“I am not insane; I am angry”-Adolescent Masculinity, Homophobia, and Violence
by Michael S. Kimmel
reply by: Shu Shi
“Homophobia is far less about the irrational fear of gay people, or the fear that one might actually be gay or have gay tendencies, and more about the fear that heterosexuals have that others might (mis)perceive them as gay. The terror that others will see one as gay, as a failed man–the fear that I call homophobia–underlies a significant amount of men’s violence.” – M. S. Kimmel, “I am Not Insane, I am Angry”
The author Kimmel uses the word “terror” when describing someone’s fear of being misperceived as gay. I don’t think Kimmel exaggerated the fear among many adolescents. I tried to introduce the similar topic to my classes to encourage my students to reflect on their gender expectations. My lesson unit is about the concept of “Expectation” consists of 5 lessons, and gender expectation is one of the 5 lessons. In a relatively conservative atmosphere in Chinese classes, my students have the fear of being misperceived as gay. Some of them said they’re reluctant to reveal their real sexual orientations because their parents will be under pressure. Currently, I don’t think Chinese teachers are allowed to talk about the topic of homosexuality in classes. This subject has been a taboo topic in China. However, I still encourage my students to choose their preferred lifestyles, and one day maybe I could introduce this topic in my classes again.
Hi Shu,
I agree with you that the author didn’t exaggerate the fear among many adolescents. Especially in China, majority people know little about LGBTQI or gender minority issues. Generally speaking, people fear to be seen as “special”, because the more you are special, the more pressure you have to face. It’s safe to just follow the crowd or pretend to be like the majority. I really like what the author said “Homophobia is far less about the irrational fear of gay people, or the fear that one might actually be gay or have gay tendencies, and more about the fear that heterosexuals have that others might (mis)perceive them as gay.” I think, because being seen as a gay means you lose masculinity and becomes different from others. Losing masculinity means totally being denied as a man. That’s what heterosexuals are afraid of. The problem of gender stereotyping is really severe in my country. I think, as educators, there are much more we need to do in our teaching, such like creating a safe and inclusive class environment, encouraging students to think and discussion about social issues and guiding them to discover social identity.