Columnist Mike Lockley at the Birmingham Mail writes a series of homophobic remarks about people attending Birmingham Pride.
Speaking to one reveller Lockley writes that he asked: “Would you mind awfully facing our video camera and lisping ‘I’m free’ while flicking your wrist?
“Then if you could mince out of….”
“That,” hissed the reveller, “is exactly the outdated and offensive image of gay men we are attempting to break free from.”
“Fair enough,” I nodded. “How about a petulant ‘Shut that door’?”
The lines refer to various catch phrases that a number of TV entertainers used in the 1970s and 80s, which is now seen by many as a dated and offensive view of gay people.
Lockley described as ‘Midlands Columnist of The Year, was clearly upset by being asked to cover the festivities in Birmingham, writing,
“Why I, a reporter who cut his teeth in the 1970s, a time when there was a role for openly gay men (Widow Twankey in the local amdram society’s Christmas performance of Aladdin), was chosen to provide coverage at the lavish event remains a mystery.”
When his editor said,
“The gay community has had a terrible cross to bear.”
Lockley replied with:
“They didn’t have to listen to that crap music,”
I argued.
“I mean, I’d be loathe to come out if meant an eternity of Kylie’s greatest hits.”
