Individuality

I'm just as much -- if not more -- of a homosexual as any other person who identifies as gay. I'm not interested in fashion, I'm no one's "girl friend", I don't like pop music, and I'm not feminine. I don't "act" masculine. I am not straight. I'm not "straight-acting". I'm just being myself. I'm an individual, and I just happen to be a male who is attracted other males which is what makes me gay.

There's nothing wrong with being a feminine male, or a feminine gay male. There is something wrong with generalizing singular examples of this and others similar in order to encompass vast portions of a population.

It is wrong because it's a device that reduces a group of persons' individuality, which is key to being human. If you don't see me as an individual, you don't see me as a person, and that makes it difficult for you to respect me as a person. Instead, you see me as a political issue, and some people see me as a religious or moral issue.

"Gay", when used in reference to males, is not synonymous for "feminine", or at least, it shouldn't be. Just as "black" should not be synonymous with "degenerate". It's not just about femininity though. It's about all the stereotypes: promiscuity, drug usage, weakness, etc. If you put such a large group of people into such a little, isolated box, those people become simply a phenomenon, something that happens in the world. You think you know about this phenomenon, and understand it, and that justifies your judgments of, and your votes on, how these people live.

If you recognize my humanity, you can empathize with me, and then you should be able to recognize that I'm not that different from you. You should be able to see that I want love, and a family, and I wish all the best for others. I have many of the same values as you. I have dreams, aspirations, thoughts, feelings, troubles, goals and beliefs, just like you. Most importantly, you should be able to see that a gay couple's love is no less worthy than a straight couple's, and our families are no less important.