Australia’s Anti-Same Sex Marriage Propaganda
Australia is pretty known for its outlook on LGBTQ+ rights and same-sex marriage. The majority of its people voting no on all bills relating to the topic. The country did end up voting for same-sex marriage to be allowed in 2017; which is the same year this piece of propaganda was distributed. This piece of propaganda is what I would call the same-sex vs. seatbelts comparison. In the image we see three sets of seat belts: a latch and key, two latches, and two keys. These are supposed to represent heterosexual couples reproductive parts, and female-female and male-male homosexual couples reproductive parts. They use these seatbelts to make the argument that only one is a “real” seatbelt and only one is a “real” marriage. The document also urges you to vote No on the same-sex marriage law that was to be voted on in Australia in 2017, and that by saying no you are saying yes to a “real” marriage.
This pamphlet was mass printed and placed into mail boxes in an anonymous attempt to spread the opinionated outlook of their party; in this case they are an anti-same sex marriage. The pamphlet uses colors and imagery to get their point across to the audience like- showing that only one of the seat belt sets will work correctly and trying to relate that to matrimonial union in the sense that only people with different parts work in a “correct” marriage. The form of propaganda is a call to action because the author set out to get more people to vote no on the same-sex marriage law that was set to be voted on. An interesting thing about this piece of propaganda is that the original seat belt image was used as a pro-LGBTQ+ pride tweet posted by Royal Dutch Airlines; although the tweet was later removed because it was seen as tone-deaf. It is still very interesting that an image used to support LGBTQ+ was later used to try and rebuke it. I’m sure the pamphlet did influence some people to vote no on the same-sex law but the majority of Australia ended up voting yes for same-sex marriage in 2017.
The main rhetorical devices used in this piece of propaganda were parallelism and pathos. Parallelism can be seen in the imagery of seat belt parts and human reproductive parts to represent individuals in the relationships. You can also see pathos because the pamphlet tries to guilt/shame the idea of same-sex relations and actively tries to make others feel the upset of the law being past to push their agenda far enough to make a difference.
The ideas presented in the print out are weird in trying to use reproductive parts as what qualifies a marriage. The biggest reason this is not only wrong but can be thrown back in their face is that; just because you have a penis and vagina does not mean you can have a child. There are many medical reasons to be unable to have a child; like being born sterile, born without a uterus, cancer, genetic defects, undescended testes, diabetes, and ovulation issues like PCOS and thyroid diseases and these can affect both male and female partners. Just because a heterosexual couple cannot have a child does not make their marriage any less official; so why do the parts matter? There are many options to have a child now a days like adoption, surrogacy, intrauterine insemination (IUI) ,In vitro fertilization (IVF), and cytoplasmic transfer; which both heterosexual and homosexual couples can use to help their family begin. If it is okay for a heterosexual couple to want to start a family with outside help and it to still be considered a real marriage even though the “correct” parts don’t work why can’t a homosexual family be given the same support . Homosexual couples are also seven times more likely to adopt or foster than heterosexual couples; which allows for more kids growing up in the system to have a fulfilled and normal life.
