Dealing with Privilege | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Dealing with Privilege

Gay people are dying and are being actively discriminated against, and yet some people still believe in their privilege of being straight and ignore it.

83
Dealing with Privilege
Wikimedia Commons

Despite children dying due to conversion therapy, despite businesses being allowed to discriminate against gay couples, despite people fighting to be free in their sexuality, there are still imbeciles who are so blinded by their privilege to believe that gay people are not discriminated against.

I was online last night, scrolling through SNL's Hillary Actually skit that they posted to YouTube. In it, they spoofed a scene from the movie "Love Actually" where Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton begged the electors to vote for anyone other than Donald Trump. As expected, the comments were filled with Trump supporters hating on SNL. I ignored most of these repeated arguments, all slandering SNL. However, there was one that deviated. A privileged man as fighting with another person in the comments (he was quoting the other person's argument showing how gay people were discriminated), his comment saying,

""And gay people are born gay" Which has yet to be scientifically proven. I would argue that external environment factors heavily during developmental years. "because media is so wholly heterosexual that gay individuals must repress who they are out of fear of discrimination" This is a ridiculously full of [expletive] statement that can only be derived from someone living in a box. I hate to break it to you, but the media/entertainment industry is VASTLY homosexual, if not doing more than just that."

User Majin Yojimbo, it was late in the night when I responded to your comment, so I did not go into depth as much as I wanted. I tried to counter your arguments with the arguments you yourself made. and then you responded by calling me a "Pee Wee." How very mature of you. In response, I write to you here, and I write to the people reading this, to teach them how to properly deal with privilege in order to educate people like you, Majin.

Let me expand on what I told you first, a counter to your argument for using science to prove gay people are born gay. While you are somewhat correct in saying that gay people are not born gay, I am also correct in saying that straight people are not born straight. Paraphrasing an article from the Guardian, written by Dr Qazi Rahman of King's College, science can't tell what determines sexuality.

"Social constructionist accounts generate no hypotheses about sexual orientation and are not subject to systematic testing."

Your argument for an external environmental factor doesn't help your case either, especially since your theories have no way of being tested.

To end the argument on sexuality being something someone is born with versus and environmental factor, I leave you with this:

"Remember, sexual orientation is a pattern of desire, not of behavior or sexual acts per se. It is not a simple act of will or a performance. We fall in love with men or women because we have gay, straight, or bisexual orientations and not because of choice. So let’s stop pretending there is choice in sexual orientation."

Let me next counter your argument about the media/entertainment industry being "vastly" homosexual. I'm going to exclude the theatre/musical theatre industry and the porn industry because as far as I know, those are the only two entertainment industries in which gay people are extremely prominent. Prominent here is defined as there being more than one main gay character or gay actor in the entire production. Background characters are not included.

For the longest time, gay characters were not allowed to be seen in children's media. Having gay characters was considered making the show too adult for children. In adult cartoon media where gay characters were allowed, they were only there as the butts of many jokes and were not given a positive light. Gay characters are discriminated against in television and movies.

The first time a there was a lesbian kiss on TV was on August 23, 2014 with the Doctor Who episode "Deep Breath" and there was much backlash for it.

The first time there was a bisexual character in children's television was on Nickelodeon on December 19, 2014 in the last 30 seconds of the Legend of Korra series finale.

The first time Pixar had a gay couple was in Finding Dory (2016), and they were background characters.

The first time Disney had a gay couple was in the series finale of Gravity Falls(2016), and they were background characters.

Rebecca Sugar, creator of Steven Universe, wanted to make the characters Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time have a romantic interest in each other. Cartoon Network would not let the two characters be romantically involved until long after Sugar left to make Steven Universe. Even then, Cartoon Network didn't expand on it beyond implications that they were together.

Please notice that these things have happened in the past two years. Look at how small this list is and how powerful these names are: Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network. They don't want gay characters because they believe parents will complain that the characters teach their children how to be gay.

