UK and homophobia and SSM

[danaeris]

So, please take this with a big caveat. I can only say what I've observed, and observations on such a short time scale are suspect, and certainly are not objective data.

I've been very surprised by the number of comments I've heard made in my presence both at work and at social events (specifically, gaming; folks at the pagan moot don't seem to have this problem) that are bordering on homophobic.

They're the sort of statements that are borderline, like thinking it's funny and worth pointing out or bringing up that someone looks 'gay.' These are people who probably aren't homophobic -- they may even have a gay friend. But they don't seem to realize that finding it funny that someone might be gay implies that there's something funny about being gay in general -- and that thus, gay people are objects of derision.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that comments like that would be considered highly inappropriate in a Canadian workplace -- it creates a hostile environment for those of us who are queer.

And then, I've heard a few people bring up SSM as though the situation here in the UK is satisfactory, so I looked it up.

They've got one of those "separate but equal" dealies, where they are granted all of the legal rights of marriage, the only difference being the title 'marriage.'

Separate but equal is not equal. Period.

Sure, this is heads and shoulders above most of the countries of the world. But it feels unsatisfying to me.

I'm wondering why it ended up this way -- does it have to do with the Queen being the head of the Anglican church, and thus state and church not being separate? Yes, I'm woefully ignorant about British government, so please bear with me. And, I'm wondering, are local activists still working on getting this last bit of difference removed, or is the local community satisfied with things as they stand?

Comments

[coraon.livejournal.com]

Sorry Hon, but at the call ceneter where I work "gay chicken" is an all day sport. the funny part is, for some reasion me and
"chris" always seem to win... -_-;;

and we constantly make jokes about the building proximaty to chirch street.

The fact is we joke for a few reasions, some of them I'm sure are scared, some of us are flirting, and honestly sometimes low brow humor is the only way to releave the stress of that place.

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

Does it make you uncomfortable? Would you rather that people found something else to laugh about, or that we lived in a society where these jokes are not considered silly?

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

err, sorry, a society where these jokes are not considered funny -- not because of a conscious effort to be PC, but because it's about as funny as someone having brown eyes or red hair.

[lariel.livejournal.com]

But... blond jokes?

[secretsoflife.livejournal.com]

ugh, i've noticed it quite a bit too. i've had to pull out my trusty old line "wow, i didn't realize that the webserver has sex with men... that sounds technically challenging" more than a few times on this trip.