Our Dad Ronald Joseph Beards 6/11/29 – 3/8/08 With love from his children Steven, Lesley and David Our Dad Ron Beards was born on the 6th November, 1929, into immense English poverty. Losing his parents at a young age was the event to eventually propel him into joining the army where he found the sense of belonging that he craved. Our Dad was always so proud of his army career and would talk of it often. He was an outstanding solider who excelled in all areas of army life. After he met and married our beautiful Mum, he left the army and became a civilian. Our Dad was always a man who put the needs of his family first. Deciding to move to Australia in 1965 was a courageous act considering that he had no family or friends here. But he did have our Mum right by his side and whilst a difficult struggle, they made a better life in Australia. Without that brave decision and the ensuing struggle to overcome the hardships they faced, none of us would be here today. Our Dad may not have realized it, but he is responsible for establishing the Beards family and all ensuing generations in Australia. That is something that we can all feel proud of him for. Our Dad was not a rich man, nor a man with an important career, yet he was always employed – often working 2 or more jobs so that we could have a loving welcoming home, nutritious food on the table, warm clothes to wear and Christmas presents under the tree. We often hear of people who have made significant impact on society – famous people, rich people, people who changed the world. Yet we rarely hear of the people who work hard all their lives to keep our society functioning and improving. Our Dad was one of those people and we are immensely proud of him for being such a person. Our Dad was very much a family man whose life was lived for his family. He worked hard for what we needed materially and he was always there for those things we needed from a Father – the driving lessons, the trips to dancing classes on the weekends and the many other needs that we three kids have had over the years. Our Dad was always very proud of us – considering we grew up in some of the toughest housing commission areas in the state, we all turned out to be good honest people. It is test amount to his Fathering that we did so. The last 12 years of Dad’s life was one health struggle after another. Yet he took each one on head first and fought hard to the very end. His fight went beyond what most people would be able to endure: this was characteristic of our Dad – a strong willed fighter who always fought his way through life’s battles head on, and that is something that has become a part of us. We would like to say ‘Thank you Dad’ for teaching us how to fight and not give up when the going gets tough. How can we say goodbye to our Dad – a man who has always provided for us, been there for us and helped shape what we, and our families, are today? We don’t say goodbye as our Dad will never be gone from our hearts and minds. In life, we rarely get a chance to say ‘thank you’ to our parents for doing what they do for us during their lives. We thank you Dad, for being our Father, and we also thank our beautiful Mum for always being there for our Dad and for us. We love you Dad, and will miss you greatly. You will live on in our hearts and minds and in the future generations of Beards’ in Australia.

I'll be out and about photographing for samesame on Saturday so if you see a nerd with glasses and a camera, come up and say hello and have your pic taken for the galleries! 1. WYD08 protest Taylor Sq: be there around 12.00pm to maybe 5.00pm. 2. Manacle from around 6.30pm. 3. Stonewall from maybe 9.00pm. 4. The Shift from around 11.30pm. All times are estimates and are subject to change based on my alcohol intake LOL. So if you see me about, come up and say hello and strike a pose! Dave xxx

There appears to be a disturbing ideology becoming dominant within the queer discourse: the ideology of heteronormativity . Heteronormativity involves rejecting the classic 'queer' gender expression in favour of one similar to heterosexuals. 'Men looking/acting like men' , and derivatives of that phrase, are often heard within the queer discourse. Heteronormativity is but one expression of our male gender (whether gay or straight). But it is NOT the ONLY espression of our gender. The most prominent feature of the queer community is the ability to express ourselves as we are or how we want to be without bowing down to heterosexual gender stereotypes. Those heteronormative within our community who judge and seek to cast out differing expressions are partaking in 'queer cleansing' . A process as hideous as racial cleansing. Like it or not, heterosexual masculinity informs gender and sexual expression in our society. Don't let it invade our queer community. Tolerate, respect and accept all forms of diversity within our queer community. CELEBRATE DIVERSITY!

