Raining On The Straight Parade

About a week ago I stumbled across a shared photo on Facebook that read these words: “Apparently it is now bigoted and intolerant to be straight and proud in this upside down, politically correct society we live in. I invite everyone who is straight and unashamed to post this on your wall.” I was shocked to find other pictures like this on this person’s timeline. I, personally, had never encountered anyone with the belief that there needed to be a “Straight Pride.” I understood the concept, be proud of who you are regardless of your sexual orientation, however a straight pride movement does more damage than it does good.

Therefore, I would like to get one thing straight; Straight pride does not exist. I want to be clear with what I am not saying. I am not saying that people should be ashamed of their heterosexuality. I am not saying that you should not be proud and happy with who are.

The LGBT Pride movement began for the single purpose of making others aware of their existence. To make others aware that they, like heterosexuals, are human. It began with the single mission of achieving the rights they deserve, the same rights as those who identify as straight.

When I was a first year here at Houghton, even speaking about this issue was so taboo that people would come up to your table in the cafeteria and ask you to stop talking. Houghton has come so far in it’s acceptance of LGBT minorities since then. But as is often said, Houghton is but a small part of this beautiful world created by God. While Houghton has improved, there are places in the world that are in drastic need of tolerance and acceptance.

In Russia, Members and Allies of the LGBT community face death on a regular basis for simply wearing or distributing anything that could be perceived as LGBT paraphernalia.  Gay men and women face increasingly dangerous prejudice, violence, and discrimination in Uganda. In America, transgender teens are committing suicide due to the alienation they receive from family, peers, and church. It is Illegal to be gay in 76 countries. That is roughly 40% of this world. Just to put this in perspective, being a Christian is only illegal in 54 countries.

So why is there not a straight pride movement? Why does it not exist? Journalist L.Z. Granderson said it best, “Gay pride was not born out of the need to celebrate not being straight, but our right to exist without prosecution.”  There is no need for straight pride, because those who identify as heterosexuals already posses the rights that those who are part of the LGBT community are fighting for. No person has ever been alienated by their church congregation because they were straight. No one has been unjustly fired from their job because they were straight. No person has ever been kicked out of their parent’s home because they were straight. American Congress has never passed a law that forces heterosexuals to hide their sexual orientation from their peers and colleagues. A straight person has never been told they were going to hell, that they were disgusting, that they have a disease, that they do not deserve to be alive all because of their sexual orientation.

There is no straight pride movement because heterosexuals do not need a movement. There cannot be an equal rights movement for the already privileged members of society. There is no white and proud movement, other than the KKK and Aryan Nations, because people who are white have the social and economic world constantly working in their favor. A straight pride movement is unnecessary and mocks the importance of an LGBT pride movement.

Be proud of who you are, regardless of your gender, skin color, and sexual orientation, straight or gay. But do not take away the importance of the movements that fight for the equal rights of underprivileged minorities.