It is a truth universally acknowledged that stereotypes are bad. Don't judge a book by a cover, walk a mile in someone's shoes, the whole shebang. We have all been told not to stereotype people, but get to know someone before passing that judgement.
That's all well and good but it doesn't stop anyone from doing it. In the immortal words of Avenue Q, "everyone's a little bit racist." And everyone stereotypes, we just don't like to admit it. We all want to be that one person who rivals Mother Teresa's humanity and kindness, but instead we're the person wondering whether the co-worker with seven kids is Catholic or just careless.
It is very easy to stereotype gay people. "All gay men are fans of Judy Garland," "all lesbians play softball." I'm guilty of it, too.
Recently I went over to a friend's house and he was in a state of extreme agitation. His TV service provider wasn't showing the football game of his favorite team and he was threatening to cancel the cable right then and there if it wasn't rectified.
"It's okay, we can watch Project Runway instead," was my attempt to soothe the savage beast.
"I don't want to watch Project Runway. I want to watch football!"
I'm sorry......what? Who are you and what have you done with my gay?!
The common misconception of gay men is that they are secretly fancy ladies who want nothing more than to gossip about people's outfits and drink cosmopolitans with their pinkies in the air. That is simply only half true. Gay men are just that -- men. They fix cars, they watch football, they eat copious amounts of grilled meats, they talk openly about bathroom activities but not so openly about their feelings, and they scratch themselves. That's just the nature of the testosterone-ridden beast. Their sexuality unfortunately doesn't change their chromosomal make-up.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to watch Project Runway alone now. My gays watched it without me last night, the bitches.
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