While I support the opinion expressed in the Lariat’s recent editorial “Talent should yield an NFL roster spot,” on gay NFL draft prospect Michael Sam that ran on Feb. 19, the language used by the editors needs to change.
In fact, the language many people use regarding homosexuality needs to change. I’m referring to the commonly uttered words “gay lifestyle.”
I’m sure most people use this phrase casually without thinking of the implications involved, but “gay lifestyle” is a very specific phrase with a specific meaning.
It has largely been used by religious leaders and their followers to condemn patterns of behavior including drug use and unprotected sex with multiple same-sex partners. That’s the “gay lifestyle” historically.
The problem is that those behaviors are not limited to homosexual activity; they also are not representative of homosexual activity.
Does a married same-sex couple with children live “the gay lifestyle”?
Whether you are supportive of same-sex relationships or not, it’s time to stop defining those with a same-sex orientation in the negative terms of “lifestyle.”
Blake Kent
Sociology doctoral candidate
