What Do Lesbian Comics Know About Homophobia?

Dawn Whitwell is a Canadian comedian. I know, sounds like an oxymoron to me, too, but I digress.

Dawn was invited by a teacher at the Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School to do her routine, in which she addresses the issue of homophobia, at the school's anti-homophobia event.

Let's digest that for a moment. A Catholic school hosting an anti-homophobia day? Talk about your oxymoron.

But the school was having it, and Whitwell was asked to attend and perform, until......Dawn Whitwell is a lesbian. Invitation rescinded.

The teacher told her not to come. Apparently, one of the members of the school board Googled Whitwell, and not in the way lesbians google themselves, and discovered that she is ::::gasp:::: married to a ::::bigger gasp:::: woman!

Holy Mother Of God!

Whitwell was then told that she would not be allowed to perform because she has an "affiliation to gay marriage." Whitwell, a recovering Catholic schoolgirl, herself, found the phrase hysterical.

"I was telling people about it, because it was funny," she said. "Then I was getting angry that they can still do this kind of thing. Not so much for me performing there, but you've got to be kidding me — I thought the tide was turning in '87."

Emmy Szekeres Milne, a spokesbigot for the Toronto Catholic District School Board, said the school was planning an event to focus on anti-bullying strategies, not anti-homophobia, and that Whitwell had been considered as a possible speaker, but was never officially slated to attend. She added that "[s]taff who were organizing the event reviewed the individual's online information, and felt that because of the serious nature of the topics being discussed, this person would not be a good fit for their program."

Hmmm, let me get this queer. The school is having an anti-bullying event, which may, or may not, focus on homophobia, and they invited a comedian, a lesbian comedian, who talks about homophobia in her act, then asked her not to come because she's married to a woman.

Oooooooh, so they were using her as an example of homophobia and bullying. You know, invite the dyke to perform then tell her she can't because she married another dyke.

Lesson learned.

Whitwell, who likes to keep the funny, does not take the snub personally, and thinks she might actually use the experience in her act; you know, the one where she talks about homophobia. One thing she does not plan to do is pursue any legal action against the school board.

"What action could I take?" She asked. "To make them let me perform there to a captive audience? There's nothing for me to do other than to support the larger issue at hand."

Go get 'em, Dawn. And keep it funny!

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