Freedom of Sexuality: It's Freedom Friday FreeFolk!

It's freeeeedoooommm friiiiiiiddddddddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy folks, well, it is down under (oo er) and @eaglespirit has posed the topic for this week which is FREEDOM OF SEXUALITY and you can find her post here outlining the initiative. I freaking love Freedom Friday because it asks us to reflect on the most precious of things, something we all need to show up for and care about. Last week was super cool too as @freewritehouse got on board too, so there was lots of freedom friday fun to be had. I try to post this early my time to alert y'all to WRITE - you've got 24 hours to whip up something and go and read what others think of it. Engage, peeps, engage - it's the best thing about being here, and without it, we may as well fly away somewhere else.

So. Freedom of Sexuality - here I ramble!

I've been lucky as a woman in Australia, and have always felt in charge of my sexuality. Given how sexuality is fluid, I've easily slipped in and out (seriously, no euphemism intended - although, that's what @eaglespirit will like most about this post, oo-er) out of my various sexual identities as needed. I've also been lucky enough to have one of the more 'hidden' queer identities as a bi-sexual who ended up chosing a man as soul mate, so the vast majority of people I know wouldn't even know that side of me and I never feel the need to bring it up nor do I feel the need to express that side of myself as I'm completely happy with my beautiful partner. And when I have referred to it, my family hasn't batted an eye, so accepting they are of who I am.

I could remember, I suppose, times in my life where my sexuality was threatened and I just got my feminist queer politics out and slapped them with it, even from an early age. Thanks feminist Mum. Luckily enough, I never really encountered any objections to my sexual selfhood, and if I did, I probably wouldn't hang out with them. I've always hung out with people who were a bit free and loose like that, or at least tolerant and non-judgemental. Maybe both. I've never had to tolerate the ridiculous prospect of 'Straight Lives Matter' rallies where people say things like:'You gay fuckers are typical left wing scum.' or risked having a record for homosexual sex being on the record for the rest of my life like it was until 1975 in South Australia, and 1991 in Queensland (lucky I didn't have gay sex in Queensland or get caught for it, for that matter). Check out the timeline here. Tassie criminalised gay men until 1997, the year my son was born.

Clearly, overt and proud sexuality is not so easy for all.

This week in Australia, we've been hotly debating whether religious schools should be allowed to kick students out on the basis of their sexuality or refuse to hire teachers if they identify as LGBTQI. The debate centres around the right to have religious belief, and to act upon it, as well as whether this freedom should trump other freedoms, such as the right to be free from persecution and discrimination. Many LGBTQI are irate that this is even being discussed and used as a polarising political issue, because they've just been in the spotlight having to defend their identities as Australia finally joined other countries (late, mind) in approving of same sex marriage. Whilst I'd immediately agree with most in saying that there is no way religious schools should be exempt from discrimination laws (you're not meant to discriminate on the basis of sex, class, or race either) there's also the very real debate about whether they are being discriminated against as well, because they aren't allowed to act in accordance with their beliefs.

Well, hello, we've all seen where religious belief and the manifestation of that belief gets the more dogmatic, fundamentalist religions. Whilst I'm mostly live and let live, there's got to be lines drawn as to what freedom is afforded religious institutions, especially in light of the freedoms afforded the Catholic church as a blind eye was turned against pedophilia and other institutional child abuse. It seems most of Australia is keeping this in mind as we argue the child comes first. Given LGBTQI people in Austraia suffer poorer mental health outcomes and have higher risk of suicidal behaviors than their peers, a result of being stigmatized and discriminated against (and abused) I can't see any reason whilst we should work toward inclusion in other aspects of society, but allow it in religious schools. Sure, if you're a parent sending your gay child to a school who doesn't accept it, you'd rethink where to send them, but what if you're a kid who's struggling with their identity and is already in the school?

Whilst media would have most of Australia as homophobic gay bashers (which we can be) it's heartening to see polls where the vast majority agree that there can be no special exemptions granted to religious schools, enabling them to discriminate on this basis. Tellingly, when you break the stats down, One Nation only had 51 percent support - don't move to Queensland, in other words. 62 per cent of Coalition supporters, 81 per cent of Labor voters, 92 per cent of Greens voters think there should be NO exemptions. Go Greens. But we've got a long way to go before all forms of sexuality and sexual expression are seen in society.

In debating this issue with my students this week, particularly the 'gay cake' fiasco that came up in Ireland and in America (because I'm all for airing topics that are taboo or avoided) one student wrote in response:

It is absolutely absurd that homophobes think that they can get away with this through the guise of "Freedom of Religion". As a gay student and a Christian myself, I am embarrassed by the acts of these maniacs who believe that their God hates other people and who also supposedly represent my faith with their homophobia. I've been to church and I've read the bible and yet, I still haven't been able to find the sections where it says that "every good baker should not serve LGBT people". However, this debate isn't about religion and whether or not people should have the right to hurt others because of their "beliefs". Fundamentally, It's about whether or not people want the right to treat others differently based on a quality which they cannot control. Sexuality, just like race and gender, is not a choice. We can't choose who we are attracted to. What we can choose however, is how we interpret our beliefs and how we use them to treat others. Sadly, many are making the wrong choice, choosing to attack others when they instead could love one another, just like their beliefs actually tell them to. Why not sell gay cakes? Why not celebrate diversity? Why are people still continuing conduct toxic behaviours when they have no reason to do so? To all you haters out there, who think that I am inhuman because of my sexuality, who believe that I should not enjoy the same rights as other Australians, who think that I have no right to love who I love, if my God doesn't hate me because of my sexuality, why do you?

I totally teared up a bit when I read this response. I wouldn't be a teenager struggling with my sexuality for quids. Sex and sexuality are pretty rad things to negotiate as it is when you're growing up, let alone fearing you'll be judged for it, and knowing you're going to be excluded in some areas of society.

Whilst I do believe in freedom of belief, I don't believe it should over rule other liberties - and if we can't discriminate against indigneous men and woman (anymore, because we've got a really shameful history here) and we can't discriminate against woman (which of course is still deeply embedded in society, and I'd argue in both cases the law doesn't do a LOT to stop that kind of thing) we shouldn't allow discrimination against sexual identity or sexuality either. Whilst religious schools might argue they wouldn't, and that's all well and good, if the law isn't made super clear and is applied to all elements of Australian society, then that's just perpetuating inequality.

Religion is an idea like any other set of ideas and needs to compete on an equal playing field.

Source

I love freely expressed sexuality in all it's forms (unless it is harming others but I shouldn't have to say that) and love humanity for it. Let's all get naked and cover ourselves in rainbow paint and dance through the streets and kiss who we want, without fear of reprisal or criticism. That'd be an awesome freedom, don't you think? Fuck protecting religious beliefs - they're antiquated and don't fit with the world we want to become. They can shove their exemptions up their homophobic butt holes.

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