Why Homophobia Will Kill Straight People

I read a couple of articles recently that put me in this frame of mind.

Men who have sex with men have been in the news lately. They’re MSMs, called this because they engage in sex with other men but don’t think of themselves as gay or even bisexual. Turns out that people who aren’t “out” tend to have more unprotected sex than those who can comfortably talk about their activities. So then, homophobia and other forces that keep MSMs in their closets act to encourage the spread of HIV.

And this is reason number one why homophobia will kill straight people.

Picture yourself as John Nobody, a guy who’s been brought up in an atmosphere where gays are bad. Suppose (just for argument’s sake) that regardless of how you feel for women, John, you also have an interest in other men. But gays are bad. What do you do? Do you lie to your family, friends, and co-workers and tell them you’re straight? Yes, you do. Do follow tradition and marry a woman? Yes. Yes you do. And do you stop having sex with men?

Well, see, that’s a point of debate. But if you asked a straight man to give up women, you might encounter resistance. So some men, regardless of whether or not they date women, date men too. These closeted men have sex with other men and keep it on the down-low, or L.D., meaning they keep it quiet. This suits a lot of people just fine.

But let’s keep in mind that in keeping their relationships with men on the L.D, they’re also staying in the closet. Statistically, this means that they’re more likely to engage in riskier sexual behaviors than the stereotypical party boy or the nice gay couple that lives down the street. And if they contract HIV, they’re likely to pass it to the women they have sex with. Not just other MSMs, but wives, girlfriends, etc.

Scary. But why would they take those chances? Lots of reasons. Low self-esteem, lack of information. Because Mom and Dad, FOX News, and President Bush are very happy to talk about what’s wrong with gays. These guys end up in so much denial they don’t even think of themselves as anything but straight. In turn, because it’s associated with the gay stigma, these men strategically avoid the very information that could keep them safe.

Reason number two why homophobia will kill straight people. Oh, but see, it doesn’t even end there. Don’t you wish it did? But it doesn’t.

Recently, Gareth Thomas, U.K. Minister for Development, linked anti-gay lyrics in songs with a heightened public dislike for gay people. Further, he says, since everybody knows AIDS is a gay disease, heterosexuals and others give HIV testing a wide berth, refusing to test for something that carries the stigma of homosexuality.

Reason number three.

The circle, as you see, is complete. Focus On The Family teaches people that gays are aberrant, and so closet cases are born. Closet non-heterosexuals engage in risky behavior because they don’t have the information they need to avoid disease and/or because of low self esteem, and become infected. The infected persons continue to play the heterosexual role because they are expected to, but tell no one of their activities and infect their opposite-sex partners. And no one gets tested because of the stigma of homosexuality and belief that AIDS is a gay disease. They, in turn, spread HIV to their other heterosexual partners, and so forth. And voila! AIDS is not a gay disease any more, but instead a heterosexual disease that is spread because the social environment vilifies gays.

I hate to invoke the word justice, but when the fruits of your own misdeeds hurt you, I do think that’s what it’s called.

What’s the lesson for straight people? Encourage gays to come out, support them for who they are, and show no tolerance whatsoever for your peers who don’t. Because perpetuating the current cycle will only make victims of you, your friends, or your children regardless of whether they’re gay or not.