AGLBICAL
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ABC News:
Are Gay Stereotypes
True?
About Gay Life:
Top Myths About
Gay Men
TV Ad Portrayals
of Gay Stereotypes
Texas Woman’s Univ:
Myths & Assumptions
Helium: 10 Articles
Debunking Stereotypes
Research Busts
Gay Stereotypes
Debunking Stereotypes
About Gay & Lesbian
Relationships
NationMaster:
LGBT Stereotypes
YouTube: Making and
Breaking Lesbian
Stereotypes
YouTube:
Stereotypes
Center for
Gender Sanity
Born Different
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LGBT STEREOTYPES
Getting Beyond Gay Generalizations
Everyone has perceptions
or preconceived ideas about what it means to be gay. Many people think
they can tell if someone is gay by the way they look, dress, or behave.
By resting on stereotypes or conventional formulaic generalizations,
many misconceptions and mistaken identities can easily occur. Some
people who might get embarrassed because their "gaydar" wasn't fine
tuned, just might have to admit they may have been exercising their
private prejudices or preconceived notions about gays and lesbians.
Not all gay men are effeminate and flamboyant (queens)
Just because someone is a gay man, doesn't mean he…
Is obsessed with fashion and is super stylish
Is limp-wristed, swishy and talks with a lisp
Listens to show tunes
Is involved in theatre and the performing arts
Is a hairdresser or fashion designer
Frequents seedy gay bars and dances shirtless to disco music
Not all lesbians are butch and tomboyish (dykes)
Just because someone is a lesbian, doesn't mean she…
Wears short hair, tattoos, and army boots
Drives a pick-up truck and wears a tool belt
Is really into sports
Wears plaid lumberjack shirts
Only listens to music by KD Lang, The Indigo Girls, and Melissa
Etheridge
Wears leather and rides a
motorbike
LGBT people
are found in every social, economic, racial, and religious group. They
are our teachers, colleagues, friends, parents, and children. Most LGBT
people look and act just like everyone else.
They come from all walks
of life, all races, all economic levels, and all political perspectives.
We all
know a number of LGBT people, whether we are aware of it or not.
Typically, you
can't spot a gay man or lesbian women by the way they act and dress.
Gender roles do not determine sexual orientation. Many LGBT people are
impossible to distinguish from straight and more gender normative
individuals. There are some lesbians who dress in a very masculine way,
some gay men who act in traditionally feminine ways, and many LGBT
people who feel the freedom to explore a range of gender expression.
There are also many gender normative LGBT people who “pass” unnoticed
every day.
Popular media tends to perpetuate the common stereotypes associated with gays and lesbians. Portrayals of gays and lesbians in movies and on television tend towards stereotypical behavior. Gay and lesbian characters all too often are caricatures, reflecting stereotypical looks, mannerisms, and lifestyles.
It is a misconception that you can always tell homosexuals by the way they look or act. Typically, we think that men who act in a feminine manner must be gay and that masculine women with short haircuts must be lesbians.
Too often people think they can generalize about the activities and lifestyle of gays and lesbians. Some people have long held assumptions about the kinds of music LGBT people listen to, the kinds of clothes LGBT people wear, and the kinds of entertainment LGBT people enjoy. Some might even generalize about the traits that they think characterize a typical gay or lesbian relationship.
Most
gay and lesbian people look just like your typical neighbors instead of
like the characters on "Queer as Folk" or "Queer Eye for the Straight
Guy."
The reality is that these
stereotypes
only apply to about 15% of gays and 5% of lesbians.
These
stereotypes confuse the concept of sexual orientation with gender roles.
Sexual orientation: whether you prefer the same sex or the other sex as a sexual partner.
Gender role: exhibiting masculine or feminine behavior.
There is a cultural tendency to view homosexuality as “behavior” rather than a personal identity.
While there
are some gay and lesbian persons who fit these stereotypes, they are no
more representative of all homosexual people than are the Marlboro Man
and June Cleaver types representative of all straight people. LGBT
people generally look and act like everyone else.
Most people never
suspect the sexual orientation of an LGBT individual.