The Solutn to "Gay" Insults: Freedom of Speech | Psychology Today

Contents:

• AFTER YEARS OF PROGRS ON GAY RIGHTS, HOW DID THE US BEE SO ANTI-LGBTQ+?
• A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS
• WHY I N’T SHUT UP ABOUT BEG GAY
• SHUT-UP-GAY
• SHUT THE GAY UP
• SHUT UP, MATT DAMON: THE ACTOR ARGU GAY ACTORS SHOULD STAY THE CLOSET
• THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH
• RSIA TO GAYS: SHUT UP AND DISAPPEAR

AFTER YEARS OF PROGRS ON GAY RIGHTS, HOW DID THE US BEE SO ANTI-LGBTQ+?

The measur, which crics have lled “Don’t Say Gay” bills, have helped spark a larger culture war that has amplified the stereotyped and basels claims that LGBTQ people are sympathetic to child predators — accatns that have a long history the U. ”Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny at a "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Fla., on March 13. Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Imag fileWill Larks, 17, has grown somewhat acctomed to homophobic abe on the ter.

Pick ced Ana Bryant’s anti-gay ph the 1970s to “protect the children” om gay teachers and broar fearmongerg durg the opposn to same-sex marriage as precent for the rise llg LGBTQ people and their alli “groomers. Moran, the print of the Log Cab Republins, which reprents LGBTQ nservativ, lled the term “subtle subterfuge that gays are pedophil. “I will take flak om people that this is rercg a trope that is not beneficial for anybody who’s gay public life.

Pedophil exist at a much higher proportn the straight muny than the gay muny, but is always a shtick our crics will go back to. A gay NBA fan known only as Chris has found 78 homophobic tweets ma by 40 profsnal players on 23 NBA teams.

A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS

Gordon me out as gay while playg basketball at the Universy of Massachetts and now plays pro-basketball Germany. In April 2021, was also revealed that Durant ed profane and anti-gay slurs directed at actor Michael Rapaport via a social media chat. The mise of the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act 2013 was followed by the end of the feral ban on marriage equaly 2015.

Wispread acceptance of same-sex marriage rights, gay people servg the ary and the need for protectns for LGBTQ+ people followed. As recently as 2020, the urt, then wh two Tmp appote, led that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protected gay, lbian and transgenr workers.

A rash of laws ncerng the teachg of human sexualy school curricula, banng trans stunt athlet and strippg parents of the right to help their genr-variant children obta appropriate re have popped up numero red stat this same-sex marriage is now part of the fabric of Ameri, nservativ have chosen to explo Amerins’ unfaiary wh trans people and piggyback on parental anger over the perceived overreach of Covid-era school closur, nflatg wh an sid sense of “wokens”, the hop of fdg an electorally viable sluiceway for anti-LGBTQ+ most famo of the anti-LGBTQ+ laws is the piece of Florida legislatn banng stctn on sexual orientatn or genr inty schools between krgarten and third gra, the so-lled “don’t say gay” law. The ernor and his supporters have labeled as a “groomer” anyone who believ children n learn LGBTQ+ people exist, argug that simply by talkg about gay relatnships to a child, you are sexualizg that child. ”To be gay, their view, is to be herently sexualized, a threat to nocence a way that straight Amerins are vehemence has ught even veteran LGBTQ+ advot by surprise.

WHY I N’T SHUT UP ABOUT BEG GAY

He was followed by Arizona’s ernor, Doug Ducey, who, after barrg mors om genr-affirmatn treatment, wouldn’t even state for the rerd that trans people were Florida lawmaker Michele Rayner-Goolsby, left, hugs her wife, Bian Goolsby, durg a march at cy hall St Petersburg agast the ‘don’t say gay’ bill. Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/Zuma Wire/Rex/ShutterstockPolicians are supported the media by mentators like Tucker Carlson, who claimed “no one had heard of this trans thg four years ago”, or Charlie Kirk, channelg 1980s fears sayg “gays want to rpt your children” rejuvenated, the right wg is poised to make transphobia and homophobia rnerston of the midterms and 2024 electns, wh promis to liver “don’t say gay” legislatn stat cludg Michigan and New Perks, the print of the Fay Rearch Council, a nservative lobbyg group, veighed agast the ernors of Indiana and Utah for vetog legislatn banng trans women om participatg sports, llg the bills “timely, mastream protectns”. The Republin US reprentative Marjorie Taylor Greene vowed to troduce a feral “don’t say gay” bill if Republins w the Hoe this November, only to one-up herself days later by tweetg that for people to be pro-trans is to be pro-pedophilia.

