Ethan Hawke: ‘Kids nowadays have almost zero homophobia’
By Josh Haggis
Actor Ethan Hawke has said he believes homophobia is almost non-existent among society’s younger generation.
Hawke, 43, made the comments while discussing iconic 1955 film Rebel Without A Cause – which is widely-regarded to have played a role in changing society’s attitudes towards homosexuality – during an interview with Toronto’s The Star newspaper.
The film portrayed a homoerotic relationship between lead actors James Dean and Sal Mineo, at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in the UK and many parts of the USA.
After describing Rebel Without A Cause as a “wonderful movie” to write about as World Pride 2014 begins in Toronto, Hawke explained how he has seen attitudes towards homosexuality change in his lifetime, saying:
“It’s been fascinating to me. One of the biggest differences I think between my generation and my kids is that they have almost zero homophobia. They’ve grown up thinking that it’s not a big deal to have gay characters on TV or in movies like Boys Don’t Cry or Kiss of the Spider Woman… There are all these things that started this [gay acceptance] ball rolling, and now people are really comfortable talking about it. I think you’ll see a lot less teen suicide in the coming years. I really do believe that.”
Meanwhile, this week on attitude.co.uk we’ve been debuting exclusive clips from eagerly-anticipated gay film Getting Go – click here to check them out.