Marriage Equality in Australia – the ‘No’ Vote and Symbolic Violence

In 2017, there are no legal provisions within the Commonwealth of Australia for same-sex couples to marry in the same sense that their heterosexual friends and family can. Civil unions provide similar legal protections as marriage, but many argue that this is not enough – that same-sex couples occupy a ‘second-class’ citizen status in relation to marriage. Many jurisdictions globally recognise marriage equality: the UK, New Zealand, Canada and the USA to name but a few globally, and those societies most similar to Australia’s. This paper explores the attitudes towards elements of marriage equality among a group of gay men in Australia. Despite the ‘yes’ vote for marriage equality polled at about two-thirds of eligible voters, a slew of symbolically-violent messages have appeared, including ‘Vote No’ skywritten across the emblematic Sydney Harbour, and ‘Vote no to faggots’ graffiti etched across Sydney train carriages. In particular, this paper examines how two such contradictory positions can emerge in society that ostensibly privileges the ‘fair go.’ Perhaps by July 2018, marriage equality will have been enshrined in Commonwealth law – at present however, Australians await the result of a marriage equality postal vote, from which a ‘yes’ vote will ‘allow’ members of the ruling centre-right party a ‘conscience’ vote on the bill. On the eve of this result, and within months of the 40th anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, it is timely to revisit perspectives from the original ‘78ers’ and the experiences of physical violence on that cold night in June 1978. How might the rhetoric of the ‘no’ vote rekindle those experiences, and historically (and currently!) what have these men used to combat this threat? The importance of friendships and solidarity across lines of difference are key in this defence and action.