Perth YouTuber David Cox (known on YouTube as OneUpdateataTime) has taken the internet by storm with his ‘Straight Pride Parade’ video.
The video shows Cox addresses the commonly-heard complaint that if there are LGBT Pride Parades, why can’t there be Straight Pride Parades as well?
The Cox’s video has reached over 74,000 views and was featured on the Huffington Post. It was filmed in Perth’s own Forrest Chase. You can watch it below and read what David Cox told OUTinPerth about what inspired him to make it.
David Cox told OUTinPerth that reading the comments section on YouTube inspired him to make the video.
‘The kind of responses you see under the video itself are the sort of ignorance I felt like addressing. Though thankfully I’ve never heard someone I know personally ask “where’s MY straight pride parade?” it is a recurring theme I find whenever a group (not just the LGBTI community) tries to address inequality in a society. The response to things like Black History Month is ‘where’s the white history month?’ (the word you’re looking for is “textbooks”) Come International Women’s Day a bunch of angry men go ‘when’s MEN’S day? That’s sexist! We’re worse off than women now! Feminism is really about oppressing men because they’re not giving us a day!’ (Men’s Day is November 19th by the way…) So I’d had enough of reading people not understand the point of these events and how certain groups don’t need more recognition. They’re already in the spotlight, all the time, by default. You don’t need another thing! Society already loves you! The response to any minority having an event or form of recognition shouldn’t be ‘Why do you have something and I don’t?’ it should be ‘why do you have this thing? Inform me so I can better understand the issues surrounding you and your community.'”
Cox said he frequently uses humour to undermine . In previous video’s he’s addressed issues such as sexism and the mythical concept of the ‘friendzone’ using comedy as his weapon. “I see something I disagree with and my first response is to mock it. I find it a helpful way to criticise something without getting really aggressively angry over it. If it frustrates you: make fun of it is my philosophy. I don’t think I’ve ever made a video that was completely serious.”
Cox said the video wasn’t so much a response to LGBT discrimination in Perth specifically, but rather attitudes and comments that he’s seen coming from around the world. “I personally have experienced homophobia of all sorts of kinds directed at me or around me but it wasn’t specifically “straight pride” related. That specific detail I get through the internet. The internet turns us all into global citizens so my videos are a response to the world at large, not the area I live in. Perth seems pretty LGBTI-friendly in general to me but I try not to get into any big queer-related discussions with new people just in case. There’s still that bit of caution… I’ve lost friends due to them being homophobic in the past and… oh well really. They cut off ties, not me. There’s no shortage of wonderful people out there and I’m pretty thankful for that.”
Although the internet can be a source of frustration and sometimes a minefield of ignorant comments, Cox said the internet also provides him with a safe space to share his views. “No one can punch you through the internet.” he said.
Sophie Joske
