“The reality is that straight people talk about and display their sexual orientation so frequently that they don’t even realize they are doing it.” “There’s a huge double standard that goes well beyond public displays of affection,” Gilreath says. Even among gay and lesbian couples there is some discomfort with the idea of same-sex kissing in public, whether it’s because of fear of violence or internalized homoph obia. Among heterosexuals, only 55 percent approve of gay men kissing on the cheek in public, compared with a whopping 95 percent who say that it’s okay for straight couples.
To this point, a study published in the American Sociological Review reported that although a solid majority of Americans support insurance coverage and inheritance rights for same-sex couples, we are far less comfortable with same-sex public displays of affection. there’s no such thing as a ‘small’ display of homosexuality. “Every normal, tender moment is politicized as a provocation - a confrontation. “I think everything gay people do is politicized,” said Shannon Gilreath, a professor of law at Wake Forest University. attendant said that it was a ‘family’ airline and kissing was not ok.” Southwest responded that the incident was “based solely on behavior and not gender.”
A few years ago, “L-Word” actress Leisha Hailey was ejected from a Southwest flight after kissing her girlfriend. Just last month, a same-sex couple were asked to leave a Texas public pool when a lifeguard told them kissing was not permitted, although straight swimmers apparently kiss without fear of being thrown out. In other words, the bar owner was within her legal right to ask the gay couple to leave for their alleged public-display-of-affection infraction.Īpparently, public displays of LGBT affection strike a straight nerve. the renowned physician, poet and father of the Supreme Court justice - once said: “The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.”Īlthough same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, 28 of them, including the Tar Heel state, “lack a public accommodations statute inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Christopher Brook, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. But I’m reminded of what Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. The case of the kissing gays might seem like an anomaly or much ado about not very much. (Civilities reached out to the couple and the bar owner, but interview requests were not immediately returned.) Bar owner Pam Griffin reportedly told them to leave because “you’re making people feel uncomfortable,” adding, “This is a straight bar.” The guys paid their tab and left. From published reports, Baker and Deras kissed again, claiming their right to do so. This is NOT right!’ ”įrom there, let’s just say it went downhill, although the precise chronology is hazy. ‘Do what you’d like on your own time, but not here. Baker continued their narrative in a lengthy post on Yelp: “Out of no where this woman comes up to us in a combatively demanding manor & tells Andrew he needs to back up off of me this very second.
on a late summer night, Deras put his arm around his boyfriend and gave him a “very minor” kiss, as he told WRAL-TV, that led to a nationwide news story. When did a kiss stop being a kiss?Ĭase in point: Dustin Baker and Andrew Deras got themselves into a peck o’ trouble recently at Louie’s Sports Bar & Tiki Bar in Fayetteville, N.C., where they had gone to hear a band. No big deal, right? Unfortunately, when it comes to same-sex couples, that’s too often not the case, because even a simple kiss may be viewed as provocative or flaunting. You put your arms around each other, you hug maybe you give each other a quick kiss. Imagine you and your sweetie in a bar, enjoying a beer or two, listening to music.