Yesterday, I was smacked in the face by a very refreshing poster campaign... 'Homophobia Hurts'. On this poster (on the door at the Spar, near campus) was a guy with quite nasty facial injuries, and underneath his bleeding and messed up face was a very interesting power of three: 'It's brutal, it's bigoted, it's belittling'.
I am quite the lover of controversial campaigns to raise awareness of issues, and this one certainly got me focussed. I simply stood there for about a minute in shock - and complete glee, I was refreshed and mesmorised by it.
Am i going over the top in my description of how this campaign made me feel?
I know people say that 'we're all prejudice' (blah blah blahhh), but, I think this is wrong. I think we all like to categorise people in to groups, but, there's a difference between grouping people (which I still feel is extremely wrong) and the severe prejudice which is highlighted in these posters.
Because let's face it, whether we believe it or not, gay/lesbian/bisexual people are prone to verbal abuse that is more disgusting than the occasional 'Faggot' jibe. And, in some cases they get physical abuse hurled at them too - a glass in the face? A few punches thrown at them for holding hands with their partner maybe?
At the end of the day, everyone has a right to choose who they want to be with, what they want to do in their lives, who they want to share their lives with, so why is it even a problem if people choose to be with people of the same sex as them? It is not a easy thing for people to 'come out' and say that they are gay anyway, so verbal and physical abuse isn't going to make it easier.
In conclusion, this campaign is a rampant step forward for the gay community of Lincoln and I wish them every success.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very true Lisa. However, I do think we have moved on and this kind of incident is rare. Back in the 60s, my eldest sister, a lesbian, had to move out of Lincoln because of shame and hatred towards homosexuality in a very male dominated, heavy engineeing city. Even London in the 1970s wasn't much better. She eventually settled in the Gay Capital of the world San Francisco in the 1980s. There she has been able to have a child with her partner - something she never thought would be possible. Things are moving on and only a few bigots are left. At least these days there are laws to protect gay people. ... as you know my politix, I would say it is a shame that not all minority groups are treated with the sanme respect!
ReplyDelete