Criticism of Leftist ideas about sexuality banned

A campaign billboard urging voters to put Labor last has been banned after it challenged Bill Shorten to explain whether he supports “drag queen story time” — a program which introduces young children to the concept of gender fluidity.

The advertisement — proposed by advocacy group Binary — superimposed an image of Mr Shorten over a depiction of a drag queen reading to curious children along with a quote from opposition equality spokesman Louise Pratt saying: “Drag queen story time is a wonderful idea.”

Senator Pratt made the comment in defence of a Perth business last November after the owners experienced pushback for inviting two drag performers to read children’s stories at a special event for rainbow families.

The event was inspired by the “Drag Queen Story Hour” — a program in the US which aims to capture the “imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood” and give kids “glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models”.

According to its website, Drag Queen Story Hour is “just what it sounds like — drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores.”

Labor refused to clarify yesterday whether it would use taxpayer funds to encourage the rollout of programs like “drag queen story time” or whether it believed such schemes should be voluntary, with the attendance of children depending on the attitude of parents.

It also refused to answer a question about whether groups opposed to gender fluidity should be allowed to participate in public debate and campaign in favour of gender being defined as either male and female.

The now banned billboard carried the slogan — “THIS TIME, PUT LABOR LAST” — but the Outdoor Media Association rejected the advertisement for breaching its code of ethics.

Binary was told that advertisements could not “portray people or depict material in a way which discriminates against or vilifies a person or section of the community on account of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, disability, mental illness or political belief.”

Binary — a group which contests notions of gender fluidity — was informed the problem was a combination of the “picture and the words”. It was also told that an ordinary person would think that a sexual preference was being portrayed in a negative light, possibly fuelling vilification and ridicule.

Binary Director Kirralie Smith — who pulled out of standing for the Australian Conservatives NSW Senate ticket — argued the decision was an infringement of free speech. She said the Australian people should be able to have a discussion about the issue of gender fluidity ahead of the election without the debate being subject to censorship.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable that we are not allowed to discuss this key issue before an election. That’s not free speech, that’s not fair,” Ms Smith said.

“There are two critical issues here. First, Labor has made their position very clear — they believe that a Drag Queen should teach your kids that their gender is fluid, that they can choose if they are a boy or girl,” she said.

“Second, we are not able to even have the debate about whether or not this is a good idea during a federal election. And this a slap in the face to the parents of Australia.”

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