I really hate it when someone talks about me, right in front of me.
I hate it even more when 20 million people are doing it. It seems once again, the queer community is expected to speak to the sensible, virtuous heterosexual mainstream to beg for some rights at the cost of y’know, our dignity.
As such we’ve now reached a point where not only are our personal lives being dissected on national media, we are also being left out of the conversation entirely. I mean of course we can talk about it, but we have no real say over it. Politicians must first pass legislation to allow for this plebiscite dumpster fire to go ahead, though the Greens have pledged their opposition to the bill while Labor has threatened to block it.
Meanwhile, the reliably insipid Australian media circus has produced forward-thinking, intellectually enriching articles like:
“What it’s like being both Gay and Christian” – I imagine a lot of cognitive dissonance and thought-terminating clichés going on here. This article is about one person’s struggle to reconcile their Christianity with their homo hedonism. This hardly bears further discussion because attaching religion to something does not automatically imbue it with goodness and morality. It’s just an obnoxious exercise in sanctimonious moaning. It has no place in a discussion about this vote, because this vote isn’t about a Christian moral ideal, but about fundamental human rights.
“Will there be a Brexit trap in the Plebiscite?” – Ah, just what we need, alarmist crap with a dash of conspiratorial spice. Delicious and utterly void of caloric value. The bulk of this article was written to try to find ways to compare the civil unrest caused by Brexit with a hypothetical plebiscite in Australia. It then astutely surmises, “The plebiscite may prove to be divisive.” Thanks mainstream media, you’re a doll.
“I oppose gay marriage (and no, I’m not a bigot)” – You’re a textbook bigot. Actually this is my favourite article. This dude wrote about being against gay marriage for traditionalist reasons (and bizarrely, biology). It’s full of gems like, “A child is a tangible expression of our sexed twoness” and, “Marriage is or is intended as, a life-long union between two people who exemplify the biological duality of the human race.” I’m all for airing out ignorantly malignant opinions provided they exist within a culture of ruthless, methodical critique. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. This article and others with similar sentiments herald the coming of an unstoppable tsunami of unchallenged rhetoric.
As much as it’s important for the media to facilitate civil discourse, it’s also important for us to remain critically engaged and vigilant so we can spot when what’s really happening is ultimately useless to everybody involved.
What’s most insulting is that the language around this dubious vote is one that speaks to approval rather than human rights. It asks, “Do you approve of a law to permit people of the same sex to marry?” Sometimes this sort of rubbish media coverage will result in us being trapped in a Mobius strip of outrage and the following outrage-at-the-outrage forever and ever. Human rights transcend any egoistic discussion of morality and language like “approval” has little practical relevance.
This media frenzy around the plebiscite idea feels like prodding at a dried-out turd only to find that, oh god, it’s still moist on the inside. I mean what did you expect? Every garden-variety bigot and pseudo-intellectual contrarian will swarm out of their echo chambers, righteously screaming a chorus of damaging crap that us queers have to weather – as always. The media (which seemed to have collectively flushed their spines down the toilet 20 years ago) will continue to suckle at the teat of sensationalism whilst stamping down the voices of the people who are directly affected so it can appeal to the lowest common denominator.
However.
If we were to pour litres of burning napalm over this entire freak show, one man would emerge, skinless and terminator-esque. That man would be Malcolm Turnbull. This plebiscite really is all about him and his impotent governing. This plebiscite is how he’ll please both his howling conservative base, which currently has a stranglehold over the party, while half-arsedly addressing the Australian public’s expectations. All of this, remarkably, while his government is simultaneously balls deep in ten thousand human rights violations.
Australia’s moral police act is getting old.
All that said, Victoria has just allowed queer couples to jointly adopt children. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.
[Photo credit Ariel G / Flickr]
This Week:
On Wednesday September 7, Birdcage presents STRIPcage at the Sly Fox. Expect to hear your favourite strip club anthems all night: some very sultry surprises are in the works for the evening. Featuring Shantan Wantan Ichiban, NatNoiz vs Cunningpants and Mowgli May, this is a party you won’t want to miss!
On Saturday September 10, head over to The Imperial Hotel for Heaps Gay’s, FLAMINGOS. DJ’s Ollie Henderson, Jack Freestone and Sveta will be bringing you unpretentious tropical party vibes playing hits from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90’s.
Here’s something to put in the diary: The Queer Screen Film Festival will be running from Tuesday September 20 to Sunday September 25 at Event Cinemas on George Street. The program is jam-packed with 12 fabulous LGBTQ films and tickets are on sale now.