Oh samesame forums, you were once wonderful and great, You celebrated diversity with support and a sense of mates. But now the young, opinionated, heteronormative and foolish, Have turned these forums into something quite ghoulish. Honest, ‘sweetie’, don’t formulate your opinions in a closed rock, Loose the heteronormativity and ‘tude and put on a frock. Ecclipse83 don’t assume you have all the answers or the magical key, ‘Cause you’re only young, still underdeveloped – only 23. Editor extraordinaire - you’re usually all–encompassing and sweetly pensive, But your post ‘Trent in Punchbowl’ was somewhat offensive. Jade Starr you are awesome – a wonderful human being, Your voice and vision is empowering and all-seeing. Sneakos buddy our wavelengths are connected, Don’t let them subordinated you or make you feel rejected. And Tim, forum police officer, I have violated here, I dare you to ban me – an angry ‘community-subordinated’ queer!

Another wonderful night photographing at HEAVEN @ Rosehill Bowling Club last night. The wonderful Beverly Buttercup and the rest of the WESTIE DIVA's work very hard to put on a fab night - a night by the community for the community. Great to see a big crowd there to support HEAVEN'S first birthday as well! Aside from the always splendous drag performances, we had the very talented (and cute!) Dan Knight sing a couple of songs as well. All of us should buy Dan's CD - it's a brilliant CD! Also supporting a very talented community member is a good thing :-) I'm still challenging all you inner city types to make the trek out here to attend HEAVEN - no attitude just fun with wonderful people.

Here is a vid of Cyndi Lauper singing her new single live - awesome! This should be the next big gay anthem :-)

After watching a doco called Body and Soul: Kathy and Diane about 2 differently abled women (1 downs syndrome and 1 cerebal palsy) who have lived indepentently together for 37 years and are fighting the system so they remain independent. This is true unconditional love not based on sex, body type, looks or fashion: it is based on deep emotional connection. Hopefully we will all experience unconditional love in our lives :-)

IMHO Stonewall is the BEST gay venue. Being a photographic contributor for samesame, I get to experience different venues in our community. I aways have the best time at Stonewall - patrons are awesome and represent an eclectic diverse mix from our community and the staff (including security!) are always friendly and professional. Such a difference when the staff smile and say thank you. Looking forward to my next visit!

I must admit that I've never really had much to do with lesbians but I've always held them in the highest regard. women (generally) are far more emotionally stronger than us guys. I did a photo shoot at my first lesbian event (a surprise really as I though it would be mixed LOL). Oh what fun i had interacting with all the lovely gals at Dolphin last night! Loved every minute of it! For those gay guys who have negative attitudes towards lesbians - get over it! Envy and jelousy are not attractive qualities and it ends up harming us all as a community. Celebrate diversity!

Yes, it has really changed my life around. Now I get to interact and experience the wonderful diversity that our community has to offer. For me, taking photos for samesame means more than just 'taking pics' and uploading them to the galleries - it encompasses the whole process from interacting with people to finally uploading them (digital editing takes an age LOL). Actually the photos themselves really aren't that important (unless you're in them!). I suppose I'm more of an 'advertisement' for the samesame webpage so presenting myself well and interacting with lots of lovely GLBTQi folk thus giving the website a positive 'feel'. I don't get paid money for doing this but I do get paid in other ways.....interacting with so many wonderfully diverse people in our community is a way better than money anyday :-)

We do!!!! They add colour and vibrancy to an otherwise increasingly uniform gay community. Many also work tirelessly to raise money for gay charities. They are also fun to be around! I loved spending time with Beverly Buttercup and the rest of the 'Westy Diva's' at the recent Heaven event. It take REAL BALLS to be brave enough to be who are in a community that seems to be thrusting heteronormativity onto us all. Celebrate diversity!

"The great gay communities celebrate the differences. The seek harmony, not uniformity. They reward diversity, not conformity. They strive for oneness, not sameness." - Adapted from a quote by Gil Atkinson.