What's the meaning of Mardi Gras?
The annual Sydney Mardi Gras festival has just kicked off, and the next month will be filled with a wide variety of musical, dramatic and social events. On 3 March it will all come to a head with the world-famous parade, now in its 29th year.
Mardi Gras is an entertaining spectacle for a lot of Sydneysiders - both gay and straight - and gives Sydney a cultured image that attracts a lot of tourists.
The parade was first held in 1978, and consists mostly of colourfully over-dressed cross-dressed gay men and women (and all things in between), marching down city streets - most famously, Oxford Street. It's estimated to attract over 800,000 spectators and inject up to $100 million into Sydney's economy.
Its original aim was achieving greater civil rights for gay men and women, acceptance of homosexuality in society and in workplaces and support for the AIDS struggle. It started off a profoundly political event, marching down gay Sydney's most visible and famous gay space, Oxford Street, and claiming it for the gay community.
The carnival of politics, protest, sexuality and costume that is Mardi Gras is often seen as a metaphor for gays in Sydney.
Recently, though, it seems to have lost some of its political edge and original intentions. Is it still a rallying call to Sydney's gay population? Or do most gay men and women find it boring and redundant?
In 2002, the organising body went into receivership, due to fundraising difficulties, rising insurance costs and declining international tourism. For a few years there were many reports of financial troubles and the prospect that Mardi Gras may disappear for good. That didn't happen, and now it's bounced back a bit, having found a new major sponsor, Gaydar.com.au, and diversifying the events it has on offer.
Criticisms of the parade, however, have come from many sources. Some academics have argued that it's become too commoditised, captive to the commercial pressures of sponsors and popular pressures of the media. Its creativity and shock value may have been eroded as it tries to keep a wide audience interested. Some of the more sexualised and graphic elements of the parade have been toned down so it can be shown on TV and children can attend.
This, of course, all served a purpose in attracting funding and gaining council and police permission. But many gays are asking: what's in it for me?
Most of the struggles of gay liberation have been achieved. Equality is now, legally at least, almost a reality (gay marriage notwithstanding). Medical advances, public health campaigns and support agencies have dimmed the threat of AIDS. Many more people are willing to accept, even facilitate, gays in their community. What's left to fight for?
Wider society is a lot more tolerant of homosexuals that it ever has been. Popular culture embraces gay, and it's hard to think of a television drama or sit com that hasn't had a gay character or covered gay themes. Gay is in. Just look at the success of 'Brokeback Mountain.'
But then, at the same time, the gay stereotype isn't so popular for gay people anymore. Why adopt such practices and attitudes when there's no incentive (survival, community, politics, etc) to do so anymore? Why live your life on Oxford Street, which some gays now consider a 'fauxhemia' (fake Bohemia), when you can be an individual?
Wasn't individualism, being oneself, the ultimate aim of the gay liberation movement?
Indeed, most of these processes have taken their toll on Oxford Street as well. Gay bars are making way for straight ones and mainstream fashion has been pushing out gay businesses for a while now. Openly gay people are living in other places throughout the city and beyond. Gay Sydney looks to be dissolving.
There always will be a number of gays who live and breathe gay culture and territory. But their numbers are shrinking.
It's a contentious argument, but perhaps Mardi Gras is just another 'cultural' festival and tourism drawcard for Sydney, and just another big after-party for the gay scene. Nevertheless, you can still have fun without politics, and the festival has lots of potential in this regard.
Email: br@student.usyd.edu.au