“Kissing the boys goodnight isn’t gay” a sentence I’ve overheard many times in my classes. Something that seems unimportant in the long run. It’s not.

Jokes like these and the cyclical trends on TikTok of straight guys acting in “gay maneurisms” and making jokes about being “homiesexual” only continue to make a joke out of homosexuality.

When they get millions of views on various social media platforms it makes it seem as if being gay is funny. 

Comments such as, “I hope my friends don’t think I’m gay because I dress well,” perpetrate the ideals of homophobia, pushing traits onto gay people that could be pushed on to everybody else.

It makes me feel as if I am a joke that everybody can use.

Hoping people think you’re not gay makes me feel as if I am something to be avoided. Something people hope not to see or hear.