Paula Gerber: Thorpe shame shows Australia still has long way to go

Ian Thorpe's fears over coming out in Oz seem apt. Photo / Getty Images

Few who watched Ian Thorpe's "coming out" interview with British interviewer Michael Parkinson on Sunday night could have failed to have been moved by his story. The anxiety and turmoil he felt in telling the world he is gay was apparent for all to see.

Thorpe told Parky: "I'm ashamed I didn't come out earlier because I didn't have the courage to do it ... I wanted to make my nation proud of me. I didn't know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay. I am telling the world I am."

Australia has gay politicians (Penny Wong and Bob Brown), High Court judges (Michael Kirby), at least one tennis player (Casey Dellacqua) and even an Olympic gold medallist (diver, Matthew Mitcham). So why was Thorpe so worried about coming out?

You don't have to look too far to find homophobia, hostility and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Australia. Even though homosexuality was decriminalised in all Australian states and territories last century, prejudice remains.

It is somewhat ironic that the weekend Thorpe declared himself to be a proud gay man, Australian sports commentator Brian Taylor called an Aussie Rules player a "big poofter" during a TV broadcast. The commentator was told to undertake "some quite serious counselling". One can only speculate what the consequence might have been had he made a racist taunt rather than a homophobic one.

The Australian media is replete with examples of LGBTI people being made to feel less than comfortable about disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity, including:

Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying he feels "threatened" by gays;

Victoria upper house Liberal MP Bernie Finn saying he would rather join the cheer squad for the Collingwood Football Club (he is a Richmond Tiger supporter) than support same-sex adoption;

Liberal senator Corey Bernadi likening same-sex marriage to bestiality;

Radio host Jackie O, saying she did not like her middle name, Ellen, anymore because it "sounds a bit lez".

So was Thorpe right to be concerned about telling Australians he is gay? Sadly, the answer would seem to be yes.

While Australia has laws protecting people against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, they came into effect only last year. Compare this to when Australia enacted laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race (1975), gender (1984), disability (1992) and age (2004).

Why do LGBTI people lag so far behind in achieving legal protection from discrimination? The answer would seem to be ongoing prejudice.

There is a strong correlation between law and societal attitudes. If governments say that LGBTI people are not deserving of equal protection, this sends a message to society that it is okay for them to treat people differently based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

When our federal government says same-sex couples are not allowed to marry, it sends a message to society that same-sex relationships are of less value and less deserving of our respect.

That is not to say that enacting anti-discrimination laws or marriage equality will result in an overnight change in Australians' attitudes to homosexuality. The process will take time.

But Thorpe made the right decision to tell his story to Parky in the UK. The UK is well along in that process, while Australia is still in the starting blocks.

Paula Gerber is an associate professor of human rights law at Monash University, based in Melbourne.

theconversation.edu.au