Interesting... earmarked for our Round 23 home game at ANZ Stadium. Jeff Kennett has been pushing for a pride game through his work with beyondblue. I think a positive move as the Swans have a very diverse fan base.
Note, the Jason Ball referred to in the article is not the former Sydney player and Swans board member.
Swans may host pride game
All in favour of it. Footy culture still has a homophobic streak and the AFL and footy clubs are well positioned to stand strongly against that.
I'm with you guys, a great idea. Hope it goes ahead.
I'm always supportive of any initiative that helps to break down prejudices. The reality is (sadly) more difficult than that when you are confronted with the task of changing attitudes that are still quite entrenched, but I admire the AFL and the clubs for taking the first step.
Journey of thousand miles begins with one step.Originally Posted by Xie Shan
Good on them.
He reminds him of the guys, close-set, slow, and never rattled, who were play-makers on the team. (John Updike, seeing Josh Kennedy in a crystal ball)
There are a lot of swans fans that are not of your regular persuasion. I think the ethos of working hard, playing your role, working for respect regardless of your background resonates with a lot of ppl.
I think it's a great idea, just as I think it's great that they support a round that values the contribution of women, indigenous and others throughout the season.
I don't expect AFL to have a stance on everything but I think knowing that something you're passionate about respects who you are is something positive and worth talking about.
My first thoughts were "I hope we are not playing Collingwood".
Second thoughts are "ok, might as well be Swans and Hawkes as not".
Third thoughts are "Gay Pride". To me it's kind of a matter of whether you are right handed or left handed. Its not exactly a choice, it just Is. One day may arrive when being gay is not exactly noteworthy. However that day is not now even though I often forget that fact myself and am a bit puzzled by reactions of others before realising that there is a way to travel yet in this land if you are gay.
But here is the thing. Gay Rights, Gay Support, whatever, I have no issue with and am happy to support. But I would like to make a note that I see the tag of Gay Pride as divisionary rather than inclusive (is that the word I am looking for?).
Last edited by Primmy; 17th December 2012 at 09:18 AM. Reason: excruciating english
If you've never jumped from one couch to the other to save yourself from lava then you didn't have a childhood
I see your point, but "pride" is expressed as a counterpoint to the shame many gays are made to feel for being how they are. It isn't meant in the sense that being gay is an achievement, or something that makes them separate or better; it's a strong statement of non-shame. But "Gay Non-Shame" doesn't have the same ring to it! It's similar for Black Pride, Latino Pride, etc, and is the reason that White Pride isn't really acceptable (because white people, in Western society, have never been systematically made to feel ashamed of their whiteness, so "pride" in being white only makes sense in a superiority sense).
Basically, Gay Pride is an expression of self-inclusion. They are refusing to let themselves be considered separate from the rest of society (of course, this is in general; a few gay people I know are kinda assholes if you're not also gay, but they're not the norm, and you get people like that from every demographic).
Officially on the Reid and Sumner bandwagon!
[QUOTE)
divisionary (is that the word I am looking for?).[/QUOTE]
I think divisive is.
Pride just means "not shame". I think it'll need to continue to be a thing until being gay is not noteworthy, as you say.
It would only be divisive if "gay pride" was being held up in a supremacist way, as meaning straight folk should be shamed or something like that.
[QUOTE=Xie Shan;602341]Note, the Jason Ball referred to in the article is not the former Sydney player and Swans board member.QUOTE]
Yeah I know, I signed his petition: But I couldn't help thinking I wish he was former ruckman Jason Ball.
Society in general someone's sexual orientation seems to be far less of an issue than it was. Certainly there are probably still homophobic idiots in the lunatic fringes (but those fringes contain people with all sorts of bizarre opinions).
A friend of mine, came out a couple of years ago, and despite his apprehensions about how people would respond, he was suprised to encounter an absence of shaming.
On the other hand, even if the AFL isn't a part of the homophibic lunatic fringe, that no past or present AFL player has come out suggests that is the fear. And that fear won't be dispelled until a current player comes out, nomatter how many pride games are played (perhaps such a game will hasten such an event?).
Loose translation from the Latin is - I am tall, so I hit out.
There is nothing more divisive than putting a label on any group of people.
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