My Identity is Not a Debate
Today has not gone according to plan.
Ideally I would’ve woken up, had breakfast, gone to class and then proceeded to continue writing an essay I have due for one of my modules. Instead, something I saw on Twitter made me more angry than I have been by anything on the internet in a significantly long time.
A Hypothesis
As an avid consumer of news media over the past couple of months I’ve noticed a somewhat frightening trend in the reporting format; specifically by the BBC (although this is probably emulated by other institutions). This trend has primarily been focused on the Brexit debate however, this morning it boiled over to the conversation happening within the UK about LGBTQ representation and rights.
So.
What is this trend?
Well, I have no direct proof but what I’ve been noticing is that news organizations around the UK have been deviating on the traditional format of first, reporting the facts of a story and then, following those facts up with opinions and discourse. Instead (and this is probably exacerbated by the constant uncertainty with the Brexit deadlock) they stress the importance of professional and public opinion before all of the facts are presented or understood. I assume this comes from the need of these organizations to be constantly publishing headlines and generating user engagement. This engagement increases viewership and revenue which incentives this media cycle to continue.
But What About Today?
Ok so back to this morning.
Well as a strong, proud millennial before getting out of bed I grabbed my phone in order to update myself on the previous nights happenings. I immediately noticed that a lot of the people I follow were in outrage over a Question-Time question which is as follows :
“Is it morally right for 5 year old children to learn about LGBT issues in school?”
First of all the obvious answer to this question is yes, and if you don’t think so then that’s a whole other conversation. However after considering the actual phrasing and context of this question I became increasingly mad, frustrated and upset.
Let me explain why.
What are Moral Panics?
The issues I have surrounding this question is not the fact that it was asked. My issue however is within both the literal phrasing of this question and the fact that the BBC published it without basically any context or follow up. Firstly, the way this question is asked suggests that both sides of this hypothetical argument have equal merit. The fundamental existence and identity of LGBTQ people is not up for debate. Period. End of sentence.
By asking this question in such a way you deem it acceptable for genuinely bigoted people to make their views heard on a nation-wide platform without much in the way of repercussion. Either intentionally or unintentionally the BBC in effect is, in this instance, a co-conspirator in the spread of hate and mis-information online.
The Law of the Land
Besides the actual wording of this question one other thing to consider is the possible legal repercussions. Under the UK Equality Act of 2010 discrimination based on sexual orientation (protected characteristic) is a punishable offence.
Editors Note
*I’m making a note here simply because I have now read through sections of the Equality Act and yes, it provides protections based on LGBTQ discrimination within the context of admission and treatment however; “Nothing in this Chapter applies to anything done in connection with the content of the curriculum.”
I am open to a conversation on why this line is believed to be necessary but for the context of this conversation it seems that schools apparently do get to freely dictate the content which they teach their students.*
I am by no means a legal expert and so some of the language probably went over my head however I find it ridiculous that, even with a piece of legislation like the Equality Act discrimination is still allowed to run wild.
Conclusion - I Will Not Let You Label Me
To this day the mainstream media has been instrumental in shaping public opinion by using the way it covers people and topics in a purposeful manner. In other words the ways in which news organizations shape their stories influences how we, as the general population, consume and internalize their meaning. In our predominately heterosexual society media is usually made by and for heterosexual people with no visible other side to properly ground and contextualize it. Again I do understand how far we have come as a queer movement however instances like what we’ve seen with the school districts in Birmingham show us how far there is left to go.
This question is simply a byproduct of a system which caters to a heteronormative audience. It assumes that everyone consuming it is heterosexual and establishes an “us and them” mentality.
Every minority faces (and has faced) this in different ways. Fifty years ago we were having arguments about whether people of colour could drink from the same water fountains as Caucasian people or if woman had the right to vote. I am by no means saying that those problems have gone away, contrarily we seem to be facing more of these questions than ever however I am simply illustrating that these moral panics have always been in place. It’s just within recent years with the rise of right-wing ideologies that these preconceived notions of equality we have fought so hard for are coming into question yet again.
To conclude I simply refuse to let this mainstream media dialogue shape my voice and my story. I refuse to let them profit off of my community and our assumed obedience to this heterosexual narrative. If, by any random chance someone from the BBC (or any other media or governmental organization for that matter) is reading, maybe focus less on those who scream the loudest and more on those of us who actually have something to say.