Being Gay in Homophobia, TX

So I just moved here to Plainview (40 miles north of Lubbock) from Houston, and I must say that the general people's attitude towards gays/homosexuality is as archaic as I've ever seen it before. Living in Houston, where being gay is blandly inoffensive in a lot of places, I've grown accustomed to near full acceptance. By my second week living here, I have been insulted about 30 times, and my physical safety was endangered twice. I don't feel safe to be myself, and I can't believe how amazingly oppressive that feels. It's like being in the closet all over again. Even the gays here have sort of ostracized me, claiming me to be "a little too much" even for them. It was then I realized that gay guys in large cities have a MUCH different attitude than small town gays. The gay guys here don't like overtly-flamboyant displays of gayness, or radical (for them anyways) styles of dressing. Like, just three days ago, I had my Chanel sunglasses taken off of my face by a redneck shitkicker, and were literally popped, locked AND dropped all over the ground simply because he thought they were girl sunglasses. SEVERE case of suckage. those bitches cost me $400 dammit. I dont care if they were for chicks! they were STILL $400!
So yea, I guess the point of this thread was to point out my discovery that there actually ARE still towns that are pretty much completely anti-gay and homophobic. Still. Just when I thought things were getting better for us....

 

Damn, dude. That sucks.

It really is unfortunate and sad that there are still places where this goes on at that frequency, particularly in western culture.

I'd hate to think what the local police are like. It wouldn't surprise me if they treated you unfairly or worse, looked the other way.

Stay safe bud, I do not envy your situation being stuck in Homophobia, TX.

 

400$ for sunglasses!? sheesh.

Anyway, I'm from a small town but there was no homophobia/gay bashing. It all depends on the location I suppose.

That situation is awful. You shouldn't have to compromise who you are for others, however when it comes to your safety and well-being perhaps you should tone it down. I can't recall if you're old enough to be going to college soon getting your own place but I would definitely consider those options and leave the town.

 

Man I really think you should get out of that place asap. I experienced something similar, though not on such a personal level. It would appear that the further out of town you get, the more homophobic people tend to get. That's just my experience and of course it isn't true for all places, but it really does suck.

Oh and sorry to hear about your sunglasses. $400? Damn.

 

plainview, is that an oilfield town? in farmington, nm, it was sorta half and half. someone who seemed perfectly normal and a good sort will suddenly have a tourettes moment when they see a gay man. WTF? but for the most part, people are okay, even if it was the western edge fo the bible belt. but then, it's not a small town.

 

You should have punched the guy who took your sunglasses right in the face. I wouldn't care if he'd beat me up. I would love to get one good swing right in his face.

 

^^TRUST me, I was worked up into a gay frenzy when that bitch ruined my sunglasses. I'm, how do you say, less than able to win a physical fight, especially against a farm-bred redneck, so I felt pretty helpless. I gave him a verbal bitch slapping, thats for damn sure though. More like a verbal punch....
regarding mamakcita, yes Plainview is an oilfield town. HUGE farming/agriculture community here. And that's weird, because my mom was born in Farmington. If you're straight, Plainview's a quaint, peaceful little town to live in. But, I'm not, so it sucks. It's just really depressing, seeing how ignorant people are sometimes. It's astounding. They literally act like they can catch gay just by being in the same store as me. I just can't WAIT to move to Provincetown, or Ft. Lauderdale. Fuck Texas. Houston, and Austin are bad ass, but every other town is cuntarded. If you live in any other state, and you're gay, NEVER come to texas!!

 

that's totally fucked up. those oilfield towns are crazy. being a bi female who happens to be good looking and breasty, they loved me. though it was in that condescending "i bet she's in a porn somewhere" kinda way. tedious. but there's bad people everywhere. there's good people everywhere, too. you just have to get them alone.

btw, why the HELL would you move to plainview? yikes.

 

The Pink Pistols want you!

http://www.pinkpistols.org/

Well...at least, I've always thought their site was cool. I kind of feel you. I got bashed a lot in Baltimore...apparently you have to choose between men or women there. You can't like everything. I live in a small hippie-run mountain town now and it's off the hook.

