Someone reviewed one of my novels the other day, and in the review she made mention of the occasional homophobia my boys run across in my SF.
Okay, first, a clarification–I know it’s common usage (I do it too) but it’s not homophobia. These persons aren’t pathologically afraid of GLBT people. They do not spot a boy in a tiara or a girl with a “boy” haircut and run away screaming. They don’t hide in their houses for fear of encountering gays.
The behavior the reviewer was talking about is not an anxiety disorder. It’s hate. Discrimination. Prejudice. Bullying. Intimidation. Someone sees two guys in a loving relationship and decides there’s something wrong with that.
Anywayyyyy…the reviewer said “I did wonder if homophobia would still be a problem so far I the future. I assume interstellar space travel and colonization of other planets is faaaaar in the future. So the homophobia didn’t make sense at first. But who knows what the future will bring?”
It reminded me of this.
And this.
Of course, I wrote this book long before either of these events, but I did think long and hard about including gayism* in my novels. It does seem like far in the future, we should be past all that.
Far in the future, we should be past a lot of things. But then, in the now, we should be past a lot of things. And we’re not. And in some ways, we’re backsliding. So I think I made the right choice by including this particular social ill.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge Star Trek fan. But I do think the future is more likely to be–oh, more like Joss Whedon’s vision than Gene Roddenberry’s. Gene had great faith in mankind. Joss…doesn’t, so much.
So yeah. Sad to say, I think there will always be jerks, who act like jerks and justify it in one way or another. I mean, it’s 2012 and there are still people out there willfully insisting that evolution is just a theory** and Creationism should be taught in science class.
*Yes, I made up (I think) a word. I’m likening it to racism, because “homophobia” seems like it should excuse the behavior. I am careful to warn my friend who has a frightened reaction to underwater pictures if I post a video of a squid where she might see it. I have no intention (ever) of telling people “warning! Contains gay.”
**Gravity is just a theory. We don’t hear of many people jumping off cliffs because of that.
A story set in the future is just that, a story. It can have all the fears and prejudices we see today because, again, it’s a story. And I think there will be jerks in the future who find something to hate. What that something is I can’t stay. But I don’t think including prejudice against gay people in a futuristic story is unrealistic.
Alas, no. It’s probably not.