I love the gays

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In this wonderful age of acceptance, everyone loves to show off how liberal and open minded they are. Often you will find individuals who say the phrase “I love the gays” When one states how much they love gay men it’s sometimes said in support. The individual is trying to be a decent human being and support a minority group that is marginalized and slandered in everyday conversation. This public service announcement is for the people who usually follow that phrase with a plethora of stereotypical points to support why they love the gay community so much.

It’s no secret that gay people have it hard; coming out to friends, family and co-workers can be quite intimidating. It does not help when one says that they are gay that they are then bombarded with obnoxious hip holding, the ever standard “Hey girl” and questions about upscale fashion.

Being gay is just that. It’s someone who is sexually and ROMANTICALLY (I must stress that)attracted to an individual of the same sex. It does not mean that he is a fashionista, interior decorator, master chef, or just an all knowing entity of what is chic. When you say that you love the gay culture/gay men because they are so fashion forward, you are putting a group of people in a box, limited just by who they decide to share their bed with.. Let’s cut these stereotypes out, any stereotype no matter how positive you may think it is, is damaging. We are putting an expectation on an individual who already has a difficult time being themselves. Let’s not make their lives more difficult by forcing a cookie cutter image of what gay is supposed to be.