Gay & Lesbian

Homovision is a gay website like no other. In a virtual world dominated by gay ‘dating’ sites and gay porn, Homovision points a moving camera at the gay scene and tells it exactly as it is. There are no ads to compromise editorial freedom, and no area of gay life goes uncovered. Bars, clubs, Boris’s first Pride reception as Mayor – they’re all covered. Here’s a typical news item:

'According to a number of scene faces, it’s now official that Megan – party promoter of Fire since year dot – no longer works for the venue… The good news is that the medics still remain to deal with the G-casualties, there’s a police dog on the door and the punters are still packing the place.'

What’s more, these stories are reported in style, with filmed reports that stand comparison with proper TV docs. There’s none of the YouTube home-made quality about Homovision. It’s slick and professional and we couldn’t be more impressed. What’s more, it’s all the work of one man,
Simon McDermott, a gay former print-journalist-turned-man-with-a-movie-camera. We asked him to outline his homo vision.

Tell us a bit about your background.
‘When I was a kid I had an obsession with TV-am News and used to write to them asking for a job as a reporter. Not very sexy when you’re 13 and growing up in Blackburn. Obviously there was some issue there. When I came to London in 1998, I worked in bars or temped. I went to Barcelona, then to Ibiza, where I realised I couldn’t keep running around discos trying to get off with muscle Marys for the rest of my life. So I studied journalism and started freelancing for a number of magazines. Of course, I still kept chasing muscle Marys, though. I loved news journalism, but the pay was ridiculous. It would have been impossible to have survived in London without placing an escort ad in the back of QX.’# Feature continues

How did you make the move from print to the web?
‘I used to write for a corporate website and really got into what you can do with publishing on the net. Basically, because as soon as you know about something you can get it up on the website. And you don’t have to just stick to text. Videos, comments, images, polls – you can do anything. And it’s all instant. The internet is going to change publishing forever. User content, the whole interactive element – they’re changing the face of journalism.’

Homovision in action

How did Homovision come about?
‘I was going through a bad time – basically cracking up. I’d split up with a boyfriend, was working in a corporate publishing house writing features about new accountancy systems and staff community projects. I also lost a lot of money when a gay magazine I was freelancing for closed. At the same time I felt a lot of what I was writing was lies and advertorial. I was losing the plot and couldn’t see the point in anything. On top of that I’d slipped into a depression and was spending every weekend off my head in Vauxhall. But in hindsight, it was one of the best things to happen to me. I questioned what I was doing and it helped me make some changes. One day I went to have a drink with a friend and we got talking about different ideas. I thought it would be great to have a gay video site – the name Homovision just came out of my mouth. The next day he turned up with a camcorder and told me to just do it.’

Do you see yourself as a rival to the gay press?
‘You could say it’s about democratising the gay press. Basically, the thinking behind Homovision is that we tell the truth and are not swayed by having to answer to advertisers. Once we start worrying about saying something that may upset a few club promoters, then we may as well give up. London’s got a great gay scene with loads going on. But in order to keep it thriving we’ve got to respect it and ourselves, not be content with just being herded like sheep, accepting people dying in discos or be satisfied with another lip-synching tranny just playing dress-up on stage. Sometimes it’s as if we’re being treated like six-year-old girls or cock-hungry fuck monsters fuelled by drugs, sometimes both at the same time. It’s not very attractive.’

Why no ads? Is that company policy?
‘It’s not that we don’t want ads – we love them! It’s just that we didn’t want to have any ads from any of the gay clubs or bars on the scene because we didn’t want to have to answer to them. Too many reviewers on the scene are tied by the fact that they’ve got to fluff up their reviews just so they don’t piss off any of the advertisers. I know this because I’ve done it myself. We want to tell the truth at all times. If a club has piss pouring through the ceiling, the door-whore has a face like a smacked arse and you have to step over a few dead bodies on the way to the dancefloor, we want the freedom to be able to say it.’

For more visit www.homovision.tv" target="_blank">www.homovision.tv.