Coca-Cola Egypt recently released a "homoerotic" advertisement.
When you hear homoerotic, what are you thinking?
Maybe something like this?
Or maybe something more along the lines of...
Or even...
So when you hear about Egypt's "homoerotic" Coca-Cola ad, am I the only one that gets a little... excited?
Well here it is, folks, in all its homoerotic glory.
whu...uh...
that's it?
Just a hand-hold? That's not erotic in the least. It turns my Semi-Trailer Truck into a Comact Sedan. Hell, only one of the guys is attractive!
(That chick looks pretty hot though...)
So why is this considered "Homoerotic"? Sure, its gay-themed, but homoerotic?
What? What do you mean it might not even be gay-themed?
You see, in the middle eastern areas, it's actually common and socially acceptable for grown, straight men to hold hands in public. Despite all the other well-known taboos in the middle-east, it's important to remember that they don't hold all of the same taboos that we do in the west. I read somewhere that the American Government was considering spreading a fake gay sex tape of Saddam Hussein in order to cause unrest in his government until finally someone let them know that no one would really care. Sure, gay-fuckin' is highly illegal there, but a sex tape like that just wouldn't mean anything. Same with this commercial - the guy is probably more bewildered that someone he didn't know took his hand than that person being a man.
Mostly, I'm just perturbed by the use of the word "Homoerotic." When we see a straight couple in a commercial, that doesn't make it Heteroerotic - it's just a straight couple. Calling unarousing things "homoerotic" demonizes the whole concept of homosexuality; saying that something as simple as brief hand holding can give us a raging boner is the same rhetoric being passed by the religious right, turning gays into sex-crazed beasts who eroticise even the most naive of intimate human interactions. It turns us into the group that people are afraid to share bathrooms with, the group that people are afraid to share an apartment complex with, and the group that people are afraid to share an office with, lest every glance, wave, or passing breath be sexually charged. It's just one more way to prove us part of "The Other".
Alternate Title: Ex-Gov. Jim McGreevy's Ex-Wife Needs to Shut Her Fucking Mouth
"[McGreevey's ex-wife, Dina Matos], 43, gave a speech at the Zonta Club in Mountain Lakes, telling the group that she believes marriage should only be between and man and a woman.
Matos also talked about her memoir 'Silent Partner,' and the horror she experienced in finding out her husband and father of her daughter was keeping such a huge secret from her.
She said that if she had to do it again, she probably wouldn’t have stood by McGreevey as he confessed his infidelity and homosexuality.
'There are at least two million marriages that break up each year because one of the spouses come out of the closet. You don’t understand unless you live it,' said Matos."
She's reneged her original pro-gay marriage stance. While I agree that her plight was indeed a difficult one and that no spouse should ever have to go through it, I'd love to disagree with her statement and say that gay people should be allowed to be married for this same reason.
If gay marriage were legal, we'd have a different attitude towards homosexuality in this country, and maybe more gay youth growing up wouldn't feel forced into the heterosexual lifestyle. Maybe Jim McGreevey wouldn't have felt pressured into marrying a woman, knowing that he could be married to a man with the same amount of happiness and love.
Legalizing Gay Marriage will, among other things, help deter gay men and women from entering loveless marriages solely to appease society's rules and regulations.
(Also, it will help decrease the number of uninsured people, removing the burden from the state. It'll also help provide loving, legally stable homes for children. Jus' sayin'.)
In crude essence, fuck you Dina Matos. You had the opportunity to rise above this, and instead you became a bitter bitch. Thanks for fuckin' up.
Why, you ask? It's clearly meant to be quite humorous.
Well let me tell you something.
When I was a ten year old boy, being pushed around and called a "Gaywad", I would have done anything to have a huge man like Mick Foley threaten my classmates. This little boy has the media on his side because he stood up for something that doesn't even affect him - I, on the other hand, hid from the bullying and cried and let it tear me down.
Basically, in this clip from the Daily Show, Jon Stewart and Mick Foley, two grown, adult, straight males, not only defend gay rights, but also take a stand against bullying of any sort.
This is definitely cry-worthy.
(Sorry for the horrible formatting around the video - whatever embedding code the video provides is fucked six ways to sunday, so I had to go back to the source code from the original page where I found the video, and poke around until I found the right code.)
So I think there's this big misconception that gay guys either hate straight men or want to fuck them.
That's not 100% true, but there is an aspect of truth to it.
