Paul Burston @paulburston.bsky.social
@PaulBurston
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Memoir WE CAN BE HEROES "probably the gay book of the year" - @ESMagOfficial Writer. Fighter. Lover. Founder @polarisalon @PolariPrize Rep @DavidHHeadley
London/Hastings
Joined February 2009
Many of the people who nursed, cared for, gave blood, raised money and arranged funerals for my gay friends who died of AIDS were “suburban white women” - so take your misogyny and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
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Stopped by an official in Kennington Park and told to go home. Apparently “walking isn’t exercise - only jogging and cycling.” .I replied that walking alone with a facemask & observing social distancing, I wasn’t posing a greater threat than someone jogging. She insisted I leave.
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I hope nobody is taken in by the images of Cummings leaving Number 10 with his sad little box in his hands. He could have left by the back door. This is all about the optics. #DominicGoing.
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Is there, though? Or are you just trapped by very narrow definitions of masculinity? Men can be vivacious. Men can strike poses and dance moves. Was Elvis ‘a vivacious woman’? Was Jagger? Was Bowie? How about Marc Almond? Boy George? Pete Burns?.
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It may be tiny but I feel so fortune to have this little London garden.
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I was homophobically abused on the bus the other night. A group of teenagers got on, knocked my baseball cap off my head and then sat behind me shouting “battyboy” and other insults. Thankfully it wasn’t long until we reached my bus stop. But I am so sick and tired of this shit.
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Lou Reed dated a transwoman called Rachel. Lou Reed was friends with transwomen Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, who are both featured in the song. Lou Reed wasn’t the least bit transphobic. But, y’know, knock yourselves out, you self-righteous cretins.
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Today in How Are You Barking, Dr Wolf?
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If you’re heterosexual, or someone who has never been queer-bashed or called “queer” as an insult, please don’t assume that people like me are fine with it. Many aren’t. People can self define however they wish, but a lot of gay men find it offensive and triggering.
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Here we go! .So I wasn’t breaking any rule! Quelle surprise!
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It's 25 years today since Kurt Cobain died. The music aside, this was the man who said things like, "I wish I was gay, just to annoy the homophobes" and "if you're homophobic, don't buy our records". He was a true ally, long before it became fashionable.
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My sexuality isn’t a “preference”. It’s an orientation. I didn’t choose to be gay. I just am. It’s innate. I thought we’d had this conversation already - many times. But just so we’re all clear. Over and out.
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As someone who grew up with Danny LaRue, Stanley Baxter, Dick Emery, Les Dawson, Kenny Everett & other prime time TV stars regularly appearing in full drag, the idea that drag has suddenly “gone mainstream” is laughable. The context may have changed. But drag on TV is hardly new.
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Joggers, if you’re in the local park and you see someone walking slowly toward you, possibly with a pushchair and small children, don’t charge into their personal space, huffing and spraying them with droplets of your saliva, you stupid selfish cunts.
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Dear people who aren’t me and haven’t been authorised to speak on my behalf - not every lesbian, gay man or bisexual person is happy to be called queer. Some are and that’s absolutely fine - for them. Others aren’t - and that should be respected. If in doubt, ask!.#GayNotQueer.
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This is how I’m dressed. Seriously, what distinguishes me from someone exercising by moving at a higher speed?
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It’s 25 years today since Derek Jarman died. Today a blue plaque was unveiled at Butler’s Wharf, where he once lived.
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Them - “Hello, I’ve grown up with equal rights and have just been to my first Pride and I’d like to tell you how to do LGBTQ+ activism”.Me - .#sorrynotsorry
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1) When I first came to London and came out, there were two Pride marches - Gay Pride and Lesbian Strength. This was a hangover from the 70s, when women left the Gay Liberation Front and organised separately. But in the late 80s Section 28 and AIDS brought us back together again.
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2 points of information I want to add - . It was lesbians who inspired me in the fight against Section 28, who invaded the BBC News studio and abseiled into The House of Lords. It was lesbians who supported us through the AIDS crisis - giving blood, fighting beside us in Act-Up.
