Peter Tatchell

[[File:Peter_Tatchell.jpg|thumb|165px|Peter Tatchell]]{{UKpolitics}}{{sex}}
'''Peter Tatchell''' {{lived|1952|}} is an [[Australia|Australian]]-born [[United Kingdom|British]] activist, mostly known for his work for [[gay rights]], but dipping his fingers into [[human rights]], [[environmentalism|environmental issues]], the [[Iraq War]], race issues, sexual liberation and [[animal rights]]. He is perhaps best known for his two attempts to perform a citizen's arrest of [[Robert Mugabe]].<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/peter-tatchall-there-may-be-a-case-for-the-people-of-zimbabwe-to-kill-robert-mugabe-462146.html Peter Tatchell interviewed by the Independent.] August, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.petertatchell.net/direct%20action/mugabe.htm Press Release from Peter Tatchell] October, 1999.</ref> Unfortunately, due to severe beatings at the hands of Mugabe's bodyguards and [[neo-Nazi]]s in Moscow, he has suffered permanent brain damage, which has caused him to abandon his life-long aspiration to become a member of Parliament.<ref>[http://www.petertatchell.net/politics/tatchell-stands-down-as-green-candidate.html Press Release by Peter Tatchell] December, 2009.</ref>

Like many leftie/[[socialist]] types in Britain, he was a lifelong supporter of the [[Labour Party]], but after the Iraq War, and [[Tony Blair]] turning into an [[authoritarian]] stresshead, it got too much for him and he left. He is now a member of the [[Green Party]].

== Comments on paedophilia ==
In 1997, he sent a rather curious letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' on the subject of [[Child sexual abuse|paedophilia]]:

{{quotebox|ROS Coward (Why Dares to Speak says nothing useful, June 23) thinks it is 'shocking' that Gay Men's Press has published a book, Dares To Speak, which challenges the assumption that all sex involving children and adults is abusive. I think it is courageous. 

The distinguished psychologists and anthropologists cited in this book deserve to be heard. Offering a rational, informed perspective on sexual relations between younger and older people, they document examples of societies where consenting inter-generational sex is considered normal, beneficial and enjoyable by old and young alike. Prof Gilbert Herdt points to the Sambia tribe of Papua New Guinea, where all young boys have sex with older warriors as part of their initiation into manhood. Far from being harmed, Prof Herdt says the boys grow up to be happy, well-adjusted husbands and fathers.

The positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-Western cultures. Several of my friends - gay and straight, male and female - had sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13. None feel they were abused. All say it was their conscious choice and gave them great joy. 

While it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged the truth that not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful.<ref>"Letter: Tatchell on sex with children." Guardian [London, England] 26 June 1997: 22. [http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA76219314&v=2.1&u=nl_earl&it=r&p=SPN.SP00&sw=w InfoTrac Full Text Newspaper Database. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.]</ref>}}

The ''Guardian'' later printed letters attacking Tatchell's comments. One, from Marjorie Orr of Accuracy About Abuse, pointed out that Joseph Geraci — one of the "distinguished" individuals involved in the book — edited a Dutch pro-paedophilia journal called ''Paidika''.<ref>"[0] Letter: Tatchell comes in for abuse." Guardian [London, England] 28 June 1997: 20. [http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA76219744&v=2.1&u=nl_earl&it=r&p=SPN.SP00&sw=w InfoTrac Full Text Newspaper Database. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.]</ref> This prompted Tatchell to try to clarify his views: "By writing that 'not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful', I was clearly implying that most of it is abusive. It is absurd to say that because I acknowledge some exceptions, I am denying the suffering of those who have been abused."<ref>"Letter: That child-sex row won't go away." Guardian [London, England] 1 July 1997: 16. [http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA76220119&v=2.1&u=nl_earl&it=r&p=SPN.SP00&sw=w InfoTrac Full Text Newspaper Database. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.]</ref>

He has continued to be criticised for his letter. A 2010 article by [[Peter Hitchens]] reprinted most of Tatchell's remarks; Hitchens commented that, by describing the publishers of the book in  question as "courageous", Tatchell had gone further than his stated aim of merely opposing censorship.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1311193/PETER-HITCHENS-Question-Who-said-Not-sex-involving-children-unwanted-abusive-Answer-The-Popes-biggest-British-critic.html</ref>

A doctored photo has been posted on several websites, including the official site of the [[BNP]], showing Tatchell carrying a placard with his comment that "not all sex involving children is unwanted" Photoshopped onto it.<ref>http://jimmysavile.org/2012/10/23/hello-world/</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/PeterTatchell/status/259276704281948160</ref>

He has also stated, when clarifying his calls for the age of consent to be lowered to 14, that he does not condone adults having sex with children or anyone having sex under 16, but simply doesn't want under-16s to be given a criminal record or put on the sex offender's register for having sex.<ref>http://www.petertatchell.net/lgbt_rights/age_of_consent/index.htm</ref>

