Week 4 Assignment 3
I heard a conversation about two men going to Pier One for office furniture. They were friends and wanted to pick the furniture out together. The first thing one of the gentlemen said was we are not "together" we are just friends picking out office furniture. It was an innocent joke, but it seemed that the assumption would be that Pier One would be a place that only gay couples buy their furniture. This conversation made me think of how uncomfortable it may have been for everyone involved. It was not a mean intention, but it could have offended someone. This conversation made me think of the words I say and how they may affect others.
Teresa, thank you for your insightful post. I have two sisters who are lesbians, and they hear this kind of remark too often. It was as if there was something wrong with two men being together, and they have no idea if the clerk was gay or someone he/she loved was gay. Our society has come a long way when it comes to looking at and talking about other "isms" such as race and ability, but we have a very long way to go when it comes to gender-ism. Carolyn
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