”The bs-iendly wg of the GOP that would quietly team up wh Democrats to scuttle rabidly homophobic bills is now outnumbered, and legislators a dozen or more stat that lean even farther to the right than DeSantis are takg, the Natnal Center for Lbian Rights legal director, believ Florida is the tt se for a renewed ph for an aggrsive, Christian-natnalist program. ”The “don’t say gay” bill, Mter not, is very siar to what’s been passed Rsia, tetherg Amerin nservativ to their thorarian unterparts who have succsfully rolled back mocratic norms across eastern Europe. “I’ve seen this movie before over the last 30 years: The right wg cid to target the LGBTQ muny, whether ’s around marriage or adoptn or trans kids playg sports or bathrooms, ” says the California state senator Stt Wiener, who is gay.

SHUT-UP-GAY

“I thought was really important to ph back on the policy level, and to send a clear signal that California and other stat really re about the kids, ” he believ that “don’t say gay” is “patently unnstutnal” but also ntends that relyg on the judicial system to protect human rights may no longer be a sound optn. The ments are among 78 tweets om 36 current and active NBA players on teams that are homophobic language, nature or even tent (four other players were on a roster when the list was piled last month, but they are no longer on an NBA team).

The players clu CJ McCollum, the print of the Natnal Basketball Players Assn., who tweeted “no homo, ” as well as superstar Kev Durant, who tweeted “shut up fag boy.

“I don’t re how long ago was, shows the person’s character, my opn, ” said Derrick Gordon, who me out publicly as gay while playg basketball at UMass and who now plays profsnally Germany. Beg a big NBA fan, Chris cid to check the acunts of some of his favore players and found var homophobic tweets. From his rearch: “Fag” showed up 29 tweets, “gay” 40 (and not plimentary), and the phrase “no homo” 17.

SHUT THE GAY UP

The Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz each have four players on the list of NBA athlet who created anti-gay tweets, while the Chigo Bulls currently have three players who tweeted homophobic msag. Not cintally, Jason Colls beme the first active NBA player to e out as gay 2013, raisg signifint awarens of LGBTQ issu — and the prence of gay players — the NBA. For example, Durant 2013 voiced his support of Colls, but he also ma graphilly homophobic ments 2021.

“Culture as a whole has changed, ” said Anthony Nimo, a succsful high school basketball ach New York who me out publicly as gay several years ago. Colls — who played as an openly gay player the last uple regular-season months and then playoffs of the 2013-14 season — has been speakg to NBA rooki at the league’s annual symposium sce 2015. Readg [the tweets] remd me a lot of my journal that I kept, and I stopped after two weeks, bee was jt … you hear , but you don’t really realize how much sual homophobia there was.

SHUT UP, MATT DAMON: THE ACTOR ARGU GAY ACTORS SHOULD STAY THE CLOSET

Speakg om my experience, there is a disnnect sometim between someone who sual homophobia, and then once you show them who you are, they will step up and have your back. Oshae Brissett of the Indiana Pacers, now 23, was 12 and 13 when he posted ne homophobic tweets a two-year span. One mon slur ed var tweets was “no homo, ” which me to vogue over 10 years ago as a way for a man to pliment another man whout beg taken “the wrong way.

THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH

“‘No homo’ as a phrase promot a negative nnotatn regards to gay men, as if we are ls-than, ” Chris said.

As a ach and tor, Nimo said he still hears “no homo” around teenagers — even beg out as a gay man — though the culture basketball has improved.

“Kids today sometim say ‘no homo’ or somethg like that, but there has unqutnably been a shift, ” he said.

RSIA TO GAYS: SHUT UP AND DISAPPEAR

“If someone talks about puttg a bullet someone’s head, that’s beyond ‘I hate gay people, ’” Nimo said. The onle prence of the tweets 2022, even though wrten years ago, pots to a cultural problem wh athlet and anti-gay language. Pl Reed“Bch be gay today, bi tommorow, and pregnant sunday ha”/2014 “Why is so many niggas drs up like girls and putt on wigs tryna be funny.