Gay Latinos Are On The Rise
While Latinos have broken ground in education, Hollywood, professional sports, and even the U.S. Supreme Court, gay Latinos remain largely invisible in the nation's public arena. Deep-seated homophobia within the Latino community has forced many gay Latinos in the closet...but attitudes are finally changing.
Gay scholars and activists say that Latino culture, which has had a reputation of overt machismo and homophobia, is starting to change during our modern times. New generations of better-educated Latinos are on the rise and as we all know - Education is Empowering.
Did you know...El Diario La Prensa (one of the oldest and largest Spanish-language newspapers in America) recently endorsed the rights of same-sex couples to marry? They did so - with pride for their gay Latino Brothers & Sisters.
Did you know...Within the past three years, lawmakers in countries as diverse as Uruguay, Colombia, and Mexico have passed laws granting rights and protections to gays and lesbians? Now that's news!!!
Did you know...Christian Chavez, lead singer of the popular pop Mexican band RBD, recently announced that he was gay? AND - he has not been rejected by any of his fans, band mates, or the record company who has signed RBD. In the Latino Media World, that's unheard of, but again, we're breaking onto new ground.
Did you know...Ordinary Latino students in public high schools and Universities are finding more and more support, not only within their school settings but in their own communities as well? While many gay Latino students still face physical and verbal harassment from classmates and teachers, more are becoming bolder about affirming their sexual identity, a recent survey found.
Did you know, that Perez Hilton (love him or hate him) is one of the first out and proud pioneers? His site, perezhilton.com is still the largest and one of the most-popular websites worldwide.
My personal observation: Latinos in general want and like to see their fellow Latinos doing well, especially in school, whether straight or gay. This kind of goodwill towards fellow Latinos is what truly starts to change attitudes about homosexuality. I heard two older males talking about one of their nephews on the Path Train. One was truly upset and did not accept his nephew's homosexuality. "He's throwing his life away with that sh*t, man!" he said. The other one replied, "Well, he met this Dominican who goes to Columbia University and he's bringing him to the family barbeque." The seemingly homophobic one turned and his whole face split into the widest smile, "Columbia University? Hey, that's a great school. Make sure you introduce me to that Dominicano - sounds like a nice guy."
A 2007 survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network discovered that at schools where a Gay Student Alliance club existed, 59 percent ... read the rest at www.hluizpresents.com
Author: www.hluizpresents.com, Posted on Thu, Sep 10, 2009
