Straight thoughts 21

February 19, 2000

The following sentence appeared in almost every newspaper in Canada, after bill C-23 was introduced: "A lesbian couple, Patricia Maguire and Marion Steele, a mother of fivechildren, said they were pleased their family will see the same protection as a heterosexual family." This quote, apart from showing that all "news" comes from very few sources, it illustrates the confusion of thought and language on the subject:

1. Who is the mother?
2. If you asked the children who is their dad, what would they answer?
3. Could he part of their group?
4. Is the mother already receiving support payments for the children?
5. What or who do they need to be "protected" from?
6. What on earth is a heterosexual family?

They should have written: "A lesbian woman and a friend, mother of five children, said they were pleased to have fooled Canadians into thinking that their friendship must be supported by taxpayers' money in the same way that families are."