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SarahMemberIt’s a matter of the angle you approach it from, the history and the unspoken implications. Just think about what would happen if you went and told your family, your friends and your co-workers, ‘I’m gay.’ In the not-so-distant past, you’d have been met with scandal and a jail sentence and labeled mentally ill. So I think a lot rests on the rest of the sentence that is left unsaid. In one case, it’s, ‘No, I’m not a criminal, I’m not mentally ill, I’m not doing anything wrong – I’m proud to be gay.’ But by implication, if you say, ‘I’m proud to be straight,’ the unspoken other half is, ‘because I wouldn’t want to be gay even if you paid me.’
Compare it to black pride – it’s the underdog, coming through from years of oppression, and being told that you have to be ashamed of who you are, and saying: ‘No, I don’t. I’m proud of who I am.’ If you’ve grown up with everyone – law, culture, everything – telling you you have to be ashamed of being straight, then you can turn around and say, ‘No, you’re wrong, I’m proud of being straight.’ Until then, you’re just reinforcing the existing prejudice.
Imagine that I’ve just told you I’m proud to be white. Now go and re-examine that last sentence of yours – you’ll find it’s wrong.
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Name : Sarah, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 20, City : Peel, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Social class : Middle class,- AuthorPosts