Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478813
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 SEPTEMBER 2022 8 INTERVIEW Homophobia is not a 'cultural trait'. Recently, you commented that: "The march shows that Gozo is not a bubble, and the idea that Gozo is conservative needs to stop; we are progressive with the same laws and realities as everyone else." Nonetheless, Gozo's first Gay Pride march took place in 2022: 18 years after Malta's. And while the perception of a 'culturally-con- servative Gozo' may indeed be a lazy stereotype: it is true that – perhaps because of double-in- sularity - Gozitans have tradi- tionally resisted 'progressive change', in the past (divorce being a classic case in point). What are you really challenging then, with that statement? I think that what we are chal- lenging, here, is the perception that 'Gozo is different from Malta': in the sense that Gozo is somehow 'more homophobic than Malta'; or even 'exclusive- ly homophobic', while Malta is not… If we had to compare Gozo with Malta at this level, howev- er: the only real difference that emerges, is the amount of space and services dedicated to the gay community. Obviously, both spaces and services are much more limited in Gozo, than in Malta. And this, I think, is what challenges Gozo's gay commu- nity to be more open, and visible: the lack of spaces, and services. And yes, this is due to 'dou- ble-insularity': because of course, in Gozo there is the un- avoidable reality of being 'an is- land within an island'. But if you had to compare Gozo with other pockets of so- ciety – not just in Malta; but also at European level – you will find that there are situations, and experiences, that are very simi- lar. In rural areas in Italy, for in- stance… or Greece; or anywhere else in Europe… you will find that the realities, on the ground, are not all that very much differ- ent from Gozo. So this idea that Gozo is some kind of 'special cocoon'; a 'bas- tion of conservatism'; or that it is somehow 'unique': as though these attitudes exist 'only in Gozo', and nowhere else… this is what we're challenging, ulti- mately. And it works both ways. It's not just that those perceptions of Gozitans are flawed; but it's not even true that people are auto- matically going to be more 'pro- gressive', just because 'they're Maltese'. That's nonsense. You will al- ways find elements of resistance, in every country: even Malta, which is now at the top of the European charts, when it comes to LGBTQ legislation. We see it all the time, in the news; and we saw it very clearly in 2019… when Parliament was debating the Equality Bill; and the Far Right movement was allowed to put forward homophobic com- ments, and suggestions, in a Par- liamentary Committee session… Now: to have said everything, the LGBTIQ movement was also invited to submit its own recom- mendations, in the same consul- tation exercise. But still: it was the Parliament of the Maltese Islands – not just Gozo – that permitted openly homophobic content to be discussed, during a parliamentary debate. That is the equivalent of 'nor- malising' hate speech against the gay community: and it's not something you will see happen- ing very often, in other 'progres- sive' European countries… This brings me to a question I was going to ask anyway (and this time, it's about all of Mal- ta: not just Gozo). As you said yourself just a second ago: our country is now recognised 'world-leader', in advancing gay rights through legislation. But how much of that claim can actually be justified, in terms of tangible changes on the ground? Well, this is why I mentioned that example of the 2019 parlia- mentary debate. What worries me is that – despite all the re- cent advancements – we are still being complacent about things like that. In Malta, we celebrate that we are 'Number One' in LGBT leg- islation… which we ARE, in fact. And it is something that can very easily be quantified, in practice: because you can see the chang- es, from 2013 to 2022, physically written on a piece of paper. But when it comes to the social reality: that's a whole different ballgame. Partly because it is very, very difficult to quantify experiences, on an individual level. When we launched our own research survey last March, for instance, we interviewed 69 Gozo-based, LGBTQ residents. And even in that small sample, the experiences were so vastly different, that it's very difficult to extrapolate anything with any certainty. But when our highest na- tional institution – Parliament – complacently allows certain homophobic ideas to keep cir- culating… then eventually, it will trickle down to the rest of society…. Is it really happening, though? Reason I ask is that the tradi- tional homophobia we used to associate with 'conservative Malta (and Gozo)' – was never really just about legislation, was it? With homosexuali- ty itself decriminalised in the 1970s, all that remained was 'social stigma'. How much of that would you say still exists? Are Maltese gay people still 'holding back', as it were, out of fear of social repercussions? I believe it is still happening, myself. It's not something I can 'quantify', or 'prove', by quoting statistics – because people's in- dividual experiences are always so different – but I do believe it is still an issue, for many people. Even when you look at the Gozo Pride March itself. Don't get me wrong, it was a very suc- cessful event: but the amount This year, Gozo held its first-ever Gay Pride March: hailed as a 'historic milestone' for the local gay community. But LGBTI+ Gozo president EMAN BORG MERCIECA argues that the event had another symbolic significance: that of challenging a different kind of stigma, against the island of Gozo itself Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt