I haven't changed my mind, in any way, on the topic of Gay Think.
Gay Think
A Gay Opinion 5/22/00
by R.A. Melos
"I don't understand how gays think?" said a rather ignorant woman,
as she pulled her three children along behind her. She was shopping with her
friends, all of whom were wearing too much make-up and stuffed into leotards
like too much turkey after a holiday meal, prattling on about how it just can't
be "normal" to think like "queers".
I want to thank this nameless breeder, and all those like her for the inspiration
to write this article, and for the desire to give heterosexuals everywhere a
glimpse into one gay man's mind so they may perhaps pry open their own minds
and learn something.
Let me start with music. The medium of audio is meant to entertain, to open
us to grow and think. An example of how I think as a gay man would be when I
hear the song "Me and Mrs. Jones", the 1973 classic by Billy Paul,
which laments about an affair between two people who meet at the same cafe every
day. I picture this song to be about a married woman meeting her lesbian lover
and the torture they feel at not being able to be together because of societal
circumstances.
Another favorite song of mine is Reba McEntire's moving duet "Does He Love
You", sung by two women in love with the same man. One woman is his wife,
the other his mistress. Now when I hear this song I think about it being sung
by a married woman and her cheating husband's homosexual lover.
For me, the classic Pasty Cline hit "She's Got You", is about a gay
man who laments on the pain he feels because his homosexual lover was afraid
to come out of the closet and entered into a heterosexual relationship choosing
to live a lie, making this a song about the pain lies cause.
Yes, I do like disco as well, I know how stereotypical that may sound, but songs
like "I Will Survive," The Gloria Gaynor hit, is not about a man returning
to his girlfriend, but about a lesbian relationship breaking up badly.
Now let me move on to television. I do watch quite a bit, or rather I fast forward
through much of it thanks to the marvels of VCR's. I hardly ever see a commercial,
and when the shows get boring I press a button. In general there is relatively
little of real value, but for mind numbing relief after a day of dealing with
heterosexual society just about anything will do.
I admit I am disappointed with television. For instance, on the X-Files, I wish
Fox Mulder would get beyond the repressed homosexuality I sense and plant a
hot passionate kiss on his boss Walter Skinner. You just know they both really
want it.
And retroactively, you know Alice was more suite for Carol Brady. They could've
set up a much happier household, and Mike Brady could pursued a relationship
with Sam the butcher in peace. And don't even get me started on Gilligan's Island.
As for the current crop of television fare, Will and Grace is supposed to be
the homosexuals answer to years of non-gay programming. I'll give the programmers
the benefit of the doubt, they do have openly gay characters, who don't seem
to have successful relationships or even date. I wonder how much input, if any,
closed minded thinkers like Dr. Laura Schlessinger had in this decision?
Okay, so I won't be happy until weekly television programming shows a partnered
homosexual couple dealing with life. And no, The Odd Couple doesn't count.
The mind is a funny thing, since it is where we store learned behavior, yet
my way of thinking proves to me you are born homosexual and it is not a choice.
I have always thought differently than heterosexual society even when I was
trained to believe my thinking was wrong, and I am not only confronted with
these differences in thought in the audio and visual fields.
We all hear what we want to hear, yet I don't hear what I want to hear. I want
to hear acceptance of my lifestyle, not rejection, and the expectation of my
then accepting heterosexual lifestyle, as if I can simply embrace the idea like
a jungle savage converted to Christianity.
When I look around and see a straight couple walking down the straight, holding
hands and they stop to kiss, I don't think "oh isn't that romantic",
I think "how dare you flaunt your sexuality with such abandon when denying
me the same freedom?" I feel the jealousy of thousands of years of closeted
oppression boil within me, and I yearn for the freedom they are expressing,
without the fear of small minded people, who don't understand their own minds
let alone the complicated minds of the homosexual, turning violent in their
efforts to protect themselves from discovering love is a universal concept and
not something only shared between a man and a woman.
If a heterosexuals want to know what a homosexual thinks, rather than speculating
and showing their true prejudice and ignorance, they should simply ask. I'm
more than willing to give lessons in Gay Think. However, they should be prepared
to have their minds opened and expanded. All those centuries of closeted oppression
are imprinted in our DNA, and many of us like nothing more than to clean out
the closets and make room for what truly belongs there; ignorance, prejudice,
and ugly clothes no one wears.