The
asked:
As someone who was not in high school in 2000, I'm wondering if the descriptions of internalised homophobia are accurate, as something about them grated on me a little. It is mentioned a couple of times that when characters suggest that Vanessa is gay, she does/should feel embarrassed, without clarification that this is not true. Similarly with the "goth" boy at her high school. Any thoughts?
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Wanda
Vanessa and I are the same age. I was a sophomore in 2000, and yes, homosexuality was NOT accepted. It was used as a trope, or the butt of a joke, or an insult. Not too many high schoolers were embracing their homosexual feelings publicly. However, that's also really when tides started to shift around acceptance. People were coming out earlier, refusing to be shamed, finding each other and forming their own families of support, and now, here we are 22 years later, no one really bats that much of an eye about someone being gay or lesbian. It's been awesome to see the change. I work in a high school and saw two young men holding hands in the hall, and had a "back in my day..." moment because in 2000, they would have caught hell for that.
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As someone who graduated in 2009, I can attest to the accuracy of internalized homophobia. I spent years being anti-LGBT because I myself was queer and unwilling to accept it.
I know we all say "It was a different time," but being gay in most high schools during those days was rrrrrrrrough.
I know we all say "It was a different time," but being gay in most high schools during those days was rrrrrrrrough.
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