These LGBT Twitter users had the perfect response to the question, "When did you 'choose' to be gay?"
By now, it should go without saying that sexual orientation is not a choice. And yet, the belief that people “choose to be gay” somehow continues to exist among many people and cultures. Twitter user Simon H recently posed the question on his feed, and then supplied his own (extremely sarcastic) answer. He wrote, “For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought, ‘You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner’s hand…'”
So. Gays. When Y'all choose to be gay?
For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought, "You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner's hand...— Simon H (@FreelanceCynic) March 22, 2019
His feed was soon flooded with responses, which were equal parts poignant and funny. Many expressed similar sentiments about cultural and religious stigma, and some revealed their experiences with bullying.
It was during the 80s at the height of AIDS panic and stigma. I thought, y'know, I'll have some of that...
— Alan Palmer 🏳️🌈 (@PalmerAlan) March 23, 2019
At the time people were yelling 'poof' at me and throwing rocks at me as I walked home from school, I was like - wow - I love being at risk. I should do this more.
— Bill Roberts (@Bilboroberts) March 23, 2019
I just felt like the constant fear that me and my gf will be sexually or physically harassed/assaulted by straight men was something that was missing for my life. None of my relationships being taken seriously and my family ostracizing me was an added bonus! Overall I recommend
— Kathryn (@KathrynNicassio) March 23, 2019
I saw other “girly, weird boys” getting endlessly tormented and threatened at school, and thought to myself “man that looks great, sign me up!”
— Painfully Thick™ (@zeilreigan) March 23, 2019
I decided while I was in a “happy” hetero relationship, I thought I know what I’ll do, I’ll ruin everything and disappoint everyone out of spite. Even though they had done nothing for me to feel that way. I thought, I’ll stop myself having kids and I’ll just be a cool uncle
— Marky B (@markybram) March 23, 2019
Someone told me I could be gay temporarily, you know just to try it for a year. After my 365 day trial ended I just went month to month. Now I can’t find the support number or email address to cancel so I just stay gay.
— TotchosInaBox (@TotchosB) March 22, 2019
Guess around the same time a magazine told me I was statistically more likely to contract a tropical disease than be a #lesbian and I was flattered by the comparison 🤔
— Eve Joy Wilson (@evejoywilson) March 25, 2019
When I was born and the doctor handed me the clipboard I checked off the rainbow box because it was pretty....I had no idea what it meant at the time🤦🏻♂️🥺
— davey gravy (@jerseyh0mo) March 23, 2019
I caught the gay when I was about 5. Extremely rare tv virus. I saw an episode of Sailor Moon and I’ve been the Moon Princess every since pic.twitter.com/pxwSWDDBxW
— Bad Guy Chae Lee (@OkayChae_) March 23, 2019
All jokes aside, we sincerely hope that these outdated and harmful views about human sexuality become a thing of the past—and soon. We also hope these tweets help dispel false narratives about the LGBTQ+ community and move the needle towards acceptance and tolerance.
