I am Interchange: LGBTQ Language And Social Issues By Jennifer Sheets.
“That is so gay.” “Quit being such a homo.” “What a fag.” These hurtful and oppressive phrases have turned into flippant insults among friends, in which somehow “gay” and “queer” have become playful synonymous with “loser,” “failure,” and “abnormal.” This country’s historical slang insults have moved through the working class, to the impoverished, to women, to those of color, and now to sexual identity, (although the others have hardly fallen from the vernacular, i.e. jokes about welfare checks and playing sports “like a girl.”) Since when did sexual identity become a joke and then an insult? Almost every culture throughout history has documented some sort of same-sex relationships and/or gender role exchanges, (except for Iran where President Ahmadinejad has claimed, “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals.” Right…) For example, ancient Greek scholars and philosophers had sexual relations with fellow male apprentices, which was considered to be a great privilege. Native Americans who were found to be “two spirits” – that is, having both the spirit of a man and a woman – were held to the highest honor.
So, what happened? Suddenly, the modern world closed the door to thousands of years of love and sexual choice, deciding that love and gender identity were political and religious issues and did not belong to the individual. The newly industrialized world and the rise of capitalism forced order among the people, artificially creating a need for family units, where wealth could be guarded by the men (heterosexual, of course) who owned and managed the property, while the women bore children – clear roles for both a man and a woman.
Attempts by states to categorize society and even the home then spread to sexual identity when in 1869, a Hungarian physician, Karl Maria Benkert coined the term, “homosexual,” distinctly categorizing sexual preference into two categories. This new ‘medical’ identification of same-sex relationships was defined as a “mental illness” by the American Psychiatric Association until 1976 and is still considered by many Christians to be a sin. (But believe it or not the word “homosexual” did not appear once in the Bible until 1946.) Prior to this throughout history there was little need to define such strict parameters of a man, a woman, and a sexual relationship. But the Western world became obsessed with the role of Man and the role of Woman: blue, pink, football, cooking, fast cars, fancy nails, and a man must love a woman.
Thankfully minds are opening and viewpoints broadening as time moves on, but only in some regards. Same-sex couples can now marry in sixteen states plus DC, employment laws are working to protect all employees despite sexual orientation and gender identity (a slow process), and LGBT political candidates are being elected into office. Finally, equality! Straight people can sleep at night knowing that the gays, lesbians, and transsexuals are protected and thriving! Not exactly. Oppression runs deep, even in our beautiful state of Montana. Think about the bumper sticker, “Marriage = 1 man + 1 woman,” and think how you would feel seeing two men kissing at a local restaurant in Bozeman or Miles City. The problem is that for most people, this oppression goes unnoticed because of heterosexual privilege. Similar to ‘white privilege,’ the term heterosexual privilege refers to the often-unnoticed advantages heterosexuals have compared to homosexuals. Heterosexuals do not fear losing their job because they are straight, or fear being given unfair service at restaurants, or even fear showing affection in public. In April 2013 Montana legislature finally agreed (after more than a dozen attempts by advocacy groups and a few members of the legislature), to remove a law criminalizing same sex relations, which included everything from intercourse to kissing.
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – “ Isn’t this what we’re promised in the United States? Many, if not most people would be up in arms if an African American man or woman were denied service in a restaurant or reprimanded for whom they love because of their skin, but those who identify as LGBT are being treated just as such and things need to change. Kathy Baldock is the Executive Director of Canyon Walker Connections, an educational service aimed toward “repairing the breach between the church and the LGBT Christian Community.” Baldock believes passionately that education is key: aim to understand gender identity and the complexity of LGBT, (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender.) We may even need to reconsider common words such as homosexual and homophobia. Homosexual, with the prefix homo- categorizes sexual relations only between those of the same sex, but it’s simply not that black and white. On that same note, homophobia, which includes the suffix, -phobia, refers to a clinical and uncontrollable fear. Author and philosopher, Patrick Hopkins, argues, “We do not punish people for being claustrophobic…why should we treat homophobics any differently?” Hopkins believes the word to be oppressing in itself because the suffix takes away responsibility from the individual who is anti-“homo.”
While it may seem that we live in an advanced, modern society injustice still exists. Hate crimes against LGBT are not decreasing and political laws are not going to wipe away oppression at the local level. Get educated, be aware of discrimination, stand up to hate, and be willing to form new relationships and friendships. Buldock believes passionately that all of us must aim to develop meaningful relationships in our communities. She admits herself that she once judged people for being LGBT until she developed a wonderful relationship with a fellow hiker who, after a year of friendship, came out as a lesbian. Buldock says that because of that relationship, because of that friendship, she realized how important it was to love and appreciate everyone, despite sexual orientation.
Get Educated, Get Involved!
Websites:
Check out Kathy’s website:
www.canyonwalkerconnections.com
Montana Pride:
http://www.pridefoundation.org/local/montana/
FBI Hate Crime Report:
Reading:
Kathy Buldock’s soon-to-be-published book: Walking the Bridgeless Canyon: Repairing the Breach Between the Conservative Church and the LGBT Christian Community
Hopkins, Patrick D. “Gender Treachery: Homophobia, Masculinity, and Threatened Identities.” Oppression, Privilege, and Resistance. Eds. Lisa Heldke and Peg O’Connor. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004. 230-248. Book.
