Monday, July 27, 2009
Human Rights Professor is Anti-gay!
I came across this article in Feministe, which talks about a Singapore professor, Dr. Li-ann Thio, who was invited to teach human rights at NYU Law. Dr. Thio has extreme views on LGBTs. Her comments are quite shocking. It is amazing that someone who teaches human rights believes in suppressing the rights of a certain group of people.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Gay is as Gay Does
The Delhi High Court has decriminalized same-sex relationships. That is indeed a great leap in terms of the law, but what about Indian society? The majority of Indians still view homosexuals with open horror and disgust, with religious leaders condemning this amendment. According to them homosexuality is unnatural and against god's plan because they cannot procreate.
I would like to ask these so-called religious heads who appear to believe so deeply in god and the fact that god is responsible for earth and all its creatures: Well, if god was against homosexuals, then why are there homosexuals in the world? If god thought that homosexuality was "unnatural" then how come it has figured in his "plan"?
Homosexuality is not a choice, it is innate, it is just how a person is born. It is so natural that it also occurs in the animal kingdom - "some same-sex birds do do it. So do beetles, sheep, fruit bats, dolphins, and orangutans." And the gay penguins in a New York zoo are also quite well-known now. All these animals are also following their own natural instinct. The big difference between these animals and us being that they are not castigated for their actions by their own species, they are not made fun of, or regarded with animosity and disgust.
I certainly don't buy the argument that gay people lead to a breakdown of the family system. The family system today has already broken down, what with the steep increase in the rise of divorce all over the world. And there are so many dysfunctional families out there, who do nothing to provide a stable environment for children to grow up in.
Another argument is that a gay couple cannot possibly have a "normal" family because they cannot have children. Well, gay couples can adopt, or have children through a surrogate or sperm donor. And how can one say that they will not make good parents? There is bound to be some confusion when their children see that other families have one father and one mother, while they have two fathers or two mothers. But it shouldn't be too hard to explain to children. Children are naturally receptive to new ideas. In fact, children of gay parents could grow up to be less prejudiced and more open to new "radical" ideas.
Another bone of contention is that gay people give rise to more cases of HIV/AIDS. As we all know, HIV is passed on through four different way, one of them being indiscriminate sex with unknown partners. Because gay people are persecuted, they seek out unsafe methods of obtaining sex. This is one of the reasons why HIV/AIDS is high among the gay population. Now, if people would just be more tolerant towards homosexuals and not compel them to hide in the closet, they would hopefully not indulge in risky behaviour, as they could seek out a single partner for themselves. This is of course, a hypothetical situation. If a person, gay or straight, wants to indulge in high-risk sexual behaviour, then that person is going to have to deal with the consequences.
As is the case, people are afraid of anything that they cannot understand or relate to. Trying to explain to homophobic people that gay people are, well, just people, is very frustrating! I have noticed that men, especially, are extremely wary of homosexuals. They are afraid that just by being in their presence they could be "bitten" by the "gay-ness bug"! In fact, a cousin of mine refused to get his hair cut by a gay hair stylist. When I asked him, why not, he said, "What if he 'tried' something?" To which I replied, "You sure do have a high opinion of yourself!"
The situation is not really all that much better in so-called developed countries, such as the USA, where a Massachusetts school librarian was told that she might lose her job over a reading of 'And Tango Makes Three' - a "fictionalized children’s picture book based on two real-life male penguins at New York’s Central Park Zoo."
I have begun to look at 'conservative', 'orthodox', 'old-fashioned', and 'traditional' as synonyms for 'intolerant', 'unprogressive', 'backward' and 'bigoted'. And I'm not about to change my opinion anytime soon.
I would like to ask these so-called religious heads who appear to believe so deeply in god and the fact that god is responsible for earth and all its creatures: Well, if god was against homosexuals, then why are there homosexuals in the world? If god thought that homosexuality was "unnatural" then how come it has figured in his "plan"?
Homosexuality is not a choice, it is innate, it is just how a person is born. It is so natural that it also occurs in the animal kingdom - "some same-sex birds do do it. So do beetles, sheep, fruit bats, dolphins, and orangutans." And the gay penguins in a New York zoo are also quite well-known now. All these animals are also following their own natural instinct. The big difference between these animals and us being that they are not castigated for their actions by their own species, they are not made fun of, or regarded with animosity and disgust.
I certainly don't buy the argument that gay people lead to a breakdown of the family system. The family system today has already broken down, what with the steep increase in the rise of divorce all over the world. And there are so many dysfunctional families out there, who do nothing to provide a stable environment for children to grow up in.
Another argument is that a gay couple cannot possibly have a "normal" family because they cannot have children. Well, gay couples can adopt, or have children through a surrogate or sperm donor. And how can one say that they will not make good parents? There is bound to be some confusion when their children see that other families have one father and one mother, while they have two fathers or two mothers. But it shouldn't be too hard to explain to children. Children are naturally receptive to new ideas. In fact, children of gay parents could grow up to be less prejudiced and more open to new "radical" ideas.
Another bone of contention is that gay people give rise to more cases of HIV/AIDS. As we all know, HIV is passed on through four different way, one of them being indiscriminate sex with unknown partners. Because gay people are persecuted, they seek out unsafe methods of obtaining sex. This is one of the reasons why HIV/AIDS is high among the gay population. Now, if people would just be more tolerant towards homosexuals and not compel them to hide in the closet, they would hopefully not indulge in risky behaviour, as they could seek out a single partner for themselves. This is of course, a hypothetical situation. If a person, gay or straight, wants to indulge in high-risk sexual behaviour, then that person is going to have to deal with the consequences.
As is the case, people are afraid of anything that they cannot understand or relate to. Trying to explain to homophobic people that gay people are, well, just people, is very frustrating! I have noticed that men, especially, are extremely wary of homosexuals. They are afraid that just by being in their presence they could be "bitten" by the "gay-ness bug"! In fact, a cousin of mine refused to get his hair cut by a gay hair stylist. When I asked him, why not, he said, "What if he 'tried' something?" To which I replied, "You sure do have a high opinion of yourself!"
The situation is not really all that much better in so-called developed countries, such as the USA, where a Massachusetts school librarian was told that she might lose her job over a reading of 'And Tango Makes Three' - a "fictionalized children’s picture book based on two real-life male penguins at New York’s Central Park Zoo."
I have begun to look at 'conservative', 'orthodox', 'old-fashioned', and 'traditional' as synonyms for 'intolerant', 'unprogressive', 'backward' and 'bigoted'. And I'm not about to change my opinion anytime soon.
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