The movie, Battle of the Sexes, is more than just about tennis. It’s about equality. It’s about being true to yourself, listening to your heart and allowing Truth to be your guiding star. As I say in Life’s a Mango: Let your light shine and Let others’ shine too. We’re all connected; There’s no me and no you.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s. It’s the 70s I remember the most. These were the times when, if you had a boyfriend, you were expected to spend your weekend standing on the sidelines watching him play sport. If you liked the beach and surfing, you sat on the beach and watched your guy catch all the waves. I should know, I grew up at Cronulla and could have written or been a character in the book, Puberty Blues. These were the times when, despite having gone to a selective girls’ high school, I was encouraged to leave school in year 10 and attend secretarial college. These were the times when most of my friends were aspiring to be secretaries, bank tellers, nurses or teachers. Sure, there were women out there doing law and medicine and architecture etc. but they weren’t part of my world. The mantra in my home was, leave school as soon as you can and get a job.
Right now, Australian people are being asked to vote yes or no regarding marriage for gay men and women. The movie, Battle of the Sexes, just drove home for me, how Jen Compton, Life’s a Mango, just wants everyone to be happy – so long as they are not hurting anyone else. Who am I to judge who you are and who you can and can’t love?
When I take my family to a food court, I am mentally, in a very happy place. Each one of us can eat exactly what we want, exactly what our heart desires. I sit down to my mixed vegetarian salad, my youngest gets his burger from Oporto, my eldest gets sushi and my husband loves Vietnamese paper rice rolls.
Each of us is unique in that we desire different things – different experiences, different books, different holiday destinations, different food, different jobs, different partners. Each of us listens to the beat of a different drum. Some of us are involuntarily attracted to men, some of us are involuntarily attracted to women, some of us like both, some of us decide to be celibate. Like in the food court, so long as what you desire makes you happy and doesn’t physically or mentally harm another Being, then follow your heart. A vision of equality will make you happier, richer, a more complete human being and those who come into contact with you will feel respected and accepted by your outlook on life.
