I have to say, that in Canada, even though we are supposedly so gay friendly, we have gay bashing and alot of discriminationa against gays. Let me tell you of my personal experience.
I have been a high school English & Music teacher for over 15 years, in the same school. I was openly gay, my students knew about me, as did the teachers and most parents. I never had any problems. Due to moving to a new house, during this past summer, I was transfered to a new high school, closer to where I now live. It is an area with many old fashioned Italian immigrants. We call the area "Little Italy". At first I was thinking about renting a house in the area. While visiting a prospective home, I fell in love with the place. It was all I could ever dream of for myself, my bf, and my kids. Beautiful home, with a nice yard, lots of room, and impeccably clean. The prospective landlord asked me a number of questions, like how many children I had, and if I was a clean person, and respectable. So far, so good!! When the landlord heard that I was gay and planned to have my bf living with me, he asked "What, no woman? Who is going to clean, cook and do laundry?" Then he asked me "You are a fag and you have children?" Then he went on to say that my kind was not looked at favorably in this area, and that not he or any other respectable Italian would rent a home to a sexual devient, like me. Well, he was right. I had the door slammed in my face at least 5 times, when they learned that I was gay. I finally decided to buy a house in the area. Part of my decision to buy a house here, was to show these closed minded Italians, that I am as normal as they are, and I have the same rights as they do, to live where I want. I found a beautiful triplex that was on sale. There are 2 one bedroom apartments upstairs, and the downstairs is a beautiful 4 bedroom home, with a finished basement. We moved into it at the beginning of August. The two apartments upstairs, we rented out to a lesbian couple, and the other to a gay senior citizen. Everything was slowly progressing very well at first. Then the problems started, when neighbours started to complain, that they saw me kissing my bf in the back yard, or that we were hanging out our washed g strings on the clothes line, which in our Italian neighbour's opinion was disgraceful. They would go to the point of peeping in our yard and through our windows, for fear that we were being indecent. Well we taught them a lesson, and would purposely parade in tight shorts and tight t shirts, or in g string bikinis in the yard. If they want a free show, we gave it to them. Finally this subsided, and now we live more peacefully in the neighbourhood, because the Italians couldn't get rid of us, and gave up trying.
But is this the end of the story? Oh No!!! Read On!
As I mentioned earlier, I am a high school teacher, who has been teaching for over 15 years. I had just transfered the a new school, which by the way, is in Little Italy. I was here to teach Grade 10 & 11 English Lit. Let me explain that I am a masculin looking guy, not effeminite at all, but I am openly gay and I do not hide it. I was given carte blanche, to choose the novels that I would use for the school year. The first semester, we were going to study Mary Shelley's book "Frankenstein". As an introduction to the book, I decided to show the movie "Of God And Monsters" as well as "Rocky Horror Picture Show". For those who are not familiar with the first movie, it is a biography of the director of the original Frankenstein movies, who is openly gay. The day after showing the movies in class, I was called into the principal's office. A group of parents were there complaining that I was promoting homosexuality to my class. I told them that I had shown the movies before to classes in the other school that I had taught at and there were no problems. I went on to add that these movies were Hollywood made, and not some gay porn. Unfortunately, the school pressured me to apologize for showing the movies. I did so under duress. This was not the end though. My car in the teachers' parking lot was vandalized and the words "Our Fag Teacher Has His Days Numbered". When I would get to my classroom in the morning, at the beginning of class, degrating things were written on my blackboard. Slurs like "Fudgepacker go Home" or "Die Of Your Gay Disease", or "Let Cut Of His Dick, And Feed It To Him", were scribbled across my blackboards. I went to the principal, who told me that I must remember that I teach at a school that has vey high morales, and that homosexuality is something not very well accepted in the Italian area. I forgot to mention the principal, as well as about 90% of the teachers were of Italian origin. By the end of October, I shunned by most of my students, my fellow staff members, and the principal. I did my best to ignore it, until it hit an all time low in the middle of November. I was comming out of the school one evening, and I was jumped by a group of men who beat me up. I was later to find out that they were certain parents of my students. I filed a complaint with the Police, the school, and the school board. Unfortunately nothing much was done because one of the parents are a large financial backer of the school, and so I had either to quit, or continue being harrassed. I am not one who gives up easily, and decided to stay at the school, and not be bullied off. However, at the end of Novenber, I was called to the principal's office. The school offered me a financial severance package, if I would leave my position at the school. Needless to say, for the peace of mind of the parents, students, teachers, the principal, and especially my own peace of mind, I took the offer. I am now on what I call a 1 month sabbatical, and I am being transfered to a new school, as of January 14th. Here, I know that I will be well accepted.
Well there is my story of discrimination. I must say that even though gays have come a long way, in having the same rights as straights, gay discrimination still exists!

