Filed under: Activism, LGBT, Politics | Tags: 3, Activism, LGBT, Politics, stonewall
Yesterday I went to an event at the Electric Cinema to celebrate 40 years since founding of the Gay Liberation Front – “the first major gay organization not run by bishops”. It was a bunch of films followed by a very heated discussion amongst the veterans – a real blast from militant gay history, and a few lessons:
Ambition
These people really aimed high. Not content to hang out in the gay ghettos of Soho, they wanted to change the law, change the workplace, change education, change society. They knew what they wanted, and they were completely uncompromising.
Imagination
“Good humour, wit and imagination; these are the best tools we have,” said trans poet Roz Kaveney. There were some very funny stories – like the bogus nuns who would turn up to Christian rallies and cause chaos by doing the can-can. One grande dame in a huge fedora was asked what she thought was the secret of social change: “comedy, darling”, she proclaimed.
Fighting spirit
I guess it’s the definition of militancy – there was a real fighting spirit in these people. Now in their sixties and seventies, the veterans at yesterday’s event were feisty, to say the least. The younger members of the audience seemed distinctly moderate by comparison.
Ambition, imagination and the love of a good fight – this is how the old guard from the GLF pushed and prodded at the establishment. I met with some folks from Stonewall last week – a very different vibe: engaging the system, working with schools, playing the politics. They’re smart, professional, part of the mainstream. Different times.
Pride London and QQT organized yesterday’s event, and they made a short promo. It has some great shots of the acid-fueled idealism of the early days. A reminder that all real change starts as counter-culture.
Filed under: Activism, LGBT, Public Opinion | Tags: Activism, LGBT, Public Opinion
An email went around Mother last week with a bunch of ancient, pre-PC print ads attached, such as the above – mostly involving sex, booze, cigarettes. What’s not to love. They seemed quaint almost. It was a reminder of how attitudes can change.
Last week I met one of the original members of OutRage!, the controversial gay-rights activists – now disbanded. These days many people in the gay community cringe to think of these old militants – a far cry from our modern gay mohito lifestyles. But we owe them a lot. My second favourite Chinese proverb: when you drink the water, remember those who dug the well.
Attitudes can change. What better evidence of this than our new Home Secretary – and Equalities Minister – Teresa May. She was once a Grade A enemy of the gay movement – but she gave a disarming performance on last week’s Question Time, when challenged to reconcile her past with her present. Her answer was unarguable: “I’ve changed my mind,” she said.
It’s cause for celebration, no doubt. Gay rights are a part of the mainstream. In the UK, the public reaction to Jan Moir’s unkind article on Stephen Gately’s death is proof of this. In the US, the recent apology by Pastor Jeff Owens for his hunt-a-homo sermon is a similar example.
Attitudes have changed – good. But we’re not home and dry yet: society may be more gay-friendly, but is it really more tolerant? As Robin Hanson writes on the Overcoming Bias blog:
“Tolerance” is a feel-good buzzword in our society, but I fear people have forgotten what it means. Many folks are proud of their “tolerance” for gays, working women, Tibetan monks in cute orange outfits, or blacks sitting at the front of the bus. But what they really mean is that they consider such things to be completely appropriate parts of their society, and are not bothered by them in the slightest. That, however, isn’t “tolerance.”
“Tolerance” is where you tolerate things that actually bother you. Things … that conflict with strong intuitions on proper behavior. Once upon a time, the idea of gay sex made most folks quite uncomfortable, and yet many of those folks still advocated tolerance for gay sex. Their argument was … that a broad society should be reluctant to ban apparently victimless activities.
So, attitudes can change – but don’t get too cozy. Here are a couple of reminders that the real goal – true tolerance – might be closer for some than others:
Last word to this guy – it’s a random found image, and made me laugh – it could be taken at a God Hates Fags rally or a Gay Pride:
Images from yousaytoo.com, Lancashire Telegraph, Danz Family and DailyHaha.
Filed under: Advertising, Education, Happiness, LGBT, Public Opinion, Youth | Tags: Advertising, Happiness, LGBT, Public Opinion, stonewall, Youth
Peace, love, goodwill to everyone – fine words at the end of a year which saw a surge in support for the BNP and a rise in homophobic attacks. It’s been a year of growing intolerance in the UK. Interesting then, digging around in the World Values Survey, to see that the world’s most tolerance societies are also the happiest.
It confirms some of our favourite country stereotypes: exuberant Latin American countries which embrace diversity, contrasted with former communist countries of eastern Europe – grim and intolerant. I pulled the data for people who said they were “very happy” and ran it alongside people who said that “homosexuality is never justifiable”. Here’s the results:
It’s all strangely affirming. The more tolerant countries – Sweden, Spain, Canada, Thailand – are the most happy. The more homophobic places – Poland, Ukraine, Russia – are more miserable. It’s a global truth: 92,000 people took the survey across the world, and among those who said that homosexuality is never justifiable, 25% said they were very happy; among those who said it was always justifiable, 31% were very happy. Stop the press: tolerant people are more happy.
Of course most of us knew this already: the question is, how do we tell the rest of them? Peace, love and goodwill are good for the soul – a difficult message to convey to someone struggling in harsh economic conditions, whether in Russia’s industrial wastelands or in Bradford. But it’s an important idealistic message: be happy, love your neighbour.
Stonewall’s campaign against homophobic bullying is a good start. “Some people are gay. Get over it” – in other words, the problem’s yours, deal with it. The campaign was developed by kids in schools, and has been a successful conversation starter. It’s a bold, challenging message – but what’s the emotional benefit? What’s in it for the bullies? We need a positive message as well, something to aspire to.
It will be interesting to see where Stonewall takes the campaign next. The World Values Survey shows that a quarter of Britons think homosexuality is “never justifiable”. This is less than the US (32%) and the world average (56%) – but still, 1 in 4 people is still a huge amount, and recent events suggest it’s on the increase. There’s clearly work for Stonewall to do.
NB. the last World Values Survey was completed in 2007. It’s is being repeated in 2010.
The average petition on the Downing Street website gets about 40 signatures – so it’s great to see the campaign to get an apology for Alan Turing got over 31,000.
For those who don’t know, Alan Turing was one of the twentieth century’s greatest thinkers – aside from helping to win WW2 by breaking the German codes, he did more than any other individual to invent the modern computer. Turing was gay, and the authorities offered him a choice of chemical castration or prison. He chose suicide.
The campaign to get an apology was run by computer programmer John Graham-Cumming, who ran it from the top deck of his bus to work: “Amazing what you can do with 30 minutes of peace and an iPhone,” he writes on his blog.
Graham’s persistence with the iPhone paid off: his petition was signed by 34 esteemed professors, as well as names like Richard Dawkins and Peter Tatchell. A tweet from Stephen Fry was an extra boost. With support like this, Graham was able to build momentum in the media, with articles on BBC and PinkNews.
It’s a great story. It shows that anyone can run an effective campaign, with initiative and persistence, and a good sense of how stories ricochet around in the online space. And it has a successful ending: an apology in the form of a thoughtful statement from Gordon Brown.
It’s also an important reminder that we can’t be complacent about homophobia in Britain. It’s not all sorted, as Stonewall’s report into the huge amount of gay bashing in schools makes clear.
