I started crafting a well composed and well thought out blog post half a dozen times at least. A compact and cautiously worded essay balancing my less than charitable thoughts with warm understanding and compassion. But every time I felt that, although I agreed with the sentiments I was expressing, my heart was not entirely there. Because the things I want to say are not as nice as I’d like to think I am, because there’s something about June that sometimes pisses me off. For straight people, June has traditionally been a month filled with weddings and engagements. For queers it’s been a month of Pride Parades and rallies. White taffeta vs. rainbow extravaganza. Weddings were a ‘them’ thing. A contentious thing. A thing we could not partake in. Now, in 19 states and DC, we can. Marriage equality has gotten a good toehold and we are not going back.
But…
1 – I believe in equality, I believe we should all have the same rights, including the right to marry, but that does not mean that I believe, or don’t believe, in the institution of marriage. Saying I want to be seen as equal is NOT the same as saying I want to get married. We have our own history, our own culture, and for many of us, that culture does not include the great desire to get legally married, only the great desire to be seen as human and equal.
2 – Why do straight people think it’s OK to ask questions about my relationship they would never ask a straight couple? Not every straight person, and not even all that often, but these questions have been asked –
If I refer to her as my wife or spouse –
Are you married?
If we say yes
Legally?
In what state?
How do you have sex?
3 – I think it’s great that you believe in equality. Put another way, I think people who do not believe in human equality are kind of fucked up. So yes, it’s good that you are in favor of marriage equality, but you don’t need to tell me that any more than I need to tell you that I believe you have a right to marry. I don’t need your validation or approval. Yes, having someone smile and tell me that they think it’s fine that I’m gay is a lot better than gay bashing but it is kind of condescending, you know? Telling my you don’t think it’s anyone’s business what I do in the privacy of my own home makes me a little suspicious that you’re actually thinking about what I do in the privacy of my own home (hint: if you watch girl on girl porn, that NOT it)
4 – This question has to go ‘Why do you people need a Pride Parade? Why do you have to be proud of being gay? We don’t have a straight pride parade’
Because straight culture did not suffer shame at the hands of gay culture, because you probably did not come of age being told there was something wrong with being straight, you did not have to come from a place of shame, to acceptance, to pride in being.
So that’s my rant. It’s maybe not my kindest, most open side, but it’s how I sometimes feel.
