I'd like to spread the word about a campaign aimed at tackling racism on the Internet. The rise of gay dating sites like www.gaydar.co.uk and www.gay.com etc. has really been incredible - and I think they're powerful influences on the way we gay men see ourselves and think about sex.

But I'm sure you've noticed all the racist crap that goes on. It's made me really angry to be surfing the net for a bit of fun and maybe to meet guys and then come face to face with all those ads that say "No Asians", "No GAMs" etc. So, some pals in Sydney and I are doing something about it. A grassroots campaign, and we'd like to invite you to join in if you're a user of these services. It's got two parts.

Some of the services allow you to describe yourself. My pal Tim has designed a graphic banner which you can place in your profile that says "Sexual Racism Sux." We've been using it especially on gaydar, and have over 120 men signed up. Check it out here!

http://www.sexualracismsux.com

Even if you can't use the banner, there's a plain-text version on the page which you can use in your profiles, or put as a signature etc, etc. In the meantime, I've created form letters, which you can simply cut and paste when you come across a racist ad. There are numerous ones ranging from Very Polite to Kind-Of-Angry. I've also started writing about the issue
and putting my thoughts up on the web.

Check www.andyquan.com under Sexual Racism/GAM pages or go directly to:

http://www.meta-man.com/andyq/gam.htm

We got onto the front page of Sydney's gay and lesbian newspaper a few weeks ago, and have managed to raise a lot of discussion. A lot of men here have been uncomfortable about being challenged on their prejudices and we think that's a good thing.

psst, interview is at:
http://www.ssonet.com.au/showarticle.asp?ArticleID=2290

If any of you work with or belong to gay asian groups or other groups opposing racism, could you help us spread the word? I think this campaign is a way we can actively and positively respond to racism, help create gay communities that think about what they write and say, and are more friendly places to be.

We also don't want to limit this campaign. We happen to be interested in the issue of racism against asian guys (both because a lot of us are asian and because that's the racial mix here in Sydney) but if you've got latino or black friends who want to join in - or start a similar campaign and link up, that would be great. For that matter, we also welcome contributions
from poz guys - or basically any gripes about prejudice and unfriendliness that we can turn into constructive efforts to shape our communities.

We've also been contacted by a journalist from the USA who would be interested in writing about the campaign if it takes off in the USA (gay US press won't run a story about a campaign in Australia) so if you folks can run with it, get in touch!

Oh, and we've started a yahoogroups for this too. Just go to www.yahoogroups.com and put sexualracismsux in the search box.

For our lesbian pals who might get this message, or guys who don't use these services- I just wanted to let you know what's going on and don't expect you to become actively involved! Thanks for reading this.

And any comments, queries, or suggestions, drop us a line!

Andy Quan
Sydney, Australia
www.andyquan.com