3. Homophobia
Will someone get me a knife so I can slice the seminal vesicle or fallopian tube (don’t want to be gender exclusive!) of every little fucker who refers to an inanimate object as ‘gay’. For serious, you’re making yourself look like a donkey douche, and you’re just embarrassing everyone else who has to associate themselves with you. This is the third issue in a row where a certain group is protected under the law in my country, but still suffer difficult setbacks in our heteronormative culture.
We inappropriately create a binary scale with regards to sexual orientation, really it’s difficult to imagine that as a heterosexual I’m just as straight as every other heterosexual on the Earth. To me this is the first problem with homophobia in our culture, we treat it as something that is an Other, something that we can’t associate with because we are so fundamentally different from their lifestyle. I can’t help but be angered at how axiomatically flawed this lens is, this is similar to the race issue, the whole “I’m white, he’s black, we’re different” mentality. It is so 1950s and leaves us with a face of progression that is pockmarked and scarred.
“But Luke, how do we fix something that is so entrenched in the hearts of many people?” Simple, train yourself to be apathetic to sexual orientation, simply don’t give a fuck if a guy/girl is into a girl or a guy or a transgendered individual. Sexual preference represents so little about who an individual is. Start with yourself, don’t align yourself with a particular sexuality, date who you want, fuck who you want.
Really for me it all boils down to language and words. Identifying as gay or straight is simply yet another label that defines the individual, which to me makes no sense. This issue with words extends into the ridiculously stupid debate on gay marriage, many opponents of gay marriage will say, “have a civil union, but don’t take our word.” This is just homophobic bullshit, Christ heteros, you should be so lucky, going your entire life not having to constantly reveal yourself as a heterosexual and catching flak for it. The fact opponents of gay marriage want to put linguistic road blocks in the way of people being happy is unfair and selfish. I’m glad Canada has pushed through the gay marriage issue, however the possibility of this being overturned in the future scares the shit out of me.
Really, relative to what goes on in the rest of the world, being gay in the west is a paradise. The following is a list of countries where homosexuality is heavily punished:
Bangladesh - Life in prison to death.
Iran - Prison for life (in many cases).
Saudi Arabia - Death.
UAE - Death
Barbados - Life in prison.
Jamaica - Ten years hard labour.
Trinidad and Tobago - 25 years.
Guyana - Life in prison.
Many African countries have punishments ranging from prison sentences to execution.
All of this because of who an individual loves. Gay movements are forced underground in many of these countries, leaving homosexuals perpetually terrified of being caught for something they can’t avoid.
A homosexual in the west is left with an unfortunate dilemma, either remain silent about who they are attracted to their entire lives, or have to constantly reveal themselves as being gay not knowing how their sexuality is going to be perceived. Next time you think about calling something or someone gay just because it’s the easiest word to say, think about who you might be offending. Think that the person you are calling gay with a malevolent tone is considering coming out… and your words have ruined their happiness. If you don’t identify as being gay you have a huge choice, refrain from using hurtful words and refuse to associate sexual orientation with who a person is OR continue to be a fucking asshole and perpetuate an issue that can be easily fixed.
Just stop being so fucking stupid with your choice of words.
Leave a Reply