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Are We Living in a Post-Gay World?
by Michael A. Jones
Published April 19, 2009 @ 07:43AM PST
Some cable networks and socially conservative organizations like to make the case that issues pertaining to sexuality will be a hot ticket for organizing conservatives in the coming election cycles. They argue that there's a "gathering storm" of gay people ready to hijack marriage and infiltrate classrooms with pro-LGBT curriculum. But despite these organizations and their obsession with sexuality (especially homosexuality), there's increasing evidence that we might be heading toward a "post-gay" world. At least that's what one Chicago psychologist, Braden Berkey, thinks.
Over here at this USA Today article, Berkey argues that Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y might be engaged in debates about sexuality, but that Millennials are far less concerned about being defined by sexual orientation or sexual labels. According to Berkey, "Youth are saying they don't want to be defined by gender or orientation." Berkey added that the terms previously coined, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, are giving way to other descriptions, like polygender or multisex. Young people, Berkey says, are moving away from narrow definitions and heading toward broader descriptions when talking about sexuality and gender identity.
If Berkey's right, then the following equation most likely will ring true: Millennials = future. Future = post-gay world.
The "post-gay world" is something that even New York Times columnist Frank Rich hints at in his column today covering the train wreck that is the National Organization for Marriage. As Frank points out in talking about the victories for marriage equality this past month, "most straight citizens merely shrugged as gay families celebrated in Iowa and Vermont. There was no mass backlash. At ABC and CBS, the Vermont headlines didn’t even make the evening news."
While the pace might be glacial, are we heading toward a post-gay world? A world where no one bats an eye when a state legalizes same-sex marriage, or a world where both political parties will embrace LGBT issues?
I think the answer is yes, but we're certainly not going to get there without
some kicking and screaming. This week alone we saw major GOP figures embracing same-sex marriage, more than one thousand schools embrace the "Day of Silence" campaign to address LGBT issues, LGBT families actively courted for the White House Easter Egg Roll, and another state (NY) take up the issue of marriage equality. Couple this with the fact that prominent social conservatives are suggesting that the culture wars are over and that the times are indeed changing, and I think you've got a recipe for a post-gay world.
But we're not there yet. Just like despite fifty-plus years of progress stemming from the civil rights movement, we're still not in a post-race world. Or despite one hundred-plus years of progress stemming from the women's rights movement, we're still not in a post-gender world. Even the most progressive of advances doesn't quell the hatred that some people feel.
But when the history books are written to cover 2009, they will more than likely point out that this year marked the tipping point for when the majority of people - especially young people - solidified their views that LGBT rights are civil rights. That's a framework that can't be undone no matter how many ads the National Organization for Marriage puts out.
Or, in other words, there's still so much progress that needs to be made for LGBT rights. But the confidence that we'll get there - get to that post-gay world - has likely never been higher.
---------------------------------------------------Μιας και μιλάμε για post-(something),
Public Image Ltd. - Memories
From: belsenghost
1 σχόλιο:
Για μια στιγμή διάβασα "μέταλ-γκέι"... :\
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