Outside the local shop the following conversation ensued during
barely-wanted eavesdropping:
“When we was passing town at the bus shelter, uhh, the other
night,” said the baseball cap clad teenager.
“After Adam’s, was that?” Replied the second overgrown mass sitting
on a child’s bicycle.
“….yeh, and there was these two men…. hugging!” replied the first.
“Hugging? That’s well gay, innit,” said the second.
“Not natural them
gays,” the teenager concurred.
“I don’t mind those lessies though,” replied the second
thoughtfully.
“I love a lesbian,
especially two for my cock,” both laughed in unison at the suggestion.
Business tends to market around the parameters of social
acceptability of what sells. Lesbian
erotica has been tapped terrifically into the mainstream over the past decade; From
the infamous Britney-Madonna smooches, to ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, and ‘The
L Word’. Katie Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’
became globally the largest selling single in 2008 selling 5 million
copies. It is difficult to envision the
same merchandising effect if Robert Patterson staged a passionate kiss with Tom
Cruise at the Golden Globes, although negative furore would furiously be
invoked. Undoubtedly lesbian
relationships, at least those involving beautiful women, have become more
favourable amongst modern society.
Heterosexual attitudes towards gay men and lesbians have
also broadly shown to favour lesbians in national RDD surveys; 92% believed
that a female-female relationship can be committed and loving, but only 71%
believed male-male ones could be. 47.1% believed
that lesbian couples should be allowed adoption rights, but only 33.3% for gay
male couples. The difference is quite horrifying when it is not an orientation issue but an individual one.
The U.S Department of Justice statistics in 2008 concluded
that there were 9,691 victims of hate crimes in the United States reported to
law enforcement agencies. Analysis shows
that involving sexuality: 57.5% were
victims of an offender’s anti-male homosexual bias, whilst 11.6%were victims
because of an anti-female homosexual bias.
It is noteworthy that this is only the reported surface. To delve into the unreported: The Kaiser
Family foundation carried out surveys in 2012, and found that gay men were much
more likely to be the target of discrimination, men reported 82% compared to
lesbians 62%.
This unequal bias is not restricted to ‘The West’. Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, there
have been over 4000 executions involving homosexuality, and none are known to be female. Iranian judges can invoke
‘prior knowledge’ where legal loopholes allow criminal convictions on the basis
of little or no evidence. Homosexuality
suffers large levels of state-sponsored funding in Africa, and is still outlawed
in 38 Africa countries. Many convictions
lead to lengthy prison sentences, and in some countries (Nigeria particularly)
the death penalty. Other countries, such
as Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Lesotho, Malawi,
Swaziland, Zimbabwe are either unclear on lesbian relationships or deliberately
omit it from the penal code. Although
there are no official statistics available for Africa, the obvious conclusion is that it
is men that generally suffer the brunt of state-discrimination.
Why is there such a world-wide contrasting
perception on this issue?
Naturally, it would be wrong to assume that lesbians always get
an easier time on the abuse barometer than gay man. The deep-seated
misconception of lascivious women innately needing a man for satisfaction (even
with their orientation defies it) may be marketable in the West. However, it has sprouted a uniquely female
crime. Ndumie Funda started a petition
in 2011 to lobby the South African government to fight ‘corrective rapes’ on
women. This is a terminology that
describes a heinous crime 520 women report suffering yearly in South Africa, one of the
few African countries that liberalises homosexuality, often involving gang
rape, on a women to ‘correct’ her.
It is easy to conclude that because men are more sexually
mobile cartoonish fantasies involving multiple female partners at once is of
great interest. Also the inaccurate
image of all gay men as flamboyantly feminine mortifies the masculinity of some
straight men (despite it being possible to adhere to masculine gender roles and
be gay). These stereotypes likely hold
some degree of truth, but it is not an acceptable shut-shop settlement.
The dictator Mugabe once described homosexuality as a
foreign import describing them as "worse than dogs and pigs" and
“un-African”. On dissection this view ignores
the history of homosexuality; human experiences are not time nor place
confined. It is probable that humanity
originated in Africa, and that first homosexual relationship didn’t come long
after this event in same area. Homosexuality is equally spread from East to West,
through black and white, and from believer and nonbeliever. Much of the hard ‘anti-gay’ brigade, despite
gay-rights also being exported from such countries now, stems from western
countries that were adhering to archaic Abrahamic values. Christian missionaries indoctrinated communities
throughout the world by exposure to the Holy Scriptures (although Islam is now
becoming rampant in those countries presently overwriting any recent progress with the
same medieval manacles).
Homosexuality has a colourful history and expression
stretching from classical antiquity. In
ancient Greece mature older men acceptably indulged into intercrural
relationships with younger men whilst coinciding in a traditional marital
marriage. It was celebrated in art and
literature in China throughout the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties stretching
over a thousand years without prejudice.
In Papua New Guinea, some tribes believed homosexuality to be an
integral part of culture and viewed heterosexuality as sinful but
necessary. Despite Islam and
Christianity persecuting homosexuals it has been wild and widespread but
wordless.
Relationships involving women with the same sex does not
have this historical depth or at least the limelight. Femininity is not whittled by same-sex
affection. This is not to say such relationships and suffering did not happen, but
was not overtly recognised on the radar. Even within the passages of Leviticus 18:22
the emphasis is on men. This lack of emphasis (or omission) could be from scriptural
piety and importantly the lack of anal penetration perceived in lesbian
relationships. Either way it has not
been taken as seriously and the greater punishment is on the man. Indeed, women
in many societies have been sexual subordinates and the rise such open expression
is a modern phenomenon. Men with men is
on our perverse minds. However, the lighter
attitude towards lesbians now that is invoked to attention has trivialised it
as a playful and sexy ratings booster.
The parallel paths of both same-sex relationships fork to
the same cessation; clone organs promenaded to zero productivity. Ultimately it is unwise to stipulate that
either of these relationships are disadvantageous in fulfilment compared to
their heterosexual counterparts and to argue so is ignoring historical
occurrences again and again regardless of current societal values.
Anyway, I decided to rewrite Katie Perry’s song. I await the
day this becomes number one. Meanwhile, we can laugh at our hypocrisy.
I kissed a boy and I liked it (Katie Perry Remix)
This was never the way I planned,
Not my intention.
I got so brave, dick
in hand,
Lost my discretion.
It's not what, I'm
used to.
Just wanna try pink
on.
I'm curious for you,
Caught my attention.
I kissed a boy and I liked it
The taste of his
cherry chapstick
I kissed a boy just
to try it
I hope my daddy don’t
mind it
It felt so wrong.
It felt so right.
Don't mean I'm in
love tonight.
I kissed a boy and I
liked it,
I liked it.
No, I don't even know your name,
AIDS don’t matter.
You're my experimental game,
Just human nature.
It's not what,
Good priests do,
But it’s how they
like to behave.
My head gets so
confused,
Hard to obey.
I kissed a boy and I liked it.
The taste of his
cherry chap stick.
I kissed a boy just
to try it.
I hope my daddy don't
mind it.
It felt so wrong.
It felt so right.
Don't mean I'm in
love tonight.
I kissed a boy and I
liked it,
I liked it.
Us boys we are so magical.
Soft touch, six packs,
so kissable
Hard to resist so
touchable.
Too good to deny it.
Ain't no big deal,
it's natural.
I kissed a boy and I liked it.
The taste of his
cherry chap stick.
I kissed a boy just
to try it.
I hope my daddy don't
mind it.
It felt so wrong,
It felt so right.
Don't mean I'm in
love tonight.
I kissed a boy and I
liked it
I liked it.
