Sorry for ranting but Im very angry with a family member. We are sitting there watching Big brother (UK) and Brian Dowling the presenter comes on. As many English people know he is gay but my sister of 12 years old saids she didn't realize till last week. Anyway he comes on to present the show and my sister goes "Now I know he is gay I hate him more". My sister isn't a homophobic kid and to be honest probably didn't see the offense she could of caused. But me not being "out" I didn't want to say anything and cause suspicions. Any feedback guys? :bang:
My sister is 12 too, and often makes comments like this :/ Just take it with a pinch of salt, she probably doesn't realise what she's saying and doesn't mean anything by it if she isn't a homophobic person x
I'm 15 and I've heard worse from my friends. "Bisexuality doesn't exist, bisexuals are f**gots ashamed to fully come out." "You can't tell you're gay unless you've f***ed a couple of women." "There are men and women so they should get together. Otherwise there would be only one sex, right? I don't get why some people chose to be gay." "Look, two girls holding hands. That's absolutely gross." "I f***ing hate f*ggots." "Why?" "Because they exist."
Yeah I know guys thanks! And "Hey you" my mates are like this too I just want to turn round and tell them what I think!
Sorry to hear that these people make such offending comments! Luckily, I know far more people who would gladly beat someone down for talking like that rather than being the cause of the insults. Where I live, there are ALL kinds, except hard core goths, so people learned to get used to different people and get over it. I wish the world was the same!
Most folks prior the age of 13 yrs, don't know turds from turnips! Unfortunately, many remain in that same condition throughout their entire lives. It's a good thing your sister has a bright brother to guide her out from the depths of BS!
She's young. I don't know what's it's like where you are, but from my place of origin, it's dreadfully common. Especially from the 8-13 year olds. But they just don't get it, because they've never really experienced anyone gay around them, so they feel the notion is ridiculous.
My sister is four years older than me, and she probably wouldn't let me get away with saying things like that. If we were watching something about transgender folk at that age, I would probably say something less extreme like "hmm, that's weird," and she would say "it's not weird, how would you feel if you had boobs and a vagina and were told you were a girl your whole life?" I was pretty impressionable; I don't know how impressionable your younger siblings are, though.
This just might be my opinion, but in the future if your little sister makes comments like that I think that it would be perfectly fine to call her on it without being too suspicious. I have a few nephews and nieces that age and, while I'm not out to my family, I would call them out on comments like that. If she questions your saying something, just point out that it is no different than hating someone based upon the race that they are. You don't have to be a minority to decry racism. Right now she is young and still very impressionable. She might not be homophobic, but if those sort of thought processes are allowed to affect her she could develop homophobic tendencies without even realizing it. I do understand that sometimes situations can prevent you from being able to speak out because, well, there are stupid people in the world who don't listen. Still if you feel like you might be able to say something safely, than you should really consider it.