Written By: Hallie MadenskiDid you ever think people were starting to become less homophobic? Did the appearance of more gay characters on television give you that idea? Or maybe the few celebrities who have admitted proudly that they are gay, maybe that gave you that idea? Ellen Degeneres and Wanda Sykes, actual lesbians with their own talk shows! Wow what progress. Well I can't deny that homophobia is less tolerated then it once was, it is nowhere close to being done with. As is true with the "choice" to become a Republican, being homophobic is something that is often passed down by parents. Like a learning disorder or a predisposition to cancer. It is only magnified by comments made by, guess who, Republicans. Older people set in their ways, rappers, sports figures and the general population of any rural area can also be held accountable for remarks that put strange ideas in impressionable children and young adult minds.
The word "faggot" has become a commonplace insult for young people to use even when not referring to anyone's sexuality. The more kids who learn and say this word pass it on to other kids like the plague until just about every kid learns the word. Also, the idea that the word "gay" simply means "bad" or "stupid" just goes to show how homophobic a country we really are. Though my outrage at the treatment of the gay community has always been strong, I was recently very disturbed by certain reactions to gay pop star Adam Lambert.
Lambert performed for the first time on TV at the American Music Awards on November 22nd. I'm not going to say his routine wasn't controversial or raunchy but Lambert has received what I believe to be camouflaged homophobic concerns. He's been criticized for setting a bad example for his young fans. He pointed out that it was nearly 11 at night and that it is up to the parents to make sure their kids aren't watching. He went on to mention that nobody cared when Lady Gaga smashed whiskey bottles and lit her piano on fire. Nobody cared when Eminem sang about having several "rapes" under his belt. And nobody complained when Janet Jackson grabbed her dancer's crotch.
ABC has received thousands of letters no doubt from horrified stay at home moms. I can only picture them sitting down to watch the American Music Awards with their child. A freshly baked pie just out of the oven, their balding sweater vest wearing husband adjacent. A bowl of popcorn on the pristine table by their knees. And I can only savor the image of them quickly jumping in front of the TV as Adam Lambert came out. Sweat oozing from their pores at the very thought that their own poor defenseless child might see that filth and blasphemy. As Lambert began to simulate oral sex and fisting on male and females alike. Oh the horror! Much worse than Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson's mishap at the superbowl. I mean, at least that was heterosexual.
The performance was obviously meant to shock people I mean, he kissed another guy on regular TV. It's not unexpected, just disappointing that this would be the reaction. And of course it gets a bit worse. Lambert was scheduled to perform on Good Morning America the next day but was deemed too controversial of a guest. Chris Brown, infamous woman-beater, was booked to be on the show long before Adam Lambert's shocking performance. Having Chris Brown on any show to promote his horrible album is promoting not only his career but his behavior towards Rihanna. Behavior which, on Larry King, he actually claimed to not remember parts of. Is being gay a question of character or values? Not to me it isn't. While I may believe hitting your significant other is a character flaw, Good Morning America has its own flawed idea of what is right and wrong.
In an interview on The Early Show Lambert apologized only for his singing performance. It reminded me of Lady Gaga's response to being asked what the worse rumor is about her, replying "That I'm from Yonkers." Nicely played, nicely played. I do feel that the uproar over Lambert's performance have almost as much to do with the fact that he's gay as the fact that he's male. I've seen Britney Spears and Madonna doing equally provocative and tasteless things. Speaking of Madonna and Britney, it's come to my attention that on that same Early Show appearance CBS decided to blur the image of Lambert's man on man kiss. Interesting since CBS never blurred out the woman to woman kiss shared by Britney and Madonna. Again, it's not surprising, since many man consider gay men to be disgusting but are turned on by lesbianism due to some strange delusion that all lesbians desire their inclusion in some sort of threesome. An act that would fully disbar them from actually being referred to as lesbians. I don't really believe in these labels. But they mean something to America as a whole.
America is all about labels and hypocrisy.. We are a sex crazed country who averts their eyes every time anything mildly obscene actually happens. What a tease of a country. The most supposedly straight-laced republican politicians are the people with the dirtiest sex secrets. We pride ourselves on our little Disney starlets who rarely keep up their image past the age of 17 due to the polarized sexualization of America. It's probably only okay for Lindsay Lohan to be a lesbian because she is no longer looked up to. So you saw a classless performance from a mediocre gay singer. It was entertaining, if anything. And there's no need to pretend to be worried about your children. Do people think once there's a gay man shaking his ass on TV their own kids will instantly become gay? As if Lambert is some kind of pied piper, galloping around using his gay tricks to lure kids onto his team. As if he were some wolf, ruining the good clean image of the American Music Awards. It's not a goddamn Disney on Ice show! People expect entertainment, then when they get it it's too much.
Even Obama doesn't support gay marriage. I'm sick of actual gay celebrities making excuses for him because he has so many other responsibilities. I really don't think legalizing gay marriage would take all that long. If gay marriage is the least of Obama's concerns shouldn't he just get it out of the way? Like when you're in a line at the grocery store and you let the person with less items go in front of you. Well the real reason is that Obama doesn't believe at all in gay marriage, he said that before you elected him, dummies. Of course that's good for America because America is ridiculously homophobic for such a "free" nation. Well we may be free but we aren't without ridiculous double standards and judgmental extremist assclowns who think being gay is a horrible affliction that needs to be cured. Anything we don't understand doesn't deserve to be on TV does it? Pop music needs people like Adam Lambert. Whether you like his music or not, he's going to continue to ruffle some feathers, so get used to it.