You see, gay men and women don't make fun of us for being gay. For the most part, straight women don't either. Straight men, however, are generally the ones making fun of gay people for being gay. Sure, not all of you do it, but it's still members of your population. It'd be like if only some bears eat people, but you're never sure which bears eat people, or which will say they don't eat people to your face but then have a people-roast behind your back when hanging out with other bears.
Maybe I shouldn't have used "Bears," I might have just made that paragraph really confusing.
"But you're taking out specific frustrations on the whole of a population" a straight person may say. We all do it, it's nature. It's conditioning. I had a black teacher once who told me that she legit has a phobia of white men in business suits because one time, she got fired by three of them for being "too ambitious." (Frankly, I think they were just trying to let her down easy - this woman was dumb az.) There was a man that once brought a gun into a gay bar and killed a good chunk of the patrons. Why? His last name was "Gay", and because of how the term is used today, all of his sons changed their last name, which upset this man to the point that he shot up a gay bar. Because, you know, it's our fault. (Personally, I very rarely say I'm "Gay" - I say "I like guys" or "I'm into dudes," something like that, unless people are very confused. Yes, people get confused. "So wait... you're bi?" "...no, like all-the-way gay." "Really?" "...yes? You... didn't know?" "...huh. no, I guess not." Some people can tell from a mile away, some have no idea. Maybe those people just think I'm weird.)
And about gay guys having this obsession with wanting to fuck a straight guy? Don't get me wrong, I've crushed on a few of my straight friends - but not because they're straight. It's because of who they are. I like their personalities, or I think they're really pretty. It's sort of like the concept that men and women can't be friends because that sexual attraction will always be there - except you can think of it more like a straight guy being friends with an ugly chick. Sure, she may be attracted to him, but he'll never be into her so you just don't worry about it. Now, there are some gay men that feel that all straight guys are just closet cases just dying to come out, but trust me, it's all just wishful thinking. (Bee tee dubs, I am not one of those guys.) However, you can see why we're sometimes hesitant to get close to a straight guy - we don't want to fall for you and know we'll get rejected before we even think of making a move.
So, straight guys - we don't hate you! ...we just find you kind of intimidating. We don't know if you'll hate on us or if we'll fall in love with you. But for the most part, we don't always know what to talk about with you guys. I don't know if I'm supposed to stifle how gay I am, if I can talk about guys I like or ex-boyfriends or celebs I think are attractive. I can talk about this stuff with my girl friends, but I always have this nagging thought of "does this maybe actually gross him out?" Because you see, in a heteronormative society, talking about guys you think are hot is "flaunting [our] homosexuality in [your] faces." If we kiss in public, it's flaunting our gayness. Holding hands. Buying the Rent special edition DVD. Ordering a vodka cranberry. It's all flaunting our gayness. Of course, chances are, if you're a straight guy and reading this blog on purpose, then you probably don't feel that way at all, however there is a large faction of the country that does.
Do you wanna know what it's like being in our world though?
I was at a bar the other night with a friend of mine who also likes guys. This was not in any sense of the word, a gay bar. Let me show you a picture I took on my shitty phone! Who's flaunting what-now? Yes, those are LED stripper poles. Yes, that's five drunk girls and what appears to be an alien with a glow-stick necklace. Mind you, my favorite bar band Go Go Gadjet was playing, which is the main reason I was at this bar in the first place... but this was drunk couple was flaunting their heterosexuality all up in my face. Of course by that I mean they were heavily making out, knocking into everyone around them, especially me, and nearly knocked me in the face with a beer bottle. They were so on top of me it might have been considered a threesome in some cultures. Later, they did this awkward to-the-floor back-bend makeout thing. Luckily, all the straight people around me were just as "WTF???" as I was. Yet here I was, making sure not to dance too much in order not to flaunt my homosexuality. When Go Go Gadjet started playing a few familiar chords, they said "We'd like to apologize to you if you have a penis. I mean, don't get us wrong, we love having penises. But if you have a penis, you will hate us." As they sang Party in the USA, they changed a few words around. Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah, it's a Party in the USA. Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah, this song makes me feel gay. I'm sure they didn't mean to offend anyone... they probably don't know that me, their biggest fan, is gay. ...then again, I sang along to the whole thing... so maybe they do know. Not the point. The point is that heterosexuality is constantly flaunted in our faces, so people can stop pretending like they're innocent.
