Cody Simpson and His Gay Crew

When I was little, I thought of Australia as a "good place," where same-sex desire was open and accepted.  Visiting Australia in the summer of 1986 (just before moving to Japan with Alan) didn't change my mind.  But I might have to change it after hearing about Cody Simpson.

Born in 1997, Cody Simpson began to record songs on youtube, and was discovered in 2009.  He has four albums to date.  The most recent, Surfer's Paradise (2013), includes the following songs:

"Pretty Brown Eyes": a girl with brown eyes.
"La Dee Dee": a girl he likes.
"No Ceiling": no ceiling on our love.
"Sinking In": falling in love
"Summertime of Our Lives": being young and in love
"Imma Be Cool": he can't find a girl who gets him.
"If You Left Him for Me": the girl he likes, likes another boy
"Love": "love, love, love, love, love."

You get the idea: not a lot about social issues or friendship, lots of "girl! girl! girl!"

He has one acting credit, playing one of the "ambassadors for peace" along with other surfers and models in Isolated (2013), along with Chris Galya and BooBoo Stewart.

Many musicians are gay-friendly in real life, even when their music is heterosexist, but in January 2012, Cody and best friend  and occasional collaborator Jake Thrupp (left) appeared in a UStream discussion with fans, and dropped the "g" bomb:

Jake: Do we have to say their names when we respond?
Cody: All that gay stuff, like 'No, I'm not gay like Campbell [Carsley].
Jake: Look at their twitter [names]

Cody took down the UStream and apologized to fans for "calling them gay."  Big insult. no doubt.

Campbell Carsley (left) is another of Cody's friends and occasional collaborators, who also throws "gays" around at random to mean inept, inane, or uncool. He has apparently invented a dance called the "Are you gay?" shuffle.

Other friends and occasional collaborators include Josh Winnington and Oliver Crane.

Sorry, I can't tell them apart.  They're all blond, buffed Aussie teenagers who think "gay" is something bad.

For gay-positive Australian performers, check out Xavier Samuel and Ryan Kwanten.