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Replies to '06/06 "I'm Gay, OK?"'
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October 20, 2005, 11:42 am PDT
 Quote From: btrfly20 I personallly don't care who is gay or straight. Your sexual orientaion should make up so little of your personality that it shouldn't even matter. There are other things that are alot more important in a person. I feel like Anjela wants everyone to be accepting of her and her choices, but she doesn't want to do the same for others who don't share her viewpoint or lifestyle choices. She calls her sister a "breeder" just because she chose a more traditional lifestyle. As a married woman, I took offense to her comment that anyone who wears a wedding ring is flaunting their sexuality. I wear my weddings, not because I want everyone to know I'm hetero or even married. I don't care about what everyone knows or everyone thinks. I wear it, for myself and my husband, as a symbol of our love and commitment. Besides, alot of gay couples wear commitment rings now. What's the difference? That might give a false impression of heterosexulaity if you only saw one of them wearing a ring. You probably wouldn't assume the person to be in a same sex couple. I think Anjela is kind of hypocritical and maybe should take a look at herself before she starts judging other people. Anjela's sexuality (desire) is not a choice. Her reaction toward her sister is probably a result of all the homophobia, and more importantly, the Heterosexism of our society. The point is, those who are in heterosexual relationships can flaunt it, and indeed almost unconsciously do so all the time. The all pervasive forces of Heterosexism require constant "proof" of heterosexuality in our society, especially in males. Witness the epidemic of young men going around fathering one child after another with different women. Think it's because they're SO attracted to women? I think not.
Look at a typical work place or office. Everyone talks openly of their opposite sex relationships/marriages. If anyone dared to mention a same sex marriage/relationship, they're scolded for "flaunting their lifestyle." Yet, if an office worker who is homosexual or in a same sex relationship chooses to keep private about it, and many do, the colleagues in the office try to PRY their private lives out of them. And if they refuse to talk of a personal life, they're regarded as unfriendly, weird, or worse yet, they're assumed to be homosexual, whether they're in a relationship or not.
This is the kind of harassment that homosexual people have to put up with all the time in a Heterosexist society. It's no wonder Anjela is a bit hostile toward her sister and other heterosexuals who can take the flaunting of their lifestyle for granted.
BTW, assuming that a person wearing a wedding/commitment ring is heterosexual, is one of the aspects of our culture of Heterosexism, as is assuming that one's new born baby will grow up and marry heterosexually. |
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