“Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.”
–Coretta Scott King
A few days ago I was watching television with a mentee of mine — an African-American male. An ad for Super Bowl XLIV came on television and he said, “Oh, did you hear that CBS decided not to run an ad for a gay-dating site.” I responded with, “What was in the ad?” He then told me it was two men watching football who eventually kiss. I asked him what he thought about the network’s refusal to run the ad and he said it was the right choice. “Most Americans aren’t ready to see an ad that promotes homosexuality” and then added “It’s immoral.” He didn’t want to see this kind of ad in prime time and wondered if I wanted my 10-year-old daughter to see such an ad.
I was angered by his comments but also understood them. At one point in my life, based on my family upbringing, I might have said what he had. I had little exposure to difference and my father was a racist homophobe; he sought to raise me to be the same. Although I never harbored racist feelings, I remember being homophobic in college — before I met gay and lesbian students and realized they, like everyone else, were people with hopes, dreams and a longing to love and be loved.