When these gay characters are presented with their sexualities, they (and their partner) are the only ones who are gay. In real life, gay people find each other and stick together; there are gay people who never interact with straight people outside of work because their friends fall under some color of the gay rainbow. The only television show that demonstrates this and is available to the public is Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Please, user Majin Yojimbo, tell me of another public television show--any public television show--which supports your statement of the entertainment industry being "vastly homosexual." You can even throw in movies! Keep in mind Brokeback Mountain doesn't count.

What the other user you quoted said about gay people having to repress themselves out of fear of being discriminated is true too, especially for children who live in strict households that hold the same views you do. Children are thrown out on the streets for merely liking someone of the same gender, let alone doing anything about it.

And now, onto your continuing argument you tried throwing at me, Majin Yojimbo, after I tried refuting your original statement in a concise manner without needing to be this detailed. You said,

""Straight people being born straight has yet to be scientifically proven too, if we're going there" If we're going there? Where? Pee Wee's Playhouse? Sexual reproduction is a necessity for life to continue. Asexuality is, if anything, a defect, as 'nature' never intends to kill itself. You're also still churning out [expletive] since the INDUSTRY is HEAVILY composed of gays and lesbians (not counting extras). In fact, there are MORE gays and lesbians in the entertainment industry than there are any other. And lastly, COME ON, certainly you can come up with something better than my own previous comment, Pee Wee. Also, you obviously know [expletive] about marketing and products."

He's quoting me in the beginning, if anyone's wondering.

Sexual reproduction may be necessary for life to continue, however, that does not mean that people want to sexually reproduce. You really need to realize that humans are not like other creatures on this planet. We do not need to fight predators to survive. There is (technically) enough food for everyone to live in abundance. The population is still growing.

It seems that you are an acephobe, which is very disappointing, since that means you will most likely never get the point of this or any other argument about sexuality. Asexuality is not wanting to have sex. People still have the ability to have sex; they don't become aroused by sexual encounters and do not desire sex. People who don't desire to sexually reproduce can still sexually reproduce. Gay people can still have sex with the opposite gender and make a child. As a human, how dare you call anyone a "defect." How dare. What's defective in this argument is your inability to see the other side because you are so blinded by your privilege. If the human race had to depend on you, then we definitely would not survive.

You keep stating that there are more gays and lesbians in the entertainment industry than in any other industry. Like a Drumpf supporter, you don't provide any facts or statistics for your information nor where you learned it. You just state it and expect me to believe it.

You mentioned nature. I don't know why you're putting quotation marks around it since no one in the thread mentioned it previously. If nature wanted to survive, then nature would kill us all. Humans as a species are killing nature through climate change and are doing nothing to stop it. Besides, if "nature" didn't want gay people to exist, then why do gay animals exist? Not every species has gay animals in it, but gay animals do exist!

The next time you try to come up with an insult and claim you know that I don't know certain things, make sure you don't claim that I, a student studying marketing, know nothing about marketing. I know more about what people want than you do.

For the people reading to learn how to take down privileged people, please use the following:

1. Counter their arguments with your arguments and support for your arguments. If your support is credible and directly contradicts theirs, then that's better.

2. Use words that they won't understand. If it sounds like you're talking down to them, then you're succeeding. Privileged people who don't acknowledge their privilege need to be brought down to the real world. If what you say sounds incredibly smart, make sure you're using the words the way they are intended. This is to prevent someone from the opposition calling you out on it. It also gives you more support because people tend to side with the person who knows more or appears to know more than the other person.

3. Don't use expletives. Just don't.

4. Use proper grammar.

If by the end of this the person arguing with you is angry and repeats the same statements they already made, then congratulations! You successfully argued with a privileged person and invalidated their entire argument. For people who want to use this list to debate, please do not use the second suggestion. Debates are healthy arguments and are made (for the most part) to give both sides of an argument under decent circumstances.

Anyone wanting to read the thread I pulled the two comments from is free to do so. However, be warned there is homophobia, Islamophobia, racism, and expletives.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

196091
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

18382
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

460500
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

28109
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments