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Future With Furry Nuptials?
A German sex
psychologist says more and more people are calling their true loves by
a "pet" name -- which is only appropriate, when their partners are
pooches. Inanimate objects are also popular ersatz mates.
Photo: She's unlikely to propose to
her washing machine.
Remember The Love Boat? How about
the love ferry? German sex psychologist and researcher Volkmar Sigusch
sees a trend toward people having love ties to inanimate objects --
such as a boat -- or to house pets, as well as having no emotional
ties at all. The renowned academic, who heads the Frankfurt based
German Society for Sex Research, recently published a book called
Neosexualitäten, or neo-sexuality, in which
he describes the "cultural change of love and perversion" in modern
society. "We live in a situation where things that were once
proscribed or embarrassing or shameful can now be expressed," he said.
"Today we talk about things that used to be hidden." Two of the
trends he sees are towards asexuality -- where for varied reasons
people show no sexual desire at all -- and objectophilia, a sexual
obsession with objects or house pets.
Photo: Is it a foolish idea for them
to get married?
In his book,
Sigusch describes a woman whose love life gave new meaning to the term
partner-ship when she fell in love with a ferry. She thought about the
boat obsessively, photographed it, then decorated the photographs. She
was "enraptured like one in love," he wrote. The scientist also
considers people to be objectophiles who treat their pets -- mostly
cats and dogs, but sometimes lizards -- like beloved partners. They
hug and kiss them, spoil them, take them on vacation, dress them up --
even send them to spas or summer camps. "Some love their pets more
than they have ever loved a person," he said. Those who worry that
there can be no future for such a union can take heart in Sigusch's
prediction that it will only be a few decades before such
"partnerships" are openly recognized
Gay marchers to defy Moscow ban
Gay pride events have been staged in many cities
worldwide.
Russian gay rights campaigners say they will
hold a gay pride rally on Saturday despite a ban by Moscow's mayor.
The organizer of Russia's first gay and lesbian festival, Nikolai
Alexeyev, said that the gay activists would find an alternative route.
Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov banned the march, calling it an "outrage"
and nationalists plan to disrupt the event. But Mr. Alexeyev said
campaigners had already achieved their goal of raising awareness of
homophobia in Russia.
"This event was just the opportunity for us to say no to
homophobia and to attract the media attention to this problem and to
attract the attention of the authorities," he said. "In the last 10
months I would say the Russian media has talked about this problem
more than in the whole of Russian history." Mr. Alexeyev said
homophobia was a big problem in Russia and there were frequent attacks
on gay people. Earlier this month, 39 people were arrested in Moscow
after protesting outside a gay nightclub. Riot police were brought in
to control a mixture of right-wing and religious activists, who
picketed the club and shouted insults at people leaving it. Mayor
Luzhkov said he banned the march because he believed homosexuality was
not natural and because the event would cause outrage in society - a
position supported by many Christian and Muslim groups.
Alternative: Mr. Alexeyev said the ban means
the march may not go ahead as originally planned, but there would be
some form of public action on 27 May. "Of course, we will not proceed
on the same route that we applied for in the application, because
there will not be enough security and there will be nationalistic
groups who will gather in the same place and try to disrupt events,"
he said. "We will have to find other options to go and realize our
constitutional rights, it will be some kind of different gathering
somewhere in the city." Mr. Alexeyev said opinion polls in April 2005
and April 2006 showed public attitudes were changing. "If a year ago
the majority was asking for the criminal prosecution of gays, this
April the majority are against," he said. "There are more people
tolerant now than a year ago."
 Moscow gay party:
Protesters shouting homophobic slogans and
hurling eggs and bottles have forced a Moscow night club to cancel a
mass gay and lesbian party. Police kept back the crowd of at least
100 skinheads, nationalists and elderly religious protesters. No
serious injuries were reported but revelers had to be turned away
and police escorted those inside to safety.
The party was billed as a unique mass gathering
of gay Russians.
The incident comes weeks before
Moscow authorities are due to rule on allowing the city's first Gay
Pride parade.
Organizers had been hoping to attract about 1,000
people to the "Open Party" at the Renaissance Event Club on
Ordzhonikidze Street in the south of the Russian capital
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DESTINATIONS
Holiday 10 Best: Wild places
This week we’re
taking you to some of the world’s wildest places to get you out
of your comfort zone and into some non-stop adventure.
Fly-fishing in
Connemara.
Lough Inagh Lodge. Price: $150 per
person. Ballynahinch Castle: $160 per person. Both based on two
sharing from May - September
Galapagos Islands.
Price: From $5,000 per person.
Arizona.
Price: From $1,100 per person in
May.
Argentina. Price: From $3,000 per
person in October.
Whale watching in Norway. Price:
From $2,000 per person in winter.
British Columbia. Price: From
around $3,000 per person in May 2005.
About
this trip. It includes 3 nights, full board, some activities.
Sample costs. Flights cost extra.
Namibia.
Price: Around $1,600 per person in May 2005.
About
this trip. It includes 7 nights, camping, meals, flights,
transfers, guide.
Northern
Australia.
Price:
From $900 per person based on two
sharing in 2005. About the trip. It includes
5 days, camping, park
fees, transfers.
Sample costs.
Flights cost extra from $1,400.
India, Rajastan.
Price:
Flights to Delhi cost from $800
return.
Sample costs.
Park entry, car, guide: $30 per
person.
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