Loading ...- Category:
- Pride Week, Soap Box
- Author:
- Phil Scott
- Posted:
- Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Gayguy 1: Pride? I’m gay, but that is only a part of who I am. It’s nothing to be specially proud of, it’s just me.
Gayguy 2: Pride’s so last century. We don’t need to hold protests any more. We’ve moved on.
Gayguy 3: Pride is all about scene queens, it’s nothing to do with my life.
Have you heard these comments before? We heard them a lot when the former Pride celebrations faded away and the Pride Centre closed. Now, as you know, Pride has returned with a week of activities and a renewed profile.
Maybe it’s time to take another look at the word. It was first used by the GLBT community because of what it did not mean: shame. Once, we were expected to feel ashamed of our sexual orientation. And we did, or at least we acted like we did.
Shame is not so common now, except for boys and girls in isolated situations or those under the influence of religion. Actually, that probably adds up to quite a few who could use a little pride to bolster their self-esteem.
For Gayguy 1, self-esteem is not an issue. He was fortunate enough to grow up in an era of acceptance. He didn’t change anything to make it that way: the work was already done. But perhaps he could invest some pride in the community whose efforts made his life easier? He could be part of our collective pride.
Example: when Matt Mitcham won the diving, I had nothing to be proud of personally but I felt proud anyway, because of Matt and his partner Lachlan’s easy openness. It’s still rare to see this honesty in high profile celebrities.
I’m proud of the charities that raise money to help struggling GLBT people. Charities are a big part of this week’s Festival. Their work is not about the past, as Gayguy 2 thinks: it’s here and now, and it’s ongoing.
Last Thursday I attended the Pride Week launch at Stonewall. Gayguy 3 would have felt right at home. Older people spoke about where we’d come from, the faces were familiar, the past heavily emphasised -” but there was also a sense of being part of a continuum.
Gay Australians are hardly oppressed these days, but we’re still discriminated against in certain situations. There are a number of things we’re not allowed to do, like marry our partner or adopt kids, simply because we’re homosexual. We need to stay proud -” because if we don’t, we accept the second-class status wished on us by the bigots.
There’s an expression: a pride of lions. Why use that particular word? What is proud about lions? You’ve got to admit, they are in control. Lions don’t make a great show of power, but it’s theirs if they decide to use it. As a gay Leo, I’d be reasonably comfortable with that.
Tags: Pride Week, Stonewall
June 30th, 2009 @ 2:58 pm
Phil says:
“Shame is not so common now, except for boys and girls in isolated situations or those under the influence of religion.”
Except that ‘faggot’ or ‘poofter’ are considered two of the worst insults used against any male – gay or otherwise. And often used by people who are not particularly religious. Gay men offend homophobes’ sense of masculinity. Lesbians are hated because they don’t act in ways women are supposed to act. It’s the gender issue which is the sticking point for anti-gay thugs – religion much less so, I think.
July 6th, 2009 @ 4:47 am
Every generation of activists is actually working for the next younger generation. When I was in my 20s in the 1980’s being out was very risky and it was usually better to be closeted. Today’s young, out gays have no idea. They take it all for granted. To them I say, “You’re Welcome!”