The Straight Test
Day 1,623, 07:23
•
Published in USA 
•
by
•
by Silas Soule
The Straight Test
A simple test: You know you're really straight when you can carry on your life on its own merits, without having to tear down other people. If the only way you can "prove" you're straight is to tease and bully gay people, you fail.
Everybody who's not living under a rock knows that anti-gay bullying leads to pain, suffering and death. For example, just last week in Utah: Jack Reese, Gay Utah Teen, Commits Suicide After Allegedly Being Subjected To Bullying In School.
In at least some US states, this kind of bullying activity when done in schools carries criminal penalties of up to 5 years in prison.
FFfffffffuuu...
In other states, the "social norms" that promote anti-gay hatred are expressed not only by ignorant school-kids reflecting the atmospherics of hatred they were raised in, but by elected officials as well. This kind of institutionalization of the marginalizing of certain sectors of society is reminiscent of Nazi ideology.
On the internets, and in eRepublik in particular, this kind of thing tends to be in a humorous vein, usually done in a style that is mindful of the rules against flaming and insulting behavior. But the humor tends to lean in one direction. What I mean is that such silliness is seldom ridiculed in turn.
I mean things like the "Gay Test" article that was recently published in the eUSA media.
Even if somewhat derivative of similar material elsewhere, it was pretty funny, really. And folks like me who scored a perfect 15 out of 15 are unlikely to suffer any direct repercussions from it.
While the gay and lesbian community in eRep is not very vocal, neither is it (at least in the eUSA) shouted down or outright condemned. These somewhat amusing exhibitions of teenage male machismo can simply be read as celebrating the boobification of the eRep media. All in good fun. Whatever.
Shouting out to the world "I am not gay!" in such as way is a fairly typical behavior for teenage boys, in particular, who are trying to figure out their place in the (sexual) world.
And that's OK. It is what it is. And I would not want to encourage censoring such things.
For myself, such silly things are just a blip on the radar screen. I've certainly seen much worse: friends beat up, shot, stabbed, thrown out of their families, depressed, drug-addicted, and a few who have committed suicide.
I am long out of school and out of the closet as well. I have a lot of friends and family, both gay and straight, including co-workers, my boss, my family, etc., etc., who like me just fine the way I am. I am also lucky to live in a state where the equality of gay people is protected at nearly every level. Anti-gay attacks and discrimination are illegal. Perhaps even more interesting is that anti-gay remarks, even in a "friendly" vein, are simply considered stupid.
Where I live, such things are more likely to hurt your chances to make friends, get a job, and so forth, so they are generally disdained and avoided. It has nothing to do with being gay or straight. It's become a matter of "social norms" shifting in much the same way that racist speech is generally considered to be a sign of a low character.
When right-wing fanatics occasionally try to show up in my town and make ridiculous speeches and so on, everybody from numerous activist groups to the Governor tends to ridicule them, suggesting they leave and not come back.
"Tea Party" events always result in hilarity in my town, where people don't take kindly to having their history hijacked by right-wing nutbags and love pretending to be tea baggers. I'm not saying all Tea Partiers are nutbags, just that some are nuttier than others.
So none of this kind of stuff has much impact on me personally. In my neck of the woods, being gay, lesbian or transgendered has been normalized to such an extent that it is a non-event when somebody comes out. Nobody really cares. It's not a threat to anyone; it's not particularly remarkable.
And as a result, silly homophobish remarks come across more like shouting "I think I might be gay" rather than "I'm not gay". In other words, "Methinks thou dost protest too much, yeah?" is a fairly common reaction to such stuff.
While the debate continues over to what extent anti-gay ranting and similar foolishness can be a reaction formation, there is evidence to suggest that this can at least sometimes be the case:
"The results of this study indicated that individuals who score in the homophobic range and admit negative affect towards homosexuality demonstrate significant sexual arousal to male homosexual erotic stimuli". -- Adam, Wright and Lohr, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1996
Now, that does not mean anybody who posts a funny "I am not gay!" or "I love boobies so you should too!" type of article or shout or comment in eRepublik is a closet case. But it does make some of us giggle whenever we see something like that.
