The Myth of Easy Conversion

I think it is very important to observe the sort of intolerance of activists for the gay cause in its hipocrisy which has been reduced to name calling. Like many personal convictions, there is some smug satisfaction to be had in saying that you are a friend to the oppressed, and a lot of reaction to the passage of Proposition Eight in California reeks of this hubris. But the paradox remains that the stories of gay liberation by gays themselves are deeply emotional and personal and difficult. Part and parcel of buying into the narrative is accepting what a triumph it is for gays to figure out how to get on speaking terms with their own parents and friends. Coming out of the closet is enormously difficult and for years and years we in the het community have been regaled with the drama and weight of this transformation. So it is a huge insult to see how suddenly all straights are supposed to turn on a dime and change our hearts and minds about homosexuality, rewrite constitutions and bless everything gay and lesbian as if it were simple and easy.