Last night, we watched American Idol. This is my first time watching the show. The Mrs. loves it, and it's a rarity that our eyes are open past 8 pm. So, we watched.
During the show, there was a commercial for a cruise line (would I get in trouble if I said which one?). Anyway, it was obviously aimed at valentine's getaways. That's great! If we had the money, we'd love to go on a cruise (especially for V-day). All the commercial showed were straight couples. That's ok, I get it. Kinda.
See, for anyone NOT in the GLBT community, we have our own cruise lines & travel companies. Olivia used to be the big name for lesbian cruises. It's since changed, but I forget who the big dog is now. It's nice being able to vacation where you're safe being out. There's comraderie there. There's also a HUGE separation.
Do any of you remember a few years ago, a high school in NYC opened and it was for homosexual students only? Kind of cool in that the kids are safe, uber uncool because it just separated us further from the rest of the American society.
We're not in with the mainstream, folks! They have their world, we have ours. Just as segregation was fought in the mid-late 20th century, so are we fighting a new kind of segregation now.
Ironically, my partner pointed out that Ellen is probably the most famous lesbian in Hollywood today & she is on one of the most popular shows today. She's right, and we're both pleased as punch!
We want to see "our people" integrated in with the outside world. Why? BECAUSE WE'RE ALL HUMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's refreshing to see someone who was openly fought for gay rights be in the mainstream. Now, if only we all could.
You don't have to be prejudiced to see the great divide of our generation. It's there. And I know that once our segregation is over, a new crowd will be forced to fight this same battle. What I don't know is why. Ignorance is not always bliss, folks. Ignorance keeps you in fear. It causes you to be separated from innumerable people - perhaps even your own family!
For my writing, my books are listed under lesbian fiction or just regular fiction. Why must there be a divide? Why must my creations be placed in different categories. The themes are all the same: struggle, adversity, love, dedication, family. Every single character in Loving Her, Unbreakable Hostage and Imperfect struggle with those issues. So what if the person they love is the same gender or not? How is it that the mainstream media gets to determine who, where and how my books are seen and not me?
Some of you may be aware of Amazon's "glitches" that put books like mine in a PORNOGRAPHY category! Excuse me? Ok, I can see you didn't hear me. EXCUSE ME?!
What the hell? If you've read Loving Her, you know it's ANYTHING but pornographic! Shit, Unbreakable Hostage has steamier scenes than Loving Her!
What the f*ck?! Do you know WHY my book was deemed pornographic? Because it was about women loving women. That's right folks. It has nothing to do with the fact that there aren't any racy scenes in Loving Her. It has nothing to do with the violence and tribulations my characters suffer. Nope. Just because a group of women share one commanity: lesbianism.
But here's my question. If a mother loves her daughter (in a nonsexual way, folks), would their story be deemed as pornographic? There may not be any sex, but it's still two women who love each other. Wait, what was that? Oh they're straight. They're better than me. Ok, gotchya.
Insert infinite curses in multiple languages here.
This is pure, unadulterated bullshit, folks. I know I'm not supposed to curse, but come on! READ my work before you decide it should be shunned because of its content.
We have a new form of segregation going on in our society, guys. Seriously. I don't have the same rights as my heterosexual counterparts. My books don't even have the same rights as my heterosexual counterparts!
We need to end this division. It's time we stopped labeling people and just accepted them as other human beings. I am not different from you. I am a person. I go through the same trials as you do and then some. Segregation was ruled "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" in 1954. The same still holds true today. Schools, libraries, the media. We need equality in all of them. No one is better than me because they are straight, nor am I better than anyone else because I am bi. We just are. Let's start living together like REAL human beings, ok?
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