By MAMAMIA TEAM
The following video flips a commonly asked question on its head. And the result is surprisingly uplifting.
Gay people have often had the question asked of them – whether by family, or friends, or media, or politicians – ‘Why did you choose to be gay?’ Or, ‘When did you choose to be gay?’
The implication of such questions is that their sexual orientation is a ‘choice’, and they should be able to easily change it to fit in with the status quo.
But what if the question was instead, ‘When did you choose to be straight?’
The responses in this video are heartwarming. Even the respondents who have an unclear position on whether or not they think gay people ‘choose’ to be gay, seem to readjust their point of view when the same question is asked of their heterosexuality.
Logic meets empathy. It’s a beautiful thing.
Okay, so. When did you ‘choose’ your sexual orientation?
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Top Comments
I knew something was 'wrong' at 11/12. The first person I ever crushed on was a girl. Back then the world was so homophobic I remember hoping and feeling incredibly anxious over the thought of being gay at 15. Even later I became suicidal and distressed at my growing attraction to girls and wanted so desperately to be straight.
So why wasn't I straight if I feared being gay so much? The answer: I had no choice. When I finally accepted it in myself, I was a happy and exclusively gay for the next 15 years, never once feeling anything for any guy. It wasn't because I hated men either, it was because I loved women.
I'm now married to a man which makes people assume I've 'gone straight'. Actually I haven't. All I've done is become more flexible sexually, tapped into my bisexual side. As much as I love and desire my husband, my primary interest is still girls. It used to make him feel insecure but now he likes it, the knowledge that he's the only guy in almost 20 years that I've been attracted to. Obviously my husband is gay friendly and has loads of gay friends, which is how I met him. I could never have fallen for a neanderthal.
I've always loved this idea. As a teacher, you come across boys who clearly identify as gay in their mid teens or earlier. The question always got asked, usually by blokey PE types (and not so much now I'm pleased to say), "how could he KNOW he's gay at his age?" I would always ask, "well, when did you know you were straight?" The reply would inevitably (defensively!) be, "I've always known it." And then the penny would drop. A satisfying moment.