These LGBT Twitter users had the perfect response to the question, “When did you ‘choose’ to be gay?”
By now, it should go without saying that sexual orientation is not a choice. And yet, the belief that people “choose to be gay” somehow continues to exist among many people and cultures. Twitter user Simon H recently posed the question on his feed and then supplied his own (extremely sarcastic) answer. He wrote, “For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought, ‘You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner’s hand…’”
So. Gays. When Y'all choose to be gay?
For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought, "You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner's hand…
— Simon H (@FreelanceCynic) March 22, 2019
His feed was soon flooded with responses, which were equal parts poignant and funny. Many expressed similar sentiments about cultural and religious stigma, and some revealed their experiences with bullying.
It was during the 80s at the height of AIDS panic and stigma. I thought, y'know, I'll have some of that…
— Alan Palmer (@PalmerAlan) March 23, 2019
At the time people were yelling 'poof' at me and throwing rocks at me as I walked home from school, I was like – wow – I love being at risk. I should do this more.
— Bill (@Bilboroberts) March 23, 2019
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1109567553154752514
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1109488684837933057
I decided while I was in a “happy” hetero relationship, I thought I know what I’ll do, I’ll ruin everything and disappoint everyone out of spite. Even though they had done nothing for me to feel that way. I thought, I’ll stop myself having kids and I’ll just be a cool uncle
— Mark (@markybram) March 23, 2019
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1109228856374759424
Guess around the same time a magazine told me I was statistically more likely to contract a tropical disease than be a #lesbian and I was flattered by the comparison 🤔
— Eve Joy Wilson (@evejoywilson) March 25, 2019
When I was born and the doctor handed me the clipboard I checked off the rainbow box because it was pretty….I had no idea what it meant at the time🤦🏻♂️🥺
— davey🌈 (@jerseyh0mo) March 23, 2019
I caught the gay when I was about 5. Extremely rare tv virus. I saw an episode of Sailor Moon and I’ve been the Moon Princess every since pic.twitter.com/pxwSWDDBxW
— UnLegendary Virgin Femme Queen (@HighxFemme) March 23, 2019
All jokes aside, we hope that outdated and harmful views about human sexuality become a thing of the past—soon. We think these tweets will help dispel false narratives about the LGBTQ+ community and move the needle toward acceptance and tolerance.
