2017 VFLWomens Pride Game
It’s OK to be gay. Or straight. Even bisexual. Definitely okay to be transsexual or any other orientation your mind, body and soul are telling you to be.
This Saturday, in beautiful Hamilton, South Western Victoria (the town that brought us the dearly loved and sadly missed Phil Walsh); a grand final rematch will be on display.
Not just for premiership points, but for PRIDE.
The LGBTQI community has long been strongly associated with Women’s AFL, but in the past this has sometimes come with negative connotations and/or stereotypes from the outside. Women’s AFL has in the past also been quite insular in the sense that it didn’t get much attention from the wider community, particularly in the media.
So while it may seem to those within the network that Women’s AFL is a wonderful environment for women of all sexual orientations, this game isn’t so much about the players in it- but those watching it.
These now publicly recognizable AFLW (and VFLW) stars that for so long have been almost compelled to omit their partners from their social media feeds (unless you are skilled enough to read very closely between the lines) need your help. Crudely, some may have put off with a perceived decrease in their marketing value as a gay athlete in the past. This has now changed. The public backlash, however, is still there.
If you think that public backlash, against both the LGBTQI community and marriage equality, doesn’t exist in our more tolerating, 21st century Australia….think again!
As a girl who happens to like girls, or any other gender my heart feels the need to, I hid it from myself for so long. Not because my family were Christians; they were- but they knew and accepted it before I did.
No.
I felt that being that girl simply was inferior, despite playing the stereotypical sports where it was very strongly accepted. Even if you play VFL Womens, your own country is telling you that you cannot marry a girl if you so desire- so supportive environment or not; it is only natural to feel slightly inferior when you cannot marry the girls of your dreams.
Last week, when championing the cause, I received a somewhat disturbing message from a teacher of mine whom I have been very close to for much of my life. He, of the ultra-conservative Margaret Court and anti-Islam variety, told me in no uncertain terms that I should not be publically supporting marriage equality or voicing my displeasure against said Tennis star. His explanation was this:
“I’m fearful that homosexuals in Australia will one day be killed. Already Christians are being threatened and beaten for wearing a cross…..with the growth of Islam in Australia and Islamic violence against gays it is a very big concern for the gay community.”
See? These people exist. This game is to tell people like this that inclusion is not flying in the face of personal safety- it is exactly the opposite. LGBTQI youth (16-27) are five times more likely to commit suicide. That’s right- FIVE.
This game is actually for personal security. We can’t allow our footballers, our friends, our daughters, our sons to feel like they aren’t good enough. For every 10 people that support them, it is the one, the dangerous one, who could be a fatal undoing.
That’s the reason this Pride game is so important- this isn’t political correctness or a grab for social media engagement. This is for the players who aren’t quite brave enough yet to say, and for the people that support them to say, that’s OK.
You’ll see a lot of on-field superstars in this game, of different sexual orientations. At the end of the day though; Katie Brennan is a silky forward, Emma Kearney has leather poisoning, Darcy Vescio jumps like Jeremy Howe and interstate recruit Ebony Marinoff loves kicking the wrong way at a centre bounce.
It doesn’t matter who they choose to love- be it male or female or anything in between. We need to fly our rainbow flag in Hamilton to support and highlight inclusion, and pride, of everyone.
So what is pride and how do we highlight it?
Pride in who you are and what footprint you are leaving on the world.
Pride in being part of a society that treats all people as equally deserving of marriage.
Pride in being supportive of those around you no matter what their gender or orientation.
Pride in yourself.
Not your label.
So, this equality and inclusion, might seem like a fait accompli- sadly that is not quite the truth.
It is a right. A right we will be championing on Saturday in Hamilton by painting the country town rainbow.
Gay? That’s OK.
