There is a great deal of controversy with the issue of homosexuality. It is considered to be bad, especially in the southern states. The reason is simply put, straight males are not comfortable with another guy wanting to do anything sexual with them. Gays are seen by these men as sexual deviants who try to get with every guy they think are hot. This is not the case. I believe that just because someone is gay, that shouldn’t define who they are.

The word gay and faggot are just a few of the words that are commonly spoken among these straight males. When something is feminine or out of the ordinary it is considered gay. The word is said to just be another word for “not cool” or “stupid”. In school these words are used all the time and some teachers have even grown lenient about the abusive nature of them. After a few years of hearing it though, you begin to hear the tone which they say it in and you know fully well what they truly mean when they say it. The word means that to be gay is horrible and something you should be punished for. The impression given is if you don’t change your “sick” ways that you will get beat up or discriminated against.

In religion homosexuality is seen as a sin. In some Muslim communities, being gay is a worse offence then murder. The Catholic Church says that to be gay is a sin, but if gays abstain from enacting upon their sexuality they can be saved. There are very few religious groups that support homosexuals. I’ve often wondered why that is. If your god truly exists and he created us the way we are, why must you hate something your own god created?

When bigots are confronted by these arguments, they will retreat from the confrontation with an irrational and unfounded fear of becoming gay themselves. Have you ever heard of a case of someone turning gay simply because a gay man talked to him? Even if they are proven wrong and unfair, they will stand by their beliefs out of fear of what their own community will think of them if they say they were wrong. When trying to confront a typical country male teenager about this dilemma, you can be assured that most likely it’s their parents that are the cause of all the hatred. I have yet to meet one offender who didn't take after their own parent’s bigotry.

People should understand that sexuality does not define a person. Or rather, it shouldn’t. You may not know it, but there are so many homosexuals in your every day life. We have homosexual politicians, cooks, teachers, construction workers, office workers, and more that work in so many other fields of work. Yes, homosexuals may also be the stereotypical hair stylists or fashion designers, but they’re also the ones that help the celebrities you dream about look the way they do. So maybe you should thank them instead of disgracing them.

To be gay is just a biological trait. Sexuality does not change your personality. Before I “came out of the closet” I was a quiet, shy boy who didn’t socialize that much. After I came out, I didn’t change at all because of it. I was still just as quiet, and just as shy. It was the normal teenage experiences that changed me to be more social, not my sexuality.

Of course there are different people who are gay that act differently, but it would be wrong of me to try and categorize them. To say there are the flamboyant ones, and the ones that act like they’re straight, and the ones that are in between. Homosexuality is just a trait someone may have. Just as some people have black hair, or blue eyes, some people are just attracted to the same sex. People who are homosexual may choose to portray themselves a little differently, but everyone usually strives to set out some form of individuality. You can’t blame them for that.

The one place where everyone is usually trying to find themselves is also one of the major places where this discrimination occurs is in schools. I have so many friends that say they support me and who I am, yet they still use the words gay and faggot to demean other people. It’s like a slap in the face to me. Day after day they go by without any kind of scolding or counseling for their language. By repeating this word and using it in a discriminatory way it promotes the idea that being gay is socially unacceptable. This is not right whatsoever and needs to stop.

To be homosexual does not mean they will try to w**** themselves out to every guy they see. Do you see a straight guy having sex with every hot girl he sees? You don't so why would a gay guy try to get with every hot guy he sees? The point remains as this; someone's sexuality is no reason for them to be ostracized or ridiculed.