"That's So Gay!"

Let’s face it, we all had to overcome a lot growing up. Some of us are still maybe even going through it. The reality is that it doesn’t fully go away. We are still faced with stereotypes, and there is truly a knowledge deficit of what being “gay” truly is about. Below are some stereotypes that I faced growing up, and I’m sure many of you faced as well.

1. "You hit like a girl."

I was told this constantly growing up. Mostly by “manly” heterosexual men that we were supposed to “look” up to. Not to mention, this is also saying that women are weak. Where’s all the feminist at?

2. "Boys Don't Cry."

Who else heard this growing up? I admit it. I’m a very sensitive person but by creating this ignorant, unintelligent label that “boys” shouldn’t cry is just outrageous. Our society is trying to present “men” as the strong, masculine, hairy, rough, hard working man. I’m sorry, but that just isn’t the case anymore.

3. "Someday, you'll find a beautiful wife."

No, no I won’t because I’m gay. This really bothers me. Parents as well as other adults start preaching this to us at a young age. What if they are gay? You’re just trying to manipulate them. Instead of saying “You’ll find a beautiful wife someday.” Just say “You’ll be happy someday.”

4. "He sounds gay. He must be gay."

This is ridiculous. You’d be surprised at how many people sound “straight” and are actually gay. There are a lot of gay men out there who do not sound “gay.” This is just another stereotype our society coined onto us.

5. "You can become straight."

I’m sorry, I can’t change who I am to appease a bigot. Let me just ask you this, “At what moment in your life did you decide that you liked the opposite sex?” 

6. "Since you're gay, you will go to hell."

This fantastic quote was manifested and misinterpreted by our beloved bible. I thought Christians don’t judge?

7. "You're going to get AIDS."

Yeah, maybe. But you may get it too. We didn’t create the disease.

8. "It's all about the sex."

No, it’s about finding love and being happy. If I had to choose being in love or having a sexual relationship, I would choose the love.  Sex doesn’t define us.

9. "That's gross." Whenever a homosexual is on T.V

Thanks for making feel bad. And you wonder why I hesitated coming out to all of you.

10. "Who is the girl, and who is the guy?"

Neither, we’re both the same gender and we love each other.

This has got to stop. Yes, our society has gotten a lot better with the LGBT Community but we still have a long treacherous road ahead of us. I only listed a few of the stereotypes that many of us faced or is currently facing. The sad reality is that there is a lot more.

I feel as though these stereotypes are keeping young as well as older men from coming out and that just breaks my heart. You may think “How can one of these silly little sentences keep someone from coming out?” And the answer to that is that it’s not just one little sentence. We usually have all of these sentences plus others hurled our direction. Each and every one of these sentences can tear us apart and make us feel like something is wrong with us. And let me tell you first hand that having this burden inside you when everyone else around you thinks it is wrong makes you feel terrible. No child or adult should have to carry that burden around.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that being gay is okay.

Feel free to leave any stereotypes that you’ve experienced in the comments below.

Together, we can change our society’s perception on being gay.