Slash and homosexuality

[annemehr <annemehr@yahoo.com>]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Queer as John <john at q...> 
wrote:
<very large snip>
> 
> There is some question about whether being gay is actually genetic 
or if
> it's determined in the womb. It may be a combination of both. Like 
Barb, I
> don't care if it's genetic or fixed before birth. I know that I'm 
gay. I am
> attracted to men, and not attracted to women. I know that I didn't 
make a
> *choice* or a *decision* to be gay. It's not a "preference" in the 
same way
> that I prefer sausage to bacon, because I can explain why: the taste 
of the
> spices in the sausage taste better to me than bacon. I don't feel 
the same
> way about being attracted to men and not women.
> 

Hmmm...  Didn't you just say you prefer sausage to bacon because, to 
you, it just *tastes better*?  I don't see that you *decided* to 
prefer sausage, anymore than you decided to be gay. <now fondly 
thinking of sausage *and* bacon, with maple syrup on them>  I think 
the food analogies fall short because they are sort of trivial, 
whereas our sexual orientations aren't.  But of course, that's why 
food analogies were brought up in the first place -- they aren't 
emotionally loaded.

<snip>
 
> >> Barb wrote: "I firmly believe that scientists who have determined 
there is a
> >> genetic and/or biological basis to our orientations are correct,
> >> based in part on a great deal of anecdotal testimony available
> >> concerning the unchangeable nature of orientation (in addition to
> >> the more scientific studies).  I also believe, however, that 
those
> >> who claim orientation should not be protected under hate-crimes 
laws
> >> because they call it a "choice" should see the hypocrisy in their
> >> stand, when many of them are direct beneficiaries of their choice 
of
> >> religion being protected under law."
>  

Actually, I don't understand what hate-crimes laws can be expected to 
accomplish.  My former pastor's nephew was murdered for the two 
dollars and change he had in his pocket -- out of complete 
*indifference* to his life.  Is murdering out of hate really worse 
than murdering out of indifference?  These laws make it worse to 
murder (or to assault, or terrorize) when the motive is hatred of the 
victim's group.  But motive can be very hard to prove, and to me, 
murder is murder.  Still, I'm open to explanations on this.  Or is 
this skating too near politics for this group <refers self to PFLAG or 
somewhere if this turns out to be the case>?
  

<snip>

> Oh, I see. Well, the opinions of almost everybody on HPFGU-OTChatter 
matter
> to me. As I said to someone the other day, to me, OTChatter is the 
place
> where I chat with like-minded people about non-HP things. It has 
been ever
> since I created it all those many moons ago. The very first place I 
came out
> of the closet was in an HPFGU chat.
> 
> I generally count OTChatter as an open-minded, dare I say 'liberal' 
sort of
> place. 

Well, I checked "conservative" on the poll, because it was probably 
the best fit though not entirely accurate.  I'm not a fence-sitter, 
though -- I tend to have quite conservative views on many issues and 
liberal ones on others...

I tend to think that the people who are off crusading against 
gay
> rights are also crusading against Harry Potter, and so not that 
likely to be
> here! I also tend to think that HP fans, given the emphasis on 
slavery and
> racism in HP, are less likely to hold homophobic opinions. In short, 
I
> empathise with the people on this list. They're "people like me".


And on the other hand, it's really the only place I get to "talk" to 
GLBT people at all!  So for me, HPfGU is what the internet was meant 
to be -- a place where people can meet all kinds of other people from 
all over the world  (as long as they speak English, though).

> 
> I was stunned and surprised by the words that people used to express
> themselves, because I didn't think that "people like us" held 
homophobic
> opinions. That, I think, is why this whole thread has been so...odd, 
for
> lack of a better word. Homophobia isn't supposed to *happen* here.
> 
> --John
> 

Well... some of the problem at least seems to have been based on 
misunderstanding -- and I think a lot more people have benefitted from 
the subject getting an airing (myself included), so I hope it may turn 
out to have been worth it after all. 


Annemehr
wondering how you find out exactly which bookstores are open at 12:01 
am on June 21...