Ontario鈥檚 provincial election is over and Kathleen Wynne will be sworn in as the province鈥檚 new premier on Monday.
By this point, her win has been saddled with all the tired rhetoric that we used to describe electoral firsts. It was 鈥済roundbreaking,鈥� 鈥渉istoric鈥� and 鈥渞evolutionary,鈥� for not only is Wynne the first female premier of Ontario, she is the first 91原创 premier to openly identify as gay.
Aside from a few rote sentences about her sexuality, however, most of the national coverage has focused on the exhilarating closeness of the race and the difficult road ahead of Wynne as she attempts to improve the Liberals鈥� relationship with Ontario teachers, as well as the minority government鈥檚 opposition. We are, at the end of the day, more interested in her policies and goals than her sexuality 鈥� which is as it should be.
Still, for those of us outside Ontario, the main thing we know about Wynne is that she鈥檚 gay. Despite my complaints about overused rhetoric, Wynne鈥檚 election is historic, and that鈥檚 exciting.
Many 91原创s 鈥� especially those who are proud to think of themselves as people who don鈥檛 care about a person鈥檚 colour, gender, sexuality or religion 鈥� are taking Wynne鈥檚 election as proof of our accepting and tolerant society.
In fact, some people are so on board with the idea of a gay premier that they鈥檙e asking why we鈥檙e bothering to talk about her sexuality at all. Why does it even matter?
While I approve of the sentiment that fuels this sort of talk 鈥� because it鈥檚 absolutely the case that a candidate鈥檚 sexuality doesn鈥檛 provide a litmus test for her or his abilities or politics 鈥� I don鈥檛 think this means that it doesn鈥檛 matter.
In fact, I鈥檇 argue that it matters a great deal.
Representation is important. What we see and what we read affects what we can imagine. For LGBQT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or transgendered) youth, it鈥檚 incredibly valuable to have people that they can look up to, people who are like them.
It鈥檚 for the same reason that geek girls are fighting to see female characters in their comic books who are more than just sexualized blow-up dolls with swords. It鈥檚 why people are petitioning to have Idris Elba be the next James Bond.
When we see a gay woman become premier, that changes the way we understand what it means to be gay. And this is important, especially when the phrase 鈥渢hat鈥檚 gay鈥� is still used in schoolyards, casual conversation and even workplace situations to mean something negative.
Homosexuality still provides the punchline for our jokes. Gay men and transgender men are frequently perceived as less than 鈥渞eal鈥� men (whatever that means). Lesbian women鈥檚 perceived lack of desirability to straight men is mocked while straight women鈥檚 homosexual experimentation is performance for straight-male consumption. This is oppressive and damaging, and our society is full of it.
When people who are currently beneficiaries of the status quo 鈥� straight people, white people, men 鈥� ask 鈥淲hy are we still talking about this?鈥� they are speaking from a place of kindness, but it is privileged kindness nonetheless, because they do not understand or even recognize the barriers to equality that many members of our society continue to face. Instead of working to solve the problem, this kind of attitude insists that there isn鈥檛 a problem at all. It鈥檚 the worst kind of silencing, because it is well-meaning.
So if you can鈥檛 understand why Wynne鈥檚 victory is a big deal, and why it is worth talking about, think on the fact that LGBQT (especially T) youth are at much higher risk of bullying, sexualized violence and suicide than their peers. When we tell our children that they鈥檙e all equal, and then deny them the representation that reflects that equality, they know we don鈥檛 mean it. Children are smart. They learn homophobia and they replicate it, because we teach our children every day that gay people鈥檚 lives are slightly less valuable than straight people鈥檚.
This is not because our laws are bigoted, but because our society is. Better representation is one way to counteract that.
Ontario has now chosen a gay premier. And though it鈥檚 easy to get frustrated with the hackneyed language of electoral firsts, it is a first, it is historic and it does matter. And we should absolutely be talking about it.
