Opinion: People who want there to be a ‘straight pride’ need to check their privilege
By Joshua Haigh
Whether it’s rainbow flags, joyous parades or men in short shorts, there’s many things that come hand-in-hand with Pride Month.
But with all those wonderful things follows a chorus of privileged heterosexual people condemning the celebrations and asking – without any hint of irony – “what about straight pride?”
The question itself is borne directly out of ignorance, some of which is in response to the legalisation of same-sex marriage back in 2013. Once us gays were given the opportunity to marry each another, straight people up and down the country genuinely believed that we’d achieved equality.
But this isn’t the case, and I can’t understand why straight people can’t fathom such a concept.
Let me break it down for you, hetties: From the moment you’re born you enter a world of privilege because of your sexuality. Your sexual attraction is considered normal and your first kiss isn’t filled with fear. Your could actually have relationships at school and not have to hide them for fear of being targeted by your classmates. You didn’t have to sit down and wonder if your parents would make you homeless when you told them you were straight.
When you finally find someone you want to spend your life with, you don’t have to look over your shoulder before holding their hand in public for fear of being spat on, verbally abused, or worse. You don’t have to listen to people telling you there’s “too many straight people” on television.
You don’t have to hear right-wing media nut-jobs calling you a paedophile just because you like f**king other men. You don’t have to double check you’re okay to holiday in country in case it’s one of the 74 countries where homosexuality is still illegal.
From my own experience, when I was 17-year-old, I was attacked on the way to school one morning. After being repeatedly punched and kicked in the face, the man walked away and I had to pick myself up and drag myself the rest of the way to get help. The only reason this happened was because it was known to some that I was into guys.
There is not a single incident where a straight man or woman has been physically abused because of their attraction to the opposite sex, and that is literally the definition of privilege. It doesn’t matter that the world – or at least, the West – is becoming more accepting of homosexuality. “More acceptance” doesn’t mean equality.
Not in a world where men in Chechnya in 2017 are being kidnapped and murdered. Not in a world where the notoriously anti-gay DUP are close to getting into power with a morally bankrupt Tory Prime Minister. Not when people still think it’s acceptable to not include themselves in activities that support LGBT+ people because they “don’t agree” with the lifestyle.
“Why do they need a month?” ask some brazenly ignorant heterosexuals, to which my response has been and will always remain: “Because you’ve got every other f**king day of the year, sweetie”.
