Triple Language Analysis Essay (Gay Marriage)

The issue of whether or not gay marriage should be accepted in Australia has been largely debated in politics and among the general public for a while now, and it seems as though it will remain a continuous issue for some time to come. The majority of Australians are currently split over whether the traditional view of marriage being solely between a man and a woman should be preserved, or whether this view of marriage is out-dated and should be redefined in order to allow gays the right to marry. The Australian Labor Party was also divided on this issue at a recently held federal conference. In the opinion piece “Welcome, gays, to… what?” (published in the Herald Sun in December 2011), Wendy Tuohy contends in a supportive tone, that gay marriage should be allowed in Australia, and in a more inquisitive and somewhat deflated tone goes on to question the meaning and necessity of marriage in today’s world. Similarly, Michael Newton believes that our laws should reflect on the new sets of values which are present in the modern world. In his letter to the editor titled “It is nonsense to cling to the past” (published in The Age on the 16th of November 2011), he presents a reasoned point of view, that although marriage has had a certain meaning in the past, to assume that it should stay that way would be completely irrational. A contrasting viewpoint is presented in the opinion piece “Tsunami-sized backlash on same-sex marriage looms” (published in The Australian on the 12th of December 2011), in which Barry Cohen attacks “the pro-gay marriage brigade”, expressing his traditionalist views and stark rejection of same-sex marriage in a very deprecating and slightly satirical tone. A cartoonist named Spooner drew a cartoon (published in The Age on the 22nd of November 2011) which presents two clashing views of the issue. A non-Christian audience would derive a message in support of giving gays the right to marry, whilst a religious audience may see the opposite.

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