I don’t know about you, but I was never given the opportunity to chose who I find attractive. My sexual identity was never a choice. And as far as I can tell, the same is true for you. And for everyone else who has ever lived and loved.
Some religious groups or texts paint an alternate version of reality when it comes to attraction. And if you aren’t drawn to the people they think you should be, you are labeled disgusting, twisted, and worthy of eternal torment. All because of something that is completely out of your control and is supposedly the result of their deity’s will.
But as far as the evidence gathered from this earth clearly shows, homosexuality is as natural as heterosexuality. It is very common among all our ancestors and many other species. As of 1999, homosexual behavior has been documented in about five hundred species2. Sadly, “the presence of same-sex sexual behavior [in non-human animals] was not ‘officially’ observed on a large scale until the 1990s due to observer bias caused by social attitudes towards non-heterosexual people, making the homosexual theme taboo.[2][3]” And those who are at odds with the science hold those misguided bigotries today.
“The gay rights movement saw some early progress In the 1960s. In 1961, Illinois became the first state to do away with its anti-sodomy laws, effectively decriminalizing homosexuality, and a local TV station in California aired the first documentary about homosexuality, called The Rejected.”4
“Despite this progress, LGBT individuals lived in a kind of urban subculture and were routinely subjected to harassment and persecution, such as in bars and restaurants. In fact, gay men and women in New York City could not be served alcohol in public due to liquor laws that considered the gathering of homosexuals to be ‘disorderly.'”4
“In fear of being shut down by authorities, bartenders would deny drinks to patrons suspected of being gay or kick them out altogether; others would serve them drinks but force them to sit facing away from other customers to prevent them from socializing.”4
“People around the world face violence and inequality—and sometimes torture, even execution—because of who they love, how they look, or who they are. This includes torture, killing and executions, arrests under unjust laws, unequal treatment, censorship, medical abuses, discrimination in health and jobs and housing, domestic violence, abuses against children, and denial of family rights and recognition.”1
So when people mock Pride Month, Gay Pride, and the active and sometimes loud pushback against anti-gay legislation and public opinions that result in oppression and othering, they not only show they misunderstand the issue, but also are, ultimately, mocking themselves.
For we are all human. We are all part of the same Family. And every single one of us has the sexual orientation we were given, with none of us having any choice in the matter whatsoever. And when we fall in love, we don’t choose the one(s) without whom the one life we have would feel empty and incomplete.
So celebrate who you are! Celebrate who you love! And keep being you (being someone else is just plain wrong). You are perfect just the way you are, and we’re proud of you!
