GayNZ.com is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community website for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. Prior to the websites closure in 2018, it posted daily local and international news stories, monitors fundamentalist

Christian politics in New Zealand This article discusses Christian politics in New Zealand. The monarch of New Zealand, who is New Zealand's head of state, is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. But the country itself, unlike the United Kingdom, has no official or ...

and associated anti-gay pressure groups, reports on political developments related to LGBT New Zealanders, discusses current issues related to

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

, holds regular polls on topical LGBT issues, and has previews and reviews of music, theatre, film, television and literature. GayNZ.com featured a variety of articles profiling a diverse range of LGBT New Zealanders, including Members of Parliament, people with disabilities, drag queens, Kiwis of various ethnic backgrounds, and local celebrities. The website also features a selection of

blogs A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

, a forum, a national LGBT event guide and a personals section.

Background of LGBT life in New Zealand

New Zealanders are generally accepting of gays and lesbians, although low level

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...

(such as the use of the word 'gay' as an insult) is still common. The gay social scene in New Zealand is small by international standards, especially outside

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. However, many smaller centres have LGBT organisations and social networks that cater to their community. The internet is heavily used by gay men in New Zealand to meet others, especially in areas which lack specifically gay venues. GayNZ.com was along with gax express as a source of information and current affairs for New Zealand's LGBT population to connect with each other and learn about community issues.

Journalism

Between 2003 and 2006, the senior writer at GayNZ.com was Christopher Banks. His feature articles focused mainly on social and political issues relevant to the

gay community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and ...

, or debunking religious arguments against

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

. Some articles were based around in-depth interviews with political or religious leaders. Banks' writings for GayNZ.com also included a number of film reviews, two of which caused some upset in the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

community. His review of the controversial 2002 French film '' Irréversible'' was cited by the

Society for the Promotion of Community Standards The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc. ("SPCS") is a conservative lobby group in New Zealand. A registered charity and incorporated society, the Society has taken a strong pro-censorship stance and clashed many times with the Office ...

in their attempts to have the film banned by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand). His positive review of '' Kinsey'', the 2004 biopic of the American sex researcher, drew the ire of ''Investigate'' magazine editor Ian Wishart, prompting a further series of articles by Banks on

Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Insti ...

Son of MP's homophobic internet page

In September 2007, GayNZ.com published an article accusing the teenage son of National Party deputy leader

Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of f ...

of posting homophobic abuse on social networking site

Bebo Bebo ( ) was an American social networking website that originally operated from 2005 until its bankruptcy in 2013 and relaunched in February 2021. The site relaunched several times after its bankruptcy with a number of short-lived offerings, ...

. GayNZ.com had unsuccessfully sought comment from English before publishing the story. After the story's publication, National leader

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...

criticised the website for dragging a politician's son into public debate, and English sought legal advice about the article. A later complaint by English that ''

The Southland Times ''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media. Histor ...

'' had named his son was upheld in 2008, whereas GayNZ.com had not directly identified him.

Brian McFadden's homophobic radio comments

In August 2008, GayNZ.com drew attention to a number of disparaging remarks about gays and lesbians made by ex-boyband singer

Brian McFadden Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter who rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo ...

while he co-hosted the morning breakfast show on More FM in Auckland, New Zealand. He stated, "Saying pink is a form of red is the same as saying homosexual is a form of male... In the old days there was no such thing as gay. It was frowned upon. The church would burn you at the stake. Modern day, if you are not gay, a man should not be wearing pink. Unless of course you're in the Americas Cup and you're one of these pansies who walk around with Gant t-shirts with your collars up, and you wear pink and you wear white trousers with those dirty brown slip-on shoes. Then you're just an idiot." McFadden's comments were reported in news reports, gossip websites and weblogs worldwide, provoking considerable condemnation from the LGBT community. The singer later denied he was homophobic, saying through his publicist that his comments had been "taken out of context".

2009 HIV infection case

In May 2009, GayNZ.com reported that a 40-year-old HIV+ man living in

had allegedly been deliberately engaging in unsafe sex and had subsequently infected a number of other men. The story resulted in a formal police investigation and charges were laid when four of his male partners laid complaints with police investigators. The case may lead to a law change, after health officials revealed they were informed about the man several months before the police investigation commenced but had not informed the authorities due to "patient confidentiality".

References

External links

GayNZ.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaynz.Com 1997 establishments in New Zealand Internet properties established in 1997 LGBT culture in New Zealand LGBT-related Internet forums LGBT-related websites New Zealand websites