I promised not to turn this blog into anything political and I plan to keep that promise. The fact that so much of my latest entries is about a political figure, Sen. Larry Craig, is only because he is in the media and he is prompting conversations and debates about men who have sex with men (MSM).
We are seeing more and more that homophobic men are not always hiding homosexuality or deeply closeted. Some of these men were sexually abused and/or gender abused where their manhood was perhaps shamed and questioned.
In Larry Craig's case he was hiding homosexual behavior, not identity.
Men like Larry Craig who promoted prejudice by voting against gay rights was one of those men. His homophobia, as the quote from Christophe Gentaz says, is a psychological condom which was exposed the day he was arrested.
Today the Washington Blade, a gay newspaper, has an excellent Opinion article entitled:
Understanding Craig’s identity Gay Like many blacks, Idaho senator rejects media image of modern gay male.Friday, September 07, 2007
Here is a blurb from the article:
Society must come to terms with the fact that not everyone who has gay sex is necessarily gay. Although it may be a difficult concept for some to comprehend, gay sexual behavior does not equate to gay sexual orientation.
WE LIVE IN a society that is determined to categorize and force people into boxes, assigning them a ratings value of good or bad based upon their race, class, culture and sexual identification.
Today for an individual to self-identity as gay, they seemingly must take on an image created by the media that is based upon societal stereotypes.Craig rejects this identify, simply because this is not who he is.
He is a conservative, married man who has very little in common with America’s gay identity. In fact he is perfectly valid in stating that he is not a gay man.
1 comment:
So many of us have emerged from environments where simply being functional and content as queer folk was considered a counter-cultural act. I'm glad your focus is on shedding light, not generating political heat... and simultaneously, I live with a sense that healing from homophobia is often a political act.
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