This bit I fully agree with. At the end of the day, unless someone is attempting to force unwanted attentions upon us or those close to us, what business is it of ours?
Here in Toronto, the Pride Week and parade are among the largest in North America. Mayors and Police Chiefs march in the parade. With the passage of gay marriage rights into federal law, some in the community are wondering where to go from here.
I admit that such an attitude was not one that came easily when I ventured out into the world. I came from a strict religious background and went straight {Yeah! 'Orientation' pun attack
} to a university setting where 'gay rights' were a hot topic - this was the early '80's.
I was brought up nominally United Church of Canada Protestant -- at least I was baptized. The preponderance of my religious education was in an all boys Catholic school throughout the seventies -- this was a homphobic/heterosexist environment before those came into popular use. In the middle school years I was an outsider -- poor at sports, disinterested in pro sports, good at theatre arts, polite to teachers, and quite soft-spoken. So y'all can probably guess how I got tagged.
The experience of being a victim of that kind of hate even though I am herosexual, has had a profound impact on my life. So I am receptive to people, like my father, who come out. I understand why it is necessary for many.
Like yours, Suke, my university days and other experiences allowed me to meet and work with many gays. All of a sudden, it was semi-safe for them to be out. Any proximal unease I had through lack information gradually faded away.
When my dad came out to me, it unleashed a flashback of feelings about being tormented in school. I was angry all over again, fighting old bullies from the past. I was also very much in fear of my father's safety: he was a somewhat naive individual, and I worried about any abuse he might suffer directly in life.
It took a while to 'adjust' - I still remember with great embarassment snarling at some fellow that I would break his arm if he grabbed my behind again ... mind you, I can't say I wouldn't react with equal frankness today. I hope I'd be more polite about it tho'
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After dad came out, I had a long talk with a doctor I know who is very well-known in the gay community because of his practice in treating AIDS. It was cathartic to be able to talk to someone about some of apprehensiveness I felt, which he explained did not made me either homophobic or hypocritical. Others I made the mistake of speaking to said things like, "Dude, I'm sorry," or "You must be creeped out," after my father, a widow of many years, married his male partner.