I’m Gay But…I’m Just Like You
The comedian Dennis Miller has this joke, “Why hate you for being of a certain race, there are so many other reasons to hate you.” True in general we want to try and spread the love and not the hate, but he makes a good point about the heterogeneity or diversity within ethnic groups. The diversity within any group is never represented by the stereotypes portrayed in the media.
One group that this specifically pertains to is the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) group. There are many representations of the hilarious effeminate Gay man in movies or the sassy Lesbian in a sitcom. The message can be that all Gay men are, or all Lesbians are, but if you belong to any ethnic group hell, if you belong to any group. You know how different you are than the others in your group.
If you have a teen that is in this other group, this type of judgment is difficult to bear because other is you. The type of rejection for being different is at the core of what teens are trying to avoid. Teens want to be the same as everyone. They don’t want to stand out. For some, their sense of self is too fragile to give voice to who they really are.
However, if you can look past the label what we often find is that we are the same more than we are different. So there is the Gay man who is into football and the Black woman who is the staunch republican conservative. It takes them all to make the world go round.
It is easy to forget that when you are laughing at the caricature in the media, but as parents it is important to remember that you are responsible for the image your teen has of others and in doing so you help them know that you will respect their differences as well. This is the process that allows your teen to confide in you and allows you to influence your teen in the positive ways you desire. In this way, you spread a little love around too. Trust me, this will not be the reason people will hate you and that’s a good thing.
Related posts:
