1982. Movie: Pink Triangles – A study of prejudice against lesbians and gay men
Produced by a collective of nine straight and gay men and women, Pink Triangles is a 35-minute documentary that also seeks to be a teaching aid on homophobia and discrimination in general.
The movie uses a range of resources like ancient documents and old film footage from the Nazi death camps and the McCarthy witch hunts to provide the historical context of homophobia.
It then uses contemporary interviews with a range of respondents to explore current attitudes. For example, mental health professionals reveal the healthcare system’s negative perspective of gay men and lesbians; parents of lesbians and gays talk about their feelings when their child came out to them. And black and Latino gays and lesbians explain the double prejudice they face in the form of racism and homophobia.
There’s some pretty chilling stuff: the term ‘faggot’, for example, derives from the practice of using gay men as human torches when burning witches in the Middle Ages. The brutal treatment of gay men in Nazi death camps was simply seen as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the extermination of Jews.
But there are also some positive elements to the movie too: whilst high school students initially talk in negative terms about gays and lesbians they do also demonstrate a willingness to listen. And as the movie progresses it becomes clear that they do respond positively when their views are challenged.
Thankfully we have seen some changes since the movie was first released – the healthcare system, for example, no longer treats us as sick or disordered. But there’s undoubtedly a need to maintain our own awareness of our history as well as to keep reminding the rest of the world too.
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