THE MEANING OF GAY
I’ve never really
understood why people refer to things as gay.
Their argument is that it derives from the word queer, meaning not of
the norm. I couldn’t agree with them
more that being gay is not the norm. For
all of my life, I have been gay whether I’ve known it or not, so for me, when
people refer to things as gay I can get a little irritated. People never refer to things as gay in a
positive reference, they are always negative.
However, gay people are some of the most positive and inspirational
people to me. To me, being gay means
that a person is able to express their true feelings without the need to feel
as though they need to be sensitive around people that believe that they are
abominations to the human race.
People that are gay show courage,
strength, pride and above all love. Gay
people will never stop fighting for their ability to express love to who they
have natural feelings for. They are
brave enough to stand up for what they believe in and have the courage to come
out to the world to let them know that they are different. Being gay makes people different but that
doesn’t make it a negative thing. So why
do people call strange, silly or over-the-top things gay? I propose that we being to use the word gay
in a new connotation. I would like to
use the word gay to describe people that possess courage, strength, pride and
love.
So to every person out there who
stands up for the minority rights, you are gay; for every person who has ever
had strength to tell someone that you are different; you are gay; for every
person who is proud of who they are, what they have done and what they’ve
become, you are gay; and for every person out there who will unconditionally
love other human beings, you are gay.
This is my new version of gay.
People should be proud to be called gay because to be gay is a positive
attribute to anyone’s personality.
Hey Eric!
ReplyDeleteGreat first article. I think you make a lot of valid points and insightful mentions. That being said, I am not sure I agree with everything you are saying. I do agree it is disheartening that people refer to things as gay just as negative. Whether people do that out of habit or out of mal-intent, it can unnecessary hurt someone's feeling or make someone in the room feel alienated. I equate it to the way that men might call each other a "bitch" - it's a word used negatively that puts down someone in the room.
Where I disagree with you is that when you say that gay people are the most inspirational to me. In my opinion, they are not inspirational because they are gay, they are inspirational because they are inspirational people.
I believe that being gay is not part of someone's personality or morality. It may be part of their identity, sure - but being gay specifically does not make you loving, or brave, or moral. I can see that perhaps you mean being "out" is being brave. I would agree with that.
I do not agree with the statement that gay people "show courage, strength, pride, and above all, love" Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that gay people do not show these things. Plenty do. But they are not mutually exclusive, you know what i mean. That's like saying being a priest makes you kind. Or being a professor makes you an intellectual.
I personally think that someone saying "I love gay people" is offensive. My response is "I love people" - if you admire or love someone just because of their sexuality you are marginalizing them, just in a different light. I believe the best way to eliminate both political and social stereotypes and biases is by refusing to allow others to put members of our society into groups.
You are not just a gay man. You are a brother, and a friend, and a son.
However, I do love your reconstructing of the adjective "gay" as it applies to our society, I think that is fantastic.
Hi Renee,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for commenting! I can certainly see where you are coming from. I absolutely agree that our stereotypes should be eliminated and I can see where my article can be somewhat misleading. I 100% believe that being gay should not and does not define a person and that it is their actions in life that do. It is my belief that anyone that comes out of the closet shows true bravery. I can say from personal experiences there is nothing that I was more fearful of doing than telling people that I was gay. The only reason why I told them was so that someday I could express love with another man. And to come out over and over again takes a massive amount of strength. It isn't easy to tell your family and friends that you are not the person that they always thought you were. In order to be out and stay out, you have to realize that you are proud of who you are and where you are going because without it, all strength is lost. So perhaps I should have said that coming out requires all of these characteristics. Perhaps the reason why I find gay individuals so inspiring is because I want to possess the same attributes as they do. Thanks so much Renee for reading my blog and bringing up some interesting points!