Dude, that’s so gay!
David Steinfeld
In my Cognitive Psychology textbook it says “…language is regarded as ‘the light of the mind’” (Roediger and Gallo, 723) which brings back memories of a few German classes in high school. Our teacher taught us that humans use language to make sense of the daily impressions and perceptions that their senses pick up on. Consequently, we use language to communicate with one another so that others can also make sense of our perceptions etc. But what kind of light is shed to someone’s mind when I hear some men say “Dude, that’s so fucking gay”? How are they making sense of what surrounds them when someone’s lifestyle and sexual orientation is substituted for the word “stupid”? My first impression was that this phrase is nothing more than a demonstration of the person’s intelligence level that must have sunk so low that the person can no longer communicate via reasonable expressions.
However, there seems to be something else at work here, which would be a common sentiment among some males known as homophobia. I always find it entertaining when a guy’s homophobia seeps through whenever a man is present that actually is gay or could be gay because he fits a stereotype. Yes, everybody should know that every gay man in the world will immediately hit on and jump every guy he sees. Or what if the idea of two guys sleeping underneath the same blanket comes up? I can only picture what some homophobes would reply “Jesus Christ, are you nuts? I have heard so many horror stories about two guys sharing a blanket, and how it immediately led to these… ‘strange’ things. No, no, you don’t wanna go down that road, man…”
Further elaboration on this homophobic behaviour reveals to me that, not only is the word “gay” used to replace “stupid” or to express one’s frustrations but also for anything that deviates from a homophobic man’s view of what man is supposed to be like. If a man may be more sensitive than other males, dresses in a “different” way, decides to show more feelings and passion towards his girlfriend and others or simply engages in activities that a normal male is not supposed to do, he is labelled gay. Hence, if he doesn’t fit that certain expected guy profile, he is called a homo. Last Thursday night even when I was walking to my girlfriend’s house some guys in a black pick up truck called me a homo for whatever possible reason. Maybe it was the fact that I was wearing a black coat, blue jeans, a black hat, black gloves, moccasins, a backpack and listening to music. I am sure that must have been really gay.
Nonetheless, I am more baffled by the fact that I even notice male college students who engage in this mindless, prejudiced behaviour. At a college where we as students are encouraged to engage in critical thinking through our education there are those who thoughtlessly gobble down homophobic attitudes and spit them right back at anyone or anything that is different from them. We read a syllabus at the beginning of every semester that lists numerous goals of a Liberal Arts education and one of them is to gain respect for diversity. By looking at those homophobes I feel that these people are failing at attaining a true liberal arts education because they are obviously too narrow-minded and dumb to grasp the meaning of broadening one’s horizons or the concept of respect for diversity.
After some final elaboration though, I figure that all this ridiculous homophobia in society, on our campus and in our community is no more than a reflection of men’s insecurity of what it means to be a man in today’s time. Instead of facing a changing status quo with altering perceptions of gender and taking it like a brave man, there are so many who freak out and piss their pants instead. If those homophobic guys really had those gigantic balls they claim to possess they would be comfortable with who they are and perfectly capable of respecting any man who may be different from them, gay or straight.
Sources:
Roediger,
Henry L., David A. Gallo, et al. Cognitive Psychology.