| Disclaimer first (just to make sure I'm not misconstrued, by some inexplicatble act of miscomprehension): Some of my best friends are gays. Actually two of the five or so people I consider my closest friends are gay. I am all for equal rights to homosexuals everywhere. And I use the term 'us heteros' as I consider myself a heterosexual (even though I fall under the Are guys who get blowjobs from guys straight? category - but it was once and a long time ago, and anyway he turned hetero and got married....)
And I really understand the lesbian-gay-bisexual community, who want to remove from society all the negative stereotypes associated with homosexuality; stereotypes such as 'gay people are infected with AIDS', 'lesbians are masculine' and 'gays are effeminate'. There are lots of gay stereotypes out there. It's bloody difficult to get the public rid of them. But it would probably be easier if gays didn't believe in the stereotypes themselves. I'm not saying all gays believe in them (in that case, the stereotypes would probably be true), but I would like to share this questionnaire I saw in the local newspaper. Keep in mind this is not The New York Times, but it's quite popular here in Israel.
The questionnaire is one by the homesexual community to the homosexual community, in order to (I'm translating) "characterize the Israeli gays and lesbians". Members of the gay/lesbian community are asked to fill out the form (anonymously), and send it to the 'Achbar Ha'ir' newspaper, 'pride' section.
Some questions from the form:
So far so good. And now for the stereotypes:
I hope you see what I'm getting at. It's sort of like a men's magazine coming out with a questionnaire to characterize men, and having questions like:
How much beer do you drink? - a lot / a little / none
Which sport do you enjoy? - basketball / baseball / hockey / football / I don't enjoy sports
Where do you enjoy hitting your wife? - in the face / in the body / irrelevant
That's just full of crap, and propagates stereotypes. I have a good gay friend, living in the States, and I remember talking to him about sex. He's quite repulsed by the whole idea of anal sex. He enjoy kissing and making love. Well, in this questionnaire, that puts him under 'other'. What a freak!
And I know a couple of lesbians who are just ordinary women who live with each other and raise their kids together. Pretty normal kids too. Would you believe it!
Hmmm... Which one of them is the 'butch' in the relationship? One of them has to be the man, right? And they have to be either 'femme' or 'butch'. I mean the gay questionnaire says so.
And next time you see two gays holding hands, remember: they don't make love: one of them is active and the other is passive. Just like dogs, see?
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