<
https://theconversation.com/our-hybrid-media-system-has-emboldened-anti-lgbtq-hate-what-can-we-do-about-it-205028>
"Anti-LGBTQ+ hate from religious conservatives and far-right extremists in the
United States, and now in Australia, is a worrying trend.
It was shocking to see video of an attack on a peaceful LGBTQ+ protest outside
a church in southwest Sydney where Mark Latham was speaking in the lead-up to
the 2023 New South Wales election. Out gay politician Alex Greenwich has
brought a defamation suit against Latham over an offensive homophobic tweet.
There are reports of increases in homophobic abuse and assaults on Sydney’s
Oxford Street. Drag queen storytime events have been targeted in the United
States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Last week, local
councils in Victoria cancelled several events following threats from far-right
activists.
These developments suggest that bigotry needs only to find the right conditions
to turn into violence, and that the stigma against same-sex attraction and
related gender identities can be invoked long after decriminalisation and
de-pathologisation.
This wave of anti-LGBTQ+ hate has its cultural and technological origins in the
US, where religious affiliation is higher than in Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, England and Wales. Baseless claims that male same-sex attraction and
drag performance are threats to children have more political traction in the
US, as a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation there shows.
Yet the issues remain a concern in any jurisdiction where US news media has
audiences and digital platforms operate."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
