08/03/2007
Rome Activists Inaugurate 'Gay Street', Hold Massive Kiss-in
The mood was celebratory around Rome's Colisseum as hundreds turned out for a kiss-in that was prefaced by the inauguration of a new street designed to create a focal point for Rome's LGBT citylife.
The Associated Foreign Press reports: "Italy's leading gay rights group Arcigay 'officially' dubbed Via San Giovani in Laterno Rome's new 'Gay Street,' saying it wanted to give the Eternal City a 'point of reference for the gay and lesbian community.' Several establishments frequented by homosexuals have opened in the street since 2001, but Rome does not have a gay district similar to those in other cities."
The kiss-in that followed the ribbon-cutting was a protest against the weekend arrest of a gay couple for kissing outside the recognizable Roman ruin. Police say the couple were doing more than kissing and charged the couple with committing a lewd act, though they have thus far declined to go into specifics about the couple's actions.
According to the AFP, "Thursday's rally had the support of several members of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left government, including Equal Opportunity Minister Barbara Pollastrini, Youth and Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri and Social Solidarity Minister Paolo Ferrero."
Said Ferrero, in a message to Arcigay: "There is still a long road ahead in terms of democracy, freedom and respect."
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(image source)
Posted 9:30 AM EST by Andy in Gay Rights, Kiss, News, Rome | Permalink
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Mmmmmm.... Italian guys...
Delicioso.
Posted by: Brian | Aug 3, 2007 9:33:34 AM
no matter gay or straight - PDA is a foolish "protest" thing - no one wants to see people macking out, esp. homophobes - doesn't foster tolerance at all
Posted by: no! | Aug 3, 2007 9:40:54 AM
Yes, by all means, let's make sure our protests don't offend the homophobes! Heaven forbid we upset them!!
Posted by: Dan E | Aug 3, 2007 9:54:48 AM
When in Rome... : )
Posted by: Giovanni | Aug 3, 2007 9:56:26 AM
I bristle at folks who are afraid to offend their enemies. The kiss-in seems a fine and fun protest.
As for the timid incrementalists I suggest a quick read of Dr. King's 'Letter from the Birmingham Jail.'
Posted by: Gary Ballis | Aug 3, 2007 10:17:24 AM
Where were those guys when I was in Rome? Man -- I couldn't get laid there to save my life.
Now Florence and Milan, on the other hand...
Posted by: Becks07 | Aug 3, 2007 10:37:59 AM
these protests mean nothing - does it change anything? nope.... the same as protesting the war - just causes traffic jams and again isn't going to further our cause for equality by once again being in others face by doing sexual things... give me a break
Posted by: f u dan e | Aug 3, 2007 10:52:04 AM
Yes, war protests are worthless too. You're right. US withdrawal from Vietnam wasn't related to war protests at all, nope, not one bit.
You need to get over your *own* homophobia.
Posted by: Dan E | Aug 3, 2007 11:03:22 AM
Like toxic baby formula and Marlboros, the US has exported yet another bad idea.
Gary Ballis' witless association of Martin Luther King's time in jail, and the sacrifices and courage and deaths of participants in the battle for Black civil rights with a kiss-in is OBSCENE! I suggest he review some film of the former being swept down the street by fire hoses, attacked by police dogs, tear-gassed, and beaten with police batons, as well as read the autopsy report of Emmett Till et al., and study the photos of hundreds of lynchings and rate them on a 1 to 10 Fun Scale.
The various kinds of public demonstration by the King-led movement, scripted in part by Black gay hero Bayard Rustin, were NEVER about simply rubbing rights they should have in the faces of those who opposed them. While illustrative they were entirely conceived as pressure tactics to break the will of their opponents.
Kiss-ins are merely self-deluding exercises in being "naughty" by overgrown children who haven't yet been politically potty trained. They might as well simply be giggling in unison "POO POO!!!"
King went to Birmingham. Send these cardboard Don and Donna Quixotes to the next attempted demonstration in Moscow.
Posted by: Leland | Aug 3, 2007 11:26:38 AM
Oh brother.
Kiss-ins are joyful.
Did you catch that? Joyful.
We do get to have joy, you know.
Leland, you need to go stand next to the fence Matthew Shepard was tied to. You need to stand next to that fence for a good long time, quietly. You might thereafter be able to appreciate a demonstration that's planned with the expression of joy in mind.
