So for those of you that are into comics or anything related to marvel, the astonishing X-Men issue 51 has just recently been released which featured one of the first same-sex marriages in comic book history, especially considering the guidelines comics have to follow regarding the portrayal of LGBT characters in the past.
And it is a great step towards a more progressive and equal society! But what really pissed me off was the excuse Singapore gave for not banning the comic, and it was because there were some characters who didn't agree with the wedding therefore, and i quote:
'allows for the balanced depictions of same-sex relationships if they do not encourage or promote alternative lifestyles.'
And i was just like:
What if the issue featured a heterosexual wedding? Would it be banned because no one opposed a man and a woman being together? Because it promotes heterosexual lifestyles?
You see, my friends, this is a blatant example of hetero-normativty in our culture. For those of you who don't know, hetero-normativity is where people assume that you are, or rather EVERYONE, is straight.
Singapore is a country where homosexuality is still very much illegal but the law regarding it is rarely, or dare I say, not enforced. What truly angers me is that they treat heterosexuality, like a social norm just like cisgenderism and traditional gender roles and this is a problem in many conservative countries, especially conservative Asian countries. Heck, a few years ago, the Malaysian government released guidelines to spot gay children and students in order to stop homosexuality in schools and these 'guidelines' were based of extremely offensive stereotypes like: gay men have v-neck shirts and lesbians only hang out with girls.
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| pretty much sums up my reaction |
“Its members advised that the theme of the comic was not in line with social norms and is in breach of existing content guidelines,”
What truly angers me is the ignorance these people have shown. The LGBT community has been drowned in hetero-normativty for centuries: weddings on TV and on newspapers, ads showing opposite sex couples and movies that focus solely on a boy and a girl. There are still countries out there that bans movies that feature couples of the same sex as the titular characters in films for christ's sake!
And does the hetero-normativity turn them straight? NO! NO IT DOES NOT!!!! Because people's sexuality is more complicated than you think it to be. What hetero-normativity does is force the LGBT community into the closet, encouraging them to be someone they're definitely not. By enforcing hetero-normativity, you create segregation and that does not, in anyway, benefit children.
Teaching kids about social norms promotes BULLYING. There are so many children and teens around the world BULLIED for being gay, bisexual, transgendered and so on. You're not helping LGBT kids become straight, you're telling them that they are not as complete a human being when compared to 'normal' kids. This happens especially in conservative Asian countries like the one I live in. Growing up, these children are bombarded with messages from the media and society saying that you have to be like THIS if you want to be accepted, if you want to have certain rights, if you want to please your family, if you want to be treated like a HUMAN BEING, not like THAT and this can lead to serious mental health issues like depression which may eventually lead to SUICIDE!
Hetero-normativity is a step towards homophobia, and that is just sad.
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