Laramie Project

The other day, I sat down to watch the Laramie Project for the first time. The film documents the story of Matthew Shepherd: a homosexual teenager who was tortured and murdered in a small American town, Laramie, Wyoming. There´s an all star tv cast (think Grey´s Anatomy, Christina Appleton, Joshua Jackson, some of the actors from the Coen brother movies, etc.)

The film proceeds through a series of interviews and it becomes increasingly clear that the murder of ´Matt´, as he was known to his friends, was a hate crime. He was killed because he was gay. The discrimination and fear felt by many members of the ´gay community´in Laramie was very tragic but it was not limited to Laramie, the feeling spread right across America. While the video footage showed the thousands of gay and lesbians protesting on the streets around the US, I realised what a powerful lobby the gay rights movement was becoming. Gays were finally standing up for their rights and demanding to be treated like equal citizens. The death and tragedy of one young man affected hundreds, thousands, in the US and across the globe. After all, hate crimes against homosexuals routinely occur in many countries and in an estimated 80 countries homosexuality remains illegal.

Laramie was a turning point for gay rights in America. Now gay activists concentrate on Prop 8 and obtaining equal marriage rights. Even Ted Olson, former solicitor general of Bush is fighting for gay marriage in California. Matthew Shepherd did not die in vain.

After watching the movie, I turned on the news. The first item I saw and which was briefly mentioned, was the savage murder of a young woman by two men in Spain. The news finished. Nothing more happened. The national press didn´t swoop down in the small town where it happened. People all over the country, all over the world didn´t mourn for her death, Ellen de Generes didn´t address a massive rally, and Bill Clinton or Zapatero didn´t call for an end to hate. Her death, demonstrates the extent to which we have normalised domestic violence and the murder of women by violent partners around the world. If we were to march in our thousands every time a woman is killed or tortured due to her gender by a violent partner or a stranger, we would be constantly on the street, we would be in constant mourning. Yet we choose, as society to ignore the fact that this violence is caused by systematic discrimination against women.

The second lesson we are yet to learn from Laramie is that gay rights and women´s rights go together. Both LGBTI and women are looking to change the dynamics of gender roles. When a person transgresses these barriers then they are punished by society. Its time to put a stop to this, join forces and ensure equality for all.