I can't count the number of times I've heard "I don't care what you do or who you are, as long as you don't do it around me." What the hell kind of an attitude is that? I'll tell you what. That's the face of tolerance, people. Yes, I'm serious - that's "tolerance". Can you imagine telling a straight guy that he can't ever talk about girls or football in front of me, but I don't care what he does at home?
Long story short, there's a reason that sometimes we're a little awkward around you guys. Society has taught us that we're kinda supposed to fear or respect you or something. We're taught that Heterosexuality is superior to Homosexuality, and therefore we should be humbled to even be allowed in your presence. Granted, there's a good chance you don't actually feel that way... but that doesn't mean it's not ingrained in our heads.
As you guys probably know by now, we've won domestic partnerships in Washington, but lost equal marriage in Maine.
This was my reaction:
Sad, but I mean... am I surprised? No. We don't live in the most tolerant of nations, for those that haven't noticed. I wish I was more angry, but in all reality, the only thing I'm feeling is disappointed. That's really the only reaction any of us can have at this point, isn't it? Every goddamn year it's the same thing, we just get farther and farther away from equality.
Something everyone needs to understand right now though, is that we're not fighting the same fight. We're not.
In their mind, we are a subversive subculture that's weird and we're doing this because we hate our parents. In their mind, outlawing same-sex marriage will make us say "Wow, I guess I should really marry a woman and make millions of milkshakes babies." In their mind, two men together is actually just as strange as a man with a dog. In their minds, hitting a gay man with a bat because he's gay is the same as hitting a rich man with a bat because you want his money.
It's sort of like how someone who doesn't drink and is against drinking assumes that one beer means you're wasted, and if you have more than one beer a week you are an alcoholic. Or how your friends that weigh 115 lbs can't understand why you, at 200 lbs need a bit more food than they do. "It's just twitter."
We're not fighting the same battle. These people that don't get us likely never will - there's a reason they're still so full of intolerance and ignorance. Sometimes there's just nothing we can do about it. There will always be that guy that says "well if you're so pro-gay then you must be a lesbian!" And then you have to halt your intelligent argument to explain how you can be a heterosexual ally.
In reference to the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1968, this isn't the same fight either. It is, however, an extreme parallel. Just like how black people didn't have a chance until white people finally started realizing the error of their ways, Gay people won't go anywhere with this movement without the support of Straight people. They fought to get water fountains in the first place, then they fought to use the same ones as white people. We're fighting for civil unions/domestic partnerships as a first step - we will get marriage, it just may take a little bit more time. They fought to be seen as equals, we're fighting to be seen as equals.
There are a few differences though.
Black people had to fight for the right to marry white people. We don't really wanna marry straight people, I feel like it wouldn't work out well. As far as I'm aware though, during the civil rights movement, black people were still allowed to marry each other. We're not allowed to marry each other right now. Hmm, actually, we're allowed to marry straight people, as long as they're the opposite gender. So maybe that argument gets thrown out.
People can always tell that you're black. People can't always tell that you're gay. We can hide... but why would we? Sure, to them, being gay is the same as being a pedophile, or needing to choke yourself to get off - why would you tell people about that? To us, it's not a "lifestyle" - that implies that on weekends, we dance to Madonna and snort poppers in the hopes of catching aids, but on the weekdays we're mild-mannered accountants. I'm homosexual in the same way that you're heterosexual - I want to fall in love, get married, grow old, maybe have kids somewhere in there. And I want to do it in my hometown of Philadelphia. I want to be 70 years old and crawl into the same bed with the same guy that I've been crawling into bed with for the past 30-40 years, and nag him for not taking out the trash - again! We are a real group of people, a real minority, with real problems. And we're no different than you.
Also, almost every black child grows up with a black parent. When the other kids make fun of them for being black, they come home to their black mom and/or black dad and can cry, and their black mom and/or black dad understands what they're going through, because they've been through it before.
Every Gay child grows up alone.
I didn't have anyone to understand why I was crying. I didn't have gay moms and/or gay dads to tell me why the other kids were calling me "fairy" and "daisy" and "queer". I didn't have gay moms and/or gay dads to support my decision to take Home Economics instead of Shop. I didn't have gay moms and/or gay dads to support me when I had my first breakup, or my second, or my third. I didn't have gay moms and/or gay dads who understood my gay problems.
I still don't.
My parents don't like gay people. They think it's gross. I think they think I'm asexual. From what I've been told by my friends that know Chris, my younger brother, he knows, and he blames my occasional bitchiness on it (not, of course, on the fact that we've been fighting since he was born.)