== Alleged Islamophobia ==
He has been accused of [[Islamophobia]] and racism by other left-wingers, for instance by [[Islamophobia Watch]]<ref>[http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/peter-tatchell-not-only-encourages-islamophobia-he-defends-the-right-of-homophobes-to-incite-hatred-against-the-lgbt-community/ Peter Tatchell not only encourages Islamophobia – he defends the right of homophobes to incite hatred against the LGBT community], Bob Pitt, Islamophobia Watch, June 16, 2011</ref> and by academics Jin Haritaworn, Tamsila Tauqir, and Esra Erdem.<ref>[http://www.petertatchell.net/politics/academics-smear-peter-tatchell.htm Academics smear Peter Tatchell], PeterTatchell.net</ref> This seems to be due to his attacks on anti-gay Muslims and Islamic nations which criminalise homosexuality. He has called for gays and [[Muslim]]s to unite and combat prejudice against both groups.<ref>[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/21/peter-tatchell-campaign-for-lgbt-muslims-receives-mixed-reaction Peter Tatchell campaign for LGBT Muslims receives mixed reaction], David Hodari, The Guardian, 2015</ref> Although he clearly sees gay rights as the chief object of his campaigning and is not afraid to criticize Muslims when they are homophobic, that can hardly be compared to the far-right's irrational and all-encompassing hatred of Islam.

== Protests against homophobic lyrics and beef with Eminem ==
In 2000, Peter Tatchell spearheaded a campaign called [https://outrage.org.uk/tag/stop-murder-music/ Stop Murder Music], which aimed to deplatform artists who used homophobic language in their songs. The artists targeted by Tatchell and his organisation OutRage! were mostly Black reggae and dancehall artists. While even the campaign's Wikipedia page notes that the focus was on Black musicians making Caribbean genres of music, Peter Tatchell argued that his hatred of homophobic lyrics was not driven by race and that he was also critical of white acts like Guns 'N' Roses and Marky Mark. In 2017, he criticised the rapper Stormzy for use of homophobic language in tweets he made as a teenager, and Stormzy apologised in response.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/22/stormzy-apologises-for-unearthed-homophobic-tweets Stormzy Apologies For Unearthed Homophobic Tweets], The Guardian, 2017</ref>

However, Peter Tatchell's primary foe was Eminem, a white hip-hop artist whose 2000 shock-rap album ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' launched a media [[moral panic]] with its use of gratuitous homophobic language. While it is understandable that Tatchell took exception to lyrics intended to wind people up for attention, it is also debatable whether concern about Eminem's impact on society was Tatchell's primary motivation in attempting to deplatform him, as in addition to principled if hysteric statements contesting homophobia<ref>[https://www.nme.com/news/music/eminem-594-1391598 EMINEM IN ‘KKK’ CONTROVERSY], NME, 2001</ref>, he also released a statement suggesting that Eminem, a megastar well known for mentioning his enemies by name in his songs, looks like a cute gay boy who wants gay men like Peter Tatchell to bum him.<ref>[https://outrage.org.uk/2001/02/is-eminem-queer/ "Is Eminem queer?"], OutRage!, 2001</ref> A coalition of LGBT+ rights groups, spearheaded by Tatchell, protested Eminem's 2001 tour of the UK.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/07/eminem.storm/ Eminem: Hero or homophobe?], CNN, 2001</ref> In Eminem's subsequent music, he made throwaway reference to "''picket signs for my wicked rhymes''" and criticised efforts to censor his lyrics, but did not rise to the bait of making Tatchell's name famous. However, Tatchell has claimed that when he was protesting Eminem, his security beat him up.<ref>[https://x.com/PeterTatchell/status/933838008788443137 Tweet], 2017</ref>

In 2009, OutRage! pressured Wireless Festival to force Eminem to sign a legal document barring him from using homophobic lyrics in his performance<ref>[https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/eminem-returns-to-britain-with-a-pledge-to-drop-his-antigay-lyrics-6724511.html Eminem returns to Britain with a pledge to drop his anti-gay lyrics]</ref>, an incident which led Eminem to cancel his headliner slot (he was replaced by Jay-Z).

Despite Eminem ageing into a largely uncontroversial elder statesman of hip-hop and the moral panic about him fading out of memory, Peter Tatchell continued to criticise Eminem for homophobia, as well as non-homophobic lyrics he considers to be in bad taste, such as a 2020 song containing an insensitive reference to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.<ref>[https://x.com/PeterTatchell/status/1218512136445616128 Tweet 12:35 PM · Jan 18, 2020], Peter Tatchell, 2020</ref>

== External links ==
*[http://www.petertatchell.net Official website]

==References==
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{{Down Under}}
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Paedophilia]]
[[Category:Political activists]]
[[Category:Australians]]

Categories: Atheists, LGBTQ people, Living people, Paedophilia, Political activists, Australians