Back in the closet

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/back-in-the-closet/2005/07/29/1122144024615.html?oneclick=true

[Sydney Morning Herald] July 30, 2005--'AUSTRALIA'S largest gay and lesbian expo", as it's touted, will be held in Melbourne in September. Organisers hope the event will raise funds for gay causes, but there will also be real estate agents, art galleries, travel agencies and a niche "Out Video" store pitching for the pink dollar.

The whole thing is so middle-class mainstream, even ho hum; symptomatic of a minority comfortable with its status, perhaps unsurprising given that inner-city Melbourne is allegedly the most gay-tolerant area in the country, more relaxed about homosexuality than even Sydney.

This is one finding of an Australia Institute survey on homophobia released this week, but it's not the one that aroused the most discussion. What has experts scratching their heads is the revelation that, despite gay sitcoms and lesbian chic, more than one-third of Australians consider homosexuality "immoral".