Have you ever really stopped and thought about how and why this is a hot button topic of conversation? tbh I've largely been ignoring pride discourse and focusing on other things, but when I sit down and think about it I cant help but smirk a little because this honestly and truly is just old fashioned homophobia at its root. It's interesting to see how homophobia evolves over time and I personally think we're currently in the middle of a shift in tactic.
Sex is, and forever will be, a core feature of the LGBT+ identity and community. There is absolutely no way to avoid this at its basic fundamental level. Heterosexual people are attracted exclusively to the opposite sex. Same sex attracted couples exclusively are attracted to the same sex. Bisexual people are attracted to both (and also defined as attraction/sex to any sex or gender identity). Transgender people's gender identity does not align with their sex at birth (I am not trans so I do not fully claim to know the trans experience so feel free to correct me or add colour when needed). If you had to teach someone who has never heard of what a gay person is you would tell them "Gay people are attracted to the same sex" or something similar. While we carve out basic concepts it is also important to remember that, by default, there are less LGBT+ people than straight people.
Straight people and LGBT+ are categorically separate. We understand this. Naturally. the LGBT+ community will evolve in a way that is different than its mainstream counterpart. As sex and sexual topics are what currently separates us, it is a topic that is talked about frequently. A subculture formed. This culture is one that experiences sex in a different way, and has sexual experiences that are different than straight people. . This evolves into numerous different subcultures, who compound this effect by talking about
their experiences. These varied experiences due to our fundamental difference led to the LGBT+ community talking about sex and sexual topics more openly and frankly.
I won't get too into the weeds of gay history as a whole. My experience is pretty Western centric so this is what I can speak to. Also btw whenever I say "gay people" just assume greater LGBT+ it's late and I have work tomorrow.
Gays aren't really liked at first. Keep in mind that there are less gay people than straight people by default. Serious homophobia develops in mainstream culture. Countries go ahead and make being gay illegal. As there are less gay people than straight people by default they quite literally cannot avoid this. Homophobia and transphobia evolved and further existed in forms such as: workplace discrimination, housing discrimination, and medical discrimination. It also evolved to a point where gay people were subject to physical and sexual violence. Ultimately many gay people were killed simply for being gay. It is very difficult to live your life as a gay person due to the way mainstream society treats you.
Then there's a shift. Something monumental just happened. Pride was formed. The circumstances and events surrounding this phenomenon are different in each country, but the overarching theme is that
gay people exist in this world and have a right to exist just like everybody else. This is so major that it completely redefines the social quo. Gay people, a group of people who are categorically different due to our sexual experiences, can exist in mainstream society as well. Pride parade and celebrations to then become a very large part of gay culture due to the significance of the event. Of course, sexual topics are in the parade, as these topics are fundamentally a part of the gay identity.
But homophobes don't like the gay identity. They would rather not have to face it.
And how do you achieve that goal?
Think of the children.
It's genius. It's a frustrating tactic to deal with because it's very effective. Think about it, everyone has to go through this critical stage of development. Childhood is an introduction into exploring the complexities of the world, but most importantly it is a stage where you are dependent on others for your survival. Everyone can understand that a child cannot survive on their own because we have all experienced it in some shape or form.
It's a very simple premise. "Gay people will sexually abuse your children". Everyone understands that A) Child sexual abuse is horrible and B) People who sexually abuse children are horrible. But think about the deeper implications. S
ex is fundamental to the gay identity. Straight people understand that so it's very easy for mainstream society to grasp onto the wrong idea of gay people being child sexual abusers. While this is clearly wrong, well meaning people want to do what's best for their children. This makes it a difficult notion to fight.
There's then a shift in mainstream acceptance of the gay community. Most people understand that gay people are not inherently sexual predators. Displaying outward homophobia is frowned upon now. More eyes are on the community at this point and that's obviously is going to lead to more discussion about gay people in greater society. The pride parade, becoming more mainstream, is of bigger focus in society's consciousness as a whole. Our pride parade with all our crazy sexuality is broadcast to many, deepening society's collective understanding about gay people. It's safe to say that most people understand that sex is a large part about gay culture.
At one point in a child will have to learn about sex, sexuality, and eventually about gay people. Since everyone understands that child sexual abuse is so horrible, people generally don't want to introduce children to sex. But we know that sex and sexual topics are FUNDAMENTALLY a part of the gay identity. But liking gays is ok now. How do you reconcile these two ideas? Well, it's simple, you ask gay people to remove concepts like kink at pride because "children shouldn't be introduced to sex".
Greater society, with expanded knowledge because of the gay rights movement, understand that gay people exist and live comparable lives to heterosexual people. They are emboldened to do so because they know gay people are
reasonable people and not child sexual predators, so obviously they want to protect kids too. So shouldn't it be easy and reasonable for gay people to just remove some of the more risque sexual bits from pride? Sex has to be a part of the conversation with gay people. We know it is central to their identity. We understand that gay people are fundamentally different and these differences led to alternative sexual lifestyles and activities. Asking gay people to modify their sexual displays at pride is not fully accepting them, and therefor believing that he idea of gay culture and gay people can be harmful.
It's also important to realize that increased exposure and mainstream also has an internal effect on the gay community. The gay community started to grow significantly. When you factor in attitudinal difference between different generational cohorts this leads to different views on thought leadership. This has then led to people hotly debating this issue on both sides, with people in the community also wanting to censor pride in the interest of protecting children. This then which is how we've ended up with this thread today.
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I cannot ****ing type anymore. I've spent hours on this mess of a post and hopefully someone gets some value out of it and can think more critically about what's happening. This is seriously just homophobia at its root.
The removal of sex and sexuality from pride is antithesis to its very foundation.
As an aside: congrats on getting me to make my first real post on sppf debate forums in years. What year is this lol????