But as my old ACT UP comrade Warren B. recently blogged, there is more to this whole situation than either the criminal nature of certain extreme types of bullying behavior, or the creation of "liberated zones" where such stuff is considered more or less abnormal by society. I am talking about the question of "standing by and doing nothing", which is an echo, really, of the same profound questions that get asked about historical cases of genocide where good people did nothing, or at least not enough, to oppose the terror that was being unleashed on their fellow citizens.
At one time in my life, I took this kind of thing on in a more militant fashion. For example, I now know how to handle all sorts of firearms and am adept at a few tae kwan do and kung fu moves that can quickly debilitate an attacker. By participating in organizations like ACT UP and Queer Nation, as well as a few more, errmmmm, guerilla-style units like something we called Queer Jihad, I've also learned how to mobilize for direct action and take on those who would attack the dignity of the gay and lesbian community politically.
Shoots straight
All of that is history for me now. It's been a long time since I've personally had to be concerned about such issues. At least where I live, we can rely on allies at every level of society to address such things; being part of the gay community no longer feels like being an "Other" or an "outsider". Furthermore, on a wider social level, I live in a very integrated neighorhood. My neighbors are black, white, hispanic, asian; gay, lesbian, straight; young and old; married, single, partners-without-marriage; immigrants and citizens; and they run the economic gamut from lumpen to the 2%.
So that's all cool -- for me. But it's not like that everywhere.
Anyway... In the hopes of sending out a word of encouragement to any gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, questioning or otherwise queer kids (and adults) out there in a "non-liberated zone", I'd just like to point out that America -- both in RL and in-game -- is chock-full of successful and happy folks just like you.
Please don't the let the turkeys, haters, closet-cases and small minds get you down, especially if you are a young person. It does get better. And if you can't deal with your local RL yahoos, remember that liberated zones do exist and you are always welcome to immigrate here (as my niece from West Virginia will be doing shortly).
So without further ado, here is my list of awesome cool people who happen to be gay and lesbian!
Oh! Oh! Lists are my favorite thing!
The following list proves that gay and lesbian Americans are smart, powerful, influential and, well, just "plain" awesome. Don't let anybody tell you that you are not the same...
Technology and Finance
==========================
Tim Cook: CEO of Apple Computers, the most highly-valued company in the world.
Peter Thiel: Co-founder of PayPal, first major investor in Facebook, provides incentive loans to people under age 20 to start their own businesses.
Adam Rose: Co-President of Rose Associates, Inc., a major and one of the oldest NYC-based development and management services
News and Entertainment Media
==================================
Ellen Degeneres, Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Shephard Smith, Suze Orman, Don Lemon, Andy Cohen, Harvey Levin, Dan Savage: popular television news and talk-show hosts and anchors.
Matt Drudge, Andrew Sullivan, Nick Denton, Perez Hilton: major contributors to the blogosphere: The Drudge Report, The Daily Dish, Gawker
Barry Diller: Media mogul: Newsweek, Match.com, CollegeHumor, Vimeo
Chris Hughes: publisher and editor-in-chief of The New Republic
Jann Wenner: Publisher and editor of Rolling Stone, US Weekly and Men's Journal
Martha Nelson: Editorial Director for Time, Inc., founding editor of InStyle
Richard Berke: Assistant Manging Editor, New York Times
Jess Cagle: Managing Editor, Entertainment Weekly
Jim Nelson: Editor-in-Chief, GQ
Adam Moss: Managing Editor, New York
Film, Television amd Theater
=================================
Rich Ross: former Chairman of Disney Studios, responsible for 3 of the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time as well as 2 Academy award winners this year: Muppets and The Help
David Geffen: mega media mogul, Asylum Records, Geffen Records, Geffen Films, one of 3 co-founders of DreamWorks SKG
Ryan Murphy: Writer, director, producer of hit TV shows Glee and American Horror Story
Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Lynch, George Takei: well-known actors
Scott Rudin: Film and theater producer. Produced 2 of 9 films nominated for Best Picture Oscars this year. The Book of Mormon won
won 9 Tony awards and a Grammy.
Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane: Managing Partners of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a top Hollywood talent agency
Alan Ball: Screenwriter, producer, director; his best-known works are the film American Beauty and the TV series Six Feet Under and True Blood
Bryan Singer: Director/Producer, credits include X-Men and X-Men: First Class
Politics and Law
====================
Tammy Baldwin, David Cicilline, Jared Polis, Barney Frank: Members of the United States Congress
Annise Parker: Mayor of Houston, Texas
Jeremy Bernard: White House Social Secretary
Mary Kay Henry: International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest-growing labor union in the USA, with 2.1 million members
Beth Robinson, Victoria Kolakowski: State Supreme Court and Superior Court judges (Vermont and California)
Hilary Rosen: Democratic Party strategist
Chai Feldblum: Commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (a Federal Agency of the US Government)
Anthony Romero: Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Joe Solmonese: Former President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBT equal rights organization; now one of the national co-chairs for President Obama's re-election campaign
Widney Brown: a Senior Director for Amnesty International overseeing law and policy
...and that's only the well-known and famous people!
XXX,
PQ
Facebook
Twitter
Discord
Comments
If the only way you can "prove" you're straight is to tease and bully gay people, you fail.
It always makes me sad when I read articles like this. I am not from the States I live in Belgium. In my country gay marriages are just as accepted as straight marriages.
The beauty of the human race is "its diversity". The downfall of the human race is that people are scared of this diversity. Unknown is unloved. For centuries our religions have been feeding this fear it has become a second nature for many.
Nice. I get labelled gay ALOT by kids at high school and even my family as a joke 😛. It's all in good fun seeing as I seem to enjoy the attention, even though I don't have any sexual feelings for men.
However, I had a great moment when my best friends (Who all label me gay 😛) came together to confront a homophobe in one of our classes, who misstook some of my flaboyant behaviour as homosexual.
It was a wonderful thing to see that when the jokes turned serious, my friends do indeed come to defend diversity in front of dogmatic bigotry in it's finest form.
Stop being scared and start respecting each other and you will see that you are not surrounded by demons who are going to corrupt you or your offspring.
Each person in unique!
Each person deserves a partner that he loves!
Each person deserves to experience his sexuality in his own way with the partner he chooses as long as it is not violating the other persons integrity.
Live and let live.
Cool gun 😉
There are plenty of people who were bullied in school for a variety of reasons who never killed themselves.
Just saying.
Voted and supported. You are lucky that your family accepted it well. A lot of people do not have that luxury and therefore friends and online groups are one of the only means for release and escape.
@Talostastic: understood, but "just saying" what? The fact that many survive OK and don't kill themselves neither makes it right nor acceptable, imho, especially when the consequences of such bullying are deadly. I think what probably makes the difference is things like Flintro pointed out -- when people stand up for their friends (and family), it is much easier to deal with such behavior. I think it's when people feel totally isolated and alone that tragedies occur.
Or it's culling the herd.
If the only way you can "prove" you're straight is to tease and bully gay people, you fail.
Your best article till date PQ o7 broted
I don't like to judge you, but why don't you keep your privacy to yourself?! Nobody cries around that he is normal, heterosexual. You can as well shut your militant gay propaganda, you xcremental leftist fanatic. This is erepublik and not a place to shout out your socialist lies around the world. Homosexuality is retarded, pervert, unnatural. Sticking to that kind of deviation robs the people of their innate human dignity. Return on to the righteous path or at least don't bother the others.
Yes, Talostastic, what a fantastic reading of Darwinian ecology. We should all belittle and harass one another so the weak perish and we are left with the Übermensch. A race of superhumanans, riding their electric scooters and implanted with their pacemakers and their insulin and their viagra and their lipitor, devoid of emotion and steadfast in their resolve that they shall not perish from homophobic propaganda.
