Ten Reasons Why It's Okay To Be Gay

1. The part of the bible (Leviticus) that argues against homosexuality (calling it "an abomination") also argues that mixing fabrics and shopping on Sundays are "abominations." Leviticus is equivalent to Hamurabi's laws - They were believed to be innate and reasonable at the time, but laws change. Leviticus, the word, is derived from the latin for "law". These laws are not all followed by even the most devout Catholic today, because they were outgrown by an expanding society, increased medical knowledge and many other reasonable and practical changes. It doesn't mean the whole bible is necessarily out of date - if you feel it isn't, it isn't. But even the authors intended Leviticus to be a law-making session, and LAWS CHANGE.
2. Birds do it, bees do it... animals of all shapes and sizes practice homosexuality. Our closest primate, the Bonobo, practice it in spades, in every way imaginable. Female bonobos have even evolved enlarged clitorises in order to practice it more effectively. Outside of chimps, dolphins, arguable one of the most intelligent species around, enjoy blow-hole male-on-male sex frequently. As Radclyffe Hall in the Well Of Loneliness says, "you're as much a part of nature as anyone else, only you've not found your niche in creation."
3. Despite this lack of niche, arguably, in an over-populated world, homosexuality acts as a great balancer. We, the homosexuals, adopt children that would otherwise be shipped from foster home to foster home. We, the homosexuals, truly appreciate these children, because we've had to fight for our right to be parents, an experience heterosexuals take for granted. Homosexuals are more closely watched as parents because many people believe us to be inherently bad for children. Because of this, we often make it our bound duty to be the best parents ever.
4. "oh we like men fine. we just don't want to see them naked." - two nice girls. And frankly, who does? By acknowledging on equal footing the beauty of our own sex, gay men and lesbians subvert the competitiveness of a heterosexist, capitalist society. We make love, not war. Interesting that two men kissing is a shock to the cultural system when two men killing each other is just a part of everyday life. Wouldn't it be better if it were the other way around?
5. Homosexuality, not as an act but as a lifestyle, has been around for millenia - Sappho was a greek woman who cultivated a society of women who were dedicated to poetry, song and knowledge. She wrote millions of love sonnets to women in an open frankness that seems shocking even today. Why, if it's been around so long and so publicly, is it still "wrong"?
6. Speaking of art and culture, who but the greatest of cultural producers have been gay? Michealangelo, Andy Warhol, Elton John, Shakespeare, Sappho, Amy Lowell, Jeannette Winterson, Renee Vivien, etc, etc, etc. Even great warriors and revolutionaries like Alexander the Great. The list goes on. From fashion to architecture to poetry to politics, great minds love alike.
   
7. Culture is right in on the game. It started with the sneaky sexual tension in Xena:Warrior Princess, grew boldly forward in Will and Grace, moved from there to the strange popularity of Queer As Folk, the burgeoning success of The L Word, and now full-length feature films such as Brokeback Mountain, Another Gay Movie, My Summer Of Love...and there's even talk of Beyonce and Eva Longoria remaking Tipping The Velvet, a book that was translated into a British three-night series. Love is all around. ER has a gay character, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a gay character... It's becoming more and more an accepted part of pop culture.
   
8. Homosexuality is about choice. Although some, including myself, may have found their experience with homosexuality to be an innate part of their sexuality, and not a matter of "preference" at all, the perception that homosexuals choose their love is a liberating one. It speaks to the idea that love is love is love, and that it need not be about reproducing or being supported economically or so on. The idea that people can love whomever they please is an archetype throughout history. People overcame class differences, racial differences and sex sameness to be in love with whoever it was made their spine tingle.
   
9. If homosexuality IS innate, which scientists might just prove, that doesn't make it any less powerful. That means that, if you believe in God, God made gay men and lesbians just as much as he/she made heterosexuals. It means that homosexuality is part of the plan, part of the great balance between being fruitful and multiplying, and saving the earth "God" gave us. It also proves that to lie yourself into heterosexual unions is denying your very human nature. It means that following "instinct" could very well lead you to a same-sex love affair. It means you're natural, normal and beautiful just as you are, just like anybody else.
10. Homosexuality can be part-performance, part-reality. It draws attention to the falseness of gender roles, the artificial nature of the innately romantic boy-meets-girl story. It allows an expression of self that is not limited to culturally prescribed norms around gender, sex and love. It frees us, in general, from the confines of culture, allowing for new answers to old questions and a radical reformation of the ideals of normalcy. It means that men can soften up and women can support each other instead of being supported. It means a whole lot more freedom in a whole lot more ways.
    

Homosexuality, like race and class and a myriad of other differences, has been something people have had to overcome. With that comes a certain strength, a certain understanding and respect for ones ability to stand strong for an ideal of justice and fairness and equality. Any battle that pushes for these qualities is a good one, and contrary to competitive ideologies, it adds strength to the struggles of other groups to attain the same rights. Because we have had to earn the rights we have, we use them with dignity, hopefully. The right to adopt, where it applies, is taken as a privilege and treated with care. The right to be open and public about ones affections is met with carefulness, tact and education, because we understand our openness to be at risk.

The problem is that not everyone sees it like above. People see homosexuality as an abomination or, arguably worse, as "a phase". Legitimacy is rarely afforded a same-sex romance, and violence and hatred is a daily risk. But there are places where this love is safe. Peterborough is one of them, Kingston wasn't bad, and Toronto is safe on certain streets. We are now officially protected under hate laws, which are important if only for educational purposes. There are a lot of next-steps that need to be taken, ie/ making same sex relations an accepted part of sex education in high schools, in order to protect homosexuals from misinformation and therefore the spread of sexually transmitted infections, and in order to stop gay kids from feeling like they're sick or mentally ill because they don't want what is shovelled at them as the only way to DO sex. The fight for gay marriage was a justifiable one, despite my qualms with the institution of marriage in the first place, because it affords a sort of visual and outspoken legitimacy to our relationships and our partnerships that before this was left ignored and sidelined.

The thing is, lots has changed since the raid on Stonewall (which, by the way, was actually a transsexual bar, not a gay bar. I feel the need to mention this because transsexuals have an even rougher time of it, and we can't just use their rebellion as a symbol without giving back to the movement in general.)

I hope, one day, that all that I write here will go without saying. It does for me, now, but for others, and for those that I love, it's not been so easy to be who they are.
Anyway, that's my ramble for this evening. Tata.