Afraid to be Gay - ITV’s Tonight explores homophobia in the UK
May 14th, 2010
ITV’s Tonight programme which aired last night (Thursday 13 May 2010), showed an investigation into attitudes towards homosexuality in the UK and the rise in homophobic hate crime.
Gareth Thomas, the openly gay former Wales rugby union captain, worked with the ITV Tonight team to expose prejudice on Britain’s streets. Undercover footage exposed members of the public shouting homophobic abuse at a gay couple as they walked through Wigan.
Publicist Max Clifford admitted that he has advised at least three gay footballers not come out or their careers would be over.
The aim of the investigation was to gauge public opinion on homosexuality. A third of the people surveyed in the making of the programme said that they think homosexual acts are wrong. A quarter said that they find same-sex couples holding hands in public offensive. 30% of people asked said they would be unhappy if their son or daughter came out as gay.
ITV Current Affairs Producer, Neil Barnes, has said that the team were surprised at the levels of homophobia they came across in the making of ‘Afraid to be Gay’. He said “Britain might have some of the most liberal laws on homosexuality in Europe, but hate crime is still growing in Britain. We’re proud to bring this to light in a compelling way.”
Why not look at this another way? 70% of people wouldn’t be unhappy if their child came out; 75% do not find gay people holding hands in public offensive; two-thirds of people do not think homosexuality is wrong. Personally, I think that these statistics are encouraging. We have come a LONG way in the last 10-20 years and whilst it is important to remember that the battle for equality has not yet been won, we have made massive progress. Let’s all now hope that ground is not lost with the ‘election’ of the Con-Dem government and our new Minister for (In)equality, Theresa May.
Angie ∼ May 18th, 2010 12:13 pmWell said, Angie!
There is of course also the aspect of how these surveys have been conducted (as always). You can get any survey to say anything, if you just go to the right place or ask the questions in the right way.
The 30% who would be unhappy to see their child come out could be based more on concern of their child’s future struggles, or simply the fear of not having grandchildren.
The truth is much more nuanced than any survey could ever illustrate.
Malene ∼ May 19th, 2010 8:46 pm