Images of gay men usually depict them as effeminate, possibly slight, and being in such professions as dance, theater, and hairdressing. Traditional images of LGBTI persons are often limited. As one gay friend said to me, “I always want to ask what the so-called traditional image of a heterosexual is.”
Lesbian and transgender persons experience the same stereotyping. The media has a role in moving society beyond old stereotypes. The stereotypes help to maintain the feeling that LGBTI persons are different from the rest of the world. There is no so-called “rest of the world” for it includes the full variety of persons created by God.
Prayer for the Day
Hold us in not the present, Lord of time and space,
For we know the there are new horizons awaiting us;
Free us from the demons of our past, God of freedom,
For we know that they can shape us in ways we do not want;
Open us to the future, Holy broadener of our mind,
So we love beyond the boundaries we set for ourselves.
In the name of the One who shows us the way,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Stereotypes lose their power when the world is found to be more complex than the stereotype would suggest. When we learn that individuals do not fit the group stereotype, then it begins to fall apart.
Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York (1924-2013)
We shouldn’t judge people through the prism of our own stereotypes.
Queen Rania of Jordan
May God be gracious to us and bless us and may God’s face shine upon us,
That your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God, let he peoples praise you.
Psalm 67: 1-3