Lesbian and gay politics and agendas – Milking it
Posted by Maman Poulet on 31 Jan 2009 at 12:48 am | Tagged as: Equality, Equality Authority, Irish Politics, LGBT, Lesbian
I went to see Milk tonight and loved it. I’m not a good reviewer of books and movies – I find myself going off on tangents – just go see it! (Tangent alert coming up!)
I couldn’t help myself from getting angry though at the lack of a Milk figure or politics in operation in Ireland. I’m not talking about out gay politicians here – more a focus on a politic or practice of politics which built alliances with other groups including minority groups, those living in poverty, women and people with disabilities.
Politics which does not desert those groups in favour of our own interests. Politics which recognises political silencing, playing safe, being bought off, the fact we could be next if we don’t stand up for others and refuses to have any of it. That sort of politics in lesbian and gay circles in Ireland seems to have left before the Celtic Tiger.
Instead a representative of Ireland’s lesbian and gay community (appointed in an individual capacity) refuses to resign from the board of the Equality Authority – an organisation which can no longer properly function and uphold the legislation it was created to support. An organisation that many politicians and civil servants wanted to damage permanently and silence and seem to have succeeded in doing so. It is seen as acceptable that someone from lesbian and gay politics stays on the board because civil partnership legislation is due. Many other NGO’s have grown used to this type of attitude from gay organisations in recent years in relation to equality and human rights issues.
€2.1 million of a private foundation’s money is going into supporting this sort of undemocratic and selfish agenda and a further €700,000 has been given to other organisations with similar non-mandates and lack of consultation.
This week a lesbian and feminist member of the board of GLEN seems to have had enough and resigned – you won’t hear much about Ursula Barry’s departure – it would be preferred if nobody heard. (Thanks to the Leeside sisterhood for confirming the info I had received earlier this week.) GLEN have long had difficulties in terms of gender equality and gender proofing of it’s programme and structures – it won’t be getting better anytime soon.
In the next few days I’ll be looking at some of the other games being played at the moment including standing idly by as government proposes discriminatory legislation.
Oops there goes my GALAS nomination I suppose – oh I think I’ll live with the five IBA ones I’ve received this month.
Addendum: I’m not saying that the politics of Milk was lesbian and gay utopia – 1970’s San Francisco was a very divided and segregated community and the film reflected this. (Look at who got Milk endorsed and elected though Addendum 2: I’ve also been informed (by a number of sources) that Eadaoin Ni Chlerigh had also recently resigned from the GLEN board. 
) In making a reference to the politics of Milk and his campaign I’m referring to recognition of class and minority politics and the not being bought or silenced codes.
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Ironic, that resignation. Two years ago at the DUblin Pride forum, the men who run GLEN stayed away and sent in Ursula to defend the organisation. I recall her request that people give it a chance to deliver. Ho and hum.
I have always been of the view that class interests were the ties that bind amongst the Board of GLEN, because despite GLEN’s lack of gender balance and analysis, the absence of democracy and transparency in the organisation, members of its board who have made their reputations espousing such causes have seemed all too willing to ignore GLEN’s flagrant violations on those fronts and to collude in their persistence.
You raise many interesting points here, MP.
I think there is a need for a rethink of how Irish GLBT sexual politics should be organised going forward. While I understand your point about having a charismatic character to lead the community, the key impediment we seem to have in Ireland is the reluctance of GLEN to understand that the organisation does not meet current/ future needs of sexual citizens. More often than not, people just do their own thing, and this is mistakenly regarded as not political. GLEN was framed, understandably, in terms of an emancipatory politics (decriminalisation), but now, the impending political issue (civil partnership), is about how we, as citizens, want to live. GLEN’s approach tends to favour letting ‘experts’ sort out laws and policies, but it does not engage with or help people with being LGBT in everyday life.
A politics that tends to favour experts too can lead to people thinking they are indispensible. So when you report as to how a GLEN member can make a solo run as a non-executive board member for the Equality Authority, become accountable to nobody and unashamedly bed down with the current attack on human rights in Ireland, etc., we can hardly be surprised at this development (however concerned we are). While GLEN, as an organisation, has done some excellent work in terms of decriminalisation and developing a degree of expertise in terms of the turn to policy-led citizenship on Ireland (post-1997), the organisation has remained undemocratic. Paradoxically to what GLEN might have hoped for, adopting the view that GLEN needs to ‘do it’ has ensured that sexual democracy has remained weak, that the LGBT ‘children’ have continually been viewed as unable, in some way, to become full citizens themselves. GLEN seems to think it ‘needs’ to speak for us, because we can’t do it ourselves, but the children have grown up and it is now time to move on, we don’t need other Milks per se, we need democratic ways of organising, to afford support and resources to people who want to organise and plan their lives as sexual citizens.
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Oops I’m going to nominate you for a GALA ha ha!
Conversations on the issues you raise MP are held all over the country but we don’t have access to the money nor do we have the time to spend bullshitting to politicians and others whilst dealing with the reality that is running a lesbian and gay group or event. Or if we do lobby on stuff we’re talking in ordinary language without the buzzwords being created to keep some people in jobs.
Love your blog and keep it up!
So Maman, given your latest addendum, if GLEN looses 70% of their lesbian board members ( and we dont know if the 3rd and final dyke has gone), surely that has to be noted by their funders and also requires some kind of statement to the LGB community… or am I just being an idealist, again! LOL
Whatever happened the GALAs?
Did anybody count how long it took GLEN to remove the pictures of Ursula and Eadaoin from the page on their website listing their board members?