A few weeks ago we shared with you the petition that called for the iconic Australian ice-cream Golden Gaytime to be renamed. I chatted to Brian Mc, the Melbourne man who argues that the ice cream’s name is offensive to LGBTIQA+ people.
Upfront I told Brian that I was struggling to understand the motivation behind his call for the ice-cream to be renamed, but I listened to his reasoning with an open mind. The argument put forward didn’t convince me that the call was warranted.
When we shared the story OUTinPerth readers didn’t hold back with their thoughts, we had almost 400 comments on our Facebook page, and there was not a single one that supported the call to rename the Golden Gaytime.
Yesterday the story was covered by News Corp, Australia’s largest publisher and within hours other outlets in the mainstream media also picked up the story, TV stations started running polls, and talkback radio callers began weighing in on the topic.
I chatted with Steve Mills on Perth radio station 6PR, who asked why the LGBTIQA+ community was against the ice-cream, thanks to your many comments I could confidentially say as a community it seemed we were significantly more in support of the confectionary than opposed to it.
After I chatted to Millsy, a caller asked if gay community was going to demand the cancelation of The Flintstones because in their theme song they declare they’ll have not only a Yabba-Dabba-Doo time, but also a gay old time. Other callers asked if women named Gaye would be asked to change their names?
Benedict Brook at News.com.au also published an article highlighting that the call for the ice-cream to change its name came from a very small sliver of the queer community.
South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic sat down with the Nationals Senator Matt Canavan to film a video voicing their opposition to “cancel culture” and the petition calling for the name change. Sitting on a park bench and nursing unopened Golden Gaytimes, the two politicians bemoaned the suggestion.
While the two politicians made no mention of the LGBTIQA+ communities, the comments on their Facebook post took aim at the “rainbow mafia” and “alphabet activists” out to destroy the nation.
Rival petitions calling for the name to be protected were launched, and across social media platforms the debate began to take off.
Brian Mc appeared on the Paul Murray program on Sky News to once again put forward his case for the change. Since OUTinPerth spoke to Brian, the petition has increased from having around 20 supporters to 800 yesterday, and it tipped over 1000 by the end of the day.
Since launching his petition Brian has added more about his personal journey with sexuality highlighting that he has been a victim of bullying and conversion therapy practices.
It’s also been highlighted that while the Golden Gaytime brand has embraced the LGBTIQA+ community in its branding, it has given little back to the queer communities, with little evidence they have sponsored Pride events or advertised in LGBTIQ+ focused media.
Graeme Watson, since we did the original photoshoot for this story, I have eaten all the Golden Gaytimes.Â
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