Read Online This Book is Gay by James Dawson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: James Dawson
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Yeah, I know this all makes for hugely depressing reading, but Iâm all about the TRUTH. Clearly, being LGBT* does not automatically make you depressed or suicidal, but the fact is that young LGBT* people, when exposed to hatred or homophobia or when living with anxiety and threat, are bound to be vulnerable to mental health problems.
This is why all of us â all LGBT* people, young and old â are still working for greater acceptance and challenging homophobia. Even a book like this would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Itâs CRAY! A book about YOU in a school library! Whatever next?!
Hopefully, as tolerance, understanding and visibility of LGBT* people increases, homophobia will die out with the ignorant people it lingers in.
CHAPTER 6:
HATERZ GONâ HATE
Aside from a bit of pesky self-loathing, there are more practical reasons why people might choose not to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans â or at the very least keep it under their hat. Depending on where you live and the faith youâre born into, circumstances can vary wildly. This section, although hardly filled with LOLs, Iâm afraid, is really important because, although itâs pretty mega being a gay, itâs far from comfortable for thousands of people all around the world. And, who knows, we might be able to make a little difference.
Whatâs annoying is that homophobia is a cultural thing. In ancient times, people were super open minded about gay shiz. Look at Sappho on her island; check out the same-sex culture of the Greeks and Romans. Iâm afraid the tide turned when Christian missionaries took it upon themselves to travel the world to tell everyone how marriage should be done. From there it was downhill all the way as far as the acceptance of homosexuality was concerned.
If you are reading this book in the UK (or pretty much anywhere in Europe or most of the United States), you should feel very lucky indeed because while bitchy haterz be throwing shade, at least you have the law on your side. As discussed, in the UK you are actively protected.
HISTORY LESSON
Although it seems unthinkable now, it was illegal to be gay in England and Wales until 1967, and Scotland didnât wise up until 1981 (what were they thinking?). Northern Ireland dithered about until 1982. Before these dates, homosexual behaviour between men was considered a crime (âgross indecencyâ) or a mental illness. In 1954, there were some one thousand men in PRISON for being gay.
That lesbian behaviour was never illegal is down to the assumption that two women could not commit âsodomyâ, at least in the UK.
Letâs talk about ALAN TURING, a guy you really ought to be taught about in school. Basically, this total dude of a code-breaking genius won us the Second World War but was arrested in 1952 for being gay (again, âgross indecencyâ). He accepted CHEMICAL CASTRATION as an alternative to a jail sentence, before killing himself in 1954. Not cool.
A major step forward in equality was the change made to the age of consent. After much, MUCH ridiculousness, in which many politicians showed themselves to be flaming ignoramuses or plain homophobes, the age of consent for same-sex men (again men, as there had never been any rules in place for women) was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen and, FINALLY, in 2001, to sixteen. This meant the law recognised that you canât have one set of rules for straight people and another set for those who arenât.
With the equally baffling and frustrating fight for equal marriage now wrapping up at long last, the overt discrimination (as that is precisely what it is) is finally drawing to a close in the UK â but more on marriage later.
Basically, my friends, sometimes being LGBT* in the UK is a bit pants but, as youâre about to learn, it could be far, FAR worse â¦
AROUND THE WORLD IN (ALMOST) EIGHTY GAYS
We didnât choose where we were born. We
This is why all of us â all LGBT* people, young and old â are still working for greater acceptance and challenging homophobia. Even a book like this would have been unthinkable ten years ago. Itâs CRAY! A book about YOU in a school library! Whatever next?!
Hopefully, as tolerance, understanding and visibility of LGBT* people increases, homophobia will die out with the ignorant people it lingers in.
CHAPTER 6:
HATERZ GONâ HATE
Aside from a bit of pesky self-loathing, there are more practical reasons why people might choose not to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans â or at the very least keep it under their hat. Depending on where you live and the faith youâre born into, circumstances can vary wildly. This section, although hardly filled with LOLs, Iâm afraid, is really important because, although itâs pretty mega being a gay, itâs far from comfortable for thousands of people all around the world. And, who knows, we might be able to make a little difference.
Whatâs annoying is that homophobia is a cultural thing. In ancient times, people were super open minded about gay shiz. Look at Sappho on her island; check out the same-sex culture of the Greeks and Romans. Iâm afraid the tide turned when Christian missionaries took it upon themselves to travel the world to tell everyone how marriage should be done. From there it was downhill all the way as far as the acceptance of homosexuality was concerned.
If you are reading this book in the UK (or pretty much anywhere in Europe or most of the United States), you should feel very lucky indeed because while bitchy haterz be throwing shade, at least you have the law on your side. As discussed, in the UK you are actively protected.
HISTORY LESSON
Although it seems unthinkable now, it was illegal to be gay in England and Wales until 1967, and Scotland didnât wise up until 1981 (what were they thinking?). Northern Ireland dithered about until 1982. Before these dates, homosexual behaviour between men was considered a crime (âgross indecencyâ) or a mental illness. In 1954, there were some one thousand men in PRISON for being gay.
That lesbian behaviour was never illegal is down to the assumption that two women could not commit âsodomyâ, at least in the UK.
Letâs talk about ALAN TURING, a guy you really ought to be taught about in school. Basically, this total dude of a code-breaking genius won us the Second World War but was arrested in 1952 for being gay (again, âgross indecencyâ). He accepted CHEMICAL CASTRATION as an alternative to a jail sentence, before killing himself in 1954. Not cool.
A major step forward in equality was the change made to the age of consent. After much, MUCH ridiculousness, in which many politicians showed themselves to be flaming ignoramuses or plain homophobes, the age of consent for same-sex men (again men, as there had never been any rules in place for women) was lowered from twenty-one to eighteen and, FINALLY, in 2001, to sixteen. This meant the law recognised that you canât have one set of rules for straight people and another set for those who arenât.
With the equally baffling and frustrating fight for equal marriage now wrapping up at long last, the overt discrimination (as that is precisely what it is) is finally drawing to a close in the UK â but more on marriage later.
Basically, my friends, sometimes being LGBT* in the UK is a bit pants but, as youâre about to learn, it could be far, FAR worse â¦
AROUND THE WORLD IN (ALMOST) EIGHTY GAYS
We didnât choose where we were born. We
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