I’m a f freshman here at SHSU, from Sydney, Australia. I read the article in the Houstonian about the class on “how to be gay” and thought it was good. My mates and I joked about what such a class would look like, but after reading the article, I was impressed with the fact that it was a class on the progression of the gay lifestyle here in America, and not how to bend your wrist and go “heyyyyyy”. Apparently I’m one of the few people who got that, perhaps because the name of the class was “how to be gay”. After reading the little story by Jonathan Hollas, I had to roll my eyes up in the back of my head. I did my own research, and found some other interesting things that Jonathan may have missed while he was ranting on about how a class on homosexuality will bring on the end of the world. Maybe the class will learn about artists such as Elton John, Cole Porter, Dame Ethyl Smyth, Pytor Tchaikovsky, Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Rock Hudson, Errol Flynn, Melissa Ethridge, Ellen DeGeneres, and other artists who have shifted and taken music and film in many new directions that reformed and shaped society. Maybe they will learn that historically, many cultures acknowledged homosexuality as a healthy form of lifestyle. They may learn about ancient Egypt, where even the GODS were gay!!! (Horus and Seth were two Egyptian gods who were also lovers) Perhaps they’ll learn about gay royal officials such as Niankhknum and Khnumhotep, both lovers of the same sex. They may learn about ancient Greece where Alexander the Great, who added many nations to his Empire, was gay. The Olympics, known to originate in Greece, were only viewed by males in the population, and the competitors were also only males, who competed naked. We still get excited about an event that began with homoerotic themes in 776 B.C. While bisexuality may not have been celebrated in ancient Greece, as Jonathan points out, it was a very well known fact that homosexuality was very much celebrated both in an everyday lifestyle and in military life as well. Many soldiers were also lovers with their mentors. The class might learn about Cicero of Rome, or of Hadrian, a Roman Emperor, both homosexual. They may study gay poets of ancient Rome (Horace, Ovid, and Virgil).One of the things that is celebrated here at SHSU is the love of diversity, and while it’s very good to see someone stating their opinions on a certain issue, I was rather offended by the article “Today’s Society is not ready for a Gay Class” While Jonathan may believe that homosexuals are being positioned everywhere to take over the world and eradicate straight people, this is hardly the truth. We do hear a lot about gay people these days, but statistics show that in any given population, only five to 10 percent of that population will be homosexual. I think the gay communities would be flattered that Jonathan thinks they have the power to take over the world, but the truth of the matter is, the majority of the people in the world are straight; and if a society is experiencing a massive decline in population, or the inability to produce “masculine” men, the fault lies mainly with the remaining 90 percent of that population, which, unfortunately for Jonathan, are heterosexual. Sorry, mate.
Aaron StewartLetter to the Editor