by Georgia McClellan
The other day I had the displeasure of hearing some students on campus talk about “straight pride.” These students happened to be athletes and were disgruntled that they had to attend the You Can Play seminar a few weeks earlier. You know, the seminar about not being assholes to LGBT students and inclusion for all?
Anyway, they were arguing that gay students expected too much attention and appreciation. They were somehow confused as to why gay people weren’t forced to attend workshops on being straight or how to address a heterosexual person. They also were calling for something along the lines of a Straight Pride Festival.
By this point I was practically boiling with anger. Let me just start by saying if you believe there should be “straight pride” or a “Heterosexual Day” you are what is wrong with America.
Some people might argue that the LGBT community uses the whole gay pride thing as a way to foster attention and force the rest of the world to accept them. This is so far from the truth.
Gay pride isn’t to shove our sexuality in your face, despite what you may think. Gay pride is for the LGBT individuals to feel proud of who they are and find solace within a discriminated community.
We don’t have a parade to show off our gayness, but rather we want to feel safe and build a stronger bond in our community. It has nothing to do with heterosexuals and it never will. So please stop.
The idea of “straight pride” is so ludicrous to me and I can’t really fathom why people think it’s necessary. It’s almost as if some heterosexuals are jealous that they aren’t a part of something, so naturally they have to make it about themselves.
But here’s the thing; if you’re straight, you don’t get to have pride for your sexuality. You don’t deserve a damn parade and you never will. Why? Because you’ve never been discriminated against for who you love.
You will never be fired because you have a wife instead of a husband. You will never fear holding the hand of your significant other while walking down the street. You will never have to worry about whether or not your own parents will love you. You will never be denied service at a restaurant because of who you brought as your date.
Most importantly, you will never fear for your life because of your sexuality.
Matthew Shepard was a gay student at the University Wyoming, who was tortured, beaten severely, tied to a fence and abandoned to die. Rebecca Wight and Claudia Brenner were shot and killed while hiking and camping along the Appalachian Trail because a man was enraged by the couple’s lesbianism.
Scott Amedure was murdered after revealing his attraction to his friend. Forty-nine people were killed and another 53 were injured in Orlando at a popular gay nightclub.
All of these individuals lost their lives just because they were LGBT, just because they were being true to themselves and someone disagreed with how they lived. Sadly, there are numerous more stories and more names than just the ones listed here.
So the next time you feel like the gay community is forcing you into acceptance or that they’re flashing their sexuality in your face, remember that you won’t ever be discriminated against like they are.
Remember that people have been brutally murdered for loving someone. Remember that you will always be accepted in the eyes of society and that we might not be.
Heterosexuality is cool. Homosexuality is cool. Please don’t be the person to call for “straight pride” when you have no idea what we’ve been through to earn our gay pride.
