L ■ 1 V
Anything But Straight
by Wayne Besen . Contributing Writer
A fractious movement
In an online discussion forum, a respect
ed activist recently lamented the decentral
ization of gay community advocacy. He
made a powerful case that we would be bet
ter off if our efforts were more regimented
and unified.
“Our communal problem is that the LGBT
community is so fragmented that we are con
stantly a cacophony of voices rather than a ■
choir,” the advocate wrote. He went onto make
the point that division can lead to defeat in the
political arena. “We celebrate diversity of opin
ion within our community, but that does not
work in politics.”
The community leader raised another
point worth contemplating as legislation that
affects the gay community winds its way
though Congress and will likely end up on
Obama’s desk: “So, who will the President lis
ten to? Is it the Human Rights Campaign.. .or
a host of bloggers? Sometimes, I wish we
could go back to a time when we had less abil
ity to communicate. Then, there were fewer
voices to be heard and less confusion about
who was representing the community”
The problem with this analysis is that a
golden age of LGBT unity never existed. The
early 1950s activists
clashed with gay indi
viduals who preferred
quiet, “private lives.”
Activists who wore suits
and ties to protests
. rejected the new radi
calism of the 1960s and 1970s, exemplified by
the Stonewall rebellion.
Neverending battles have also been
fought over the role of sexual liberation.
Some activists have claimed that our move
ment is about sexual freedom, while others
have preached assimilation and found the
overt displays of sexuality at gay Pride
parades offensive. Additionally, our move
ment has fought the battle of the sexes to
the point of exhaustion. Let’s not even get
started on the nasty dust-ups over transgen
der issues.
Such disorganization is even more con
spicuous when contrasted with the con
formity of our opponents. When growing
up, these (mostly) churchgoers were
rewarded for obedience, while our very
existence was considered disobedient. To
survive as an LGBT youth, one had to learn
to question authority and be a freethinker.
These traits make for incredibly interest
ing dinner guests, but create havoc for
political organizers.
There is no doubt that the diversity of
organizations and mushrooming of messages
has hurt our movement on many levels. It
has been nearly impossible for any leader to
gain traction — and, thus, legitimacy. The
closest we have come to a larger than life
leader is San Francisco Supervisor Harvey
Milk. However, he achieved far more promi
nence after he was assassinated (and later
canonized by Hollywood) than he ever did
while alive.
The discordant voices and actions have,
unfortunately, provided fodder for our adver
saries. They have endless tapes of nudity and
nuttiness — that have made it easier to por
tray LGBT people as the miscreants they claim
we are.
That sa’id, there is a strong case to make
in favor of the diffuse nature of the move
ment. It can lead to innovation and question
ing of existing paradigms. For example, we
can’t forget that the push for marriage equali
ty was considered wildly “off message” only a
decade ago. If our movement had been more
centralized, marriage would have seemed too
radical and never seen the light of day.
However, marriage activists and impatient
same-sex couples pushed the envelope. This
has given us game changing victories in five
states — and counting. The latest polls show
that almost half of Americans now support
the freedom to marry.
We also have to remember that not long
ago, the major LGBT organizations ran
from religion. It was gay religious activists
that thought fighting for acceptance within
denominations was a worthy battle. While
not achieving the same success as mar
riage equality, there have been successes
— most notably the Episcopal Church
confirming Eugene Robinson as Bishop of
New Hampshire. We have also seen the rise
of groups, which challenge faith-based
bigotry, like Faith in America and
SoulForce.
The controversial campaign by activist
Mike Rogers to “out” closeted politicians who
favored amending the U.S. Constitution to ban
gay people from manying would also never
have occurred in a centralized movement.
Some might argue that his exposing of
Republican hypocrisy helped undermine the
GOP’s legitimacy as Ae party representing
“family values.”
Moreover, conformity al|o makes it diffi
cult to turn around a sinking ship. The nation
is headed on a new path, but hierarchical and
rigid GOP leaders are still obsessed with tax
cuts, abortion, Ronald Reagan and opposing
gay couples marrying.
The gay movement is untamed and free
wheeling, like New York City, while the
Religious Right is tighdy controlled, like
Singapore. Each model has its advantages, but
also its shortcomings. In a diffuse media age
that resembles the Wild West, the more agile
and fractious movement may finally have the
upper hand. >
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22 MAY 16.2009 • Quotes