GLR Forum

General Forum => Politics => Topic started by: Feral on Fri, Jan 20, 2006, 04:15

Title: Denneny 4: Internalized Homophobia
Post by: Feral on Fri, Jan 20, 2006, 04:15
Denneny's Fourth Proposition: "Society does not hate us because we hate ourselves; we hate ourselves because we grew up and live in a society that hates us."

Internalized self-hatred is deep and pervasive in the gay world and the havoc it can work should not be underestimated, but to compound it by assuming guilt for the sometimes deplorable effects of society’s hostility toward us is foolish and self-defeating. It leads to a miasma of depression when what is called for is anger.

The relative absence of clearly directed and cleansing anger in the gay world is surprising and worthy of note; it is probably a bad sign.

A "bad sign" indeed, though I think that there may be more clearly directed anger in the gay world today than there was twenty years ago when this was written.


Title: Re: Denneny 4: Internalized Homophobia
Post by: Ninja_monkey on Fri, Jan 20, 2006, 17:52
A "bad sign" indeed, though I think that there may be more clearly directed anger in the gay world today than there was twenty years ago when this was written.

I do see less gay anger directed internally nowadays, but I still don't see what would seem to me to be an appropriate amount of anger directed toward the enemy. Watching the documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, one is still struck by the description of one drag queen yelling to the candlelight vigil: 'Where is your anger? Where is your anger?' While the White Nights riots did later release some of that particular anger, what have we seen since?
Title: Re: Denneny 4: Internalized Homophobia
Post by: Feral on Fri, Jan 20, 2006, 20:07
Since then the world has also had the indignation of Queen Nation visited upon it. Not quite the release of anger that was seen in White Night, it is true, but on the whole, the tactics (and more especially the message) of Queer Nation were a far cry from the "civil" discourse of the so-called "revolutionaries" of the previous decade.

"Where is your anger?" It is being quashed and buried deep within the psyches of gay men, where it generally slowly kills them. You can actually watch it happen from time to time: the phenomenon is usually accompanied by the mantra "but then we would be no better than the str8s."

There is, however, more visible outrage observable in the gay community today than there was in 24 years ago -- much more. And I think that is probably a good sign.
Title: Re: Denneny 4: Internalized Homophobia
Post by: Mogul on Sat, Jan 21, 2006, 04:46
A "bad sign" indeed, though I think that there may be more clearly directed anger in the gay world today than there was twenty years ago when this was written.

Out of some peculiarity of human nature, we are less angry when somebody rejects our wishes for something, but tend to get outrageous when our posessions are threatened to be taken away. For example, the anger of being denied the right to become married can be not compared with the anger when a married couple is being divorced by the revocation of previous legislation.

Our softness in treating our enemies probably origins in us growing up as "mama's boy" and as such being mostly decent, polite and well-behaving. Being permanently under fire, we are happy when all the hostility brought against us ceases a little bit and therefore are reluctant to insist on our rights and cause the wind again blow into our faces.

How else could it be explained, that workers go to streets and blockade public transportation for some 2% of additional salary, whereas gays and lesbians stay in home and do not smash windows and burn cars for being deprived of such fundamental rights as the right of marriage and the right of medically-assisted insemination?
Title: Re: Denneny 4: Internalized Homophobia
Post by: Ninja_monkey on Fri, Jan 27, 2006, 10:23
Our softness in treating our enemies probably origins in us growing up as "mama's boy" and as such being mostly decent, polite and well-behaving. Being permanently under fire, we are happy when all the hostility brought against us ceases a little bit and therefore are reluctant to insist on our rights and cause the wind again blow into our faces.

Hey, speak for yourself, bub. Mama's boy indeed... why I oughta  ;D
Title: Re: Denneny 4: Internalized Homophobia
Post by: Mogul on Fri, Jan 27, 2006, 23:43
Hey, speak for yourself, bub. Mama's boy indeed... why I oughta  ;D

Hey, are you making fun of me? You better don't - I'll tell my brother!  8((