Everybody, virtually, is guilty of it. I know I am, when I think about certain groups of people. Having a stereotypical image of who they are, how they are likely to behave. One of my colleagues fell into the trap at work last night. He was talking about visiting a bar that he hadn't been to for some considerable time, to find that it had morphed into a gay meeting place. He said, as though utterly astonished by the revelation, 'they don't all wear leather caps and fake moustaches'. Straight away I thought, no, they don't - there's one sitting fifteen feet away from you, doing the same job, wearing his Aussie Rules polo shirt and jeans, and you've got no idea at all of what's beneath the surface. People are people, and one aspect of their life doesn't define who they are. And I would do as well to remember that as anyone else.
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
I try, try, try so hard not to stereotype people, and I swear...try as I might, I catch myself doing it occasionally. I guess I'm fortunate in that I don't hear a lot of anti-gay conversation. Actually, the only people who might do that now have a best friend whose father came out at about the same age as us. So they "KNOW" a gay person! GASP! So I keep trying.
ReplyDeletePeace <3
Jay
Hello Jay
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to avoid, as you say - all I can do is to try my best not to 'judge the book by the cover'. Maybe my work colleague might now begin to think along the same lines, now he's had a glimpse of the fact that, like everyone else, gay people inhabit a very broad spectrum of appearance and behaviour, not some narrow, clichéd stereotype. We can but hope.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B