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@andreajenkyns @DJtom94 As a license payer (and also a tax payer) I’m disgusted at this obvious bias brought by the Tory chairman of the BBC. Will Alan Sugar be punished for his tweets attacking the unions?.Thought not. You and your morally bankrupt party don’t own the BBC. The license payers do.
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David Bowie & Susan Sarandon, 1982, by David Bailey. Bowie looking suitably vampish! P
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It’s really unacceptable when BBC employees use their Twitter accounts to criticise MPs by evoking 1930s Germany. Oh…
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That time Bowie was arrested for possession of - *checks notes* - marijuana! .HAHAHAHAHAHA!.New colourised version of the best mugshot ever.
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Today marks 23 years since a nail bomb exploded at the Admiral Duncan in Soho. It was the single biggest act of homophobic violence London had ever seen, killing 3 people - Andrea Dykes, John Light and Nick Moore - and injuring many more. We remember them. RIP. #AdmiralDuncan.
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“I didn’t sweat at the time because I’m basically a war hero and not a sweaty nonce. And did I mention how honourable I am?” #PrinceAndrewInterview.
“I didn’t sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenalin in the Falkland’s War when I was shot at.”. Prince Andrew disputes claims he had a sweaty dance with a woman who made allegations against him . #Newsnight
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Kirsty MacColl died on this day in 2000. I was at the dentist, having a root canal treatment, when the news came on the radio. A few months earlier, I’d danced with her to In These Shoes at her house. She was a lovely warm woman and a huge talent. Such a sad loss.
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Saying I’m a homosexual man and proud of it doesn’t deny anyone else’s identity. It’s mine - and I’m entitled to it. It took a long time. People died for it. In my lifetime, homosexual men were imprisoned for it. So kindly respect my self identity or shut the fuck up.
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@Jamiejhagen I’m sure my gay friends who were denied the opportunity to see their partners die in hospital and would have benefited from the partnership rights my generation fought for will feel suitably chastised by your hot take. How dare you conflate this with transphobia.
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@cate45a Women were a huge part of the fight against AIDS and the stigma and homophobia of the time. Women fought beside me in ACT-UP. They supported us at the hospitals and the funerals. It angers me to see them misrepresented in such a vile way. Xx.
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To all the knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who greet every International Women’s Day with, “What about International Men’s Day, eh? Eh?”.It’s today. International Men’s Day is today.
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I was going to let this go, but I can’t.
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@trussliz @Telegraph And to everyone saying “you don’t know how the electoral system works” - I do, thanks. Please show me where in the Tory manifesto it said that the PM would introduce tax cuts for the rich, raise mortgage costs and tank the economy.
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All you “woke” people with your pink and blue baseball bats threatening and demonising lesbians about their “genital fetish” - I see you. We all see you. We’ve fought worse than you for the rights you now take for granted. Don’t fuck with us. Do better. Show some fucking respect!.
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What kind of person posts this? “the queers who died of AIDS”? Seriously? .My gay male friends who died would hate to be described as “the queers”. And many devoted their lives to the cause. Yeah, “framing is important”. So is showing some fucking respect.
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Well, this certainly seems to have struck a chord! So it would be remiss of me not to mention that I write about and pay tribute to some of these women in my forthcoming memoir, We Can Be Heroes.
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Two workmen at my local Tesco Metro, mocking the automated male voice at the self service till - . “Bit ginger beer, innit?”. “He sounds a right fucking queer, mate!”. Remind me again why I shouldn’t object to being called ‘queer’ now?.
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@FredSargeant @janeclarejones @MarkKenny17 @quantick I interviewed Marsha P Johnson. Marsha self identified as a gay man and radical drag queen. And wasn’t there when the riots began. So many myths. So many falsehoods.
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This is what courage looks like.
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Can we please agree that ‘LGBT’ refers to communities and organisations and not individuals? .Unless of course this woman really is lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans? .
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Help! .I’ve been abducted by a powerful network of lesbian feminists. They’ve stripped me of my gym membership, Madonna CDs and books on David Bowie and are forcefeeding me lentils, Tracy Chapman and The SCUM Manifesto. How many more gay men must suffer before they’re stopped?.