 

Well, moving to Pville wasn't exactly a decision I came to on my own. I won't lie, when I lived in Houston, I got BAD on some drugs that I really shouldn't have, and after talking with my brother and mom about it, we decided that moving to Plainview would be the easiest way for me to sober up and get my shit together. While I'm glad I'm sober now, I still really miss living in the big city.
Oh and guru, thanks for the website offer, but carrying a gun would SO not go with anything I have to wear lol. I'm so skinny, carrying a concealed gun would look like I have some kind of tumor sticking out of my side or leg or something lol. Although, I'm really fond of the idea of gays carrying guns. But isn't it illegal to brandish a weapon? I think it is here in TX, I have no idea.

 

concealed carry permit. it's your friend.

 

are there any gay rodeos for you to attend in TX? now THAT'S a group of people secure in who they are and where they are.

 

Things are not getting better for gay people, gay hate crimes are increasing, new anti gay laws are being passed et c. In the 90s being gay was cool, today its a bad thing.

Im not gay but Im starting to disslike homophobes, get out of the small citys. And move to Europe, move to Amsterdam, weed is legal and gay couples can adopt kidz=)

 

man dude, I really feel for you. I was stationed in the asshole of the known universe, Cannon AFB, NM (Clovis) and I know this, the panhandle of Texas is redneck central, if you don't chaw bacca then you must be queer.

It was really fucked up what that dipshit did to your glasses.

I am glad that you're able to get cleansed, I've been down that dark path myself so I can appreciate that you've sobered up.

peace and the best of luck to you
bob

 

This isn't true.

Acceptance is rising.

 

^^I would have to agree with this to a point. I think in places where there are more gays, tolerance and acceptance is rising. But in places like where I am now, where there are a massive 8 gays total, it's stayed the same. People here are, or at least were, way into that guy Falwell, and he is the LAST person people here needed to be looking up to. Even though he's dead, his presence is still well and alive here. So, it's going to be a long while before people grow to be accepting of something they've disliked for so long. Homophobia is nothing new here. But I think I've inspired and influenced a few of the gay guys I've come in contact with here. Because coming right out of H-town, I still (and ALWAYS will) have a LOT of pride in being gay, and I'm proud almost to a point of naivete. It would be absurd of me to believe it's okay to wear skin-tight pants and fur-lined coats with face windshields aka sunglasses here. But I do anyways. And a FEW of the guys I've met here loved the fact that I didnt give a shit what other people thought, and so started to do the same, just being who they REALLY are. But a majority of them are content being gay behind the scenes. I don't think that's right, at all. If people's attitudes are going to change about us, we need to FORCE them to deal with us. We're real people. We aren't Hollywood. We NEED to be out and proud. It's just hard to do that when your physical safety is in danger every time you just even run to the store to get gas. Stupid bigots.....
I would LOVE to go to a gay rodeo. But they dont DARE hold them up here. At least, not to my knowledge. I'd probably have to go to central, or south Texas for those kinds of things.....

 

I'm from Texas - grew up there. I live in Seattle now thankfully. And I can say that there are places in Texas that scare the living crap out of me. Be very careful there if you stray from the big cities. Shit happens there, it really does.


When I was in college at A & M, I was eating late night at a Dennys on a double date with some, of course, hippy long hair dudes. We were harrassed by three good ole boys that made fun of their hair and tried to pick a fight while we sat there at dinner trying not to get beat up. Noone in the restaurant said a thing while they pushed the guys around and made fun. But as soon as the assholes left, almost everyone came up to us one at a time and said how sorry they were. But would they have thought of helping? OH, NO.

 

this is so true. when i was young, gay bashing was a sport, and that was southern california. now it's just not like that. with more and more people coming out of the closet and being honest with their loved ones, people are realizing that someone they've loved for all their life is gay, not some scary boogie man thing. but yeah, there's places where having a nose ring is still gonna stir people up. just don't go THERE.

 

Whether you think things are getting better or not has a lot to do with where you are. There are some large and medium-sized cities where things are better than they were long ago, but there are some smaller towns and really conservative parts of the country where you really have to hunt hard for signs of progress.

 

^^yea. the only progress i've seen here in plainview is how many people have come out since i've last been here. last year, me and my friend jason were the only out and proud gays, now there's at least 8. Who knows how many other FFA's (Future Fags of America [term of endearment in my circle]) there are out there. Hopefully more people come out, b/c there are some FINE ass country boys out here