Maybe I should clarify for you all I am gay, I
We constantly form stereotypes to quickly understand and wrap our head around something. Whether it is religion, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, etc. stereotypes are our template to consolidate features common to that group. But what happens if more than one of these categories clash?! What if some stereotypes do not play nice with others...eek!
Take me for example:
1. I am a dude…simple enough.
2. I am gay...oops! Now things start to get more interesting.
3. I am black...wait can you be gay and black at the same time? I can imagine this is like dividing by zero to a computer: "Does not compute...Error...$%&#@*!!!"
4. I was Mormon til about the time I was 18...(thank you college) Commence system overload and subsequent meltdown...the computer crashes.
All I am trying to say is that preconceptions follow each stereotype and sometimes they don't always fit. In fact these often do not match up, which I can tell you is stressful! You constantly ask yourself: What is 'normal?' and why am I not it? These competing stereotypes force the subject of scrutiny out of whatever neat little box whoever is passing judgment is trying to put them in.
When someone judges you they go about it a few different ways:
The ideal is what I call: Reconciliation. The judger simply expands their thinking to include the new information.
The next is: the Shutdown. This is where the judger cannot accept the situation, but does not take any action. They choose to ignore the anomaly, what they do not like or understand, and choose to focus on what they do. They shove the judgee into the box that fits best and leaves it at that.
The third is: the Attack. The judger is so attached to this system of categorizing and labeling so much that if threatened they lash out.
Intersectionality is a term that academics throw out when talking about identity. Whole studies are devoted to the notion that identity is not
But enough about me. Let's talk about this blog!
For this blog I am going to focus on issues surrounding the gay community including religion, representation in the media, as well as legal rights. It is the fear of what we do not understand or what we do not like that is so powerful and leads people to monstrous extremes and I hope to break the stereotypes that people make and participate in. This active ignorance goes on far too much as such films as Milk, and Brokeback Mountain have shown us. Or, even more troubling, real life examples like Matthew Shepard.
Even One Million Moms, though far from killing anyone, has made it a mission to attack all positive representations of gay people in the community. From Glee to a simple JC Penny or Gap ad,
they make sure their displeasure is noted and broadcast to the world. I am going to use my own voice to add to those in favor of progress in the gay community. I will look at the progress we have already made and the battles still to be fought. I hope that at least a few people will think about these questions I’ve raised. Why are we so determined to place three dimensional, living people into simple categories?
So for now I just wanted to say hello! Til next time all you gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered peeps, and yes all you allies fighting alongside us for equality and the simple right to love who we want! I think there's a song that says it all:
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