Visibility as a Revolutionary Act

In my last post I explained why the idiotic demand for a "Heterosexual Pride Day" is just that, idiotic.  This week, I want to expand upon that by arguing that because oppressed peoples are always told to be invisible (examples here: segregation, sodomy laws, the closet, etc.), the very act of insisting upon being seen, of being visible, is a radical act.

Seriously, this is how absurd
heterosexuality in advertising is

Growing up, it was common for me to hear older people, including parents, say things such as, "I don't have anything against gay people, I just don't want to see it.  Why do they have to rub it in my face?"  Of course, if any sexuality is omnipresent in American society and rubbed in the face of everyone it is heterosexuality, which is the basic background assumption of almost every TV show, movie, and song in American culture.  But also consider the claim itself: it effectively means, "It is maybe (MAYBE!) OK for you to not die, but at least be socially and publicly dead."  In a culture like ours, built on the premise of a separation between "The Public" and "The Private" spheres of society, this effectively denies an entire class of people access to society, limiting them to their homes; or dare I say, their closets.  (In fact, our society is so hetero when I Googled "Fuck The Closet" hoping to find queer images rejecting secrecy, all I found on Google Images was pictures of straight, white people fucking in closets.)  With that being the case, refusing to hide, refusing to be shamed into the closet, refusing to remove oneself from the public sphere--actively working to be visible when told to be invisible--is a radical move.  In fact, as the Orlando Massacre shows us, like other acts of revolution, one may even be killed in the act of creating a new and better world.  Especially in light of Orlando, refusing to be invisible, refusing to hide, becomes even more radical.  LGBTQ+ and other people who exist outside of the heteronormative matrix know damn well, and always have, that some bigoted asshole could choose to murder us any day, but Orlando, especially for those who do not pass for straight or cis, makes this especially clear.

I mean, I honestly do kind of hate cops, but the point still matters

So this is an extension of why nothing like "Heterosexual Pride Day" is ever necessary and why it is, in fact, offensive (and the same could be said for bullshit such as "All Lives Matter" or fucking "Blue Lives Matter").  Heterosexuals are already visible.  As I said above, heterosexuality is the omnipresent background noise of our culture.  It is everywhere, all the time.  Even something as simple as a Burger King ad often includes blatant ploys to heterosexuality and misogyny.  In other words, Heterosexuals are never shamed for being heterosexual.  Heterosexuals are never told to be anything but proud of their sexuality.  Thus, the very idea of needing to further remind straight people to be happy with themselves is ridiculous.  Heterosexuals are not committing suicide due to harassment based on their sexual identity, they are not being murdered, kicked out of their families, bullied, and so on for being straight.  These are simply things that are not happening.

So, I'll say it a second time, fuck your heterosexual pride.  But this time I'll add the following: people who are part of any marginalized, subjugated, or oppressed community should be as visible as they can safely or comfortably be.  I recognize that not everyone is capable of doing so.  Sadly, and this is part of the point, many risk violence, harassment, or other negative consequences for their identities and cannot be open about them. But for those who feel able to be more open about who they are, be as open as you feel able. It is a radical act and it gives strength and support for those who feel they must be forced into the darkest recesses of their closets for no other reason than the simple fact that we still live in a bigoted society that would prefer straight, white, middle-class men feel comfortable than that queers, people of color, the poor, or non-male identified peoples have a space in public. And fuck that.