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STRICTLY HAS GONE ‘GAY’? WHAT DO PEOPLE THK THEY’VE BEEN WATCHG ALL THE YEARS?
Homophobia is a ser and ntug problem, but was difficult this week not to enjoy aspects of the hoo-ha over Strictly Come Dancg.
In what felt like a historil re-enactment of classic 1970s’ curta-twchg, 189 viewers plaed to the BBC about two men partnerg each other on primetime telly, and was hard to know what to lgh at first: the Mary Whehoe tone of the plats, the statement on Instagram by one of the dancers – realisg the full dramatic potential of the moment – that “love knows no boundari”, or the ia that the spectacle of two men dancg uld ever be the gayt thg about Strictly. Nohels, there was somethg vaguely fortg about the fact that, particularly the ntext of the recent LGBT teachg row, mastream culture at least, plats of this kd about gay reprentatn seem outdated to the pot of schools, of urse, the battle rag on.
I looked up the wordg of Sectn 28 and was amazed to fd that, until was overturned 2003, not only did ban lol thori om “promotg” homosexualy, but that, like somethg drafted by the Wtboro Baptist Church, banned “the teachg any mataed school of the acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship”. Bt to refer them to Alan Partridge: “For cryg out loud, if I really uldn’t bear to nsort wh homosexuals, do you really thk I’d have pursued a reer televisn?