Stigma Of Being Gay Essay

The of Being Gay in Catholic School
Stigma is defined as the discontent with a person or persons of a characteristic that is seen as different or in contrast with the norm or the social setting. When one becomes the one who is stigmatized it can have a lasting impacting through the feelings of separation and exclusion it creates. In my case the stigmatizing came from me being gay and in a relationship at the time of me going to catholic school.
For the specific stigma of being gay, it stems from the supposed norm, which society can tend to make seem more acceptable than actuality, that it is okay to label and stigmatize those who are gay. While a good percentage of the population identifies as gay (gay being used as an umbrella term here
which includes bisexuals, pansexuals, etc.) there still seems to be a presence of discrimination among more conservative persons. For those who go through life as homosexual individuals we see this stigmatizing being displayed on the form of outcasting in various ways such as heteronormativity and the dismissal of straight privilege. Heteronormativity is the term used to define the assumption that straight is the default sexuality and thus everyone assumed straight until proven other. This is harmful because it causes homosexuality to be seen as a divergence from the norm, which only adds to the stigma. This also harmful to those who identify as non-heterosexual because when everything and everyone is perceived to be heterosexual it harder for them to discover there identity earlier on in life.
This stigma affects so many aspects of everyday life that one would never realize if they have straight privilege.
For instance holding hands and being affectionate with your partner in public, how you may be perceived for being affectionate in public may not ever cross your mind if you are straight but can be a constant worry for those who identifies as gay. This along with many other anxieties are the exact result of stigma and how it affects the day life of those stigmatized. It also shows how unaware and unaffected people who don’t have to deal with the stigma can be about minor or even major aspects that permeate the lives of those who are
stigmatized.
Stigma can be downplayed or nonexistent in some situations but in others institutions it can become more prominent, such as Catholic school. For my last two year of high school, I switched schools and started attending a Catholic high school. It was a very odd setting to get use to, having no religious background growing up and not conforming to any organized religion. During my time there I was exposed to the general aura of inciting stigmatize that the school created. Don’t get me wrong there were plenty people within the school who were nonjudgmental and very accepting but there were those who preached false lack of judgment while shunning certain characteristics of people as well. This stigmatizing was never done in a way purposely meant to discriminate though. Instead it was done with good intentions trying to “better” the school and keep out deviants from the norm. The only problem however is the lack of understand that being gay is not a trendy sin but instead an unchanging characteristic.
For me personally before I entered was in a relationship during my time at catholic school there wasn’t really that much of a stigma of me being gay by myself. No one question it or try to change or even talk to me about it and all the teachers answered my catch 22 questions about the religion without hostility but instead with willingness to educate. This was how junior year went, smoothly with a consideration that being gay at catholic school might cause some stigmatized discomfort to others. Flash forward to senior year where I had a girlfriend and the institution of catholic school began to become less inviting. While my girlfriend and I never kiss or did anything intensely PDA like a lot of the other straight couples around us, we did hold hand. But for some reason such a mundane thing now because the central, whispered about among teachers, problem in school at the time. I was approached by teacher among teacher and even the principal all asking if I (sometimes I was with my girlfriend sometime I was alone in the matter) could step outside or to a private classroom to talk. Which of course even though I had done nothing wrong it still caused fear guilt to flood and make incredible anxiety during these encounters. Then they would proceed to tell in a false calm tone that I should stop being affection with my girlfriend at school and do what I want on my own time. Which made it seem innately bad and that it was negative publicity for the school, like I had been caught doing drugs or something. Suddenly all teachers gave me nasty looks whenever I was caught in the same general proximity as my girlfriend and I began to realize how not accepting the were of homosexuals even though they might have claimed otherwise.
Stigma can present itself in a number of different was as well as different times too depending on the social institution.
During my time at catholic school I experienced being majorly stigmatized for being gay for the first time. While there was no physical violence nor was it emotionally abusive it still left a lasting impact as being the stigma itself. The feeling of being outcast and seen as the undesirable other within a group is not particularly sought after. Being stigmatized is undesirable because it makes one feel less like a person and more like a sole characteristic of their complex being that generalized and oversimplifies and stereotypes them as an
individual.