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Carol Ann Duffy may be the Hero, and DJ Spoony the Bigot
By: John Howard

Duggy and Spoony: hero and bigot?

Stonewall Hero and Bigot of the Year nominees named

Gok Wan will host the fourth annual Stonewall Awards ceremony at London's V&AMuseum on November 5.

As yet nominations for only two of the awards have been announced - Stonewall Hero of the Year and Stonewall Bigot of the Year.

Both of these awards will be voted for by supporters of Stonewall from across the UK.

The nominees for Stonewall Bigot of the Year are:

  • the notorious Westboro Baptist Church duo, Fred Phelps and Shirley Roper-Phelps;
  • BBC presenter DJ Spoony, who said that attractive women should be "saved" for straight men;
  • Father John Owen, who claimed most paedophiles were gay men;
  • Doctor Sheila Matthews, who refused to consider same-sex couples to adopt;
  • and the Bishop of Winchester, who claimed in the House of Lords that homosexuality was a personal choice.

 
Stonewall Hero of the Year nominees are:

  • Carol Ann Duffy, the openly lesbian poet and first female poet laureate;
  • the Reverend Scott Rennie, the Church of Scotland's first openly gay minister;
  • Nick Partridge, veteran campaigner and chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust;  
  • Jim MacSweeney, owner of Gay’s the Word, the UK's first and only dedicated lesbian and gay bookstore;
  • and Lindsay River, the director of lesbian charity Polari, which closed in March.

 
The Stonewall & Barclays Community Group of the Year will also be voted for by Stonewall supporters.

The remaining seven awards, including Writer and Entertainer of the Year, will be decided on by a panel of judges, including comedian and TV personality Sue Perkins, BBC radio and TV presenter Evan Davis, former basketball player John Amaechi, Angela Eagle MP and Andrew Pierce, assistant editor of the Daily Telegraph.
 
 For tickets for the 2009 Stonewall Awards go to www.stonewall.org.uk/awards