Generational

I was talking with my boyfriend's mom about coming out to my parents, to get any advice she could give me about it. Besides the standard stuff i expected--don't do it at a restaurant, when we're out of town, in public, etc.--she actually said something that really made me think. Concerning their personal reactions, she described an explanation of it to help me better understand: "Accepting homosexuality is very generational."

The impact of that hit me almost immediately. I had never thought about being gay and accepting people because of that in such terms before. "Generational." It's like with the civil rights movement. Back then, many of the younger "hippier" people were all for equal rights and the good of everyone, but think about who was against it: the older people who were alive, possibly, when slavery was still around and accepted. The movement finally got to the point where the majority of the population had grown with the respect for African Americans, so the laws changed accordingly.

The issues of gay marriage are evolving in the exact same way. All the time on campus, all I hear is "college is so much different from high school; here you can be who you want and nobody gives a shit." I would definitely agree to that and even take the thought process one step further. In high school, unlike most people in college, one lives with his/her parents, which is a huge influence upon one's life. The belief system, moral and ethical thoughts, even manners are imposed upon the child, and one is encouraged to act accordingly. In college, one starts a new life and can be whoever he/she wants. Our generation is forming our own opinions about gay marriage, and they are generally much more progressive than our parents and grandparents.

So, it may be a constant struggle for acceptance now, but think about who you're trying to get the acceptance from. I have never even considered arguing my way of life with anyone my age; whenever I imagine talking about it to someone, that person is always considerably older than me. In 20-30 years, the tables will have completely turned on the numbers for and against gay marriage. Just based on ages alone, I will be shocked if gay marriage is not legal in 75-100% of the USA, because most of the population (at least everyone aged 60 and below) will have grown up in a very gay-accepting time.