You are right , discrimination is alive and well in western society, even here in the UK where we have a wealth of equality legislation we need to now monitor compliance. Even then homophobia can be subtle and or violent and to do anything about it challenging.

I have to say that your approach is brave and maybe a tad too challenging. Putting on a freak show in the yard/garden....is a bit of a red flag to the proverbial raging bull, especially at your own home ...and could have put your gay tennants at as much risk too. Then the films you choose as an intro to the literature the kids were going to study....The Rocky Horror Show !!!! and Of God and Monsters ....well one is just completely weird (even I think the Rocky one is just bizarre and mental, the stage show may be fun and iconic but the original film ) and the other is quite challenging and controversial, and sad re being gay!!!

I know I am not being supportive here, well in away that you might wish....what happened to you was shocking and the law should have protected you at work and when assaulted. Also for the school not to have the balls to support and keep you on is shameful...but perhaps you could have handled the situation better from the start?

I trust your new start works out well for you all...and that your little queerspace in little Italy prosepers and acts as a positive and proud beacon to those around about sharing spaces and lives.

cheerio for now...Vincent..xx

Dear Vince:
I see that you are quite shocked my the movies I showed my students. In showing them there was a very important point, I wanted to bring across: society's acceptance of what is out of the norm. the book "Frankenstein", is more then a book about a monster. When we see someone who is not living as what is classified as the norm, they are looked at as an oddity. They may be different, but they have the same right at being accepted. "Rocky Horror Picture Show" represents the modern day Frankenstein. "God & Monsters" also represents acceptance in society.
As for my neighbours in Little Italy, they have slowly, come around. I feel that I should never be ashamed of who I am, and I refuse to hide the fact that I am gay. I am proud of being gay, and being a father!!

I'm off topic here but I love Gods and Monsters - and not just because of Brendan Fraser. I invited a guy I knew through work to the film when it was showing at the film festival here and it was the spark of a lovely - but short - relationship - a bit life changing really. The next step was the Xmas present of mistle toe and our first kiss. (I'm the practical romantic.) It's a great film to show a highschool class - because its challenging and well made.

I know I'm completely behind the times, with Christmas and going to NYC to visit my oldest son for New Years.

Wow !! The Story is incredible. I have heard of such incidents before....but never have been acquainted with anyone who has been so mistreated.

It's funny. Currently, I live in the Southeast of the US. Stereotypically, the south is the Bible Belt and is supposed to be so intolerant. However, I live in a city in NC of 250,000 people...Per capita, our city has one of the highest gay populations in the state. Other than not being welcomed at my former church, I have never been apart or known anyone to have been knowingly discriminated against. I'm sure there are those closeminded individuals out there....but I haven't experienced them personally.

I should probably start a new discussion topic for this, but it seems related. I was at my daughters riding lesson this morning, and one of the moms was talking about cleaning her gutters and one of the other moms said why don't you get your husband to do that. The first mom said because I have a wife. There was no break in the conversation and no reaction and they just continued to talk about the impending storm etc. That is so typical of Vancouver. We've had gay elected representatives since 1984 I guess. At one point I think 3 of 11 people on City Council were gay. Gay cabinet ministers with the provincial government. The local Anglican Church is at the eye of the storm with the blessing of same sex couples. The first gay member of pariliament in Ottawa was from here in 1988. Same sex adoption was legal as of 1995, all parenting forms are gender neutral it just lists parent and parent so its applicable for all situations. British Columbia has got to be one of the most gay friendly places on the planet. In Ontario the Court recently ruled that there could be three parents named for a child - two lesbians and one gay man. Change is happening. And for the most part most people really don't seem to care or get worked up about it.

Dado 1,
Change started to happen in Canada ever since everyone fell in love with the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Wow. I'll never forget living in Toronto during those times.

In my little area in Montreal, I have won over the hearts and minds of my conservative Italian nieghbours. I had a cocktail party, around Christmas time, and I invited many gay and straight friends, and I invited my neighbours. Through their mingling together, a very different reaction has come about. My neighbours love me now, and everytime I walk out of the house, I get a "good morning, how are you?" My children and I are very well accepted, and not looked at as being the odd family out. I think that in Canada, gay society is more accepted because we show ourselves on the forfront!! We have openly gay politicians, in every political party. We have gay chambers of commerce, openly gay judges in the supreme court. We have legal gay marriage!!
Unfortunately, when it comes to Gay Culture and Gay Rights in the U.S, it is still hidden in the closets. Liberalism is not fully awake yet, in the good old U.S. of A.
Well, I better get off my soapbox before I get thrown of by my neighbour, the American Gay Dads. I want to see my friends, the Gay Dads in America, with all the rights that we Canadian Gay dads have!!!