What does the Tea Party have to do with being anti-gay, other than many people who support less govt. and reduced govt. spending also have conservative social values to go along with fiscal conservatism? It isn't a prerequisite to hate homosexuals to be a Tea Party supporter. Neither is stupidity, as these Obama voters demonstrate quite nicely when asked questions about why they voted as they di😛 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3ZLJj_q4xI
Another awesome article from PQ...and I thought I was long winded....
@Bill Hook: yes, I probably should've left that out of it, or at least been clearer about that point. There are plenty of well-meaning people in and around the Tea Party movement, imho. There was recently an incident in my town where the local Tea Party invited a virulent gay-basher to speak at an event they sponsored in a public space. The reaction was predictable, not entirely unlike the time David Duke got chased out of town.
Great article
and to VVende please continue down your "righteous path" to that sad little lonely place.
Well said, good sir. Our country needs more people like you.
by far your best article yet, of course I have missed many...
growing up in central Virginia, bullying was just an excepted fact of life, interesting enough though, once I worked hard enough to wear, it was obvious I could take care of myself, the bullying stopped. Which should tell you a lot about bully's, i.e. the only pick on what they see as weak.
Well,
golly gumdrops, I wouldn't say this is a touchy subject since usa has slowly turned over to the new generation of Americans but slurs and sex tons have always been a topic. SPecial the westbero Capter Chruch
Ugh, those guys are a pain in the ass for everyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXw6znXPfy4
No really, good writing.
Easily my favorite from you, PQ. I 100% agree. This is why I miss the UIP so much. It was a place for most of the LGBT erep players to get together and not feel judged.
and the leadrship of that party(UIP) let Emerick/gagah/Emerick bully them into doing his will....and worse, that same leadership while no longer in the UIP, will not except my olive branch...most likely they haven't learned a thing about bullies and those that stand up to them.
Did you know, PQ, that in RL I am in fact a card-carrying member of the American Anglican Council ? Well, now you do. I neither approve of bullying or bad manners, but that goes without saying. Where differences divide friends, and they do, there is a chance for honesty and courage to meet. As for the rest, look up meaning of the term "adiaphora" as enunciated by that great English bishop and theologian NT Wright in the Windsor Report, a much misunderstood and now ignored document. Nuff sed.
adiaphora... an interesting concept and, as I understand it, one that deeply informs both Anglican and Calvinist theology. It reminds me of the old phrase "In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas", a consideration that has been dear to divers denominations over the centuries.
btw, I esp. like this bit in the Windsor Report: " any demonising of homosexual persons, or their ill treatment, is totally against Christian charity and basic principles of pastoral care".
Great article, and something I think desperately needed saying. Bullying in any form is never acceptable, and we must never forget that if we accept verbal violence, it is only a step from physical violence. Let's not stand by and let that happen.
http://www.pinkpistols.org/
Speaking as a "right-wing nutbag", I approve this article!
But if I might, my 2 cents worth...
In my background I have two female friends who are homosexual. One an outright lesbian and the other bi-sexual, leaning toward lesbianism (but she ended up married! lol And he's cool with it!!! LOL) TBH, I've not kept up the friendships as we've all moved about since. But I love them both (platonic) and would defend them to the hilt.
I'll be the turd and say that my conservative background and personal morals set me against the promotion of the 'gay' agenda. Before you BLAST me allow an explanation of my position please. I only mean that I am against having "gay rights" shoved down my throat. Of course I'm against any special interest shoving "their rights" down my throat. We have an interesting document in the US call the "Bill of Rights". I wish special interests groups would read it. Seems we all have equal rights!
In the past and, as PQ points out, in isolated areas today, there were/are homophobes and violent haters. These also are disagreeable to my conservative background and personal morals. So much so I would be the first to take up arms to defend the homosexual. The act of denigration or humiliation of anyone, for any reason is very distasteful to me. I was the awkward fat kid in school, so I have my own issues. Violence because someone is different is something I vehemently oppose.
I've quite possibly confused the casual reader. My apologies. If what I've said here really bothers or confuses you, please PM me. I am always open to discussion and positive debate. (Trolls and shit disturbers can take a hike.)
