The Soapbox: Political Discourse

Travesti parties, Vladimir Lenin advocating sexual freedom, nudist anarchists aboard trams, a nude beach near the cathedral of Christ the Savior… such was Russian life at the beginning of the Soviet state. What could possibly go wrong? “Stark naked people wearing armbands reading “Down With Shame!” have recently appeared in Moscow. A group was seen boarding a tram. The tram stopped, the public was outraged,” Mikhail Bulgakov, the famous Russian writer, wrote in his diary in 1924. Just 15 years prior to that, women could not think of going out in a knee-long dress. But did these changes happen overnight? Pre-revolutionary Russian society, especially in the capitals, was not puritanical in nature. An anonymous soldier born at the end of 19th century recalls (link in Russian): “at 10, I had already been exposed to all kinds of lewd behaviour… Pornographic pictures were not exactly a rarity.” Cross-dressing, travesti and gay parties were popular in artistic circl...

That time of year is upon us once again. Pride Month is in full swing as rainbow colors are prominently displayed to inescapable proportions. In recent decades the LGBT has transformed itself into a socio-political movement, exacting tremendous influence in politics, academia, entertainment, and the culture at large. But there is a seedy dark agenda at work that many people are unwittingly supporting. To uncover this, we will take a look at a few LGBT pioneers to discover the common threads that unite them: Irwin Allen Ginsberg was a gay activist who influenced the counterculture revolution of the 60s and 70s. He was an avowed Communist who admired Fidel Castro and promoted drug use. He was also a supporter and member of NAMBLA (North American Man/Boy Love Association). He said, “Attacks on NAMBLA stink of politics, witchhunting for profit, humorlessness, vanity, anger and ignorance. . . . I’m a member of NAMBLA because I love boys too — everybody does, who ha...