probably about 75-80% of the glbt people I talk to have no concept of gay history. They don't know about Stonewall, how the first pride parade came to be, the people who fought for the limited freedoms glbt people have today. Many don't even know the history or the symbolism of that rainbow flag they are so proudly waving. How can you have pride about something you know nothing about? To know where you're going, don't you have to know where you came from?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a basher or a hater. I'm in fact, a female to male transsexual. But, this is frustrating, and it seems almost a bit hypocritical. If you want the straight community to accept you and understand you, shouldn't you understand your OWN community first?
2007-03-16 08:25:51 · 9 answers · asked by I_color_outside_the_lines 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
They want to belong and just don't really care about history. I've seen that with a lot of young gay people especially. Hell, they don't even dance to ABBA anymore around here!
2007-03-16 08:29:57 · answer #1 · answered by David C 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I completely agree with you. I'm one of those people who whenever im greatly interested in something, i research it throughly. So ofcourse, when i found myself identifying as a lesbian i spent HOURS researching the history behind my LGBT community. I wanted to know everything. Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village all the way down to celebrated gay & lesbian poets/artists/authors/films makers. And i LOVE being so knowledgeable about something im so passionate about. So i do urge all who really want to contribute to this great community....LEARN ABOUT IT!
2007-03-16 09:29:06 · answer #2 · answered by Raynebow_Diva 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never really thought of it that way before but I see what you mean. I suppose they are just trying to be accepted or perhaps they're looking for attention. For me though it was alway a matter of claiming who I was and owning it, not the other way around, ya know?
2007-03-16 08:46:14 · answer #3 · answered by Addicted to Crayola Paste 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They see it as a chance to have a party and enjoy themselves. Few people are interested in or care the slightest about history and its significance.
2007-03-16 09:05:05 · answer #4 · answered by castle h 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Why would anyone be proud of engaging in a lifestyle that cuts their lifespan by almost 50% and which fails to propagate the survival opf the human race through procreation and the building of families? (Sorry...but 2 qu33rs getting together and adopting a kid produced by a straight couple doesn't quite "cut it"!)
2007-03-16 09:00:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yes you should know your gay history and our advocates:
It’s so wonderful being a gay person. I said that before. I’m going to say it again. I love being gay. And I love gay people. I think we’re better than other people. I really do. I think we’re smarter and more talented and more aware and I do, I do, I totally do. And I think we’re more tuned in to what’s happening, tuned into the moment, tuned into our emotions, and other people’s emotions, and we’re better friends. I really do think all of these things. And I try not to forget them.
-Larry Kramer
“More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason.That, my friends, that is true perversion.”
-Harvey Milk
"Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group."
"Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriage."
"I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people.... But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, to make room at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people."
Mrs. King said that her late husband Martin Luther King Jr. supported the quest for equality by gays and said that the 1963 March on Washington was organized by Bayard Rustin, an openly gay civil rights activist.
-Coretta Scott King (wife to Martin Luther King Jr.)
"Jesus did not say, 'If I be lifted up I will draw some'." Jesus said, 'If I be lifted up I will draw all, all, all, all, all. Black, white, yellow, rich, poor, clever, not so clever, beautiful, not so beautiful. It's one of the most radical things. All, all, all, all, all, all, all, all. All belong. Gay, lesbian, so-called straight. All, all are meant to be held in this incredible embrace that will not let us go. All."
"Isn't it sad, that in a time when we face so many devastating problems – poverty, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict – that in our Communion we should be investing so much time and energy on disagreement about sexual orientation?" [The Communion, which] "used to be known for embodying the attribute of comprehensiveness, of inclusiveness, where we were meant to accommodate all and diverse views, saying we may differ in our theology but we belong together as sisters and brothers" now seems "hell-bent on excommunicating one another. God must look on and God must weep."
Since then Dr. Tutu has increased his criticism of conservative attitudes to homosexuality within his own church, equating homophobia with racism. Stating at a conference in Nairobi that he is "deeply disturbed that in the face of some of the most horrendous problems facing Africa, we concentrate on 'what do I do in bed with whom"
-ArchBishop Desmond Tutu
2007-03-16 08:31:02 · answer #6 · answered by ? 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
agreed
2007-03-16 08:29:58 · answer #7 · answered by Kam 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
and while you're at it read up about Sodom and Gomorrah,
"those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
2007-03-16 10:05:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
They don't want a history lesson. They're only in it for the sex.
2007-03-16 08:32:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 8⤋