Is Mardi Gras more party than politics?
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, held on Saturday night, is an event that helps define the city. It brings an estimated $46 million into the economy each year. This year, there were a record 8,000 parade participants and an estimated 300,000 spectators.
Apart from the crowds and road closures (which make getting in the harbour city even harder than on New Years’ Eve, apparently), it was a well organised and thoroughly policed event.
The usual melee of costume, sexuality and politics was out. Colourful displays included a float of lifesavers, drag queens with metre-high wigs, dykes on bikes (and each other), men in leather straps, Kylie Minogues, Vicky Pollards and John Howards. A seemingly infinite number of gay community groups and organisations had floats. As did services such as the cops and ambos.
There were also, interestingly, quite a lot of churches - I counted around ten. Corporates were out partying too. ANZ had a sea of blue umbrellas and IKEA paraded with kitchen utensils. Mardi Gras is corporatised.
This year’s Mardi Gras was more festival than anything else. A big party where Sydneysiders (of all sexual persuasions) got together to celebrate, above all, diversity. Diversity - of ethnicity, culture, religion, race or sexuality - is a defining feature of Sydney and its global image.
But what about the politics? The Mardi Gras parade started as a brave gay rights march in 1978, which was halted by brutal police intervention. Over the years it become bolder and bigger, fighting for acceptance of homosexuality, civil rights for gays and support in the fight against AIDS.
Now, however, many of these have been achieved - gays and straights still aren’t equal but for many gays in the city there aren’t many incentives to join the political fight. Tolerance is spreading and “gay” is cool - as evidenced by gay characters on TV show and the large number of young, straight spectators at the Mardi Gras parade.
Has Mardi Gras become more party than politics? More humour than activism?
Politics certainly were involved in the parade, but increasingly of a mainstream bent. The Greens, Democrats and Clover Moore had floats. As did the Your Rights at Work campaign, Amnesty International and the Free David Hicks movement.
Yet it must be asked: Who’s listening to the gay political messages? Have they been drowned out in the festival atmosphere and the street partying? Is marching down Oxford Street in colour, pomp and heels still claiming that space as gay when there are orderly metal barriers for crowd control and police helping to keep the show running?
Mardi Gras, of course, needs police and council permission to run the parade. The city also needs its Mardi Gras - authorities have a vested economic interest in its health. If Mardi Gras Goes under, both Australia’s tourism market and Sydney’s cosmopolitan image suffer. It’s civic boosterism at its best.
This, arguably, has toned Mardi Gras down. When you need permission and assistance, you need to run things in an orderly manner. When you need sponsorship and media coverage, and have to accommodate for the young children in the audience, you want to keep the overt sexuality in check and really bring out the stereotypes.
While plenty of gay political fights remain, perhaps Mardi Gras isn’t the most effective way to achieve them. But despite all the commercialisation and marketing, it speaks volumes about our society that this parade has become so popular. It’s an annual ritual that Sydney loves.