tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-587902609826926070.post5052623110379358271..comments2024-03-05T23:31:44.106-08:00Comments on Gay Family Values: Our Stories MatterGFVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02950236433262366445noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-587902609826926070.post-44485359363850062412010-12-30T12:53:14.082-08:002010-12-30T12:53:14.082-08:00Great entry. Coming to terms with my own sexualit...Great entry. Coming to terms with my own sexuality has been a long process, and only since my late 20s have I started truly accepting it in being more willing to accept being gay as a lifestyle not just a closeted identity. The main impetus for this change was definitely education especially in the form of role-models (such as you guys). I'm still not even out, but I'm like *right there* almost<br /><br />Like you brought up, a few of the biggest things I've learned is how history is written from certain perspectives and the surprising notion that facts can be hidden, misrepresented, and entire histories can be marginalized and/or revised. It would seem like a conspiracy theory if it weren't totally true and seen in a variety of circumstances. Learning about other historical gay figures definitely helped me appreciate my sexual identity better. Like learning about Alexander the Great possibly being gay or bi and I think some of the Renaissance artists like Leonardo Da Vinci. All very eye-opening and exciting/inspiring to me<br /><br />As for the idiotic dogma that gays are converting people to be homosexual with some sort of agenda *eyeroll*, it's just another example that there are some evil and/or misguided people out there. I was raised in a pretty good environment, so when I was younger and naive I thought people were mostly good. It's not that I think people are inherently bad, I just realize now you can't be giving the human race too much credit. I'm sort of like, well if we're going to get accused of agenda, hell we should at least come up with one and get organized so at least we'll deserve the lies. At least then we'll get something positive out of the maligning, as it seems a lot of the public did end up believing we had an agenda due to the fear politics. So if they're going to think we have an agenda, we should at least be able to fight back against the attack with an actual agenda. What are they going to do blame us for having an agenda? Oh wait they already did that back when we didn't. I'm glad to hear about the efforts to educate people on gay history. It's inspiring, and I've always believed education and understanding is one of the best tools to combat hate and fear.u3q2vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15845017823913752380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-587902609826926070.post-78014514595599553712010-12-29T15:36:58.669-08:002010-12-29T15:36:58.669-08:00Great article Bryan! I am STILL trying to figure ...Great article Bryan! I am STILL trying to figure out who indoctrinated me into this "lifestyle??" in a small Ohio town raised by two devout Catholic parents. I am guessing it must have either been Paul Lynde on "Bewitched"...or Liberace. Those were about the only two "sort of" gay men in the media when I was a kid.... <br /><br />I wonder when our population will listen to "knowledge and fact" rather than FEAR from crazies??? Hate groups still, sadly to say, make money from fear. I hope before I go to the "great beyond" I see change. Too many young people are still ending their lives because of these horrible people...Jim Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12387924451130690320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-587902609826926070.post-67420906447636755392010-12-29T01:45:26.179-08:002010-12-29T01:45:26.179-08:00I'm currently most of the way through reading ...I'm currently most of the way through reading 'Born to be Gay: a history of homosexuality' by William Naphy, who is a senior lecturer and director of teaching and learning in the School of Divinity, History & Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. It's rather a whirlwind tour of how same-sex activity has been viewed in various cultures throughout time. From the Ancient Egyptians, through various areas of China, India, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Truly fascinating! I had no idea that Shaka Zulu was gay, or that a lot of mainstream early Islamic poetry focussed on the beauty of young men... Perhaps it might fill the gap you found, or at least provide a starting point.Megaerahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00322009848182412744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-587902609826926070.post-19835486394252665362010-12-29T00:22:53.860-08:002010-12-29T00:22:53.860-08:00This is interest group politics. No denying that. ...This is interest group politics. No denying that. Fox News is right in recognizing it as such.<br /><br />Unfortunately, history in schools is a touchy issue, and as an educator and a historian I think there is a slope here that has to be cautiously climbed or else we may fall and realize that we've screwed up.<br /><br />Because "gays" are not the only people who are wanting to get written into history books. So are many other minorities - people wanting to have their stories included so that they "feel good".<br /><br />I would argue that most of those stories, particularly those associated with race, ethnicity and heritage, are shared within the family and maintained through an oral tradition. That does not make them any less important in a broader social context, but does highlight an important difference between homosexual history and the history of other minorities: gay history is very, very rarely shared in advance of one's coming out. It is completely lost on most heterosexuals - missing from their collective knowledge. And, studies have shown that including people groups in history makes it relatable, even if it is not done so in a feel-good manner. For example, the sudden inclusion of females in history books starting in the 1970s and 1980s. Weird, huh? People argue that the result of this is a generation (or two) of women with higher standards of education, a higher rate of post-secondary graduation, a higher rate of self-confidence than their male counterparts.<br /><br />And, most importantly, including gay people in history is not telling anything other than "what happened." Finding out that Benjamin Britten was gay, or that gay soldiers were allowed to serve in the Second World War, or that Drag Shows were common in the first world war as a form of entertainment. This tells us nothing but the truth. It just isn't the truth that is in the curriculum.<br /><br />But Americans need to really think about the history that they are learning in their schools - because there are a lot of lies in it. There is a book I read for one of my History Education for High School students courses at University called "Lies My Teacher Told Me". It is about the failures of American history curricula to include factual history.canadianhumilityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17765821265373068860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-587902609826926070.post-2561339892747209152010-12-28T17:14:38.789-08:002010-12-28T17:14:38.789-08:00Of course those who ferment hate and intolerance w...Of course those who ferment hate and intolerance will decry education of an opposing view. To keep a populace ignorant and uninformed allows one to maintain control. <br /><br />The true test of an ideology is under the light of examination. However those who work with fear and deception can not allow that for they will be discovered for what they are. <br /><br />To combat such people we must strive to educate people and raise social awareness of exactly who and what we are, which is not so different than them. Only our details change. <br /><br />TThttp://links-of-love.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com