Are the times a’changin?
(This article has been lost online due to the merger of the Southern Star and Sydney Star Observer websites. Below is the original unedited article. Our apologies for any inconvenience).
Compare and Contrast
Apologies if that title brought up bad memories of school essay topics. However, events over the last few weeks made it seem an apt title to compare and contrast a number of events.
On Match 6th, aka Stormy Saturday, I (and others) had the privilege of talking with a number of rural SSA young people at a forum held near Daylesford and organized by the hard-working Sue Hackney of Way Out. (The hailstorm hit the tin roof of the building we were in just as I spoke, which meant using the butch voice, but I digress…) The young people were keen to hear about life growing up as G, L or T and how we were now going with our lives. Their empathy and respect for what happened in the past shows clearly that young queers today clearly do care about where we’ve been and continuing to strive for justice and equity.
However, the even bigger contrast was when I asked, “how many people have met or know of a trans* person or know about trans* issues? About 2 out of 3 hands went into the air. That’s a huge change from 5 years ago when giving talks (regardless of the age range of the audience) saw no one knowing anything and the talk stayed at “trans 101.”
Last week also saw another shift. A flurry of activity saw community organisations write submissions regarding the amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act. 5 or 10 years ago, trying to find anyone writing about trans* – or for that matter sexual orientation – to such a submission was like being lost in a forest crying out “is anyone there?” This time, the co-operation and comparison of submissions by 5 or 6 organisations on GLBT issues blew me away.
And the last compare and contrast? 9 years ago, John Howard infamously stated, “I’d be disappointed if my child was gay.” (I’d be disappointed if my parent had dinosaur views like that, but again I digress…) 2010 and Tony Abbott says he feels threatened by gays. Compare the reaction. There’s been almost Universal rejection of Abbott’s comments, whereas 9 years ago there were many attempts to rationalise Howard’s comments.
All these examples may not seem spectacular compared to laws being passed or government funding announcements for GLBT programs. But it’s little steps like these that make me stop and say, “by gadfrey, I think we’re getting somewhere.” And we are.
By Sally Goldner, Transgender Victoria spokesperson.