It's a long and lonely road thinking anger and despair are the only effective weapons in the arsenal of change. Tend your strength but join the rest of us once in a while and have a fun night out. It's about living free, not voluntarily suffering.
Posted by: brad | Aug 3, 2007 4:15:04 PM
Brad. Brad. Somber, oh so wise, Brad. You're linking of Matthew Shepard's cold night of torture and death to the childs play in Rome is the immoral equivalent of Gary's obscene equivalency with the Black civil rights movement. Shame on you both.
Circle jerks can bring joy, but recognize one when you see it regardless of how many hundreds are involved. It's not about the size of the circle but the fact that it's just jerking off and is to productive political activism what jerking off is to making love. It's about thinking before you act not partipatory idiocy with no greater depth nor outcome than a college panty raid.
Posted by: Leland | Aug 3, 2007 5:19:58 PM
Oy. Leland, you're just being mean.
You asked Mr. Ballis to review archived footage of violent events that took place during the civil rights struggles of the 60's. I'm asking you to acknowledge the continuing violence done to gay folks.
A kiss-in is an affirmative and joyful response to violent repression. All the affirmative responses we can muster are welcome, I say. I'm not grading this particular kiss-in, or any other, on merit. I'm not grading Arcigay's "record" of activism.
I really don't believe the future tectonic result of this demonstration can be accurately predicted. It's all touch-n-go whether it's a bunch of pipe bomb slinging anarchists or a bunch of relatively benign Italian folks staging a demonstration a short walk from the Papal See. Neither group can control the visceral response of any individual watching said event on the evening news, good or bad.
And I can't find any reason to disparage the good effect the event has had on any individual participant. It's guaranteed folks walked away smiling and vibrant. I celebrate it. You can try to shame me until you turn purple. If you want people to run with you and see your side and take your advice you're going to have to be a bit more diplomatic.
I mean really, Leland. There won't be anyone left in the room to scold.
Posted by: brad | Aug 3, 2007 6:18:37 PM
Bellissimo! I am not gay, but visited this very street last October with my dear gay friend who lives in the area. It was such a fun place to spend an evening where everyone could just be themselves. I met some wonderful people that night and I am so thrilled to see this happening! To all the wonderful people I met that beautiful evening in October: AUGURONI!!!
Posted by: Italiana | Aug 3, 2007 7:13:47 PM
Since the protest was SPECIFICALLY against a ridiculous arrest of two men for kissing in public, when straight people aren't arrested for doing the same, it seems entirely appropriate to protest by having a group of people kiss in public.
You guys make it sound like this was a random protest that had nothing to do with kissing in public.
Sorry Leland but there IS a comparison between people doing a sit-in in the seats of diners that refused to serve them food, or drinking out of fountains that were reserved for whites only and having a kiss-in to protest a bigoted law and it's even more bigoted selective enforcement.
I seldom disagree with your opinions but on this one I definitely do.
Posted by: Zeke | Aug 3, 2007 7:55:42 PM
"AFP," whose story you cite, does NOT stand for "Associated Foreign Press," as you have it, but for Agence France-Presse, the venerable French wire service and news agency, which regularly provides intelligent coverage of gay issues and excellent international coverage, on a par with Reuters, of stories often ignored by U.S. media, including the Associated Press (and ub the AP's filings, I'm sorry to say, there are often signs that it has not erased institutional homophobia. You should give our froggie friends their due :)
By the way, anyone interested in the political context of the Rome kiss-in, and how the political debate over the July 27 arrest of the young gay kissing couple reflects Italy's schizophrenia on sexual issues, should take a look at the account my blog's Rome correspondent filed this morning, at
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2007/08/romes-gay-kiss-.html
Posted by: Doug Ireland | Aug 4, 2007 4:43:10 AM
Bellisimo!! We have to watch straight affection all the time, time for some good queen on queen action!!!!
Posted by: Ty | Aug 6, 2007 12:44:30 AM
I have never been knocked to the ground by a fire hose or a police dog. I do have limited tear gas experience from civil rights demos in the late sixties and early seventies--for whatever that's worth. It was at that time that I learned that when the human rights of any group were denied that all people were less free.
Whether it is homophobia or racism that places the struggle of some over that of others I do not know. It is jarringly unattractive.
I would imagine that Jews win in the victim category?
Posted by: Gary Ballis | Aug 6, 2007 11:27:41 AM