circusgirl
New member
Actually, until you have been the victim of discrimination based on appearance/religion/sexual prefereence/football team of choice you don't know what it can be like.
I do not normally suffer discrimination in my daily life. However, when I choose to go out dressed "goth", I get verbal abuse from strangers in the street, or in passing cars, every time. And this is in no way unique to me. Now, this only happens about once a week, but the level of aggression displayed in the verbal attacks is frightening. I'm not talking about mockery here (hey, I can sling just as much mud), but downright crazd, hate-filled aggressive screaming. I find this intimidating, as I am one and there are always at least 5 of them - enough to beat the shit out of me should they so choose. This is more than unpleasant - it is unpleasant the first, 5th or 10th time, but the 60th time, it is profoundly intimidating and upsetting, because one day it's going to be more than verbal, and also my effort to prevent myself from choking the living shit outta one of them needs to be greater. Similar people have tried to run over a friend of mine for the same reason. Yes, they tried to KILL her because of her taste in clothing.
I am lucky because my clothing is my choice. If on any given day I just do not feeling like taking the crap, I wear jogging bottoms and a tshirt of something. This would not be the case if I was a man and identifably gay. I would get this shit all the time.
Go to 24fightingchickens.com and read the stuff he says about being a white (straight!) american in Japan, particularly the stuff about Martin Luther King. It's an eyeopener, I was reading this site today.
I also have several male friends who have been randomly attacked for things that were perceived as "gay" - long hair, transvestism (the fact that they may look silly is not, I repeat not, a crime), exceptionally effeminate appearance, makeup etc. Some of these men were gay, some were not. But if you think gay bashing is not prevalent then you need to walk around wearing a dress for a day.
circusgirl
I do not normally suffer discrimination in my daily life. However, when I choose to go out dressed "goth", I get verbal abuse from strangers in the street, or in passing cars, every time. And this is in no way unique to me. Now, this only happens about once a week, but the level of aggression displayed in the verbal attacks is frightening. I'm not talking about mockery here (hey, I can sling just as much mud), but downright crazd, hate-filled aggressive screaming. I find this intimidating, as I am one and there are always at least 5 of them - enough to beat the shit out of me should they so choose. This is more than unpleasant - it is unpleasant the first, 5th or 10th time, but the 60th time, it is profoundly intimidating and upsetting, because one day it's going to be more than verbal, and also my effort to prevent myself from choking the living shit outta one of them needs to be greater. Similar people have tried to run over a friend of mine for the same reason. Yes, they tried to KILL her because of her taste in clothing.
I am lucky because my clothing is my choice. If on any given day I just do not feeling like taking the crap, I wear jogging bottoms and a tshirt of something. This would not be the case if I was a man and identifably gay. I would get this shit all the time.
Go to 24fightingchickens.com and read the stuff he says about being a white (straight!) american in Japan, particularly the stuff about Martin Luther King. It's an eyeopener, I was reading this site today.
I also have several male friends who have been randomly attacked for things that were perceived as "gay" - long hair, transvestism (the fact that they may look silly is not, I repeat not, a crime), exceptionally effeminate appearance, makeup etc. Some of these men were gay, some were not. But if you think gay bashing is not prevalent then you need to walk around wearing a dress for a day.
circusgirl