Thursday, October 27, 2011
Same-Sex Marriage Will Lead To Gay Kisses In High School Plays, Conservative Warns
ThinkProgress: The Family Institute of Connecticut’s Peter Wolfgang appeared on MSNBC with Thomas Roberts this afternoon to discuss the controversy surrounding a play featuring a same-sex kiss at Hartford Public High School.
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The video that interviewed two of the most opposite people had so much palpable tension, made me uncomfortable. I agree with the woman however, she made a good point that getting all of this controversial attention as a response to the play only helps the message that the play intended on sending. Honestly, there is nothing wrong with the kiss on stage. The replay was barely anything, I don't know why anyone is getting so upset. Why is it any different than a straight kiss? In the 1950s people weren't allowed to really kiss on stage or in film. We got over that, why should this be any different. As we can see, the country is slowly (too slowly in my opinion), becoming more accepting and this shouldn't continue coming up as an issue. Its a shame that it still brings about hatred.
In this video, Peter Wolfgang of the family institute of Connecticut makes several entirely absurd arguments. First of all, he offhandedly remarks that a show in which two men kiss each other was inappropriate for the high school to perform. In fact, a show containing homosexuality is in some ways exactly the type of show a high school should be doing. High school is full of sexual tension and is the time when many young people are figuring out their sexuality. Showing homosexuality onstage shows these students an alternative from the overwhelming amount of heterosexual relationships in media.
Wolfgang’s main argument is that having kids see a show in which two men kiss without alerting parents about it beforehand is a forced indoctrination of certain values without parent’s awareness and consent. He specifically says, “If you get same sex marriage [in your state]… you will not have the right to decide for yourself what your children will be taught about right or wrong. The schools will step in and they will force this on you.” This is simply what school does. Public education is there to teach children the knowledge and values that they will need to function in society. This includes reading, math, and basic critical thinking and analysis skills, but it also includes the values of society. Parents do what they can to instill their values upon their children, but from the age of 5 on, unless the child is homeschooled educational entities do as much if not more to instill values upon children. Kids are taught that killing, lying, stealing, physical violence, cheating, drug and alcohol use, and racism are wrong, because these are the values of society. These must and will be taught to kids regardless of whether their parents believe that (for example) beating the shit out of someone is an acceptable way to solve an argument.
If a state has voted to legalize same-sex marriage, then that not only means it is legal for homosexual couples to marry, but that the acceptability of same-sex marriage becomes one of society’s values. Thus it becomes the job of public educational institutions to teach that same-sex marriage is acceptable. In a functioning society, you simply cannot have a government-funded institution (or any institution really) teaching values that are contrary to the laws of the government. Regardless of where you stand on homosexuality and the issue of same-sex marriage this in an undeniable fact. If you disagree with the values of a society your only real options are to move, or legally petition the government to change the law that you disagree with. Making irrational, whiny arguments on the news about high school theatre is not an effective solution.
Really? I don't understand sometimes. Does anyone remember the beginning of acting? All men? All kisses onstage used to be same-sex. God forbid same sex marriage leads to same sex kissing. Also, why would high school plays be the fear?
This guy just keeps saying that everything has been forced on them, forced on the state. It's crazy. Besides, the arts is a haven a lot of times for students struggling with their sexuality.
I don't care that some people found a gay kiss offensive on a high school stage and walked out. Anything controversial is amplified by the high school setting. People walk out of theaters for all sorts of reasons. That's fine. They're allowed. I would expect that sort of response from at least a few people during a high school show with any hint of homosexuality. What makes me mad is that this was news. Not just news, news on a network as big as MSNBC. Really? This isn't news. Nothing new has happened. A few kids were offended by a play. I'm pretty sure that happens every day. It's just the fact that it has to do with homosexuality. It's absolutely disgusting to me that this is a news item. Doing a show about homosexuality in a high school is of course risky, but I'm willing to bet that this play probably helped at least one kid in some way. How many kids could this news story have hurt? Probably a lot more.
Strange, I have seen same-sex kissing in many states, even where same-sex marriage is illegal, since making same-sex marriage illegal does not make same-sex relationships illegal. I partially feel like commenting on this article is useless because sometimes there is no helping ignorance and, unfortunately, the only people who would be willing to read this comment, or any of the comments above mine that make great points, already agree with same-sex marriage. This article only shows once again the amount of close mindedness those who were interviewed often times have.
Putting aside the issue of whether or not homosexual kisses are "immoral," this conservative argument still does not make any sense. High school productions have depicted murder, profanity, drug use, heterosexual promiscuity, and other behaviors that these same conservatives probably view as immoral for many years. Even if homosexuality were something that was universally considered immoral, portraying it in a play still would not cause kids to mimic the behavior.
It is also pretty laughable to assert that legalizing same-sex marriage invariably leads to local high schools performing plays that feature homosexual kisses.
The idea that Peter Wolfgang believes that this performance was a “forced indoctrination” into gay culture borderlines on hilarious to me. As an LGBT youth, I can only ask if people with these views have ever thought about the heteronormativity that LGBT people have to face every single day. Portraits of half-clothed men and women pressed against each other are displayed in plain sight at every Hollister and Abercrombie on the planet, nearly every advertisement regarding makeup, clothing, cologne, or any other aesthetic product revolves around the idea of impressing the opposite sex. Nearly every children’s fairytale involves a prince and a princess in love, and yet people are concerned that a kiss in a high school production is going to force straight people to watch something that they may not agree with. I’m sorry, but if you have a problem with it, just leave. “Leaving” is a luxury that the gay community does not possess, and yet we push on. We have tolerated heterosexual values since the beginning of time, its about time that the gay community can do something of their own.
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