Sunday, June 6, 2010

pride (in the name of love)

today i was watching tv with my kids. i sent them off to go do a few chores before dinner and switched it over to the news.

turns out i was just in time to catch the pride parade that was in SLC today. complete with a dude dancing on a float dressed in nothing but some very tight, very small underwear.

help me figure this out, reader. first, a few facts, as you may not know where i stand on all of this:

  1. i believe in equal rights for everyone. if gays want to be married, fine. i have zero problems with gay people. 
  2. i'm not religious at all. i have zero interest in what the bible says. i'm socially responsible.
  3. i have several gay friends. in fact, i've long believed that every woman needs a gay best friend. haha! 
  4. my kids know all about gays. that's actually a funny story.. i've posted it below in the p.s.
  5. my kids also know quite a bit about sex. we talk about it whenever the opportunity presents itself. so it wasn't like i was pissed or shocked that they would see this. i only brought it up b/c it's atypical of me to view the news with my kids. there isn't much good news on the news. :)
i am struggling with supporting this pride parade. here's why: sex doesn't belong in public. i don't think it's ok (or in the best interest of the gay rights movement) for some dude (or dudette), gay or not, to dance practically naked on a parade float in a public venue. i'm not part of the gay community, but if i was, that would not be the message i would want to send out. the message i got said, "hey, i'm gay, i'm sexual, i like to party, and i want to hook up with any gay guy out here."

in my mind, the message should be, "we are people too. we have jobs. we have kids. we have moms, brothers, cousins. we pay bills, we pay taxes, we eat food, we put our pants on one leg at a time, too. we're just like you."

am i right? am i wrong? help me see your point of view. am i reading into this too much? taking it too seriously? i wasn't there, so i don't know what the rest of the day was like or what any of the other activities were. the only thing i saw was that 1 min spot on the news.

keep any comments respectful. no hate speech.

p.s. here's the story on my kids finding out about gays. we watch the amazing race. and there's almost always a gay couple. so a few seasons ago, there were some married lesbian priests. my daughter said to me, "married?" and she had this look on her face that said REALLY??? my son said, "girls can be gay?" so i kept it short and sweet, b/c they were 7 and 9 at the time, and i told them that yes, girls can be gay. gays can be married in some states. and in some churches, the priests can be gay. i didn't need to explain the gay part. they figured that out all on their own. so, don't go thinking your kids are naive. they aren't.

p.s.s. we were in the city of salt last weekend, and we saw a homeless dude on the street. daughter pointed and yelled, "look!! a HOMO!!!" and then after we all collapsed in laughter, she retracted. "ooops, i mean a HOBO." hahahahahaaaaaa

5 comments:

annilee said...

K I totally agree! That is what I have always thought myself. Cole has a sister that is lesbian, and we love their guts. I think they would also agree with what you are saying. And I also agree that every girl needs a gay guy friend! Just ask my husband...he used to be homophobic, but he knows that is not an option in our house :) But it is true for some reason many of them do feel the need to flaunt sex, much more than the hedero-sexual community...although we do have our own kind! Very well said, and I am LMAO at the HOBO comment. Love it!

annikab said...

I agree with you.
Every group has those wacky people that just have to flaunt whatever it is that they have! I suppose that makes them even more normal right?
Its shock value but I doubt the shock value will get anyone what they want because that is the ONE part everyone will remember!

Nan said...

Well said Jess. Actions speak louder than words.

Brigitte Ballard said...

I am seriously laughing hard right now. Way to go Jenna. =)

I completely agree with you.

jasmine bailey-barfuss said...

You go girl.
xox