Panti Bliss hijacking the marriage referendum

Abetterman

Almost one year on and Panti Bliss is still promoting himself as a saviour / spokesperson of the LGBT community, hogging the limelight and taking undeserved credit for the passing of the SSM referendum. Anyone else think that he needs to give us a break?

OP if you start another trolling thread here you'll be banned.

L1011

You need to deal with the media not realising there are other people to talk to.

Abetterman

L1011 wrote: »

You need to deal with the media not realising there are other people to talk to.

Perhaps, but he isn't exactly shying away from the attention and associated commercial opportunities either.

ted1

Abetterman wrote: »

Perhaps, but he isn't exactly shying away from the attention and associated commercial opportunities either.

He's a drag queen, by his very nature she craves the lime light

seamus

He's an entertainer and a businessman. He'd be an idiot not to take every opportunity he can to promote himself.

Abetterman

seamus wrote: »

He's an entertainer and a businessman. He'd be an idiot not to take every opportunity he can to promote himself.

That's fair enough, but I feel that the limelight and credit is being unjustly taken from people who have worked behind the scenes for gay rights for decades. Also (and this is my opinion), I don't like that this drag queen is so frequently presented as the main public representative for the Irish LGBT community.

Ten of Swords

Which interview, article, sound bite or media impression upset you?

C'mon Abetterman, let it out...

El_Duderino 09

Abetterman wrote:

That's fair enough, but I feel that the limelight and credit is being unjustly taken from people who have worked behind the scenes for gay rights for decades. Also (and this is my opinion), I don't like that this drag queen is so frequently presented as the main public representative for the Irish LGBT community.

What on earth makes you think there could be a representative for the LGBT community? They aren't a group and they don't have a leader or a representative. PB is a business person who relies on media coverage. Nothing to see here.

L1011

Abetterman wrote: »

Perhaps, but he isn't exactly shying away from the attention and associated commercial opportunities either.

Why would he?

irishgrover

I thinkg there are 2 elements to this..

1. As mentioned, he is a public figure and makes his living from being in the media - so it makes perfect sense that he would avail of an opportunity

2. He is "good" from a media point of view. He is loud and passionate and will catch your eye as such media will gravitate towards him by default.

Put another way, I'm a 44 year old man, married with 4 daughters. Some of my best friends were gay growing up as teenagers. I was totally confident about who I was and was not scared to be a heterosexual. They on the otherhand had no confidence, were scared and often in actual fear for their safety and sanity. As a 17 year old this struck me as inherently wrong. When I went to college I was a founding member of the LGB soc and was very actively involved (when it was still illegal to be gay!) In my adult life as have been less actively supportive, but always vocally supportive. I am a normal regular boring person, and it was primarily normal regular boring people who were responsible for the ref. campaigning, lobbying and ultimately voting..... Nobody is going to come and interview me or the other 1.2 million like me and you. We are all very boring and not photogenic. Panti, on the other hand is perfect for media attention.

baby and crumble

Abetterman wrote: »

That's fair enough, but I feel that the limelight and credit is being unjustly taken from people who have worked behind the scenes for gay rights for decades. Also (and this is my opinion), I don't like that this drag queen is so frequently presented as the main public representative for the Irish LGBT community.

Firstly, I don't think that limelight or credit is being taken away from anyone. David Norris, Katherine Zappone & Anne Gilligan, the Yes Equality groups around the country etc. have all been praised across the community and the media for all their work.

Secondly, if you think Panti made anything less than a significant difference to the outcome of the vote you are really mistaken. The amount of money for the Yes Equality campaign that was raised at events in Pantibar, and the amount of awareness Panti created (whether appearing as Panti or as Rory) is huge. You may not like how it fits with your "we're totally normal gays not ike those icky drag queens or trans people ewww" vibe, but it's the truth. Rory fought long and hard for marriage equality, going out on multiple canvasses along the way and knocking on doors, as well as appearing and raising awareness of the Irish laws across the globe.

Thirdly, as has been said, Rory is a smart businessman, and also a performer. If he can find a way to turn his success into a difference for his community whilst at the same time building his profile and diversifying his interests, he will.

Annasopra

OP this is the second trolling thread you started. I'm prepared to give you a chance but do it again and you'll be forum banned