Saturday
Jun192010
Gay pride across party lines?
Saturday, June 19, 2010 
Today we took the kids to the Christopher Street Day Parade (gay pride parade), which is part of the larger Berlin Pride Festival. The parade was great and the costumes were fabulous. The kids enjoyed it and so did we. It was pretty much what I expected, with one exception: The politics.
When the float for the SPD, the German social democratic party, rolled up I was amazed. This is one of the two big political parties in the country (think Democrats in the United States or Liberals in Canada, although arguably further left than either of them) and I was impressed to see that they had a big presence in the parade. The slogan of their anti-homophobia campaign is, Vielfalt statt Einfalt, which means diversity instead of uniformity (for those who can read German, here is a copy of their policy flyer). Another poster on their float questions the hetero definition of "normal", which tends to exclude lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex individuals.If I was amazed to see the SPD float in the parade, I was absolutely blown over by the presence of a CDU float. The CDU, the other big political party in Germany, is the Christian Democratic Union and is the more conservative or right-of-centre political party. Their slogan, wir sind wie wir sind means we are how we are (in my opinion not as strong and positive as the Vielfalt statt Einfalt message of the SPD, but better than nothing at all) . They also had a banner up for the association of gays and lesbians in the party. Their website Schwarzbunt.de, which means black colourful, picks up on black (the colour of the party) and rainbow (symbol of the gay pride movement).
Why was I blown over? It is probably obvious to most, but just in case it isn't, I'll explain. You see, I'm used to watching the often homophobic and almost always noninclusive policies of the Republicans in the United States and the Conservative Party of Canada. As an example, in 2009 Conservative Minister of State Diane Ablonczy awarded $400,000 out of a $100 million tourism stimulus fund to the Gay Pride parade in Toronto, and was hung out to dry by her party and removed from her duties in charge of the tourism fund (source: Canadian Tourism Minister Canned- $400,000 to Gay Pride Parade). This year, the minister in charge, Tony Clement, refused funding for the gay pride parade and defended his government's decision by saying that the parade is so successful that it doesn't need the funding. Anonymous Conservative party insiders tell a different story (source: Tony Clement’s Gay Pride):
The Marquee program is designed to support large festivals in Canada that draw an international tourism audience; and while Pride and Caribana are bigger than most Canadian festivals and are responsible for millions of foreign tourism dollars entering the city, the fact is gays don’t vote Conservative and blacks don’t vote in large numbers. Also, both events are in Toronto and we are in the process of punishing voters there whenever we can.
Whether it is because "gays don't vote conservative" or because social conservatives would object to the party funding pride events or because the upper echelons on the party are, in fact, homophobic, the Conservative Party of Canada's support of gay rights falls right into line with its dismal record as it relates to women and "other fringe groups" (their words, not mine). The non-funding of the gay pride parade is just one example (another is removing references to gay marriage in the Canadian Citizenship Study Guide).
In any case, I was happy to see both major German political parties (and some of the smaller ones), out waving rainbow flags, sharing key messages, and assuring members of the LGBT community that might find their policies attractive, that they would have a place in their political party.
So what does this have to do with parenting (which is, after all, the topic of this blog)?
I find that in a lot of countries, if you truly believe in equality and diversity, then your political views are almost forced to the left. How could you vote for a party that doesn't uphold people's human rights, even if you think their fiscal plan is better? I know a lot of people who are conflicted because of issues like this. I would like my children to grow up in a world where they are free to explore different political viewpoints, while at the same time being reassured that all parties believe in and support equality, regardless of their position on issues like health care, arts funding, environmental issues, international trade, and more. I want my children, and everyone's children, to be reassured that regardless of their gender, religion, race or sexual orientation, they would be welcomed by and have opportunities in any political party.
I know that things are not perfect in Germany. Far from it. But with all major political parties at least recognizing and celebrating the rights of the LGBT community, they certainly have a leg up on North America.
Reader Comments (13)
so bummed I missed it.. didnt realise it until just now!! Its my favorite day in Berlin..
I think the conservative gay supportors are out there.In the US we have the Log Cabin Republicans who are both gay and Republican. As for the mainstream conservative folks I think they are coming around - slowly. Today at our Pride a Baptist Church had a float in the parade! I was pretty surprised to see that.
I have attended the Pride Parade here in Vancouver. I am certain that the parade probably doesn't get much funding from the Conservatives. But there was a lot of political presence in the parade all the same. Many politicians and political groups marched. The more left-wing parties, and MPs from the downtown area, were especially well-represented, along with a variety of labour unions.