This is one of the reasons I don't really "get" families - I've had to build a wall up between myself and my family. It's safer that way. I don't know what would happen if I told them. Would they learn to think differently? Or would I be kicked out of the house? Would I be disowned? I'm too afraid to find out.
These aren't things black children have to grow up worrying about. Their black parents won't disown them for being black. Being Black won't cause them to be the black sheep of the family.
...so to speak.
I'm not saying they aren't similar fights. They are. But there are some differences that tell me we a whole lot to fight for.
But people will always hate us, no matter what we do. And that just disappoints me. I'd rather people hate me because of the bad things I do, rather than the people I love.
I met a protester once who told me that what she was doing was out of love, not hate. How do you tell someone that you don't want their love? How do you tell someone that their idea of love is a wrongful, misguided idea of love? I'll always respect their conviction, but what they don't understand is that we're not capable of change... but the world around us is. What we are doing is not wrong, neither in our own eyes or in the eyes of the law. We must be treated equally, with equal protection rights and equal marriage rights. One day, we'll look back on all this and laugh. In the meantime, the most we can do is shake our heads.
He claims that watching pornography makes you turn your sexual desires inward, making one gay.
Let me tell you something - I have only met a small number of people who don't watch porn. There's a reason the industry is huge. Granted, Gay porn makes up a stronger faction of the industry than the representative population, but a large chunk of that is likely because there are less opportunities for gay men to meet each other outside of the club and manhunt.
My point is, when it comes to gay people, why is it always the sex that's the big issue? For the longest time, being gay wasn't illegal, but having gaysex was.
It's always the sex. (also, that guy is my hero.) The problem is that when these homophobic conservative/religinazis think of "homosexual", they only hear "sexual", and that's what goes against their religion. Imagine if, when they thought of gay people, this was the image...:
...I think they'd have a different view on homosexuality. Ironically, the site that I got the photo from a website called homosin.com - Read this paragraph from the site:
"Some call homosexuality a "lifestyle". But is it though? Are homosexuals generally happy ("gay") or are they sad? The fact is that homosexuals have a very high rate of suicide. No, the sexual perversion of homosexuality is really a "death-style". Perhaps you are offended that homosexuals are called sex perverts. But actually, homosexuality is by definition a sexual perversion and so the term "sex pervert" is a correct term to use in describing a homosexual's perversion of the normal sexual relationship into one that is "against nature"."
By very nature, there is a lack of understanding in this community. I shouldn't have to tell you guys that a) We certainly don't call it a "lifestyle." Lifestyle indicates that "Homosexuality" is something we do on the weekends, like people who lead an "active lifestyle". b) Homosexuality is not, by definition, a "sexual perversion" - the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association of Social Workers (to name a few) have all denounced the idea of Homosexuality being a mental disorder or perversion, and find Homosexual Reparative Therapy deplorable. That "High Rate of Suicide" may or may not be true, but the ones that kill themselves are often the ones in situation where the people they love won't accept them for who they are. My favorite part is the way they act like if you look up the term "Homosexual" in Webster's dictionary or Encyclopedia Brittanica, it'll read
Fun fact - that's definitely not what the dictionary, encyclopedia, media, APA, or even Bible say.
Personally, I think it's very clear. These people are Sexually repressed. They want to have sex so bad that they take it out on us.
A lot of studies have been done that show that homophobic people are almost always sexually aroused by gay porn. I don't know how fair those studies are, considering erections are technically a reflex, and they may be a reflex to their anger for having to watch HOMOSEX.
Frankly, I think it's jealousy that we have sex. I mean, let's face it - how many gay men have you met that are waiting until marriage?
...but wait. Is that because we're gay? Alright, let's try this again. a) how many straight males do you know that are waiting until marriage to have sex? See, before I realized I was gay, that's what I used to tell people. "No, I'm just waiting until marriage." "...so what are you, gay?" "What? NO! I'm not gay, just Christian!" "...so, gay, right?" So how many actually straight males are waiting until marriage? A whole lot fewer than the religious right wants to think. Basically, it's just The Jonas Brothers. Hey, isn't one of them getting married soon at the ripe old age of 21? Man, that's the right time for an emotionally immature Disney Pop sensation to get married and start a family, right? OH COME THE FUCK ON, HE'S GETTING MARRIED SO THEY CAN SEX!!! God DAMMIT, how see through can you get! ... Sorry. *breathes* I'm okay, I'm okay. Point is, guys are horny. Guys are horny as fuck. When you have two guys... well, they're gonna do it a lot sooner than a guy and a girl. (Don't get me wrong, girls are horny as fuck too - but in general, they want the guy to stick around, so they're not gonna fuck around too much. ...again, this is a general rule that does not apply to every girl. Especially not some of my friends....)
