They're Here. They're Queer. And We're Really Not Coping

Noted John Birmingham's 'Private school PR fails to excuse anti-lesbian sentiment' in the 11 November SMH regarding handling by Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School of its ban against same-sex couples at the end of year school dance.

Birmingham comments that -

Just because you are a grown up doesn't mean you have grown up. A rather natty little motto I just made up and would forward on to Ivanhoe Grammar School except I imagine they already have a motto, something like “No Homos”.

Ivanhoe it was which crushed the dreams of an admirable young student, Hannah Williams, 16, who was told she could not bring her girlfriend to the year 11 formal. ... Ivanhoe appears to be a school deeply invested in the old-fashioned verities, such as keeping your Goddamned differences to yourself and shutting the hell up before you embarrass everybody.

I would say that once upon a time this sort of unthinking nastiness used to destroy people, and what makes young Hannah particularly admirable is her very mature and courageous refusal to be destroyed. But I can't say 'once upon a time' because, of course, unthinking nastiness is still with us every day. Why? Because on the evidence of this gigantic cock-up, institutions such as Ivanhoe enable and encourage it.

The polemic continues with the comment that -

This is a private school and it is allowed to maintain its own standards, even if those standards are, in my opinion, contemptible and low. (I'm pretty sure that private schools get a free pass on this sort of thing because of the way antidiscrimination law is framed. Because they have to have the right to sack gay teachers, of course.)

But what rankles about this is what looks like the egregious hypocrisy of pretending that it's not about Hannah Williams being gay. Oh no, it's about, err, um ... it's about… promoting coeducational experience! Yes. That sounds right. It's not about being freaked out by sexuality. It's not about a power struggle with an unusually mature and strong-willed 16-year-old who is, let's remember, Completely In The Right. No. It's about having a dinner dance where we can set the table in a boy-girl-boy-girl-boy-girl arrangement. ...

If Ivanhoe is the sort of school which is uncomfortable with homosexuality then fine. But tell it like it is. Proudly repress those students who are different. Openly discriminate against them. And I mean it, get yourself a new school motto: "They're Here. They're Queer. And We're Really Not Coping."

Two other perspectives on 'invisible', institutionalised and 'respectable' homophobia are here and here.

Ivanhoe Grammar, like its peers, may indeed be inclusive and gay-friendly. It can and should demonstrate that inclusiveness and that humanity through its day by day practice and through express statements. Given that it, like most private schools, receives substantial state funding we should expect and demand exemplary performance.