Gayness...

Ok, so I know this was meant to be posted last week, but I was incapacitated with dental pain (I can see the face you are giving me!) And in the shadow of the carbon tax debacle, the gay marriage debate is slightly less topical than 2 weeks ago when I proposed this!

Anyway, so a couple of weeks ago there seemed to be a "tipping point" (Malcolm Gladwell is my friend) around the idea of gay marriage with many random surveys re the need to acknowledge gay relationships and the need for Australian society to place the same importance on these relationships as our straight compatriots.

Ok, so in the interest of transparency (for those interested in my views about media and statistical transparency please see earlier posts! I can hear the eager clicking from here!) I feel I need to tell you that I'm not really into marriage. Gay, straight, I don't mind, but I don't think it's the thing for me. That said, I recognize the importance and need for people to be recognized in the relationships that they are in.

So. The big gay debate. Side a) yup, bring it on, I love my partner so I should be able to marry them and have equal rights. Side b) it's unnatural, unchristian and if we let the dykes marry it will singlehandedly bring down the economy and the next thing we will be allowing animals to marry. Don't even get me started on the logic of this, why would I marry a sheep? I would marry a light globe next. For those interested Ellen has a fantastic standup routine about this!

I can see both sides, and in fairness to the political leaders, if I was in that chair, I wouldn't be touching it with a barge pole (I would also like to know what a barge pole is). Maybe second only to immigration, gay rights has continued to divide communities and has been doing so for hundreds of years. Outside of my obvious understanding of the complexities of the development of homosexuality, as a group the gaybees have been fighting since we realized that little Susan was much more interesting then little Johnny. For the right to not getting beaten to being able to hold hands in the street (this is a slight digression, the history of gay rights isn't the point). In fact, we have often defined ourselves by those fights. I openly acknowledge that my life is much easier thanks to all of the people who had unimaginable shit happen to them so that they could love who they love.

This is one of the reasons that I am a bit sad that there is all this talk of gay marriage. What do we have left to fight for then? What happens to Mardi GRAS, pride, and one of the most robust political movements of modern history. I understand the need or urgency to be the same as everybody else. But we aren't the same. There isn't loads of gay kids on tv, other than when they are being "the gay kid", all same sex relationships are portrayed in mannied and stereotypical, usually with story lines related only to their "gayness". I am immersed in my community, and I am very tolerant of those who are different, but part of that understanding is what comes from being a bit different. That means more to me, and lots of people I know, than the option to spend lots of money on weddings that will statistically end in divorce. Why don't we continue to embrace our little rainbow family, and encapsulate the stuff that makes all communities bred out of adversity fire, and let other people worry about the other stuff. Do I think people should have the choice to marry, of course, but I don't think that it should define everything we do moving forward from here based on whether we can get married?

Does this make me an angry cynical dyke? Probably, maybe i haven't met the right girl yet.




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