Love Has No Labels

"I think gay people feel cheated because they were born, in principle, into a society in which they were supposed to be safe." This is a quote from James Baldwin from "The Last Interview". James Baldwin is a Black gay male who does not use the word gay. He does not associate with it because he sees love as a personal matter, and to classify himself as gay seems impersonal. Love is love and there should not be a label put onto it. After reading the whole interview I found this quote to be particularly interesting, and it made me wonder if this is a common thought for some White gay people. They were born White, and therefore have White Privilege, but is that White Privilege taken away because they are gay? Is this why some gay males are angry about their sexual desires? I do not think being gay takes away from their White Privilege, but it does take away from their Sexual Orientation Privilege. A straight person has privilege because they do not need to worry about being judged or called names because of their sexuality. They never have to explain themselves or defend themselves sexually. In my classroom, students throw around the word gay as an insult. I address why it is wrong to do so, but I never understood how gay could possibly be an insult until I read this quote. Once a person is labeled gay it takes away certain privileges, and while someone might not realize this at first no one wants that privilege taken away. I found this cartoon that brought a smile to my face, and made me think why can't we all be like this dog. We may ask questions at first, we may tilt our head because maybe we weren't expecting the words "I'm gay" to come out of someone's mouth, but in the end we will accept them because they are no different than who they were when we thought they were straight. What do I care what sex someone chooses to love? It is none of my business. As James Baldwin says it is personal and we shouldn't need a label to explain who someone loves.

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 17, 2018 at 8:56 PM

    Thank you Alyssa for the thoughtful post.You brought out an interesting point that I never thought of before if White privilege is taken away if you are gay? I completely agree with you, it does not take away from their white privilege but it does take away from their sexual orientation privilege. For example if you are born white and gay but decide to hide your sexual orientation, you will still have white privilege and sexual orientation privilege.

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  2. UnknownFebruary 18, 2018 at 8:52 AM

    I agree with your comments Alyssa. I enjoyed your very true cartoon. Pets come without judgment. As Humans we all want to be accepted but continuously let other things block us from this. We should not care what others think. Society should not put us in a position to care about what others think. And when we (who or whatever that means on an individual basis)are opposed with strong opinions and ridiculousness that comes from it and causes so much conflict and pain, we should not give in to it as outsiders. And if we are the ones in conflict and pain from others we should not take it personally. We should know it is not us with the issue, it is them. That point is very difficult to embrace because of those in Society and especially those in Society that causes Society to build laws and ridiculousness against what should be our own personal freedoms. These freedoms have nothing to do with those who oppose them. As much as Society makes sense; it makes no sense.

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  3. Victoria RestlerFebruary 19, 2018 at 10:06 AM

    Thanks for your post Alyssa. That's a great quote that you open with. My understanding in the article was that Baldwin applied that idea specifically to white gay men. He suggested that white privilege made gay white men feel cheated, betrayed because they expected society to be safe for them and that they should be treated equally. I think that speaks to your question about intersectionality--how race and sexuality work together...

    Best
    Victoria

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  4. UnknownFebruary 20, 2018 at 3:53 AM

    Great reflection Alyssa and I loved how you connected the cartoon with the idea of just loving people for who they are, whether they or straight or gay.

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