We’ll be looking at one of those stories in a bit more
detail due to its relationship with LGBT+ rights but I think that, as other
mainstream media reviews of the year’s events are published, we’ll find that
the events of April will be on many of the lists...
Margaret Thatcher, whose government passed Section 28, dies
When Margaret Thatcher died on 8th of April, the
news quickly spread. Twitter was awash with confusion at first, caused by the
inability to hashtag and punctuate at the same time, which led to many fans of
pop diva Cher panicking as #nowthatchersdead began to trend.
 |
| Margaret Thatcher (npr.org) |
As expected, the policies that passed under her
leadership were examined by all sides and Section 28 was once again in the
news.
If you’re not familiar with Section 28, it was a law aimed at “preventing local councils from
promoting or encouraging homosexuality through publications, campaigns or in
schools” and was passed in 1988, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister.
The law was criticised by equality campaigners as being full of anti-gay
language and sentiment, including the prohibition of the promotion of same-sex
“pretended family relationships”.
Stonewall, the UKs most recognisable LGB charity, was
founded in 1989 as a direct reaction to this law. They claim that as well as
the obvious discrimination against gay people, the law caused confusion amongst
teachers, who were unsure what they could and could not say to their pupils and
it made those students facing homophobic bullying or experiencing confusion with their
sexuality much more difficult to support.
 |
| Protest against Section 28 (thebackbencher.co.uk) |
Following much campaigning from both sides, Section 28 was
finally repealed in Scotland in 2000 and three years later in England and
Wales.
The legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the UK’s first and,
to-date, only female Prime Minister is made up of a number of different issues
and of wildly varying opinions both of her work and her character. The introduction of Section 28 and the direct impact it had upon gay and lesbian
people is undoubtedly part of that legacy.
On the legacy of the law itself, Stonewall quotes Sir Ian
McKellen as saying:
“If
Section 28 and the attitudes behind it had remained then society would still
believe that gay people are second class citizens and that it is right that
they should be treated as second class citizens.”
Putin receives a colourful welcome in Amsterdam
By April, Section 28 had been
abolished in the UK for almost ten years. But in Russia, scarily similar laws, as
well as some that were even more draconian, were on the table once again.
Equality campaigners in Amsterdam
took to the street to protest against a visit from Russian President Vladimir
Putin that had been arranged to celebrate 400 years of trading agreements
between the countries.
As well as thousands of
protesters taking to the streets and canals of Amsterdam, the City Hall and
many gay bars made the symbolic gesture of flying their flags at half-mast.
 |
| Rainbow flags at half-mast in Amsterdam (www.twylah.com) |
With a character such as Putin,
it’s impossible to say whether he listened to the protestors that day, but
there’s no doubt that he would have heard them.
I kind of hope he heard Dolly
Bellefleur’s unique take on the Boney M classic ‘Rasputin’ while he was there
too…
Australia’s rainbow rebellion
A DIY
protest movement swept the globe in April after the Australian government dug up a rainbow crossing that had been painted across a road in Sydney’s gay
district in celebration of its 35th Mardi Gras.
 |
| Sydney's original rainbow crossing (theaustralian.com/au) |
New
South Wales’ Roads Minister, the ironically named Duncan Gay, stated health and
safety concerns as the reason for the move, despite a 15,000 signature petition
being gathered to save the rainbow.
Unwilling
to accept defeat, Sydney resident James Brechney protested by chalking a
rainbow crossing in his own street. What started as a single act of defiance
quickly became a global movement. A website and Facebook page were created and
people from around the world began sending in pictures of their own efforts.
 |
| A DIY rainbow crossing (facebook.com/DIYRainbow) |
I
loved the simplicity and fun spirit of this campaign; it’s something that
literally anyone with some chalk and a stretch of tarmac can do and it’s still
ongoing. So if anyone’s looking for something fun to do in the North of
Scotland, let me know and we can create our very own DIY rainbow together!
Jason Collins comes out
In
late April, professional basketball player Jason Collins became the second of a
trio of male athletes to hit the headlines for coming out this year.
I
don’t follow basketball much, so admit that I’d never heard of Collins prior to
his announcement. I don’t even know if he was a household name in the States
before his very personal coming out story was published by Sports Illustrated.
 |
| Jason Collins "The Gay Athlete" (sportsillustrated.cnn.com) |
Like that of Robbie Rogers, it’s sad that these stories
still need to be told in such a public way. But it is proof that there’s still
a long way to go before LGBT+ people are equal not only in law but also in the
eyes of the media and of society.
What seemed to be the significant part of the story was that
Collins was the first man to come out whilst still actively participating in
one of the ‘big four’ team sports in the USA. I think that what also captured people’s
attention was that he looked quite the opposite of what many incorrectly
believe a gay man to be. Collins is tall, strong, athletic; the embodiment of
masculinity.
Following his coming out interview, Martina Navratilova
described Jason Collins as a “game-changer”
and I’m inclined to agree. Not only did
Collins’ announcement give hope to young men who experience conflict between
their sexuality and their sport, but he did it whilst publicly smashing
long-held stereotypes of what it is to be a gay man.
New Zealand passes equal marriage in style
It’s
only April and already I’m dishing out the prize for my personal favourite
moment of the year.
The
reason that I’m bestowing this prestigious award on the New Zealand Parliament
is three-fold.
The
first reason is pretty simple; they voted in favour of marriage equality and
that’s something I love.
The
second is that, during the debate, Maurice Williamson MP made what is undoubtedly
the best speech I have heard a politician make, ever. There’s no way I could
find the words to do it justice, so just watch it for yourself and see (and keep
watching ‘til the end, when it goes from amazing to mind-blowing!):
The third, my absolute highlight, put the cherry on the
proverbial wedding cake. Following the vote, in which the Bill passed with 77
votes to 44, MPs and the public gallery broke into song. When I first saw this
video it on my mobile phone on a rush-hour bus from work and I wept most of the
way home and I have absolutely no regrets.
The song is "Pokarekare Ana", a traditional Maori love song considered by some to be the country’s unofficial national anthem. Brace yourself, it’s pretty emotional:
The song is "Pokarekare Ana", a traditional Maori love song considered by some to be the country’s unofficial national anthem. Brace yourself, it’s pretty emotional:
Well
I’m off to find a tissue, but I’ll be back tomorrow for a look at what happened
in May. If you’ve missed any of the earlier reviews, you can catch up HERE.
What
were your favourite LGBT+ moments of 2013? And what were your personal
highlights? Did you come out? Get married? Do something life-changing? Let us
know in the comments!
You can follow Julie Price on Twitter, @JuliePee
