“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter,” Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Oxford dictionary describes homophobia as “a strong dislike and fear of homosexual people”, and thus, I very much agree with Mr. King.
In a society full of homophobes, people with different sexual orientations need to speak up. Homosexuality has been considered a taboo in human society, that likes to associate itself with such terms as ‘civilised’ and ‘democratic’. While it has been a subject of heated debate for years, I think it’s pretty ironic for a society claiming to be ‘liberal’, to let words like ‘homophobia’, ‘homophobic’ and ‘homophobes’ become mainstream. Instead, they should’ve been planning a safer social sphere for people of the LGBTQIA+ community. The problem is not with the people who are ignorant about homosexuality; the problem is with the people who are aware and hate it for what it is.
Now, the question is, how can we eradicate the stigma around the subject of homosexuality? Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is, talk about it. You talk about it, I’ll talk about it and we’ll encourage people to talk about it. The idea is to tell a person, (even a guy with a rustic common sense) that, “Hey look, this ain’t a sin, this is just what it is, normal and expressive, like all good things are.”
Someone dogmatic might still complain, argue, might even abuse; maybe the whole idea of same-sex people living together might sound absurd, disrespectful and immoral to that person. But still, if we would openly and boldly talk about such an issue, I guess it could eliminate the discrimination and prejudice relating to homosexuality. If you want to support a friend of yours who is gay, lesbian, confused about their sexuality or bisexual; the best you can do is to tell that person, “There’s not a thing weird about it, and it’s brave of you to accept who you are.”
Once someone comes out as a homosexual, it’s more often than not, difficult to deal with all the backlash that comes attached to expressing one’s sexuality. This is ridiculous because of two reasons a) What’s the point of targeting a person who’s simply in love with another person? and b) That’s no one’s flipping concern, anyway.
I’m not quite cynical by nature. I believe that someday, people who are sexually inclined towards people of the same sex, will feel accepted; and the whole prejudice associated with homosexuality will wither away, too. Gay marriage will be welcomed and celebrated; it won’t be an issue anymore, just lovely and cheery as all unions are. The thing with homosexuality, that people need to understand, is that it’s not about ‘intercourse’, it’s about love.
In my opinion, the biggest reason why society questions, or worse, tries to crush a person opening about their sexual inclination, is that they’re afraid to see a person being that brave and bold.
In conclusion, I’d say; change your thoughts, learn to accept and let people be happy in a way they’ve chosen to be. Keep an open mind, analyse things before you speak; because your ignorant and dullard opinion about something could ruin someone’s day. And lastly, embrace diversity, not only in culture, and race, but also, in human biology, anatomy and emotions.
The more we respect the differences, the more unity there will be.
* Featured image is for representational purposes. Credit: Getty Images