Sunday, October 28, 2007

Could a newborn baby be gay?



The “Tuscan initiative”, sponsored by Italy's equal opportunities ministry, promotes a billboard advertising campaign which uses a photo of a baby to express its message concerning homosexuality.

Baby Used in Homosexual Ad Campaign - Vatican Objects
By Deacon Keith Fournier

My question as a gay man and gay therapist is, "What is wrong with considering babies and children as gay or lesbian?"

The article is about the Vatican objecting to an ad against discrimination of homosexuality showing a baby wearing a hospital bracelet.

The hospital bracelet worn by the newborn bears the French word
"homosexuel" in the place where the child’s name would normally be placed to
tell the waiting world of his or her identity. The campaign slogan is
"Sexual
orientation is not a choice."

The Vatican and others are criticizing it including a gay man himself:

Yet, Gianni Vattimo, well known postmodern philosopher, a self professed
homosexual, is critical of the advertising campaign. In an interview with
the
daily "Corriere della Sera"newspaper he questioned the idea that
homosexuality
is genetic. As for the billboard campaign, he said "The
initiative is in bad
taste, in fact they've made a mess of it."

The reason anyone would think this is in bad taste is that no one likes to think of children as already being homosexual and later coming out as gay.

My thoughts are that it is because when people hear the word gay they only hear gay adult sex. They don't consider homosexuality as anything other than sexual. But when we think of children being straight we don't think of them in adult sexuality terms. We think of them being romantic and cute with opposite gender peers and teachers.

"Do you have a crush on Mrs. T?" we ask a kindergarten boy.

"Do you like Bobby in class?" we ask the first grade girl.

This usually means something romantic and sweet not sexual! So why do people think of gay children as sexual and not sweet?

What do people think of this? Why is this?


Friday, October 26, 2007

First they came for the.................

" In Germany they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up
because I
wasn't a Jew. Then They came for the trade unionists, and I didn't
speak up
because I wasn't a trade unionists. Then they came for the
Catholics and I
didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came
after me- and by that
time NO ONE WAS LEFT TO SPEAK UP."

Pastor Martin Niemoller


Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Harry Potter comes out of the closet!


Dumbledore is gay.

Now that Dumbledore is out of the closet in a children's book, what are people going to do?

This is an important conversation people are going to be having openly gay characters in a children's book.

The question is, "What is wrong with that?"

How can this affect children in any other way than positive? I hope the debate starts a conversation around the world that it is okay for children not only to know about and be around homosexuality but that it is okay if they are gay too.

Children struggling with whether or not they might be gay or have parents who are gay and even just hearing about others who are gay will now have a positive reference to consider.
The worst I can see happening? That homophobia starts falling away with this young generation reading children's books that include homosexuality.

Harry Potter fans' favorite magical, wand-wielding headmaster is gay, says the series' author, and as it turns out, many bookworms don't love him any less because of it.

Parents around the country told ABCNEWS.com that when their children heard the news that professor Albus Dumbledore — who was also Potter's mentor — was gay, most of them shrugged it off. To read more go to Dumbledore is gay