Statue Of Gay Hero Draws Monumental Flak

[matcom]

<snip>

TORONTO (Reuters) - A statue commemorating a hero of Toronto's gay community is raising hackles both for the actions of the man it depicts and for the somewhat graphic description of the 19th-Century sex scandal that made him famous.

But denizens of Toronto's centrally located and often irreverent gay neighborhood -- the home of the city's hugely popular annual gay pride celebrations -- say the sculpture is not offensive, and fits with the spirit of the community.

The 13-1/2 foot (4.1 meter) bronze and granite monument depicts Alexander Wood, famous for both owning the land on which the community now sits, and for being run out of town under a cloud of sexual scandal in the early 1800s.

It shows a dapper young man wearing a long coat and holding a top hat and cane.

"It's nice to have the statue in the community, but I don't think it's well done," said one area resident, referring to a plaque at the statue's base that outlines the scandal.

"I think it's misleading. The sensationalistic side of homosexuality is not the norm."

Wood emigrated from Scotland in the 1790s, becoming a merchant, militiaman and a well-respected magistrate, before running into trouble in 1810.

A woman reported a rape, noting she had scratched the attacker on his genitals. Wood took matters into his own hands, lining up the suspects and demanding that they drop their pants so he could "inspect" them.

After word of the incident got around, Wood was widely branded a "molly," a derogatory term for homosexuals, and he agreed to leave town in exchange for not being prosecuted for abusing his position.

The incident is commemorated on the statue's granite base, with a bronze plaque depicting a man's rear-end with his pants around his knees, and Wood's outstretched hand in mid-examination.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050614/od_nm/life_canada_statue_dc

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1. Please pick up the white courtesy phone.

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