also show where HIV positive gays can pick up their Antiretroviral (ARVs).

Hotels for romantic adventures, entertainment resorts with fascinating rendezvous, such as Atlantic City’s only gay casino, splash punch lines such as “The Fun is here!” This full colour ad fills a whole page with a bare-chested, proud, handsome man, holding his long wavy hair like a female model would.

Gays who have made exemplary accomplishments in art, medicine and culture openly tell their stories and display their pictures — for the whole world to see. They are neither afraid nor ashamed of their orientation.

A newly married gay couple appears in the newspaper headlines looking rather happy as the bishop gives them full blessings to go and live together for better or worse.  A closer peek at the pictures shows that one of the two married men is dressed in a woman’s clothes. That is what he, I mean she, for he is now Mrs, chose for ‘her’ wedding gown.

Yet all is not well within the gay community. The murder of an openly gay person, Michael Fox, an artist, remains a mystery. According to Philadelphia Gay News, “Fox was an openly gay man who enjoyed hairstyling, make-up and fashion.”

His mother Diane Fox, fondly praises him: “He had a great sense of humour. Michael had great timing.  He was very creative, whether it was in art or singing.”

I am not gay. Yet one message in this newspaper impresses me. It is an advert from Oraquick with a simple message on HIV testing. “It is not a black thing. It is not a white thing. It is not a gay thing. It is not a straight thing. Knowing is the best thing.”

But back home, would all these happen? A gay newspaper, on the streets of Nairobi? What would my grandfather, Musenangu, say? Will this happen when or if Kenya becomes a First World country?