While I am certainly not happy with the Conservatives and their action on this issue, I do think that other parties are much more inclusive. I wouldn't personally be shocked by political parties participating in the parade, just as I wouldn't be shocked that the Conservatives didn't. And yes, it would affect the way I vote.
Every election Xtra West, Vancouver's gay publication, interviews candidates in ridings with high queer populations on their views on issues that affect the GLBT population. Conservative candidates either fail to respond to the questions or provide one line answers or answers that clearly show they haven't a clue about the issues. They are clearly uncomfortable with the process. By contrast, NDP, Liberal and Green candidates respond thoughtfully. It obviously pays off because I am represented by queer members (both of whom are women and one a woman of colour) at both a provincial and federal level! I'm sure there's not many people in the world who can say that!
As Amber notes, Vancouver Pride always has an NDP and Liberal presence. I've never seen a Conservative party member. In fact, a provincial liberal (conservative here in BC) was actually booed at the parade a few years back following his party's awful social policies. Interestingly, they weren't queer issues but those relating to welfare and education. To me this is at least some evidence that Vancouver's queer population tends to be left of centre on other social issues too. Interestingly, Vancouver Pride also has a large police contingent (and I mean in the parade, not policing it!) I also see that as a step in the right direction.
What I find bad about the parade in Vancouver (especially compared to the parades of my home country - Australia - such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras) is the overwhelming corporate presence. Starbucks often receives one of the largest cheers which I find appalling. They may have relatively good policies with regard to same-sex employees, but they otherwise have poor corporate practices and are still involved in human rights litigation on BC over their treatment of several employees of colour. I can't stand that the "pink dollar" is so easily bought by multi-nationals and that there is very little debate within the queer community about it. So I guess we're not left of centre on everything!
A bit off topic by the end, sorry! But it's great to hear that the Berlin parade is so inclusive.
Fiona
Queer single mum to 10mth old, Maia
Fiona:
It's funny you should mention corporate sponsorships. They had them here in Berlin too and they were heavily criticized. The main sponsors were a local beer company (a large one, but from Berlin), an energy drink (one I'd never heard of before, but I'm not an energy drink person myself), and Abbott Labs (major pharmaceutical and medical device company).
Forgot the main point of my comment, which was that I was just thrilled to be at an event in Germany that was not sponsored by Nestle. That is a first, which was refreshing on the one hand, but also perhaps telling on the other hand i.e. when Nestle sponsors EVERYTHING, why wouldn't they sponsor the gay pride event? Is it because they are homophobic or is it because the gay pride organizers were smart enough to turn down their money?
Holy snarkies! I was just reading an article earlier here in the Us about the GOProud group, a gay conservative group, being thrown under the bus as "radical gays" and "not really conservative". This just totally made my day. To think, somewhere, someone, can be conservative and not hateful. I am impressed!
Or maybe they have the ridiculous notion that gays and lesbians don't have children!? Though I guess they sell lots of products unrelated to babies.
The German Außenminister (Minister for foreign affairs) and vice-chancellor is gay. He's from the liberal party (FDP). So the government (CDU and FPD) should rather not be homophobic. ;-)
I just want to put forward another plausible reason why Toronto's gay pride parade maybe shouldn't get the government funds scot-free: It's gotten ridiculous.
Don't get me wrong - I am not a homophobe, I don't care who sleeps with who and I am all for the celebration of gay rights, especially in places like Canada where there is actually a reason to celebrate. BUT the last time I went to the parade in T.O. (3 years ago) I was APPALLED - there were completely naked men everywhere, a lot of it 100% sexualized and I don't believe that just because you're celebrating gay rights means you abandon all sense of decency in public.
I can take my kids to gay pride in Tel Aviv. I can't say the same for gay pride in Toronto. If the organizers cleaned it up a tad so that everyone could participate, they'd be more entitled to everyone's tax dollars, but right now it's not a family-friendly event by any stretch, and basically actively excludes huge sectors of Toronto's population...
My old (Catholic) church in Maryland has a GLBT support group. Being conservative and not hateful happens more than you think.
My experience has been that conservatives are not usually hateful towards the LGBT community. But I have seen a lot of conservative organizations (both political and religious) that will say "we accept you, but we think your lifestyle is wrong". That may or may not qualify as hateful (depending on your definition of hateful), but it is still discriminatory.
I just went to Toronto's Pride Parade for the first time. Three out of four of the major parties participated. Yep, no conservatives...