Congratulations to Andrew J Peters for wining the giveaway of a copy of “Dark Love.” And thinks to everyone who commented on the post, it was fun.
-Stephen
Category: Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia
Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia
This post is for the Hop Against Homophobia & Transphobia blog hop. A part of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17th). Part of the hop is a giveaway. I’ll pick a random person from the comments below to win a free copy (Kindle version) of one of my books–winner’s choice. Then again, everyone who signs up for my newsletter get a free book too. 🙂
So I have this essay to write and I can’t sort out my thoughts. I keep flashing back to college and grad school and trying to pin down a thesis statement. But, I’m all over the place. And being a pantster isn’t helping!
First, I have a problem with the word homophobia, which implies a fear of homosexuals. That isn’t our problem. The problem, as I see it, is a systems thing. I really don’t care if someone doesn’t like me or is afraid of me because I’m gay. Individuals don’t have that much power over me and there are many reason for someone not to like me. The things that impact me are the institutions in our culture. Is it legal for someone to deny me housing or medical care? Can my employment be terminated? Can children be taken from homosexual parents? Can homosexual adults be denied the opportunity to adopt children simply because of their sexuality and so forth? This is all a matter of heterosexism and the heteronormativity assumptions embedded in our culture. Of course heterosexism intersects nicely with ridged dualistic gender norms that lock humans into an unrealistic binary of feminine and masculine.