Opinion: No Homophobia

Reported by: Delanie Mcnellis

The LGBTQ+ community is filled with strong people who have fought against the bigotry that the world contains. It was not that long ago that gay marriage became legal in all 50 states of America, and many countries still consider it illegal. There are hate crimes against this loving community almost constantly: they get harrassed for just existing. Do you think that’s fair?

If you do, I strongly disagree. Homophobia is a massive problem in the world, and you find it almost everywhere. A lot of homophobia can be found lurking in schools, influenced by a bunch of hormonal teenagers. “Gay” is a very common insult, as well as many other more vulgar terms that literally just translate to “homosexual”.

I

t’s as though the sweaty pubescent boys don’t even know the definition anymore or the stigma behind it. The other day I heard someone say “I don’t see how calling something gay is an insult, it just means dumb”. I...this just makes me question my whole existence. The term “gay” is used as an insult because people immediately relate it to stupid, embarrasing, any other negative adjective you can think of.

Another term I’m going to be using in this article is “toxic masculinity”. A lot of the people reading this article are probably going to use the term “feminazi” on me because of me bringing up toxic masculinity, but I don’t care. Toxic masculinity refers to the masculine norms that have a harmful influence on people of all genders. You know how guys get extremely offended when another guy calls them a girl or something weird like that? That’s toxic masculinity. Men don’t want to seem feminine, and they relate liking other men as a feminine thing. I believe that’s why they use gay as an insult, in an attempt to feel like the manliest man. Toxic masculinity sets up unrealistic expectations for men, pressuring them to hide their emotions. Everyone has emotions, yet society expects men to be the stereotypical G.I Joe. This also harms women, as it sets up unrealistic expectations for them as well. Gender norms just suck in general. d

Originally, the stigma behind being gay came from religious sources. In many ancient societies, homosexuality was accepted as a natural human norm. It was only when some Christian people interpreted some verses from the bible as being against “sodomy” or homosexuality in general. I believe that if what you do doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s not a sin. But hey, I'm Jewish and we don’t really have many rules about sins.

In conclusion, I wrote this article as a sort of way to try and explain my view on homophobia. Obviously, I view homophobia as a big oopsie. Please do not discriminate against people over something as stupid as being gay, trans, or gender non-conforming. Focus this antipathy on the people who we need to focus on, such as neo-nazis, rapists, pedophiles, and the people and groups that are hurting other people. Don’t be a bigot. Being gay or lesbian doesn’t make you any less of the gender you are.