Quote: Worlds Apart "So, the other thread was rather annoying to me, as it basically consisted of a large number of straight people saying how homophobia wasn't a problem.
The statement 'I have the right not to be offended by homophobic abuse' coming out of the mouth of a straight person is meaningless. Of course you have the right to not be offended - why would you be? Just as a white person wouldn't be offended by the use of the N word towards them, just as men are not offended by misogyny, so straight people are not hurt by homophobia.
Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia & Ableism are all vile. They seek to take a characteristic of one person and use that against them, to isolate them from everyone else by flagging up one part of them that is seen as 'unnatural', 'wrong' or somehow to be valued less. This only works because society is built on a set of unquestioned assumptions about how people are, and how they behave.
It's for that reason we can's just ignore it. 'Can't we all just get along and not care' is a way of excusing the priveliged position some people find themselves in. If we don't talk about sexuality, people will consistently assume that I'm straight. My sexual identity becomes something I have to hide or conserve because nobody questions the assumptions held by the vast majority of society.
I understand that for many people this seems like a fuss over nothing, and that Zak's use of 'F****t' wasn't a problem. Please take some time to appreciate how well off you are, that abuse like that isn't directed at you, explicitly and implicitly, on a daily basis. That your sexuality is considered the norm in society, that no-one will abuse you in the street simply for holding your partners hand.
The video below is about race & gender, but the point it makes is equally applicable to the problem of straight privelige and heteronormativity we see in society today.
rlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Privilege is invisible to those who have it. '"
Brilliant post. Well said.