Notice
"Remember what they taught you, how much of it was fear?
Refuse to hand it down: the legacy stops here"
--Melissa Etheridge
1)The Day of Silence isn't till this Wednesday (here) so I'll take this opportunity to talk.
2)Gay people are just like everyone else. They're not special or weird or different.
3)They get up in the morning and walk the dog and go to work and complain about taxes.
4)Being gay doesn't change who you are anymore than your taste in music makes you a different person.
5)It affects your life only when you come into conflict with people who dislike your preference.
6)I worry that people think being gay is this crazy thing just because they don't see it anywhere.
7)There's this character on Ninja Storm, right? I like to think he's gay.
8)I don't know if he is or not. The show doesn't make a fuss over it one way or the other.
9)But whenever it comes up in conversation people tell me, "Well, he doesn't ACT gay."
10)Excuse me? Way to reinforce that stereotype for the thousandth time!
11)Most gay people don't "act" any differently than straight people.
12)That's what it means to be an invisible minority. You can't tell by looking.
13)You know what anyone over 35 says to me when they find out I'm a lesbian?
14)Yeah, that's right. Say it with me: "But you're so pretty!"
15)Do you know how tired I am of hearing that?
16)Yes, I'm a babe. Believe me, I'm not gay because I lack self-confidence.
17)I'm not gay because I've had bad experiences, either, or because I've been contaminated, or whatever.
18)I have nothing against men. I like men. I hang out with men. I flirt with men.
19)I just don't want to sleep with men. So far it hasn't ruined my life.
20)So I try not to bite people's heads off when they tell me I'm too pretty to be a lesbian.
21)I know they mean well. They're just surprised, confused, possibly trying to be supportive.
22)They're like that customer in line at the checkout when an item doesn't scan.
23)"Oh," they always say with a laugh. "Does that mean it's free?"
24)They don't realize how many hundreds of times you've heard that joke, and that it loses something after the sixty-eighth repitition.
25)You just want to tell them, "No! It's not free! And just for that, I'm adding twenty percent!"
26)But you don't, because you know they mean well. They're just trying to be friendly.
28)No more than I tell the "too pretty" crowd, "Suck it up and be glad I'm not competition."
29)I do laugh at them, I'm ashamed to say. I try not to, but when you hear it every damn time, it's either funny or excruciating.
30)I pick funny. And I continue to spread the word, because I want people to know it's not the end of the world to be gay.
31)It doesn't change the way I act, or live, or dream. It's just who I am.
32)That's why it disturbs me when someone tells me a character can't be gay because they don't act it.
33)Personally, I don't think you act very straight. Guess I'll lump you in with the queers, then.
34)I'm not asking for a gay feature episode on kids' TV. I don't want discrimination and family conflict.
35)I just want a guy to be like, "Hey, that's guy's hot."
36)Or for a girl to be like, "Sorry, I don't date guys."
37)Let's not make a big deal of it. Let's just stop pretending it doesn't exist.
38)There are more than ten characters on the show, right?
39)It's highly improbable that none of them are gay. And we already have plenty of straight characters to idolize.
40)Say I'm twelve. Where are my queer role models?
Run Away