Being straightforward about your position on gay rights is quite easy. Here’s how:
“I’m for them.”
Or, if you happen to be a shitty person:
“I’m against them.”
Or, if you happen to be part of the Department for Education, something along the lines of:
I’m for them. They should be taught in schools. It’s nonsense that they should be taught in schools. No, it’s nonsense that schools should be forced to teach them. Schools aren’t allowed to be homophobic. Black is white. Curtains are centipedes. La plume de ma tante.”
The DfE had many heads a-scratching on Sunday with the following tweet (now deleted):
This came shortly after Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan (Gove Version 2.0), told the Sunday Times that faith schools “must teach gay rights”. This was confusing enough, as Morgan had only recently converted to Not Being a Homophobe. The minister, who voted against equal marriage, announced on BBC Radio 4 last week that she’s changed her mind about it (for which she has all my support, as I can only imagine how hard it is to come out, on national radio, as someone who doesn’t mind gays).
Later, they issued the following series of clarifications:
Clarification @thesundaytimes: It is complete nonsense to say that schools are being forced to ‘teach gay rights’ against their will. (1/5)
— DfE (@educationgovuk) November 2, 2014
Ofsted are rightly ensuring that schools do not indoctrinate pupils about gay people – or any other people – being inferior. (2/5)
— DfE (@educationgovuk) November 2, 2014
The same goes for schools that do things like make girls sit separately at the back of the class. (3/5)
— DfE (@educationgovuk) November 2, 2014
Both are practices which go directly against the fundamental British values of tolerance and respect. (4/5)
— DfE (@educationgovuk) November 2, 2014
We believe schools should prepare all pupils for life in modern Britain. A broad and balanced curriculum is vital for this (5/5)
— DfE (@educationgovuk) November 2, 2014
The DfE’s original tweet seemed to contradict what Morgan had said, and appropriate internet outrage proceeded. Today, the DfE further “clarified” their stance. Apparently, what they meant was that the teaching of gay rights in schools shouldn’t be compulsory. Those damn semantics, eh Nicky? But, what should be compulsory is the teaching of something called “British Values”.
Politicians are hardly new to muddying up perfectly nice water, but the DfE have taken obfuscation to a whole new, slightly surreal, level. In the least direct way possible, gay rights have been declared “not a British Value”. And yet, they’ve said this: “Ofsted are rightly ensuring that schools do not indoctrinate pupils about gay people – or any other people – being inferior.” So, while gay rights have no place on the national curriculum, according to the Tories, neither does homophobia.
What we seem to be left with is a scholastic version of America’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule on homosexuality, which existed in the military until it was repealed in 2011 for being fucking gross. When Nicky Morgan took over as Education Secretary earlier this year, I remember joking that she was probably going to bring back the Thatcher Government’s Section 28. This, for those lucky enough not to remember it, was a noisome little piece of legislation that banned the “promotion” (mentioning) of homosexuality in schools.
But if gay rights aren’t enshrined in British Values (whatever the hell they are), then a much fuzzier, but just as damaging, version of Section 28 is still in effect.
When LGBT people are still discriminated against on a regular basis, not actively teaching that they’re equal is inherently homophobic. What the DoE wants is silence. When David Cameron brought in same-sex marriage last year, he tried to invent a gay-friendly Tory for the BuzzFeed generation. “Nonsense”-gate serves as a reminder that, when it comes to LGBT issues, the Conservatives are still, unsurprisingly, conservative.
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