Through a Different Lens: Gay White Males

From a collection of online artifacts, the single story for gay White men is this: they are discriminatory toward other gay men, especially Black gay men, and their push for equal rights is in vain since it is not for true equality. The message conveyed from the dating website was that White gay men are the best quality and superior to other gay men. The name of the website is realjock.com, signifying that to be a White gay male is like being the “cool” and “sought-after” jock of the high school social atmosphere.  An article on The Feminist Wire titled, “From One White Gay Male to Another: Calling out the Implicit Racism in Dan Savage’s ‘Liberal’ Politics and the ‘It Gets Better’ Campaign,” conveyed the message that White, middle/upper class gay men are the single focus of popular political campaigns for LGBT equality and rights. The YouTube video conveyed the message that White gay men think they are too good to date Black gay men. Posts on Tumbl and the Huffington Post Blog similarly conveyed the message that White gay men (particularly middle/upper-class) are hogging the focus of gay rights for themselves and failing to promote true equality by leaving out Black gay men. It matters that these messages are being sent because it is creating even more attention for this social issue of gay rights, while poking holes in the legitimacy of many gay rights campaigns that claim their basis on equality.

This single story that is presented mostly focuses on racism from White gay men toward Black gay men. It completely ignores Asian gay men, Latino gay men, and other gay men of ethnic backgrounds. From the social “artifacts” analyzed, there was no mention of any political campaigns through the lens of a Black gay man. The ‘It Gets Better’ Campaign, which one of the online articles mentioned was created by a White gay man. Of course it is going to be biased because individuals see through their own lens of perception. The social implication of the message for this group of White gay males is that they are becoming ostracized from their own LGBT community. Other gay males might hate White gay males because White gay males are receiving the media attention that perhaps every member of the LGBT community yearns for. Being gay is radical from social norms and traditions, but the focus on White gay males parallels the same monopoly that White males have as the homogenous majority in other social circles.

I found it interesting that there is so much racism within the LGBT community and this push for “equality” within a minority group that apparently possesses its own prejudices. Though the message is clear that White gay males are the unequal focus of most all gay rights campaigns, other gay males working against these gay rights campaigns conveys its own message of a hopeless society and political arena, where no one will ever receive enough attention or acceptance. The bottom line is that every person has their own defining characteristics that craft the lens of perception, through which they see the world and its social issues. We need to work together to share our lens with others without imposing on them, and trying to understand their lenses too.  

http://thefeministwire.com/2012/02/from-one-white-gay-male-to-another-calling-out-the-implicit-racism-in-dan-savages-liberal-politics-the-it-gets-better-campaign/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-lyon/gay-white-male-privilege_b_1596915.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh7JCZVYk2s

http://queeranarchistfeminist.tumblr.com/post/34044099448/dear-gay-white-men

http://www.realjock.com/gay-personals/white