People mock what they don’t understand. Last fall, our country witnessed a string of suicides by gay teens as a result of bullying. These teens weren’t mocked for who they were — they were mocked because of who people assumed they were because of the labeling and gay stereotypes that have been forced upon us by specific members of our community.
We are lucky to live in a city with a gay mayor. We are lucky to have been blessed recently with our own chapter of Equality Florida. We are lucky to live in a place that is as accepting as Gainesville.
However, everyone else isn’t as lucky as we are. In many places, organizations like UF’s Pride Student Union provide a safe haven for men and women who are grappling with their sexuality, but here at UF our organization is more concerned with drag queens and perpetuating the homosexual stereotype than actually making a difference on campus. Don’t beg for equality and acceptance and then blatantly promote the “cultural stereotype.” Equality stems from being equal, not from making an example of yourself for the heterosexual community to mock.
Programs like The Trevor Project and It Gets Better have been integral in the effort to show that the gay community is made up of a plethora of different people. For the first time, the world is able to see not all of us fit the stereotypical mold of a flaming homosexual. The community has come a very long way since a time when being branded as homosexual automatically meant you loved glitter, interior lighting and Cher. However, all you have to do is turn to UF’s Pride organization, and suddenly we’ve been set back a hundred years.
Drag shows, an event with Christian Siriano and viewings of “I Love You Phillip Morris” are exactly the type of events that cause homophobes to assume all gay men and lesbian women are exactly the same, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Do I wear womens clothing? No. Because I’m gay, am I required to think anything Lady Gaga has to say is relevant? No. Is it wrong for gay men to enjoy football or things more commonly associated with heterosexuals? No, not at all. However, many people automatically assume these things to be true. Why? Because the unfortunate truth is that organizations like Pride have made it impossible for the rest of the world to see not all gay men want to flaunt their sexuality around like they got it half-off at Neiman Marcus.
For the closeted gay man who is terrified to come out because he assumes our culture is nothing but limp-wristed, drag-queen-loving femmes, let me be the first to tell you it’s not. There is nothing wrong with being proud, but there are certainly many other ways to celebrate who you are. Don’t let the negative stereotypes perpetuated by organizations like Pride dissuade you from just being yourself.
We don’t need these events to make us feel proud of who we are. I’d have a lot more pride if blatant homosexuals would stop embarrassing our community.
Jonothon Mitchell is a fourth-year English major.
