Society in the 2010's is much more understanding and accepting than the society that Billy lived in. Today, people are not afraid to hold gay pride rallies, and homosexuals are not ostracized by the rest of society. It is becoming cool to have a GBF(gay best friend), and most people expect gay men to be flamboyant, brunch-loving shopaholics. These stereotypes beg the question: Is society just creating another box for gay men?
Many people have difficulties opening their minds up to things that they don't understand. Society as a whole, has trouble accepting that people are different. That is why, when most people came to terms with gay men and women, they tried to take them from one extreme, and move them to the other. Gay men went from hiding their sexuality, to being over-the-top, frou frou nightmares. obviously, not all gay men fit this stereotype, and it is unfair that society is continually taking their identities, and forming them to fit what "we" feel comfortable acknowledging and accepting.
A new, intriguing college major is emerging: Gender and Sexuality
Studies. This is a major at many notable universities, namely New York
University, St. Lawrence University, Northeastern University, Yale
University, and many others. These students explore the way society pigeonholes certain groups,
relating to sexual orientation and/or gender within a certain groups, and the programs encourage students to
question gender roles and study the ways gender and sexual orientation
affect peoples' everyday lives.
Billy' past stayed with him throughout the rest of his life. The problems he faced as the child of a single mother, his "wrong crushes," and his bisexuality all scarred him, and set him up for a dysfunctional future. All his life, Billy needed to feel safe, something he was deprived of for all his life. Safety is something most people take for granted, but Billy did not have the luxury of feeling safe in his own skin.
When those around Billy try to pigeonhole him into certain groups, especially those to which he only partially belonged, Billy managed to escape each and every one of their judgements by creating his own category, even though it was a category that most others could not understand.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that this college major has begun to originate now, where gender roles and orientations are such a hotly debated issue. The jobs for people with this major are mostly advising jobs, or supervising jobs. They prevent any gender or sexuality preference from being a factor in whether or not a person is qualified for a job.
When Billy becomes a teacher at his old high school, it seems as though he may have majored in this study. The high school has become an accepting place for all LGBTQ kids, and Billy takes on the role as an advisor in preventing bullying and judgement.
This again generates the question: Should teachers help students in these situations as much as Billy does? Should kids still try to define themselves on their own?