Homophobia in Germany and Italy

This video from Italy says about itself:

Berlusconi: better to have a passion for beautiful girls than being gay

31 May 2013

“Meglio essere appassionati delle belle ragazze che gay” (“Better to have a passion for beautiful girls than being gay”) is one of the most famous wisecracks of the former prime minister of Italy, the media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi.

British daily The Guardian asked people from various countries: What’s it like being LGBT in your country? A reader from Germany shares her story:

Germany: Hostility below the surface

Penal code § 175, outlawing gay sex, was of course abolished decades ago, we have openly gay foreign ministers and other openly lesbian and gay politicians – and it’s been legal now to “marry” your partner by committing to a civil union (without some rights like the right to adoption as a couple etc.). But recent homophobic attacks against Baden-Württemberg’s proposed new school curriculum that includes the teaching of sexual diversity shows that there’s lots of resentment under the surface.

Of course, compared to having to fear for one’s personal safety on a daily basis, things in Germany are pretty good. But I find it nonetheless annoying to have people take for granted that I have a husband just because I’m a woman. And it’s not just annoying but sad that in smaller German towns, gays and lesbians are practically invisible and are too afraid to be recognized by neighbors or bosses to join a gay parade, if there is one in the first place. And I feel it is altogether tragic and shocking to hear, after having moved to a different town, that a young lesbian acquaintance of mine — one of those who did not join the parade — has committed suicide.

So, on the surface lots of rainbow colors, but it’s still pretty dark underneath.

A bit of better news from the USA: Same-sex couples flock to Arkansas after judge strikes down marriage ban.

And not so good news from the USA: Boycott launched against openly gay St Louis Rams player Michael Sam, by Christian lobbyist Jack Burkman.

Greek bishop condemns homosexuality as ‘perversion of human existence’: here.

Britain: MANY in the LGBT community fear a return to the “dark ages” on HIV awareness as the government’s austerity programme silences key programmes, activists were told yesterday: here.

Singapore bans library books that show gay couples. Politician Yaacob Ibrahim says government must abide by ‘community norms’: here.