Mardi Gras still has a strong message

BY MILLY CAFFREY

Peter Tatchell is the boy from Oz who has over thirty years come to spearhead the equality movement for the global LBGT community. In 1999, Thatchell attempted a citizen’s arrest on Robert Mugabe, his activism beginning in the participation of protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

Although gay and lesbian couples still await the amendment of the Marriage Act in Australia, Tatchell described how the Australian’s attitude towards homosexuality has shifted considerably over the past four decades.

“When I was young, many gay and lesbian people internalised the homophobia of mainstream society. They saw themselves as abnormal, ill, sinful and criminal. There was a big inferiority and guilt complex among a lot of LBGT people,” Tatchell said.

“There has been widespread law reform and decriminalisation of homosexuality and Sydney, which was once notorious for gay bashing attacks, is now one of the gay capitals of the world.”

The spectacular Sydney Mardi Gras is an annual is a reminder of acceptance and still delivers a vital message, Tatchell maintains.

“Mardi Gras was founded as a political statement and a celebration of LBGT life and a demand for equality. Those things are still relevant today, given that we don’t have adoption rights or the right to marry.” Michael Cain, a young gay man, recently confronted Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Tribunal over a policy which disallows blood donations from gay men.

Homophobia emerging from the Christian right was also an abomination, Tatchell said, calling the Reverend Fred Nile and his acolytes “losers”.

After being arrested 300 times over the years and severely beaten on several occasions, Tatchell continues because he can see progress in the battle for human rights.

“I’m aiming for a society where the labels heterosexual and homosexual become redundant, when no one cares who is gay or straight, where sexuality is irrelevant.”