In The News Last Sunday - Being Gay

On Sunday morning, I watched a much criticised debating show on the television. It follows straight on from a politics show which I like; and as I do so much reading during the week, I tend to have substituted these for reading a newspaper lately.

Most weeks I will turn off the second program in a rage at opposing and(from my perspective) bigoted, often dangerous opinions. Age has helped me learn that there is no point trying to persuade or reason with some people, it's best just to express your view and then walk away. So I turn it off.

I turned it off this week when a otherwise pleasant enough woman said this...

"......it is almost compulsory to be gay these days."

Errr? What? No. Stop it. Just stop being so ridiculous!

Now I cannot begin to put together any sort of argument against this right now. It is late. Well it's only 9pm, but the day has been busy; my head is a little bit mashed and the rest of the week looms. I am afraid I might tire myself in my exertions. Howver I just have to write this post, poorly put together or not. Emotional and reactionary or not.

The nice, smiley, jolly lady, was objecting to Stonewall's use of the word bigot, or more specifically their Award of Bigot of the Year being given to Cardinal Keith O'Brien for expressing what many gay people found offensive views on gay marriage earlier this year. I also find his views offensive and dangerous. As the parent of a wonderful human being who just happens to be gay, I value the freedom that he has. I in no way take this for granted. It has been a hard journey for him through his teens and young adulthood. The freedoms I am so thankful for have been hard fought for by others who have gone before him. What I am very conscious of, is that despite all that my son now has in the way of freedoms, there are still very dangerous fanatics out there who would hurt him and restrict his freedom, who would like LGBT people to simply not exist!

Whilst I agree with some critics of Stonewall, that the use of name calling to make a point is often counterproductive, resulting in knee-jerk reactions like the one from the lady above. In this case I feel that this award highlights what those who are working for equality and for justice are up against.

Currently Stonewall are being labelled bigoted bullies. I disagree. How can they be labelled as such when the Cardinal uses such damaging language against a group of other human beings. We do not need church leaders to be fuelling prejudice and fear, there is already much of this still existing in our society and around the world. Stonewall speak for their members and they need to be heard. The Cardinal speaks for some members of his church but not all. Stonewall are not fuelling prejudice and hate. As a Christian leader the Cardinal has a responsibility to speak carefully, in ways that do not add to the prejudice that gay people all over the world still suffer.

The initial finding of a research study into the lives of LGBT young people were published in a report lat week by Youth Chances. Initial finding indicate that one in four gay young people have been assaulted because of their sexuality; and the rates of self-harming in LGBT young people are significantly higher than the national average of one in twelve. The researchers are suggesting that despite Britain being way ahead of other countries on gay rights; prejudice and bullying are still a huge problem. A survey by Stonewall has previously found that one in six people in this country have a "low" opinion of gay people.

We have come a long way since the brilliant Alan Turing was driven to commit suicide. After being convicted of gross indecency at a time when any act of sex between two men was a criminal offence, it was just too hard for him to carry on.

........Mr Turing was left with two options – jail or chemical castration. He chose the latter and was given oestrogen hormone injections, widely believed to have led to his death. Two years after the conviction, aged just 41, the great mathematician died of cyanide poisoning. A bitten apple was found lying next to the dead body.

from: The battle to pardon Alan Turing 

Last year a petition asking for a pardon for Alan Turing, which had more than 23,000 signatures, was rejected by the government. The writer expresses so eloquently what a pardon would mean for gay people today: 

The petition has a wider scope and carries a deeper significance than simply a battle for the rights of a single individual. It seeks to acknowledge the severity of past perceptions and the suffering those attitudes can lead to.

The life and reputation of a great scientist have been ruined because of his sexuality. And while we have made giant strides in the right direction when it comes to the rights lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, there is still a long way to go before eradicating prejudice and homophobia in the UK and globally.

Mr Leech believes that Mr Turing’s case has not only a national but also an international significance and can set an example for many countries that still consider homosexuality a criminal offence.

“If we wipe these convictions off our record and do pardon people who have been convicted, this gives a stronger voice in tackling homophobia, in tackling unfair treatment of homosexuals, whether in his country or abroad,” Mr Leech said.

According to Stonewall, over 70 countries still criminalise same-sex relationships.

 A subject barely touched upon anywhere in mainstream society, I was interested to see this part of LGBT history highlighted in the mainstream TV drama series Downton Abbey , also shown on Sunday funnily enough. The programme also mentions Oscar Wilde also imprisoned for gross indecency and sodomy.

Unlike the lady I quote above I feel that LGBT history and current issues are sadly neglected in the media. Mainstream news reports on Sunday did not mention the report findings about young people, or indeed this much more positive news item,  The Pink List; which is a list of fabulous role models who just happen to be LGBT. You would think that it would be seen as important to give air time to this list, to celebrate the brave people who are out there achieving wonderful and inspiring things despite the prejudice and bullying that still exists. It would give our LGBT young people hope to help them get through the dark days, and equally importantly it may help to educate and to change attitudes.

The lady was worried that "It is almost compulsory to be gay these days". No. For her and many others, they would rather LGBT people would just hide in the corner in shame as they had to do in Alan Turing's time. Times have changed and for the better. LGBT equality is not to blame for the ills of society. It's a little bit more complex than that. 

There. Finished. Yawn. Goodnight and thank you.