I hate the new comment box character limit but understand the reasoning. Sorry I took 4 comment boxes to make my point.
darn improvements(comment box character limits), but before we condemn trolls(I take pride in being one of the worst), can we decide if it is good or bad being one?
honesty, as players that care about the community this game could developed(has and has lost), we need to learn better communciation skills or just drop our baggage at the clicker
My short response:
Read the Bible, become saved.
Sincerly,
A far far far far far far right conservative
and future minister
^ See that is what puts people off of religion.
You do not shove a bible in someones face and insist that they do what you say. Any reasoning, thinking person will reject that action, and rightfully so. Yes, I'm a Christian. Yes, I believe that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is immoral. It also teaches me that I do not judge others by a different rule than myself. I'm not perfect, ergo I cannot proclaim that someone else's fault makes them a "bad person".
Dillpickl is a cool cat
(Damn character limit.)
My commission by Christ is thus: NKJV
Mk 16:15
Chapter 16
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
The "gospel" being interpreted as the "good news". My question would be, how is pointing at someone and saying "become saved" fulfilling Christs command?
@Captain Kushskins
Dunno where you got all the pharmaceuticals from, especially since that would be preventing the natural culling of the herd, but I could totally go for an electric scooter.
It's not just homosexuals who are bullied to death. But we certainly hear a lot about it, giving the perception that it occurs more often.
Lol i just said read the Bible... thus you are reading the word of the Lord...
I dont argue against homosexuality anymore
Thatd bring a debate at which it take hours to complete until one side just stops talking..
All humans are stubborn... they believe there side is right and are against anybody trying to change there opinion..
Once you realize that, you realize that it is useless to argue against people and their beliefs..
thus i said read the Bible.. it provides good morals
and values to live your life by
@DrummerMike, I don't mean to criticize you personally, but that is common, flawed thinking in the Church today. The Church of yesterday did not flinch at calling sin, sin. Neither did it recoil from showing compassion and love for others that were not believers. You cannot "debate" someone out of being homosexual or into being a Christian, that is absurd. But you can show them Christs' love and allow them to see your life in the light of day.
And (I forgot to ask), exactly why would someone want to read the Bible if they didn't agree with it's teaching and were opposed to the values supported by it?
? Where is the gay test article? Did the publisher already remove it?
A psychology lesson: most homophobic men (over 80 😵 are hidden homo- or bisexuals who transfer their self-hatred on avowed gays. In fact: they are too cowardly to admit they are gay or bi or they dont know exactly they have homosexual inclinations because of their education and self-denial.
bible condemns homosexuality, but i'm atheist so fuck yeah
Great article and a shame to hear that it is still so a big problemm in the US, I live in the NL and there it isn't a problemm to be gay. But some of the problems you write down are everywhere maybe not so big or worse but still anything is to much.
Good to see you dare to talk/write about it.
@Wende don't blame you to say soemthing against but a pitty you don't do it with youre one account but use a multi.
DrummerMike begins to preach to Emperor Rick his long boring salvation lesson, until he forces him into submission.
I don't give a shit what consenting adults do behind closed doors.
I just really don't care to hear about it.
I don't need a special name, title, flag or whatever to let the world know whether I eat pussy or chug cock. It's none of their goddamned business.
Get off of your "I'm a special snowflake" horse and welcome to earth.
The tolerance : the sun is for everyone.
Emperor Rick
Day 1,623, 23:05
"bible condemns homosexuality, but i'm atheist so fuck yeah"
It actually calls it an abomination, this is from the law given to Israel, from God, by Moses.
Leviticus 18:22 (NKJV)
22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
I don't want to make this sound stupid, however just because there is a law it doesn't "condemn" the person, it condemns the act. A speed limit condemns the act of speeding, not the motorist.
I just get real tired of hearing "Christians" proclaim this or that and expect everyone to snap to. No wonder most non-Christians are tired of the prattle. It does little to change attitudes, but rather tends to close minds. Also a bad way to make friends.
Romans 2:1 (NKJV)
1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
FWIW, I agree with Dell's comment above.