Tag Archives: DailyKos

On heterosexual privilege: A List

Daily Kos: On heterosexual privilege.

I thought this was interesting. We don’t normally think of the world as being set up as a heterosexist enterprise, although that is the default position of the majority. So, the items in this list might not be apparent to most if they’re not pointed out. Helpfully, both the diary linked above and Davey Wavey’s site (a young man, allergic to shirts, not a bad thing, in his case) listed these.

I don’t know who to credit for the list, but thank you:

The Heterosexual Privilege Checklist
On a daily basis, a heterosexual person:

  1. I can be pretty sure that my roomate, hallmates and classmates will be comfortable with my sexual orientation.
  2. If I pick up a magazine, watch TV, or play music, I can be certain my sexual orientation will be represented.
  3. When I talk about my heterosexuality (such as in a joke or talking about my relationships), I will not be accused of pushing my sexual orientation onto others.
  4. I do not have to fear that if my family or friends find out about my sexual orientation there will be economic, emotional, physical or psychological consequences.
  5. I did not grow up with games that attack my sexual orientation (IE f*g tag or smear the queer).
  6. I am not accused of being abused, warped or psychologically confused because of my sexual orientation.
  7. I can go home from most meetings, classes, and conversations without feeling excluded, fearful, attacked, isolated, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, stereotyped or feared because of my sexual orientation.
  8. I am never asked to speak for everyone who is heterosexual.
  9. I can be sure that my classes will require curricular materials that testify to the existence of people with my sexual orientation. [And that no one will accuse educators, school board members, or government officials of attempting to “promote” that sexual orientation by including those materials. –musing85]
  10. People don’t ask why [or when] I made my choice of sexual orientation.
  11. People don’t ask why I made my choice to be public about my sexual orientation.
  12. I do not have to fear revealing my sexual orientation to friends or family. It’s assumed.
  13. My sexual orientation was never associated with a closet.
  14. People of my gender do not try to convince me to change my sexual orientation.
  15. I don’t have to defend my heterosexuality.
  16. I can easily find a religious community that will not exclude me for being heterosexual.
  17. I can count on finding a therapist or doctor willing and able to talk about my sexuality.
  18. I am guaranteed to find sex education literature for couples with my sexual orientation.
  19. Because of my sexual orientation, I do not need to worry that people will harass me.
  20. I have no need to qualify my heterosexual identity.
  21. My masculinity/femininity is not challenged because of my sexual orientation.
  22. I am not identified by my sexual orientation.
  23. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help my sexual orientation will not work against me.
  24. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has sexual orientation overtones.
  25. Whether I rent or I go to a theater, Blockbuster, an EFS or TOFS movie, I can be sure I will not have trouble finding my sexual orientation represented.
  26. I am guaranteed to find people of my sexual orientation represented in my workplace.
  27. I can walk in public with my significant other and not have people double-take or stare.
  28. I can choose to not think politically about my sexual orientation.
  29. I do not have to worry about telling my roommate about my sexuality. It is assumed I am a heterosexual.
  30. I can remain oblivious of the language and culture of LGBTQ folk without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
  31. I can go for months without being called straight.
  32. I’m not grouped because of my sexual orientation.
  33. My individual behavior does not reflect on people who identity as heterosexual.
  34. In everyday conversation, the language my friends and I use generally assumes my sexual orientation. For example, sex inappropriately referring to only heterosexual sex or family meaning heterosexual relationships with kids.
  35. People do not assume I am experienced in sex (or that I even have it!) merely because of my sexual orientation.
  36. I can kiss a person of the opposite gender on the heart or in the cafeteria without being watched and stared at.
  37. Nobody calls me straight with maliciousness.
  38. People can use terms that describe my sexual orientation and mean positive things (IE “straight as an arrow”, “standing up straight” or “straightened out” ) instead of demeaning terms (IE “ewww, that’s gay” or being “queer” ) .
  39. I am not asked to think about why I am straight.
  40. I can be open about my sexual orientation without worrying about my job.

Now I don’t really know anyone, gay or straight, whose life is a bed of roses. So I know it’s not easy out there, but still…

Congratulations again to all the New Yorkers who are going to be married soon!

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Dan Savage Slams CNN: Stop Giving Platform to Anti-Gay Bigots

Link to Daily Kos: Dan Savage Pwns CNN:  Stop Giving Platform to Anti-Gay Bigots.

Dan Savage

Thank you Chrislove, for your DailyKos post.

I totally agree that it’s high time we draw attention to this issue and bring it to the forefront of media consciousness – I guess I mean “we” as the smaller media, blogosphere, facebook posters, the less-empowered voices out there, and eventually MSM will pick up on the trend.

One hopes.

Basically, Dan’s argument is this: The MSM media, including CNN, still presents anti-gay positions from bigots on the right as deserving of the same amount of equal time as those espousing equality.
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It’s as if these bigoted hate positions have a validity, the same kind of validity that in the past was granted to those who used religious texts, such as the Bible, to prop up slavery, then segregation of blacks, or justifications for things like restricted communities to keep out those Jewish Christkillers.

In our “enlightened” modern world, such viewpoints against blacks or Jews are unacceptable in responsible media discourse. (Naturally, there are still plenty of people who hold these opinions – now they just keep them to themselves.) What is still acceptable, though, is to present the anti-gay position as valid, even though it too is based on prejudice largely stemming from religion and religious texts.

You can always believe what you want to believe. However, in our country, in which there are no established religions, it’s wrong to use these selective, hoary opinions as the basis for an argument in favor of discrimination. Once again, just because you “hate” a group of people is not a valid reason to discriminate against them in a democracy.

People like the folks appearing in these videos (Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins) are particularly dangerous since they couch their hatred of gays in such reasonable sounding rhetoric. Please take the time to watch these videos and read the Kos post – and let’s start calling this out every time we see it.

Thanks again to Dan Savage for calling out CNN – on CNN!

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