The Pink List
The short post below, "Cultural Differences", attracted a lot of attention. Gender will never be irrelevant. Sexuality should be. Today, the Independent on Sunday publishes its annual "Pink List". Peter Mandelson is, of course, at number one.
Our very own Iain Dale slips in at number 26, up from last year's position of 49. He writes an accompanying article entitled Tory bedfellows can be anything but homophobes. The Pink List makes Iain less eminent than David Starkey, Gok Wan and Ben Bradshaw but more eminent than Alan Duncan and Nick Brown. He will have to live with that. (He seems to be coping!)
I don't like it. People should not be classified according to their sexual preferences. The concept of "eminent homosexuals" may sound "right-on" but is in fact patronising, closet homophobia. The main purpose of this list is to sell more newspapers by tempting middle England into putting down their Daily Mail for a moment to exclaim over the breakfast table, "Good Lord, I didn't know that "........." was gay." Peter Mandelson's pre-eminence is nothing to do with his sexuality. It is to do with the fact that, like him or not, he is a consummate politician. It is to do with the way he combines the comfortable, superficially benign presentational skills of Michael Parkinson with the underlying political skills of Dick Cheney, Mephistopheles and Rasputin.
Ranking people according to their sexual preferences is as meaningful as ranking them according to the cars they drive. The fact that Jeremy Clarkson might approve of such a classification shows just how nonsensical it is. Roll on the time when people's sexual preferences are truly irrelevant.
Labels: discrimination, homophobia, patronising, The Pink List
18 Comments:
Who cares about peoples sexual preferences, the only important thing is what kind of person they are and how well they do their jobs, this is just a smokescreen to boost circulation.
Hear! Hear!
As you say nothing more than "closet homophobia" on display here. Just an excuse to gain a cheap "I didn't realise he/she was gay' reaction from their readers.
Rather wickedly, and hypocritically, I did scan the article to see if the PM was on it ;-)
Incidentally, it appears that the curse of Jonah Brown has reared it's ugly head again!
"Gender will never be irrelevant. Sexuality should be."
Why?
Just an excuse to gain a cheap "I didn't realise he/she was gay' reaction from their readers.
It depends how you do that, though. I'm genuinely surprised by some of the names on the list, but only because their sexuality is so inconsequential to the job they do (and do well) that I'd never had reason to think about whether they were gay or straight.
Maybe a nervous, worried, not-out-yet young gay person picks this up and says, 'Wow, I didn't know he was gay' and is given the confidence to live the life they really want to?
(Simplistic obviously. The impact could still be positive, if not so dramatic)
Scribbler - I doubt whether being published in a national newspaper , regardless of stature in public life, would make any nervous not-yet-out gay person consider coming out.
And goodness me, again John and I agree on something. I must take more medication.
"Gender will never be irrelevant. Sexuality should be." What vocabulary is used in teaching biology nowadays? Do they say "gender" for "sex"? More generally, how do they cope with the Californiacation of language?
Sex is a biological construct.
Gender is a social one.
They are not the same.
Is it all not about agendas?
Males have agendas, Females have agenda and Gay people have agendas.
I think it is important that one's sexuality is known.
I recently went to an event where my wife was introduced as my partner. She insisted in being referred to as my wife and this didn't go down too well!
And I thought, Fuck them!
Live and let live I say. I don't care that I am heterosexual and I don'T mind other people knowing that I am.
Anonymous - so which is correct, sex-change or gender reassignment?
And that Mandelsnake is the Grandson of Herbert Morrison Clement Attlee's second in command....
He probably learnt it all from his grandfather
Our sex is what we are, emotionally or biologically. Gender is a purely linguistic term.
People are classified by sex; pronouns by gender.
Sexuality is, of course, completely different.
And why are gays so powerful and the left handed are not?
Gays .. why you should have?
And why are gays so powerful and the left handed are not?
.................
Four out of the last six US presidents have been left-handed.I'd say lefties are doing pretty well on the power front!!
I think the justification for the list is primarily twofold.
Firstly, that there is still a degree of prejudice, to a greater or lesser extent, in many aspects of society. The 'Pink List' celebrates those that are 'out' and successful, and therefore challenges that prejudice.
Secondly, that stereotypes are even more widespread than prejudice. Stereotypes that are not meant with malice, but misconceived ideas that all gays are luvvy actors or artistes of some sort, that kind of thing. By publicising the wide range of talents and personalities in the list, those stereotypes are challenged.
I understand your point, but it is (imo) over-simplistic. I do wonder if you're being deliberately obtuse for the sake of provocative journalism.
I don't mean to offend with that. Neither the 'obtuse' bit nor the 'journalist' bit!
Science today has changed, I hope you used the right way, because there are medications such as vicodin, oxycodone, Lorcet, etc, are anxiolytic and although much help to soothe the pain, can be double-edged weapon to control pain, so indicate in findrxonline to be confident that this discovery is beneficial to all.
I think, given that without a word of a lie I find myself taking necessary forensic histories from strangers in police cells that include questions like, "When you masturbate, what do you fantasise about?" that this issue of sex, sexuality and sexual associations all becomes somewhat pedestrian.
What ever the reason, someone's sexual orientation is really as interesting and relevant as their choice of brand of bin bag the elect to purchase each week.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home