Disgusted! (A gay perspective.)
I'm actually a little bit disgusted by this whole discussion here.
I came on this blog to see what people where saying about this great film, and yes, I was also interested to see how people reacted to the joke at the end.
And even though i was expecting a few responses like this, boy am I surprised at the amount and the things being said.
People who are offended by this need to do one thing. You need to stop connecting the word homosexuality with sex in your mind, cause I'm convinced that is all people hear in your head is "sex sex sex sex sex! and react with "Hell no my kid isn't ready for this!". It's just a very technical term and has practically nothing to do with the reality of being gay at all.
Cause let me tell you what gay people actually do. Yes, you are right, gay people have sex with each other. but the other 98% of the time, the go do their job, go to the supermarket, watch TV, everything that every other person does as well. Gay people constantly get put away as lustful, sex addicts who do nothing else then obsess over sex. (As if lust and sex is suddenly the sole domain of the homosexual.) As a gay person I can tell you...we don't. Yes I do it, It's fun, I enjoy it, and I think I have a healthy attitude to it. but I can also think of a lot of other things I would rather do with 98% of my time.
Now the notion that being gay is a choice and that you are not born this way. First of all, If you have a question about this, who would you seriously ask? Would you ask the person who doesn't know any gay person personally and doesn't like gay people? Would you ask the person who could never imagine having an attraction to the same sex, or would you ask a person that is gay and went through the whole process themselves? Now personally I'd go for the last one, cause this person at the very least can talk from personal experience, and don't stick to one, but ask lots and lots of them. And guess what they'll tell you. The same thing I'm gonna tell you now. "Do you really think that we didn't try?" Growing up one way where the rest of the world all seems different is not an easy thing to do. We try and conform, Children and adults alike do this all the time. I tried it myself when I was younger. First I said "I won't be gay, I'll change it!" But after a couple of years you realize you can't, when the female form is about as erotically stimulating to you as a stale piece of bread. and then I said "Okay, I'll be gay, but I'll marry a woman and keep it a secret". That didn't last long, cause I'd realize not only would I be destroying my life, I would destroy the life of some poor woman as well, besides i don't like lying.
There is also no such thing as turning gay or straight.we may choose to act on our feelings later in life where we didn't do so before, you can't change your taste, Just as much as I can't suddenly decide to like coffee (I hate coffee!). And I can't help but point out that people who say gay people can turn straight must also acknowledge that that would imply that under the right circumstances that means that they could be turned gay. That knife cuts both ways. It is also interesting to note that people sometimes say it is a choice. However I also must point out that that reveals a lot more about themselves, then it does for the average gay person. Do they speak from personal experience? was it a choice for them not explore further their own same sex attractions, their own potential bi-sexuality. Because, how else could they then make such a claim?
We live in a society where more and more people choose to not lie, and live their life in the open. Just like I do with my partner of five years. Some of you here may call us sick and perverted and might even compare us to rapists and pedophiles. Even though we are two consenting adults that fell in love. Cause that is what being gay means, It mostly doesn't even have to do with sex. It means who you're attracted to, who you fall in love with. I've never been happier then I am now living my life in the open. And even though sometimes someone shouts something to me. Even though sometimes I might even get attacked for no more reason then walking down the street (it has happened). I will never lie about who and what I am. An where I felt I had to change before, I now am proud of who I am, and now feel it's the rest of the world that needs to change. And this is the reality we live in. You and your children are going to encounter gay people more and more in everyday life. And we are not going to go away, because guess what? You already know us! We are your teachers, your doctors, your friends, most certainly your family and maybe even your sons or daughters. We aren't spreading, and we aren't multiplying, we are just stopping and refusing to hide anymore for something we didn't have a hand in ourselves.
I can't help feeling very saddened by the responses to such a sweet little joke. That was just presented a something so trivial, so unimportant in the whole movie. And even more so when you realize that this is a movie about outcasts and what fear, prejudice and hatred could do to other people. I’m saddened that after sitting through a 90 minute film on this subject, there are still people that still don't seem to get it!