The other point is b) we can only get married in a few states. We can't exactly wait to have sex until we're married, can we? Not that many of us would, because just like our straight counterparts, we know that sex is freakin' awesome. If we weren't supposed to do it, then why did God make it so damn awesome? Darwin knows that we're supposed to do it, that's how Evolution works. We're supposed to wanna do it all day long until we die. That's life, baby. NO BABIES DO NOT WANT sorry I got scared for a second. *breathes*
So, uh yeah, long story short, the religious right can't have sex, and if they can't have sex then neither can we.
My number one beef with the religious right is the fact that they refuse to do any actual research. They make wild accusations and then defend it saying that you can't argue with God. Guess what - in a court of Law, God doesn't stand up all that well. Isn't that how religion works though? If you don't understand it, it must be an act of God? If you hate it, God must hate it too? Blind Faith? I'm not atheist, but I'm not particularly religious, either. Like... religion would be great if it didn't conflict with every bit of evidence. I'm a very scientific person, and as we all know, Religion and Science are Oil and Water. They don't mix, but while we need water more, oil somehow always ends up on top.
Point being, while it's not necessarily mandated, we do have a separation of Church and State in this country, and even if the Religious Right doesn't understand us and refuses to accept us, we do, as tax-paying citizens, have the absolute right to be free and get married. "Oh, but then men can marry dogs and shit!" Okay, I've already blogged about that, so I don't have to go into it again. Point being, I'm getting really sick of the uninformed and overrepresented deciding how to run my relatively mainstream life.
There are some studies that suggest that the more education you receive, the more liberal you become.
::edit:: I realized that I ended up on about sixteen different tangents and never got to my point. See, when I write these, I just write and write and write, do brief editing, and hit publish. All in all, it takes no more than half an hour, even for the longest posts.
The point I was trying to get to is that if the religious right would stop only caring about sex and realized that it isn't HOMOSEX we're fighting for, it's HOMOLOVE. They say that marriage is the ultimate commitment of love, so denying the GLBT community the right to get married is the same as saying we're incapable of love - and I've had my heart broken enough times to know that's far from the case. The religious right and anti-gay community lack love in their hearts, and therefore will never truly find the love of their greater power. Sure, we may have Sex on the brain, but most of us have Love on the brain, too. In the end, Love is the source of energy that fuels eye lazorzconquers all. Fear and hatemongering... actually, those things to a pretty good job. Love will always win though, as long as people like me still exist and want to keep love alive. ...join me?
Real quick, before I end this, I'd like to point out two things I learned recently.
1. When Bill Clinton signed DOMA, he actually did so to protect marriage. He knew that a bill was coming in soon that would completely ban gay marriage at a federal level, so that no states could allow it like Massachusetts. DOMA essentially took away Federal Government's ability to tell the states "No." Clinton knew he wouldn't be able to stop this marriage-banning bill, so he signed Defense of Marriage Act as a lesser-of-two-evils situation.
2. A long while back, President George Bush Jr. was to be giving some kind of a speech, and in it were supposed to be some pretty heavy things against homosexuality. He refused to use those parts of the speech, saying "I'm not gonna tell some gay kid in the audience he can't get married." There are such things as Compassionate Conservatives, and while not saying "no" isn't the same as saying "yes", it's better than... well... saying "no."
As any frequent reader knows (by frequent reader I of course mean "myself," because I'm narcissistic and read my own blog constantly) I am extraordinarily pro-gay rights. Being gay kinda helps with that, but if I was born straight I feel like I'd feel very similarly. A majority of my life experiences have nothing to do with how gay I am (but that's for another blog.)
I spend a lot of time on youtube (which is the greatest invention for the unemployed, let me tell you!) and I've compiled some of the best pro-gay/equal rights ads I've seen.
