Nearly exactly a year ago, I blogged about racism in the gay community. In that time, nearly 6,000 people have viewed the post, it's been reblogged, retweeted, stumbledupon and quoted across the interwebs. I've been interviewed for a documentary on the subject and this week I was quoted in an article on gay.net, which at last count has 10 pages of thoughtful (and sometimes idiotic and racist) comments.
While it's been cool to get all this attention for something I wrote, playing a role in exposing and debating the issue is way more gratifying.
Over the last year, I've heard a lot of gay race-ish defenders say "being into X" is not racism, it's simply a preference. While I'm willing to accept that people have preferences for physical features, I refuse to believe people are born with an innate, locked-in attraction to their race or any race. I believe that "preference" is socialized behavior and the remnants of our racist past -- not to mention the racism that still goes on behind closed doors and in the media. And I still believe it's racist to unabashedly state, as so many gay men I've spoken to have, that they would never date a person from a race other than their own.
On the racism versus preference debate, one defense preference-ists bring up more than any other is that of comparing racism to the supposed inherent misogynist behavior of being gay.
The argument goes something like this: "I don't call you a misogynist for not wanting to have sex with women, so don't call me a racist for not wanting to have sex with blacks or Asians."
I've always found the comparison intuitively spurious, but philosophical arguments have never been my strong suit and I never quite knew how to answer. Until now. So here goes.
The way I see it, being gay does not make one a misogynist anymore than being straight makes someone a homophobe. A misogynist hates, attacks or demeans women. A homophobe hates, attacks or demeans gays. And a racist or anti-Semite hates, attacks or demeans people of another race or ethnic group. A gay racist, therefore, is not the same as a misogynist racist. A gay racist is simply a man who, hated, attacked or demeaned for being gay, incomprehensibly and coldly turns around and hates, attacks or demeans someone else for being born black, Asian, Indian or, yes, white. In short, he is someone who ought to know better.
Thank you for all your visits, hits and comments over the last year. Keep 'em coming.
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