gay culture: visions of
June 14th, 2008 - Saturday9:30 pm
I am definitely a heterosexual, who recently cured myself of homophobia and it was right after a long conversation with a couple of Irish gay guys in a pub (Irish, of course) over coffee and cigarettes. I have never been too anti, but before there had been some things always irritating me, that is this appearance, common among gay guys (not only, though), expressed in their gestures, walk etc., which me and my friends used to call briefly: fagness. And that Irish gay couple was evidently faggy. I think that thanks to that beer we were drinking together as well as that chitchat about everything (history of Ireland and Poland for example, also about gays) I got used to it and it no longer irritates me.
I’m not going to become a supporter or an activist of gay movements, of course. It makes me laugh when someone sometimes backs his artistic or intellectual mediocrity with his sexual orientation (and I know such persons), or something of which I once heard in TOK FM radio station and called gay culture. I think that sexual orientation is a private thing of every one of us. Of course in Poland it is not, it’s a taboo and the orientation other than heterosexual is a perversion and a sin.
Yesterday’s Equality Parade was the final point of last week’s Equality Days (with the slogan Live, Love, Be!) in Warsaw. Organizers assess the number of people who attended the Parade at 7-8 thousand, the police and mass media give the number of only 2 thousand. The truth lies somewhere in between and whether it’s many or not - that’s a relative thing. But one thing is certain, there were much fewer people than at the memorable year 2005 Parade, which was banned by former Warsaw’s mayor, Lech Kaczyński. Nevertheless, I was impressed. This was the first time I’ve attended the Equality Parade (last year I was still in China at that time; before - I’d better not mention) and in my own opinion, which knows only such expressions as many, few, I don’t know and something about that, it was a crowd.
66% of the Poles say that gays and lesbians should have been forbidden to organize public demonstrations, 27% say they should have had this right. 66% think that the Poles’ attitude towards homosexuals is hostile, 25% - that it’s neutral and only 1% think that the attitude is friendly. 25% express the opinion that homosexual couples should have the right to show their lifestyle in public, 69% want them to stay invisible.
First thing You, my Dear Visitor, should know is that this is not the place to practise an emotional exhibitionism of a permanently unhappy and harmed by life gay guy. Nay! Quite the contrary, I live in a perfect harmony with my rather not bad world. Well, what was and is the purpose of launching and writing this blog? Now two things. Firstly - I'd like, at least to some extent, to make this society, yet not one of the best - Polish society, realize that a gay is quite the same human as anyone else. He loves, feels, is happy, is sad, rejoices, learns, studies, votes, has political views, enjoys himself, has friends, works etc. etc. Secondly - I'd like to show that a gay can be happy with himself, his life and his world. Let this blog be my own little contribution to making this world a better place to be in...