If you know me at all or have read any of my other entries on gay marriage, then you likely know I'm incredibly offended by this article. For starters, it tries to make the gay community sound like the bad guys for not allowing Zoophilacs in on our ballot - that we're one and the same. Other than the fact that animals cannot consent within any reason of human law, we are fighting for equal-marriage rights for two consenting adult humans under human law. We're not asking for a complete legal overhaul so much as simple inclusion.
Secondly, the article states "People turn a blind eye to the fact that a dog is a sexual being." NO, dogs are NOT. Yes, animals have sex, but from what I understand, Humans and Dolphins are the only two species of animals that actually get pleasure from sexual contact. Sure, pigs have orgasms that last thirty minutes, but they don't get pleasure out of it. Dogs use humping often as either practice for sexual behavior or to assert dominance. There are certain species of monkeys that use sex instead of war (two fighting prides will simply mate with each other and become one big monkey family.) A sexual relationship between human and animal could be misconstrued by the animal as either a dominance issue or peace treaty, or even completely misunderstood and it becomes part of training... and any way it's looked at, inter-species sex is unnatural. I know many people say that about homosexual human contact but that, at least, is well documented within most sectors of the animal kingdom and throughout history, and in humans it's consenting homosexual relationships between members of the same species.
Asserting that it is possible to have an emotional relationship with an animal is plausible, but there is no way to quantify or qualify a non-human animal's capacity to exhibit love in any human terms, so until an animal to human translator is developed, it is unethical to even consider equal marriage rights for zoophiliacs. I can expect that Zoophiliacs put animals on equal level to them, which would allow for the assumption that they can love humans back. I, of course, completely disagree with this notion.
I would compare Zoophilia more to Pedophilia than to Homosexuality. Pedophiles also often believe that it is not an affliction but a sexual orientation that they were born with, and consider Children to be on the same mental, physical, and emotional level as themselves. Children and animals are not on the same mental, physical, or emotional plane as adult humans, and therefore cannot consent or legally participate in sexual or emotional encounters with adult humans the same way that adult humans engage each other sexually and emotionally.
Religion is a real hot-button topic nowadays that's often a huge dividing line between people.
There are Atheists that won't talk to religious people, there are religious people that won't talk to atheists... and I think everyone just needs to shut the fuck up.
But, since people will never shut the fuck up, I'm going to combat a bunch of arguments here.
Unfortunately, a lot of what I'm about to say here is against the religious - specifically Christians - but what it's really aimed at is the uneducated religious. I've met a lot of Good Christians who believe in a lot of the same principles that I do, and I (of course) believe that I am right. The people who don't believe what I believe also believe they are right - after all, why would we believe in something that we think is wrong? That's just stupid.. I'm not Atheist, but I'm not terribly religious, either. My principles come from education, logic, and life exposure instead of fear and a "moral high ground".
My #1 least favorite argument: "If you don't believe in God, where do you get your morals from?"
Are you telling me that the only reason that you have your morals is because God said so? I certainly hope not. I have my morals because of logic and emotion. For instance, "Thou Shalt Not Kill." No-freakin'-duh. I could never kill another person (except for self-defense). Why? Because they could have a wife/husband and kid at home waiting for them. They could have parents at home hoping that their son/daughter is safe, only to find out that I've murdered them. They could have a best friend who needs him/her during a trying time. Most of all, I know that I wouldn't want to be killed, so I'm not going to go out of my way to kill someone.
This woman does a really good job of refuting a lot of these arguments.
Besides, she's hot and Russian(?)
#2 Least favorite argument "If you don't believe in God, then what are we here for?"
Who the frack knows? That doesn't mean I'm going through life assuming I have no meaning... I don't know why I'm here yet, but I have a feeling that's not something we know until we've already done it.
#3 Least favorite argument (not for or against religion) There's this big thing against things like Gardisil, because apparently HPV vaccinations promote rampant whorish sex in 12 year olds... oh, and autism. Nevermind the fact that it's meant for 18-22 year olds to protect them from fucking cervical cancer. Something like 1 in 4 women (I think... don't quote me) have HPV, and since guys show no symptoms, catching it isn't easily predictable.
#4 Least favorite argument against gays "They can't have children so they go against nature" Jesus fucking Christ. Haven't we transcended far enough as humans that our #1 goal isn't procreation? A lot of animals, like octopus, praying mantis, and elephant seals, seem to live only for procreation - Female Octopus die shortly after nurturing their eggs to hatching, praying mantis bite the heads off their male mates (similar with black widow), and male Elephant Seals don't get to mate until their last years, if at all. Aren't we above that? As humans, aren't we intelligent and productive enough to not require children in order to sustain our lives?
