(not related to this months topics but desperately needing to share)
Today I learned what "racism" feels like... But I am white... and my attackers all of various minority groups.
I am going to school for human services because i want to provide support to GLBT youth. One of my classes is multicultural aspects of human services, 90% of the class is of racial minorities. Today we had a speaker and somehow the GLBT topic came up, mainly one woman expressed her outrage that her nephews school plans on having a day where GLBT families are the topic. Apparently she feels that her nephew at 5 is too young to learn about sex. I argued that same sex parents arent an issue of sex....
Of course this launched the class into a riot about what the bible says and them not wanting the school to teach their children about something that is wrong...
yet when i asked how they would feel if the lesbian mothers didnt want their child to learn about black history they had no response...
When i asked where in the bible did it say that they were to decide what was wrong and right they had no response...
When i asked how else they expect cultural acceptance of the GLBT community to come about.... I was told we are not a culture...
Howevert my text book defines a culture as "a lens through which life is percieved. Each culture through its differences (in language, values, personality, family patterns,world view, sense of time, and space, and rules of interaction), generates a phenomenologically different experience of reality.
I think the most disturbing though was that no one saw that their reaction was the exact thing that we are trying to learn not to do as proffessional helpers. Here I am... A white minority... I accept their cultures, embrace the differences but because of who I am I was attacked.
I likened educating GLBT acceptance to the desegregation education that took place during the civil rights movement, I cited books like heather has two mommys... and no one realized that I wasn't asking them to be ok with it, I was asking them to not be against it, to accept education and awareness around the subject. It breaks my heart that these are the people that plan on working with youth, adults with mental illness, in our rehab centers.... Do they realize that statisticly an estimated 75% of homeless youth identify as GLBT, or that the glbt community is 2 to 3 times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol...
It is people like this in the industry that keep many people from seeking help...
It was then brought up that racial acceptance is different from GLBT acceptance cause you can look at a person and see a different race, but you cant look at me and tell that i am gay. But i want to know why ignorance should keep me in the closet, keep me from living my life...
I was told by a classmate later in the elevator that she doesnt think i am very accepting of my sexuality because i felt attacked (regardless of my backpack covered in GLBT buttons and my open stance on gay rights).
I was told that I just need to accept that some people won't accept homosexuality just like there are people that dont accept heterosexuality (if any of you know a heterophobic homosexual pass on my e-mail i would love to meet one!) and that if we have a glbt family day at school we need to have a hetero family day.... I likened it to the need to have a black history month and that theres no white history month cause every day is white history month.... why have a hetero family day when everyday is!
I feel like a victim of racism.... Yet there is no word to describe what i feel cause gay is not my race. I could say i was discriminated, yet discrimination denotes an action and instead i was just a victim of negative thoughts and presumptions... maybe theres something to the lack of a word. If we dont label the negative thoughts and attitude towards the glbt community we cant condemn it like we do racism... am i supposed to call it homophobiaism???? A phobia is a fear... this was an attitude...
but no one got it.... It made me sad....
Monday, September 11, 2006
Homophobiaism???
Posted by XO-JK at 2:04 PM
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2 comments:
I came across a website that really helped me alot. Because I'm not versed in the bible very much it was difficult to debate this issue with family memebers who throw religion in my face. Now I just pass on the link to them and ask them to simply read it and let me know what they think. If you're interested it's www.godmademegay.com
I think you experienced what is more likely Xenophobia - which is a fear of strangers or the unknown. People, especially those uneducated and isolated, are terrified of their stability being disrupted. Homosexuality is not "normal" to many, and therefore they fear it. They fear that exposure to it will somehow taint their children, their futures and their lives.
As a society, we've evolved, and we're changing, and we will continue to change. The old saying Rome wasn't built in a day is apt here, it take time. Homosexuality is much more accepted today, and in fact, ask any "old timer" and they will tell you to be grateful for what you have, and for the privileges and services offered to the GLBT society of today. All the while, work towards educating, exposing and introducing the GLBT community and their needs in a manner that is non-threatening and non-invasive.
People fear the unknown, especially when it's dressed up in drag, thrown in their face or flaunted like a prize they've won. Heterosexual-phobia may not be prevalant, but I guarantee you, there are many homosexuals who would say that they'd rather be dead than straight. I've heard it many times from my friends. It's hard to be gay, but they'd choose that over straight any day.
While I agree that education in our schools should be wide-ranging and cover the basis of all races, all sexual orientations, family make-ups it is in fact, school. There are basics to be learned, and indepth coverage of some issues will have to wait. GLBT, Adoption, Evolution, Interracial Marriages, these are all things that need to be discussed, but whether or not at school is a touchy subject.
Children need to be exposed early and often to differences in each other, so they learn not to "prejudge" and not to be afraid of differences, however, the introduction of controversial subjects too soon will cause the most vocal and irritating parents to put their children in private schools or to choose homeschooling as a means to combat the exposure. Then those people will teach their children their closed-minded values, and isolate their children from society, creating a whole new set of problems.
Be proud of who you are, realize that not everyone will be ok with it, and stop looking to fight every GLBT battle on your own. You shut off the people in your class as being closed minded and you refused to hear their side of things. Just like they refused to hear yours. That is not "debate" that is an "argument" and neither side wins. Education is about opening your mind, learning through interaction and growing as a person.
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