Dear ABC Kids Television – RE: Your Mardi Gras Kids Videos

Dear ABC Kids Television,As a parent of young children, I appreciate the ABC kid’s TV channels.

I’m grateful I can put my kids in front of the TV (occasionally!), knowing they’ll be entertained, educated, and inspired. And all without commercial breaks.

So generally I'm a fan, but recently I was disappointed. Here's why.

Last week, my 10-year-old daughter came home from school, and told me about the pro-Mardi Gras video in her weekly ‘Behind The News’ (BTN) TV program, watched by her class – and many other classes at schools around Australia.

*This BTN piece was based on the video you released on the ABC ME kids channel, which had children (some younger than my daughter) promoting the Mardi Gras. Words such as ‘loud and sparkley’; ‘inclusive’ and ‘acceptance’ were used by the children and teens to describe the Mardi Gras parade.

Now, I understand and appreciate your desire to support children from LGBTI families. Not to mention your yearning to see LGBTI people respected by all in our community.

Indeed, LGBTI people are some of the loveliest people I know. I’m glad our culture has shifted, so that LGBTI people no longer suffer the bullying, bashing, and imprisonment that many earlier generations of LGBTI people (such as the original Mardi Gras marchers) suffered.

But your ABC ME Mardi Gras videos –- aimed at children like my daughter – leave me with some concerns:

1) While The Mardi Gras Began As a Protest March, It’s Now An Overtly Sexualised Event – a Celebration of Sex

And your videos use children to promote this sexualized event to other children.

Let's face it: the Mardi Gras is a sexualised event. Just ask anyone who has seen the parade - or seen  pictures from the Mardi Gras. Celebrating sex is a significant part of the Parade. (And understandably so. After all, if a person’s identity is fundamentally determined by their sexuality, as the Mardi Gras proudly proclaim, then it makes perfect sense to showcase and celebrate that sexual behavior.)

But how many schools, let alone parents, would feel comfortable inviting adults dressed in Mardi Gras costumes to their school – to celebrate sex? Or having a ‘Mardi Gras’ themed school disco, where the wearing of these costumes was encouraged?

In today's day and age, perhaps there'll be a few that are ok with it. But most won't be. (And for good reason: we know how harmful it is to sexualize children.)

And yet, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that you’re promoting a sexualised event to school children – using other children, no less.

If any other person or organization used children to promote an overtly sexualized event to other children, we'd find it disturbing. Wouldn’t we ‘call out’ such advertising, and demand it be taken down?

I would hope so – for the sake of children’s wellbeing.

But my concern doesn’t end there.

2) In Our Multicultural Society, Will You Respect The Cultural and Religious Views of Minority Groups?

Or do you expect everyone to celebrate events they might disagree with?

I’m just wondering how you think your video might have gone down within our diverse, multicultural communities - many of whom are more socially conservative than mainstream Australia?

Would a Muslim refugee family from Syria, who, whilst having a ‘live and let live’ attitude toward LGBTI people, be comfortable with their child being encouraged to celebrate the Mardi Gras?

Wouldn’t they find such videos – especially when shown as part of the curriculum in the classroom – troubling? Won’t they feel that their cultural and religious views are being sidelined, and disrespected, by the showing of such material to their children?

Would such programming make them feel welcome, and a valuable part of the community? Or might such programs might make them feel like they (and their socially conservative views) aren’t welcome in multicultural Australia?

In light of all this, I wonder if there’s a better way?

A Better Way: Encourage Children to Respect All People

Without any of the sexual messaging.

I understand you’re concerned about the wellbeing of the LGBTI community, and in particular, kids from LGBTI families. You don’t want to see them being bullied, or unwelcome at school or in the wider community. That’s a commendable desire.

But in our multicultural Australia, wouldn’t it be better to program shows that encourage kids to respect other people simply because they’re people? I’m all for children’s programs that helps kids respect others – regardless of religion, sexuality, or cultural beliefs. Such programs would help foster a healthy diversity - where we commit to living with each other, respecting our cultural and religious differences. But without any demand that we celebrate things we're uncomfortable with - including sexualised events like the Mardi Gras.

Wouldn't this be a better way to foster a truly inclusive and tolerant society?

Yours Sincerely,Akos Balogh

 *Just to be clear, I don't expect teachers and schools to have to filter material from (supposedly) trusted sources, like the ABC's Behind the News. Sexualised content should not be part of the BTN 'diet'.