I know this sounds ridiculous, but it really has spread around like a virus and seems to never die down.
Even the people I know who do not consider themselves homophobic are still prone to constant comments and a general feeling of intolerance. It seems that some of the most accepting people I know will still say "I'm fine with it, I just don't want to see it."
I can understand why a person doesn't want to see something that they are not used to or is not relatable to them, however this is not the fault of the individual it is the fault of the public. From my viewpoint, the only reason why people have this great 'fear of the unknown' when it comes to same sex couples is in fact because they are not used to it. The reason why is simply that after all these years it is still not widely accepted enough to become a commonplace part of society. Which is absurd, considering that the idea of gay couples is hardly a new thing.
Even back in the times of the Ancient Greeks there was a hell of a lot more acceptance than there is now. Free sexuality was praised and every man had a young male lover and a wife. Of course the idea of paedophilia isn't great, but even so same sex relationships were nothing out of the ordinary. It seems that with the uprise of religion after this point, with almost all of them condoning such relationships it has become known as somewhat sinful ever since.
As a young straight woman with a history of opposite sex relationships you could question why this affects me so much. The truth is although I may not have empathy, I definitely have sympathy. What is seldom considered is the fragile emotional mindset of a young girl or boy discovering their sexuality and being made to feel sinful, wrong and confused. Whether this is from religion, society or just the bullies at school.
What most people don't even realise is that the suicide rates of young homosexuals is comparatively higher than any other group. And what for exactly? For taunting remarks, a lack of tolerance and people being 'uncomfortable' with something that does not actually affect them.
The problem is that the only thing people are comfortable with these days is their lack of comfort with the idea of it. Even I find myself accidentally using words like 'gay' and 'queer' to describe anything that is bad. Ridiculous as it sounds, while this doesn't seem so harmful you can only imagine the impact if those words were replaced with the like of 'jew' or 'black'.
While we have come so far with equal rights for minorities and women, it's almost baffling that there is so little tolerance for something that really just involves love. If any straight man or woman was to consider having to 'come out' to their parents and friends about their current relationship while feeling scared and judged, they would understand how insane the lack of tolerance truly is.
While this country and the US are still struggling to actually pass laws condoning same-sex marriage, it truly is important for the public to do their bit in realising the damage they are causing by a basic and unfounded judgement. Even the idea of a 'skim-milk' marriage has been proposed for the gay community, which while showing progress mostly just creates an even greater divide and implications of gay marriage being 'un-whole'.
To me, it seems that being homophobic is as archaic and ignorant as being racist. After all my father has always said to me "the only thing you shouldn't tolerate is intolerance". This could not apply better here. If every person could just think before they make a homophobic remark, genuine or accidental that they are judging those who are only standing up for their right to love this world would become a better place very quickly. After all, they have called being gay an illness for so long, to me the only illness is intolerance.
Olivia Jane
I was married to a Narcissist. we split up in January when i found out he had been cheating on me. he got angry with me because i found out. he owes me thousands of dollars and i am going to take him to small claims court for all the money he owes me to this day, he has convinced the girl he was having an affair with behind my back that i was his landlady and that our relationship was all in my head. I know his world will come tumbling down one day and I can't wait for others to see him for what he is,he cheats and denies at all cost,he turns around and accuses me of cheating on him,domestic abuse is very normal to him'.. I had to get hacking proof from 'hackingloop6@gmail . c o m' to help me hack his phone and social media platforms,i was able to gather enough proofs of all his extramarital activities,contact the cyber genius also on WhatsApp + 1 484 540 - 0785 , if you have similar issue , His services are affordable .he helped me with the evidence i needed through my divorce.
ReplyDelete