The gay marriage movement might be considered an “overnight success,” based on how quickly it evolved from a idea even some gay people weren’t sure about to the law of the land.
I remember being a guest on a popular Arizona radio program 10 years ago where the subject was up for debate. Only it wasn’t a debate. No one on the radio panel supported the idea, not even the openly gay state senator who was also a guest on the show. It was an idea far ahead of its time, it seemed.
How quickly that changed. Today, Gallup polling indicates 60 percent of Americans support gay marriage. In 1996, the same poll indicates 27 percent support.
The dramatic swing in popular opinion over a relatively short period of time is not the overnight success it might appear when viewed in context.
The LGBT movement, like many of other “rights” movements, was born in the turbulent 1960s and for years, grew slowly, incrementally until the emergence of the gay marriage issue caught fire.
There are many theories that attempt to explain the rapid change in public opinion, but the most logical explanation is that as more and more LGBT people emerged from the self-imposed “closet,” Americans began to see them for the “normal” people they are. Nothing changes a person’s views on this issue more profoundly than realizing that a family member or close friend is LGBT.
Forty years ago, most LGBT people hid in the shadows. Now, we see them. They are not monsters or freaks. They are the guy who lives next door, the woman who waits tables at your favorite restaurant, the guy who delivers your packages or the woman who provides treatment at the doctor’s office.
For all of these people, gay marriage is not the finish line, but a milestone. In 28 states, including Mississippi, there are no laws that prevent hiring discrimination of LGBT people. Likewise, in many states, a LGBT person can be denied housing or be fired from a job simply because of sexual orientation or sexual identification.
Within the LGBT community, there is one group for whom progress has been particularly slow — transgendered people.
Acceptance of transgendered people appears to be growing, however. When former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner became Caitlin Jenner, the transgendered movement gained something it never had.
By making her transition in public through the media, Jenner has provided a face to the movement. Her reality TV show, “I am Cait,” has moved beyond the empty voyeurism common to the TV genre by focusing not simply on Jenner’s celebrity but telling the stories of transgendered people whose journeys would otherwise capture little attention.
In Sunday’s episode of the show, MUW student Blossom Brown told the story of one of those anonymous transgendered people. Brown, who told The Dispatch in November that The W was “very LGBT friendly,” says the struggles remain. She has had difficulty being accepted into nursing school, which she feels is based on her transgender status and says life as a transgendered person is difficult in conservative Mississippi.
Still, there is hope. Polls show that 70 percent of Mississippians under age 30 support gay marriage. And on another front, the momentum is particularly revealing. In 2003, 30 percent of Americans who described themselves as Christians said gays should be allowed to marry. That percentage has now grown to 47 percent.
It seems clear that acceptance of LGBT people will continue to grow as those opposed to gay marriage begin to realize that their lives are not appreciably altered in any meaningful sense. At some point, they will be forced to acknowledge that the pastor of the church down the street is not being forced to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies and Christian florists and bakers are not being overwhelmed by demands that they provide their services to gay couples.
Life will go on pretty much as it always has.
After all, how often, during the course of our daily routines, do we give even a passing thought to the sexual orientation or sexual identification of the people we encounter? It’s rarely a thought because it rarely matters.
Someday, we will likely view the sexual aspects of LGBT people to be as irrelevant as it is for “straight” people.
And, if the gay marriage movement is any indicator, that day may come sooner than any of us imagined.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.