If one thing has become clear in the last 48 hours, it is that the organisation charged with running Sydney’s 33-year-old celebration of gay rights is at another crossroads.
Public reaction to Thursday’s release of a new logo, a renewed company name – Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras – and the removal of the words gay and lesbian from the name of the festival has sent web forums into overload and the organisation by surprise.
It is the removal of the words gay and lesbian from the festival name that has generated the most debate and cast a heavy shadow across Mardi Gras HQ.
Debate has been rigorous, heartfelt, intense and diverse. And no matter what the view – and they are many and varied – all are argued with a passion that demonstrates how important this event is to our community.
Mardi Gras says it is about being all inclusive; a celebration of all diversity. An opportunity to step forward and grow into a truly global celebration.
Angry community members say the removal of the words gay and lesbian is an affront to the members of the community that has been at the heart and soul of the event over the last three decades.
Others say until we are all afforded equality before the law that the words gay and lesbian are vital to ensure ongoing visibility.
Those welcoming the change say it is helped them feel more included in an event that, while always welcoming of other members from the so-called alphabet soup, had never explicitly stated as such.
Others are indifferent, taking a wait and see approach before firming a solid opinion.
Of course all sides are right – because personal opinion is just that – personal.
We all have individual reasons for liking or disliking this latest move by Mardi Gras. Those reasons are based on any number of things including, but certainly not limited to, our past experiences with the parade and/or party; how we first became aware of the event; volunteering for season; organising an event to be held over the festival; having parents/friends/family stand by our sides in the parade; feeling like we found somewhere we could belong without fear of judgment or ridicule.
What is important for Mardi Gras now is how we as a community choose to exercise that opinion.
We all have a choice. We can embrace the change – regardless of our personal opinion – and throw our support behind the organisation – because we have done it before.
We can walk away, declaring it a step too far, and leave the care and organisation of the festival up to someone else.
Or we can swallow it and vow to seek election to the Mardi Gras board to have it changed.
The consequences of all these options are obvious, and far reaching – and Mardi Gras will no doubt be anxiously watching its ticket sales which will no doubt reflect how we feel about the events of the last two days.
But what of Mardi Gras? What choices does it have?
While the community’s decision on this issue is crucial, so too is the organisation’s next step.
Attendances at the community forums on which Thursday’s announcement were reportedly based were lack lustre and faces were pretty much the same each time. It is only now, after that cliched horse has bolted, that Mardi Gras is getting the feedback it was seeking.
That makes for some tricky decision making behind-the-scenes and what will no doubt be some very heated debate at a board and staff level.
Mardi Gras survived financial collapse a decade ago; it survived the embarrassing split of the party and parade two years ago and the massive financial loss that was a direct result of that cock-up.
Can it afford to back track on this new direction after the global glut of publicity and public outcry?
Time will be the decider.
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t neamed The Sydney Gay and lesbian Mardi Gras has purpose. Drop Gay and Lesbian is meaningless.
As we all know, “For 20-plus years we have been able to force the mainstream media to call it the GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS”. It is by a few gernarations Struggle and sttill now. Dropping G/L is Unrespectable,\
“Mardi Gras is now inviting everyone who has a positive message to share about the power and beauty of diversity to be part of our celebration”. “We would love to see people who share our values, but who never thought they would be in the Parade to approach us and share their ideas. There will always be room for a great float which will both entertain and bring people together.” It still dreaming. It is Self-humiliation.
“Our hope with this change is to turn Sydney Mardi Gras into an even bigger civic event – right up there with Rio and the world’s other great carnivals – to be enjoyed by everyone, butMardi Gras goes always remembered as being a gift to the city from its gay & lesbian community and a demonstration of our pride.” It is Lack of considerate.
“Sydney Morning Herald front page sums it up: Mardi Gras goes straight.” “many, particularly younger people are much less likely to want to be labeled.” It isnt a quesation “TO BE OR NOT TO BE”. It as soon as you be named it wont be never change it. That “Sydney Mardi Gras we wont labeled”. LOL It is Self-deception,
Unfurturenaityly, as we are noticed that Oxford Street is no longer the Gay Golden Mile. And as in other matters, Gay and Lesbian and our community. it is Pitiful.
