From: RMBEILKE@aol.com Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 14:33:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Feedback--"Heterosexual supremacist" vs. "Anti-gay person" Hi! I've gotten more feedback on this posting than any other! Here are some brief outtakes for your review and further comment: How about "breeder supremacist"? :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- Absolutely yes on the heterosexual-supremecist thing. The other great thing about it is that (like white supremecist) the supremecists never argue with you about it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- I'll do it; I wish you better luck than I've had against that idiotic term "homophobia," which is about as inaccurate and agrammatical as words get. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- I like it, heterosexual supremacist fits perfectly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- Excellent posting. I'll try rephrasing some of my letters to editors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- I love your idea and will begin using that term immediately! I agree with your reasoning 100%. I read a book several years ago (can't recall the title) but it also suggested that the term "homophobia" let perpatrators off the hook too easily. "Why, we can't be angry at someone who is afraid, now can we?". The author suggested the terms "homo-hatred" and "homohater" instead. What do you think? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- Why not just say Hetrosexist, instead of hetrosexual supremisist? >>"Thank you for the feedback. Your question is a good one and one I did not anticipate so I had to mark a distinction between the two terms "heterosexist" and "heterosexual supremacist." My analogy would be to the usage of the two different words "racist" and "white supremacist." Of course, white supremacy is a form of racism, but a form of racism taken to an extreme -- including murder, violence and other acts to take away the peace and safety and civil rights of people of color. I would not want at this time to reserve the more mild term "heterosexist" -- which could be anyone such as my own mother who has not ridden herself of prejudice yet who is for the right of gays to marry -- for those who go out of their way to deny us our civil rights or worse our lives. The latter people are those I will refer to as heterosexual supremacists. Let me know how this sits with you. I see your point regarding mild hetrosexism versus extreme hetrosexism. I guess that my problem with the term stems from the use of the word supremacist. It seems so over used these days. Of course that may only occur to me because I'm such a news junkie. We hear this term frequently these days. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- Notice how these "hetero supremacists" claim that marriage is not a civil right. Imagine how fast it would become a "civil right" if the gov't ever tried to interfere with their choice of marriage partner! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- I can't tell you how pleased I am to be reminded that there are really beautiful people over there! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- "Heterosexist" is much more appropriate than "homophobic" for the same reason "heterosexual supremacist" (I would suggest the term "straight supremacist" as it is easier to pronounce, but I didn't think of it until your post) is more appropriate than "anti gay person". Both terms put the ball in the right court where it belongs. The term "homophobic" implies that straight people's negativity toward gays results from their "fear" of us. I don't believe most straight persons "fear" homosexuals so much as they feel their heterosexuality is somehow superior to our homosexuality. The term "heterosexist" puts the blame on their arrogance rather than implying that there is something frightening about us. >>My fear is that fewer straight people know what the label "straight" means than know what "heterosexual" means. Well, by the time we're through rubbing their faces in it I guess they'll just have to learn! :-) But whatever we end up calling it, your point is a good one. I, for one, am tired of being the "THING" that heterosexuals "react to", as if the whole of creation revolved around them. I believe it's time for straight people to start acting responsibly and to realize that many of the "so called" problems of society are of their own making, due to their requirement that everyone be stamped out, cookie cutter fashion, to *their* image. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- I like "heterosexual supremacist", but there must be a better term out there. Too many syllables. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- I'll try out "heterosexual supremacist" on my congressman once he finishes digesting my latest criticisms on other issues (Chris Shays was singled out by the NY Times Saturday for allowing the House campaign fund-raising inquiries to be restricted to a witch hunt of Democrats). The Advocate ranks Shays as the 4th most gay-friendly Republican -- however, his strong support of DOMA makes him a good test candidate for your terminology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- What great work you are doing! I just wanted to drop a note about our web page. http://members.aol.com/zoefamily/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- THANKS TO ALL ELEVEN CONTRIBUTORS! Let's keep the dialogue going. Anyone can participate. -- Rich HERE IS THE ORIGINAL POSTING: Subj: *M*: "Heterosexual supremacist" vs. "anti-gay person" Date: 97-04-12 21:38:23 EDT From: RMBEILKE@aol.com Sender: marriage-owner@abacus.oxy.edu Reply-to: RMBEILKE@aol.com To: Marriage@abacus.oxy.edu I can see no reason not to change the convention and plenty of reasons to change the convention at this time of the language used for those who would express disrespect for gay and lesbian equality before the law. I propose that the term "heterosexual supremacist" be adopted in lieu of "anti-gay person." Reason: Our struggle as people of a different sexual orientation for equal rights under the law is a human rights and civil rights struggle. No respectable newspaper today would ever use the terminology "anti-black person" or "anti-African American person." Clearly the language convention of choice is "white supremacist." This convention places the responsibility for bigotry where it belongs. Can we change the conventional use of language? Of course. How else did the use of the word "gay" come about? FROM NOW ON, I will substitute the term "HETEROSEXUAL SUPREMACIST" for "anti-gay person." PLEASE JOIN ME. Example: The terminology for "Anti-gay" legislator Terrance Tom (in the Hawaii equal marriage rights debate) would change to "Heterosexual-supremacy" legislator Terrance Tom. Richard Beilke Creator/Proprietor of the Gay Marriage Calendar 1997 RMBEILKE@aol.com http://home.aol.com/RMBEILKE Home Page for RMBEILKE