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Dear “menstruators”, .I will continue to refer to you as “women”. Yours.A Non-Menstruator.
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The fact that some people see the words "gay", "lesbian" or "#LGBT" and immediately think of sex says far more about them than it does about us. We are people. We exist whether you and your chosen belief system like it or not. Section 28 was repealed. We're not going back there.
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@VictoriaPeckham I’ve seen this same ad on a bus shelter in Hastings. “MEN” in big letters. “One man dies. ”.“Men, we are with you.”. No mention of “mxn”. No reference to trans or nonbinary people. There appears to be one rule for men and another for “womxn” . Same as it ever was.
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Today in “people who weren’t around in the 80s telling us what life was like in the 80s”. Yes, plenty of working class kids played musical instruments. We had orchestra practice at school. I played the clarinet (badly) and my sister played the violin.
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This, despite the misogyny that was pretty widespread on the gay scene at the time - and which I also protested at a Winter Pride event and was thrown out. Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it.
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Today I’m six months sober - and have never felt better.
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If the exit poll is correct, the electorate has voted overwhelmingly for the worst government in living memory, led by a serial liar who doesn’t give a toss about anything but his personal ambition. Despair doesn’t begin to cover it.
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I am not a “non-straight” person. I’m a gay man. Sorry if that offends anyone’s delicate sensibilities. And thank you, Buck. You’re an angel. Px.
Now using the term Gay is not ok? They use “ non-straight cisgender people” Just stop already!.
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I can’t stop watching this. “The O.E.D! Oxford English Dictionary!” .The shade!.
In 1971, during the making of #CarryOn Henry, Ken was asked what a camp performance was. Here he is, on top form, giving his reply.😁.Click⬇️
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“My son can’t be gay. He’s obsessed with women.”. The women -
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3 days on and still no word from the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ organisation marking the anniversary of the most devastating homophobic hate crime in UK history, in which 3 people died and 76 were injured. I sincerely hope this was an oversight and an apology will be forthcoming.
I was going to let this go, but I can’t.
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Anne Lister was a lesbian. She may well have been “gender nonconforming” - but so is every queer person in straight society. Heaven forfend that we should actually acknowledge same sex love! .#LesbianErasure
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It’s not only families who are struggling. People without children also struggle. Single people also have bills to pay - and only one income. Please can we dispense with this lazy “hardworking families” trope? It erases and insults anyone who isn’t living in a family unit.
18.6% inflation would be the highest on record since the 1970s. Inaction isn't an option. The Govt must move quickly to ease the immense pressure on struggling families.
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Yeah, because straight women who aren’t trans never experience sexual harassment, violence or abuse from men. Christ on a bike! Who let this idiot loose on Twitter?.
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I don't drive. But if I did, every road sign would look like this. #Bowie
http://t.co/IiXhQFQIBm.
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It’s a cat’s world. We just live in it.
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@msloobylou @piersmorgan Morgan once had me doorstepped over a gay pop star I’d interviewed. It was part of his campaign to out gay public figures as HIV+. I reminded him of this recently and he blocked me.
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@iseult Remember when the gay rights movement threatened our opponents with physical violence?.At a time when we had no legal protections and our friends were dying while politicians looked away and the tabloids gloated? . No, me neither.
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Right wing protesters gather in city centre. Police adopt softly softly approach. Drunken football supporters gather in city centre. Police adopt softly softly approach. Women gather on Clapham Common to lay flowers for murdered woman. Police manhandle women and make arrests.
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@SkyScottBeasley I think they do tell half the straight population that - the female half. Still shocking, though.
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Out of interest, has Pink (Penis) News ever vilified and targeted a male columnist with controversial views about gender and sexuality the way it goes after female columnists? .Because from where I’m sitting, it looks a lot like old fashioned gay misogyny.
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He lies without shame or fear of being challenged. He’s a lying narcissist who tells one whopping lie after another. What a total disgrace he is. #LiarJohnson #BrexitShambles #BrexitDisaster .#JohnsonHasFailedTheNation #JohnsonVariant.
