Progress Report

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar


The fight for gay rights continues to progress before our eyes as many individuals emerge at the forefront by disclosing their sexuality to the public. Their courage is inspiring, especially when taking into account that there was a time, especially in Hollywood, when being gay was a huge taboo.

Take screen legend Rock Hudson for instance. Handsome, rugged and masculine, Hudson had to hide his private life to remain shielded from the ridicule he would have received during the height of his career in the 1950's and 1960's.

Luckily the stigma of concealing one's homosexuality has diminished greatly in the almost thirty years since Hudson's passing.

Examples of this change in attitude range from the successful careers of celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper, to politicians like Ken Reeves and Barney Frank.

With so many powerful voices representing our community one has to wonder: Does the privilege of being in the public eye give these individuals the freedom to proverbially be 'out at work'? Because the same rules do not apply for most of the world's workforce, who at times can go to great lengths to hide their personal lives from employers and co-workers. It's a sad statement in this day and age but unfortunately not every company is as forward thinking as Google, Nike and Microsoft.

Many people still believe that homosexuality is a choice. In some regards it is a choice because it's choosing to live your truth in spite of the ridicule you may or may not receive. But choosing the feelings of being attracted to the same sex? Nah son. That's engrained in us.

Yet that knowledge fails to resonate with people who don't understand and they relegate homosexuality as being the 100% make-up of a gay person's existence. Their character, talents, families and offerings to society all get tossed to the side because how can a gay person actually be considered a person?

Need proof?

Go to any search engine and find an article about an issue relative to homosexuality. There will be comments ranging from support, to indifference and ultimately damnation and scorn. These comments bring focus to the reality of how much homophobia is still a major part of our everyday lives. And with the security of the Internet's anonymity, anyone can say whatever he or she wants to without any need for class or tact.

It's easy to disregard these comments referring to the homosexual 'agenda' as ignorant but the fact is that some people are very intolerant of anything they're not accustomed to. If only they could open up their minds to the idea that they may already know someone who's gay they wouldn't hide behind the veil of their own stubbornness.

As a community, we have progressed. As a society, we are progressing. But we can never stop growing towards accepting each other beyond the smallest percentages of who we are as people. Being gay is not the 100% of who we are. True, it's a huge piece of the puzzle, but it doesn't make up the entire picture.

 

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