Is fighting for the rights of the GLBT community the new Civil Rights movement? We might not be insisting lesbians sit in the back section of the cafe, or gay men use a different entrance to the cinema here in Australia, but by refusing to allow a gay couple to appear on a billboard says a lot about the silent structural violence our society enforces on those who 'bat for the other team'. (That term never really made sense to me, shouldn't it be, 'bat for the same team'?) Structural violence is the violence that goes on behind the scenes. People might not be injured or killed by this violence, however it seeps deeper into their psyche and effects their emotional behaviour, both in society and within themselves.
If you're not up to date with the unfolding story of this ad, pop your head out of the rock and read it here.
I am a Christian, and want to state straight up; the views held by the Australian Christian Lobby Group and Wendy Francis are not the common views of Christians. Sure you get your fanatical religious nuts, who believe that speeding is a sin and writing X-mas is heretical, but most of my friends certainly don't see homosexuality as offensive or something we should hide from.
Most of the complaints about this ad where two men are featured in an act of 'foreplay' as Francis puts it, are centred around wanting to protect our communities. Apparently it 'encourages homosexuality' to children. Please.
This is a beautiful ad showing two men who are clearly committed to each other, bravely advocating for the use of condom's and safe sex. It's sad we have a nation the cracks to homophobic pressure.
I am a Christian, and want to state straight up; the views held by the Australian Christian Lobby Group and Wendy Francis are not the common views of Christians. Sure you get your fanatical religious nuts, who believe that speeding is a sin and writing X-mas is heretical, but most of my friends certainly don't see homosexuality as offensive or something we should hide from.
Most of the complaints about this ad where two men are featured in an act of 'foreplay' as Francis puts it, are centred around wanting to protect our communities. Apparently it 'encourages homosexuality' to children. Please.
Sadly we're ignoring the rising statistic of HIV. According to Healthy Communities, 2010 had the highest number of people diagnosed with HIV than testing began in the 1980's. 65% of those diagnosed were gay men. But with all the ad campaigns going on around us, you'd be excused for thinking it's only teenagers and models who contract STD's. (And most of those ads are of people actually 'in the act'. Where's the lobby group against these ads?)
This is a beautiful ad showing two men who are clearly committed to each other, bravely advocating for the use of condom's and safe sex. It's sad we have a nation the cracks to homophobic pressure.
No comments:
Post a Comment