This article entitled, "Extend the Outrage," is absolutely superb!
A small part of it reads as follows:
The experience of straight spouses, first hidden in their partners’ closets and then overlooked in the excitement of their husbands’ or wives’ breaking out, affords us a personal window onto a rising conflict in our society that needs to be faced head on. Their trauma can be traced back to the prevailing mind-set about traditional marriage and antigay attitudes and stereotypes still found in many parts of our country. That is where we need to direct our outrage and take action to change the status quo.
Some politicians have beards or seemingly clueless spouses so as to hide their sexuality and deny who they really are as full and authentic human beings from the public. By so doing, they are in fact living a lie and stating that being Gay is something to be ashamed of; something that is deserving of "deviant" status; something that is inferior to being Straight.
Moreover, many closeted politicians vote against, or support those who vote against, equal rights for LGBT people and the film Outrage takes on this task.
Indeed, by being authentic it can cost one his/her career! However, it's by the very fact of many Gay people being inauthentic and living a lie, expressing internalized and/or externalized homophobia, that authenticity leading up to career damage becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
To the degree that Gay people view being Gay as shameful, it's to that degree that Straight people will view being Gay as shameful!
The trailer to the film Outrage can be seen below:
The impact of outing on their spouses and children who had no idea is often devastating, and little research has been done regarding the consequences to these victims of inauthenticity, and frequent hypocrisy, of their spouses who were closeted and who often expressed homophobia in the political and public arenas.
Michelangelo Signorile and Mike Rogers have hitherto been at the forefront of outing hypocrites. Now, the film Outrage also takes on this task.
4 comments:
I watched the video, Jerry. I'm not too surprised by this. Usually those who the most homophobic are the people struggling with being gay.
I believe that something will need to be done to help the spouses and children who are the victims of this hypocrisy.
Hi Genevieve: I find it difficult to believe that most (though by no means all) of these spouses don't know or intuit on some level that their spouse is either Gay, bisexual, or asexual. However, many spouses and children are victimized by a life lived as a lie by those whom the person supposedly loves the most. That kind of betrayal is tough to take, and I wonder how many such spouses and children need psychotherapy (whether they receive it or not), or resort to alcohol and/or drugs to deal with that betrayal and/or the fallout from their finding out the truth regarding the sexual orientation and behaviors of their Gay or bisexual spouses. Best wishes, Jerry.
I understand how someone still discovering themselves and maturing could act like this. We all grow up doubting who we are, and struggling against our differences.
But for our nations leaders to act in such a reprehensible way is inexcusable. I can't imagine the hurt and shame their loved ones face because of this.
Thanks Vanessa. The hypocrites' loved ones suffer hurt and shame, but can we imagine the tremendous magnitude of the hurt and shame visited upon all LGBT people and their families because of these hypocrites in both the political and religious arenas? And when one invokes God's name to shame and hurt people, and seek to deny them equal civil and/or sacramental rights, that's egregiously sinful! Best wishes, Jerry.
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