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(If this isn't where this should go, I will gladly move it... sweatdrop )

Okay, this is just a quick little thing after hanging out in "Extended Discussion" for awhile. I was hopping between differenent "Should gay marriage be legal?" n' such threads, and I noticed a pattern in every place that I went. Those who defended the rights of the gay community/said that they had no problem with gay marriage felt the need at the end of every post to say something like "I'm not gay if that's what you're thinking!" or "I'm straight, by the way."

It disappointed me that such a stigma does still exist. That people would defend themselves to the point of sounding like a group of sheep baaaing "Not gay!" just so people wouldn't consider them one thing or another? I must admit that I have been called the same names that many people on here have a few times for my beliefs on this issue, but I don't let that effect me that much. Does even being called "gay" still come with that much fear?

Yes or maybe some just want to make a point that there are straight people that support gay people. Why it should still matter, I dunno.

But my friend is like that. She's okay with me being gay but she hate the fact that gay people use the rainbow as their symbol. She says that she cant wear rainbows because of that. So I asked her why it matter and I told her that she shouldn't worry about what other people think about her if she wears rainbows. She knows who she is and what other people think shouldnt matter.

But she's hard headed and still doesn't wear rainbow stuff. =_=

Wow good point. I never really thought of that. I have seen people say that but I never really thought of it and I hopped onto the next subject. But it's true a lot of people do say that and I mean, what's wrong with being called gay even if you arn't? Don't take it personally. My friend constantly calls everyone "f**." And i was thinking about that today and I was like, "Hannah I know you stick up for gay rights as much as the next girl but why are you always throwing around "f**" like it's an insult?" She kinda looked at me blankly.

Yes, I've noticed that too. It's so annoying. To me, it sort of defeats the purpose of defending/supporting someone/something. It's like, "Hey, Gays aren't bad-but, don't you dare accuse me of being one." People who do that are such cowards. x.X;; I think that if you don't have the guts to defend what you support to the fullest, then you're not defending it at all. -shrugs- I guess that's pretty extreme, but whatever...

|Love me|

The only time I was ever hurt by the word f** was when my grandfather was hounding my grandmother about whether gay marriage was right or not. He kept asking her if fags should get married, if fags were normal. That's only time since I've come out (to my classmates and my parents) that I've cried like that about gay slurs.

It hurts when your family or friends use those words- they always sound so much more malicious.

|That's all I ask of you|

... In some places, yes he does.

Okay, that was a brain burp on my end....bad analogy... sweatdrop

It just annoys me so much! scream

I do agree that it's quite possibly the vestiges of stigma, but think about it- one would expect a gay person to want to be able to marry. For a supporter to state upfront that they're heterosexual, the playing feild turns in our favor, as there must be something good about gay marriage if straight people are advocating it. It lessens the illusion of bias on the 'for' side.

For example, if a group made up of mostly Christians decided to campaign against a particular book, I would make sure to add in the book's defense that I am also a Christian, and I had no problem with the book.