#5 Least favorite argument against gays "Marriage, under God, is reserved for Straight People." Okay here's the shizz on that. If they want their religious marriage, they can fucking have it- however, I want it called whatever it was called in the bible, whatever "Marriage" is in Ancient Latin/Greek. Modern-Day Marriage, however, is hardly a solely religious thing. It provides federal benefits. Once federal is involved, Religion no longer can be. Justices of the Peace perform weddings all the time, even on Religious folks. I, personally, don't plan on having a religious wedding, no matter how religious myself or my future husband are. For me, it just doesn't feel right. But once again, marriage isn't just a religious dealie - it's more legal than anything else. I recently read an article written by some woman who was absolutely enraged that Gay Marriages are being counted on the 2010 census, nevermind the fact that they're legal, state recognized marriages. She provides a weak, thoroughly ungrounded slippery slope argument asking if we should count "manage-a-trois'" as well... It's clear that she hasn't done her research and doesn't understand that we're not talking about uncommitted relationships, we're talking about legally recognized marriages. Not only that, but she said that she didn't think our nation's forefathers meant the Census to be including same-sex couples... but they sure as hell didn't expect it to include interracial couples or willing couples that weren't arranged. You know what else they never expected? A black man as president. OR COMPUTERS.
::note:: we're not asking for special rights, we're asking for equal rights. We just wanna use the same water fountain, people.
Which brings us to #6 "If fags can get married, then why not let us marry 7 people? and ducks!"
a) I can sort of understand the polygamy argument - consenting adults, that sorta thing. However, the laws would have to be completely rewritten to allow for that - we'd have to figure out prenuptuals, custody, taxes; re-work all of these things for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7+ groups. Not to mention if you have a group that's like 3 girls and 2 guys, or some other mismatch. The reason a lot of people have been suing for their right to marry is because their constitution doesn't actually state that a marriage must and can only be between a man and a woman - but they were denied anyway. Either way, the laws don't have to be re-worked to allow gay marriage - simply turn "one man, one woman" into "two individuals."
b) Ducks? What the fuck? I'm so sick of this argument. Honestly. How many ways do people have to fight this? If debates were court, this argument wouldn't be allowed. Why? DUCKS AREN'T FUCKING HUMAN. They can't consent. They can't sign a marriage license. THEY DON'T USE HUMAN LANGUAGE. THEY AREN'T CITIZENS OF ANY COUNTRY AND THEREFORE DON'T EVEN HAVE THE PROPER DOCUMENTATION BECAUSE THEY'RE FUCKING DUCKS. Inter-species marriage will never be written into law because no matter how much you love Sparky, there's no possible way Sparky can consent to a marriage or even sex you awful person.
For comparison's sake, remember that time they decided Pluto wasn't a planet? They had to change the rules one way or another to either include or disclude Pluto as a planet. A lot of astronomers are terribly annoyed, because it was pretty clear that the laws should have included Pluto as a planet, but they were changed to purposefully prevent it.
I just want to be a planet, y'all.
c) Don't ever say "fag." We know you're doing it to hurt us, and it's fucking rude. I'm not gonna call you a "dirty fucking cross-hugger," don't call me a fag. Got it?
In this blog, I'm not trying to say that I'm right and they're wrong. ...okay, maybe I am. What I do respect though more than anything are the Evangelical Right's conviction. They believe what they believe and they believe it so strongly, and for that I have to commend them. In my mind they're stepping on my rights, but in their eyes, I'm stepping on theirs. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the constitution, our rights really are being stepped on. The only remotely solid arguments against equal marriage rights involve religion, and being that this is a free country, freedom of and from religion is one of our most important rights.
That being said, I strongly believe that within Obama's 8 years of presidency, we will see Civil Unions for gay couples introduced into national law, or at least more than half of the states. I also strongly believe that, in my lifetime, we will look back on the struggle that Gay America has faced and laugh at our stupidity, just like we do for the struggle of Black America... and, just like the struggle of Black America, Gay America will always face hatred, turmoil, violence, and fear... and just like Black America, we will do everything in our power to triumph.
Check out this episode of 30 Days about Equal Adoption Rights. It's pretty interesting.
Is this Canon? is my blog for whatever pops into my head. From heavy political rants to funny youtube videos, from gay rights to my misadventures in dating, I'll write about it, whether it's canon or not.
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