"Pansy" is a compliment
December 2002
Canada’s national gay and lesbian lobby group sent out a homophobic press release this month.
After my initial shock and repulsion, I was reminded that Egale needs to work out exactly what it is, and we its queer constituency need to decide whether to kill it or put in the time and energy to push it in the right direction, before it completely destroys decades of political work and progressive activist thought.
Here's the story. Ralph Goodale, the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, would have happily continued a life of public service without ever hitting the gay radar, except that he let a soft spot for colourful language overwhelm him at the wrong moment.
The U.S., in another wing of an endless trade battle, is taking Canada to the World Trade Organization over the wheat board's monopolistic practices. Goodale held a press conference, reared up on his hind legs and said the U.S. move is part of an "ongoing pattern of trade harassment."
The Honorable Minister Doofus continued with this: "While we respect and value and work very hard to maintain and improve the [Canada-U.S.] relationship over all, that does not mean that we're pansies or pantywaists when it comes to defending our interests."
Lovers of language lore believe pantywaist was first used to mean faggot back in the 1930s. A pantywaist was worn by children -- an "undergarment consisting of a shirt and [short] pants buttoned together at the waist," according to my dictionary. "This children's garment was applied disparagingly to an older male who would never normally wear one."
Clothing is about gender, gender is about appropriate behavior and demeanour. A skirt is a woman, a suit is a businessman.
And we all know about pansies.
Egale reacted with a press release on December 19, demanding an abject apology. Hours later, Goodale complied -- sort of. "I apologize if anyone misconstrued my remarks, but I was in no way commenting on anyone's sexual orientation," reads a brief written statement. "Nothing was further from my mind. There was no implication or insinuation of that whatsoever."
Ignore the silliness of the apology. No one here needs me to dissect it. It's the original Egale response that needs the dissecting.
"The comments are inappropriate," outgoing Egale executive director John Fisher said in what was, I must presume, a carefully crafted communique sent out to dozens of media outlets. "Words like 'pansy' and 'pantywaist' are derogatory terms often applied to gay men. While we understand the Minister's wish to try to appear tough, he can do so without using insulting language."
Egale had the chance to be thoughtful about this, and to educate the public, and to be supportive of gay men at the same time.
Many gay men are effeminate. And there's nothing derogatory about being effeminate. In fact, to be a loud and out screamer is to be incredibly courageous. Bull dykes and girly boys are the most courageous gay people I know. They invite the worst of the bigots to see them instantly as homosexual, and they will fight back because years of nastiness has toughened them beyond belief.
I admire pantywaists. They *are* tough.
How about this, Egale: "Pantywaists are among the most courageous and proud homosexuals in Canada. Minister Goodale has used the word improperly -- a pantywaist is, in fact, the very opposite of what he thinks. Egale is pleased to be able to provide a minister of the Crown with a lesson in language and culture, and to remind the Canadian people of the vast commonweal of gay reality.
"We pantywaists are proud and loud nationalists too, and we pledge that pantywaists everywhere will take the lead from well-meaning but sometimes befuddled heterosexuals in protecting Canadian sovereignty from encroachment by the elephant next door."
We could have had a funny, thoughtful reaction that would have supported our own, subverted the public’s traditional prejudices, and made a point about thoughtless language used by important public figures.
Instead, we have a national lobby group that has insulted its own. And reinforced the idea that gay men are masculine he-men. Not that there’s anything wrong with gay masculine he-men. But to in effect cut out the effeminate gay man from the body politic is a type of internalized homophobia.
In past writings, I have been very tough on Egale. Their obsession with "proper" gay relationships -- pushing for laws that force our relationships into the hetero mold -- have offended me greatly. But this month, Egale also sent out a press release condemning the Calgary police bathhouse raid, and I thought that Egale had finally seen the light. That it was finally comfortable enough to take on the issues some of its members may perceive as difficult P.R. (As though we should look after our own tribe only when it is convenient to do so.)
The thoughtless way this pantywaist comment has been dealt with dashed my hopes. There could have been so much more.
But there wasn't.