Don’t @ Me: We Get It, You’re Straight
Saying “No Homo” or Any Variation Sounds Insecure and Reinforces Heteronormative Principles
You’re hanging out with friends, or anyone for that matter, when you inadvertently say something that—if taken out of context—could be inferred as you being into men.
An eerie hush falls over the group. A single bead of sweat forms on your forehead. If you don’t say the magic word, you’ll be infected with “the gay.”
“Pause.”
You did it. All is well. You have been saved by the magic word.
It started off in grade school as “no homo” and has evolved into “pause.”
The ultimate reassurance of “don’t worry, fellas—I’m not gay,” “pause” is the last line of defence between you and “the gay.”
Are you so insecure about your sexuality that you have to reaffirm it after every sentence that might be misconstrued as being less straight than an arrow?
It’s unhealthy to be so obsessed about people drawing their own conclusions about your sexuality or taking how you identify at face value.
Do you think another guy looks good? You don’t have to preface it with “no homo.”
You’re allowed to compliment other men, and the fact that compliments like that are still looked down upon or called “gay” only further contributes to toxic masculinity.
When men talk up their friends’ looks in an open and loving way, similar to how women do, it is seen as distasteful.
That only reinforces the idea that men have to internalize everything and view everyone—even friends—with a hostile eye.
Furthermore, having that kind of mentality reinforces heteronormativity in most spaces by viewing being gay as something so distasteful that one needs to compulsively remind everyone in their surroundings that they are not.
There’s a reason this was so prevalent amongst grade-school boys—it’s grounded in immaturity.
Who corners the immaturity market more than 10-13-year-old boys?
For the love of God, we know you’re straight.
Being straight doesn’t mean you have to be so insecure that you can’t even make a general statement about another man without having to assert your sexual orientation.