As the mother of a gender diverse son I would prefer that Mardi Gras be inclusive of all. Mardi Gras has always being about celebrating this and yes is personal for me to be able to comment. Mardi Gras has been huge over the years and would benefit from movin g with the times and being more inclusive to all.
De-gaying Mardi Gras ? total nonsense. As an elder I feel insulted.
sorry- “does not get redressed”
“until we are all afforded equality before the law that the words gay and lesbian are vital to ensure ongoing visibility”
I personally am extremely interested in gaining full equal civil marriage rights… but I also feel that once we achieve full equaltiy, we STILL need to celebrate our gay & lesbian CULTURE. Just like Chinese Australians welcome all to ChinaTown, we welcome everyone to the 33yr Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Many online fights have now erupted between gay & trans ppl- but just because trans ppl have been excluded from naming rights all this time goes not get redressed by also deleting gays & lesbians from visibilty! There are approx 2.2million gays & lesbians, and approx 2thousand transexuals in Australia (depending on which medical authority percentages you use). That’s alot of invisibilty for 2.2millions gays & lesbians. When you consider there are 350thousand Muslims in Australia, to delete all reference to our name & culture is a backwards step on a sheer numbers game. Like I said- even when we gain FULL equal rights, I expect to still celebrate and showcase our gay and lesbian CULTURE…. and by name. The only other option I’d be comfortable with would be to call it the Queer Mardi Gras, or Queer Pride (used to be Gay Pride), but any change should be after exhaustive consultation, which has not happened in this current case. The other thing is that we are under full scale attack in Sydney, in 2011, from politically powerful Christian Extremist groups hell bent on deleting the word gay from the public sphere, and deleting any gay-ness out of Mardi Gras or ban Mardi Gras altogether. This could not be a worse time to give in to them. Internationally the gay & lesbian title in Mardi Gras is the point of difference that has made it an international beacon & drawcard. More international travellers come here that to just any other random “Festival” like in Melbourne or other cities across the globe. Other cities/countries have “pride”, but we have the huge Gay & Lesbian MECCA parade! Having those words in it has turned our parade into something huge & a beacon from people to travel on 20hr flights to come & make it even bigger. Dropping the succesful identifying trait could drop the event in size, and delete that internationally recognised beacon of gay/lesbian visibility.
In the last few years I can’t tell you how many people told me Mardi Gras is no longer relevant. Now listen to those same people complaining about the changes. What a shame they do not invest the same energy to support the parade and festival by attending and being a Mardi Gras member.
I believe that the next step that the organisation should take is to call an EGM ASAP to have a full and frank discussion regarding the boards decision to remove the words ‘gay and ‘lesbian’ from the festival
To say it is more inclusive is a total nonsense. Perhaps we need to drop the word Sydney, so as people in small towns like Dubbo or Melbourne won’t feel excluded.
I think the logo is great. The message behind it is inspiring. I think the hysteria over gay and lesbian being taken out of the name is really overdone. London Pride, Madrid Pride, etc. Those events are clearly gay without having to spell it out. Does anyone honestly believe Mardi Gras will be thought of as anything other than a VERY gay event for decades to come. I mean get real people. What the new name does which I like is it invites all the others who’re not quite gay, not quite lesbian, or just great supporters to get involved to make Mardi Gras better – and it needs to get better or else it won’t survive.
[…] OPINION: Where to now for Mardi Gras? […]
Interesting question…with poor leading answers,
So could you not put words into our mouths and just have
Should “gay and lesbian” be removed from the logo
Yes
No
I dont care
As its you have already written there is many opinions on this topic so why did you just chose those two? I mean come on you’re not working for MG are you? As I’m sure no SSO jerno would put his or her own opinion into a article about a debate…I know other people raised this yesterday in social media….
Also good to see you point out abut the other cock ups MG have done…they seem to like to just go and do something that flies in the face of sensibility!