Have your views on gays changed over the years?

by laverite 65 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Leolaia

  Alright, WingCommander is in, so this thread is now looking to be 10+ pages by .... Sunday? tomorrow?

  For someone raised-in like me, my views about people in general have changed as I grew up. The term "worldly" has lost its meaning, because there is no dichotomy between JWs and others. I used to feel perturbed watching my favorite soap opera and see people having sex in bed just prior to getting married (why fornicate if you can just wait till tomorrow, I wondered). I can read my 7th grade diary and smile because I was bothered by the dancing style of one girl at a talent contest that I thought was too flashy. Although at the same time, I drew a tracing of a depiction of a sex orgy (with lots of visible erections) from Paleolithic cave art that I found because I thought it was a historical document of the sin before the Flood. My mom was disturbed when she found it in my room but my interest in it was purely "theocratic" and quite innocent (it really was....I was fascinated at that age by the Flood, Enoch, Noah, Nimrod, etc.). But being so shaped by JW influences at that age, I pretty much had narrow attitudes to some extent and only knew the stereotypes from the Watchtower literature and in the media. That changed as I grew older and got to know people as people, and what their issues and concerns and feelings are. And then especially later when I learned more about ideologies and identities from a feminist perspective.
• 

  Finally-Free

  Have your views on gays changed over the years?

  Very much so. I used to have to go to seedy porn theatres to view some girl on girl action, and it cost me money. Now I can view it on the internet for free. That's quite a change.

  W
• 

  shamus100

  StAan,

  I am very sorry for your loss. You sound like you've got a good head on your shoulders, and my atricious conduct towards you in the past was obviously completely wrong. You must be a wonderful person in person, and I wish you nothing but the best.
• 

  BizzyBee

  Have your views of gay people changed over the years?

  Yes, I am much more tolerant now. I have changed my mind recently about gay marriage, too: I would vote in favor of it next time.

  Do you have or have you ever had gay friends?

  Yes, my best friend of 25 years is a lesbian.

  Did the Organization impact your views and interactions with gay people?

  I don't recall interacting with anyone known to be gay when I was a JW. The organization condemns gays so that would have been my view, too, at the time.

  If you are no longer a Dub, what do you think now?

  Gay orientation is an anomaly one is born with, not a conscious choice. Those who think gays should try to "overcome" their sexual orientation are heartless and ignorant.

  I don't like militant, "in-your-face" homosexuality, but I also don't like those characteristics in heterosexuals. Sex is a wonderful, but very private thing.

  P.S. I think St. Ann's post was very strange.
• 

  NiceDream

  Have your views of gay people changed over the years?

  Yes. My view of people in general has changed. I'm no longer afraid of "wordly people" or "apostates."

  Did the Organization impact your views and interactions with gay people?

  Definitely. I was told it was wrong, and that I wasn't suppose to watch any entertainment that had gay characters. I was so sad when my Mom told me I couldn't watch Ellen's sitcom because she was gay. We watched it before she came out, I didn't see what the big deal was. She was still the same person.

  If you are no longer a Dub, what do you think now?

  I think that being gay is something you are born with, and I'm not the judge. I feel compassion when I hear their stories and struggles growing up. And I want to teach my son not to be prejudice against anyone. If he was gay, I would want him to live a life that made him happy and support whatever choices he makes.
• 

  misanthropic

  Even while I was a Dub I didn't have a condemning attitude towards them, so the org never really impacted my thinking on it much. I actually hate to hear gay-bashing.

  This pretty much sums it up for me. I've always known gay and lesbian people in school though and it never seemed strange or wrong to me.
• 

  beksbks

  Not really, I never had occasion to think about it before I left the Dubs at 19. Since then I have had gay friends and co workers. As far as I'm concerned, it's like saying blue eyed, or brown haired. Tall or short. It's just what you're born with. As far as gay people being unhappy or in pain, how the hell could they not be with the way they are viewed and told how wrong and sinful they are? To say they should overcome it, is pure arrogance and self satisfaction. Usually biblically rooted.

  God made you a short guy, but he doesn't approve of short guys, and tall guys are just better people. Get over that short thing huh?

  As far as being "in your face", you must be kidding? Heterosexuality is soooooo quiet in this world hmm?
• 

  Twitch

  No, they still look gay to me, the flamers anyways,....

  Other than that, don't care. Not my bidness.
• 

  neverendingjourney

  I don't care what consenting adults do in the privacy of their homes; just don't force me to "accept" it, call it "normal", "natural," or anything else.

  Must You Rub My Nose In Your Heterosexuality? Posted by BarryBaxter at 6/10/2010 6:25 AM CDT

  Hey Mr. and Ms. Straight America, there you go again! I mean, every time I leave my house or log on to the web or turn on my TV I’m slapped in the face by your lifestyle. Walking down the street holding hands like you haven’t a care in the world. Sharing that quick peck on the lips when you say hello or goodbye to your special someone. Welcoming your family and friends to your joyful weddings and posting the pictures everywhere. Really? Must you? The fact is, Mr. and Ms. Straight America, I’m yanking your chain. I actually think your love and shows of affection and weddings are awesome. What could ever be wrong with love? Why would anyone chastise anyone else for showing and acting upon their commitment to another person? Oh yeah. Sorry. Temporary amnesia. Some people would do that. Say, if they saw two men or two women walking down the street hand in hand, or grabbing that quick goodbye kiss, or planning a wedding, they might just wonder indignantly why the gays have to be so overt and rub it in everyone’s noses. In my family, we’re big on the goodbye kiss, especially at the airport. No way any of us are going to hurtle through the sky at 500 mph in a metal tube without a proper goodbye. As for holding hands, our son always positions himself to walk between us and grabs both of our hands so I’m guessing it’s pretty apparent that we’re a family. Simple, loving and pure exchanges of closeness and affection. Nothing more. So right on, Mr. and Ms. Straight America, give and receive love! Show a little respect to others who do the same. And let’s all just keep our noses out of it Source: http://www.chron.com/channel/momhouston/commons/twodadsoneson.html?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%253ac42b0c21-9ea5-4329-8cc1-5fdc0a943b6aPost%253ab24ad4e9-239d-4ee8-bfac-11c297337ed1
• 

  mrsjones5

  Have your views of gay people changed over the years?

  No, I've never been a gay basher or hater even though I was raised in the bOrg.

  Do you have or have you ever had gay friends?

  Yes, many as does my husband. Some are very close friends of the family.

  Did the Organization impact your views and interactions with gay people?

  When I was younger I think my attitude about it was it was an oddity and not necessarily a bad thing, I'm not sure if the bOrg contributed to my views - I think my parents did more. My mother had a hairdresser named Nicole who was gay and maybe transgendered (from what I could gather he still had his penis). Dad called Nicole a fruit and "it" (never to Nicole's face) but he didn't stop my mother from going to Nicole to get her hair done (not that my father really could knowing my mother). I thought Nicole was kinda cool and funny. Mother went to Nicole for years until he died of AIDS and seemed to miss him. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, going to design school and working in San Francisco just reinforced my opinion that gays are folks with the same human desire to be cared for and loved as straights.