Listen carefully. Boris Johnson just said nobody warned that a Brexit would cause border problems in Northern Ireland. You ******* wot, mate?
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David Bowie, 1978, by Lord Snowdon.
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@no1guncle We both know this is a twisted version of the truth, Juan. Other people hijacked a thread aimed at children by posting links to porn. This isn’t the same thing at all and you know it. Why lie like this? What is it supposed to achieve?.
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Me as a teenage, gender non conforming, closeted homosexual. Me as an adult, gay male AIDS activist. Still homosexual. Me and my same sex partner enjoying rights we fought long and hard for. Both proudly homosexual. Does that help, Ms Hines?
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The claim was made then - as it often is now - that queer was somehow more inclusive. But many lesbians I knew felt no more included as queer than they had with gay. Both were seen as predominantly male. I knew a number of women who felt betrayed by so-called queer politics.
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It’s the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century - and I’m 21 days alcohol-free.
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Slept for ten hours straight. Woke up rested, still gay.
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@LeeAndersonMP_ How much tax payers money did you claim in expenses again? .And how much subsidised food did you shove down your gullet?.
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It’s never too soon to start planning one’s outfits for those special occasions.
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Happy birthday to the purple, paisley god himself! Love sexy! It’s the sign “o” the times! #Prince
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I wrote a tribute to my lovely mum, who passed away on Friday.
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It’s 24 years today since the nail bombing of the Admiral Duncan, in which 3 people died and many more were injured. I was in Soho that evening and saw the devastation first hand. It was single biggest act of homophobic violence on record in the UK. We must never forget.
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Does anyone still take Prick News seriously? .Why? It’s so obviously click bait driven, badly researched, often misogynistic bullshit. When I think of what the pink press used to be, it breaks my gay hack heart.
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You don’t have to like #Madonna or enjoy her music to acknowledge the fact that she’s been an ally for decades - challenging homophobia and raising awareness around HIV/AIDS. Very few pop stars were this proactive way back in 1989.
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I’m neither posh nor a girl, and I loved #Fleabag. How is this possible? .Because, dear Guardian commentariat killer of joy, sometimes we identify with characters who aren’t exactly like ourselves. Spooky, huh?.
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@jackappleby I’m a gay man who is 100% same sex attracted. There is no shame in this. Nor is it “bigotry” or a “genital fetish”. The bigotry lies with those attempting to redefine my sexuality as “same gender attraction.” Woke homophobia is still homophobia.
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I had a bad #mentalhealth day yesterday. Anxiety through the roof. Couldn’t write. Tried to exercise. Went to the Bowie pop-up shop. Found the tube overwhelming. Arrived home and had a good cry. Times are hard. It’s okay to feel not okay. Feel brighter today. Onwards we go.
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People getting het up over Sam Smith’s new video obviously didn’t grow up in the 80s, when we had equally provocative videos from Divine, Dead Or Alive, Madonna and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. I’m not even a Sam Smith fan, but people really need to get some perspective.
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I should add, there was a brief period when I was happy to call myself queer. It was the early 90s, the time of ACT-UP and Queer Nation. It felt radical. But many people objected to the term at the time and still do. I think we should respect that.
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Reading some of the comments today, it seems as if women should just stop being, basically. Don’t go out. Don’t stay at home. Don’t do this. Don’t wear that. Anyone would think women bring male violence upon themselves and men have no agency or responsibility for their actions.
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@CatharineHoey I agree. But Sugar directly evoked 1930s Germany - which is apparently unacceptable, yet nothing was done about it.
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@IBrasso @djunasaurus @francesweetman So all the men who cried “Women and children first” on the Titanic, they were all fascists? Good to know.
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I hope she receives a full apology.
A reminder of when @DawnButlerBrent was thrown out of the House of Commons chamber for suggesting that Boris Johnson is a liar.
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Then - “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. Now - “I will sign a letter in support of free speech but will distance myself from it the moment it’s published because some signatories have opinions I don’t agree with”.
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@bookishwgc I told her I injured my knee last year and was nervous running on it - but I still need exercise, so I was power walking instead. She shook her head and insisted that walking isn’t exercise.
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