Guardian Journalist Julie Bindel: Morrissey is wrong to say gay men are never violent

Guardian columnist Julie Bindel, who herself is no stranger to controversy, has taken 80s icon Morrissey to task for his recent comments about war being a “heterosexual” hobby.

In an interview with Rookie magazine, the former singer of ‘The Smiths’ said if the size of the world’s gay male population was larger, it would mean “there would be no wars”.

When asked the question, ‘What political causes mattered most to you back then, and are they still important to you now?’ Morrissey replied: “War, I thought, was the most negative aspect of male heterosexuality.”

The singer then said: “If more men were homosexual, there would be no wars, because homosexual men would never kill other men, whereas heterosexual men love killing other men. They even get medals for it.

“Women don’t go to war to kill other women. Wars and armies and nuclear weapons are essentially heterosexual hobbies.”

Responding to the interview on the Guardian’s ‘Comment is free’ website, Julie Bindel wrote: “Morrissey is in danger of relying on age-old stereotypes. Does he really think, like those daft gender essentialists, that women are innately gentle and men are big brutes out for a ruck? And gay men? Well, they just want to come round and wash your curtains before settling down to watch Cash in the Attic.”

Bindel, who is gay, said: “I have been on holidays with groups of women and I could have started my own war right there on the beach. At the infamous lesbian holiday resort of Lesbos, which more resembles Hackney-on-Sea once the sun goes down, I have seen some spectacular fallings-out between the sisters, almost resulting in WW3.”

She continued: “Lezzer nights out can erupt into fighting over who nicked whose bird and the like on a regular basis. I recall one particular club where the women resembled either prisoners or prison officers, and where there was no need for the landlady to call time at the end of a raucous evening – the police sirens did it very nicely.”

On the subject of gay men, Bindel said: “There is absolutely nothing that suggests they are any less war-happy than heterosexuals. Aside from the fact that gay men (and lesbians) have been prevented from joining the military because of prejudice and bigotry, I can see no reason why a sexual preference towards those of the same sex would translate into support for CND or world peace.

“In fact, there is a whole genre of gay porn featuring men in military uniform. Have a look on Grindr or Gaydar, and you will find many requests for men in combats. Gay men can be fascist and racist – same as the straights.”

Bindel then cites the late racist anti-immigrant politician Pim Fortuyn and Alexander the Great as key examples.

In January, Julie Bindel tweeted PinkNews.co.uk to accuse a “trans cabal” of “running a witch hunt” – it followed fierce criticism over an article by Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore.

Fellow Guardian columnist Julie Burchill then proceeded to write an even more offensive article – which was subsequently taken down from the Guardian/Observer’s website.