DE STRAATVRAAG

DE STRAATVRAAG IS IT OKAY TO BE GAY? COULD YOU ELABORATE?

Nrike For me personally, and for most of the people in my environment, it is something very fundamentally right. There’s nothing remotely wrong about being gay or being straight. I just don’t get why there is any discrimination in the first place. It doesn’t really define who you are specifically. I like everyone how they are. Everyone should just live their life free and do what they want. Sophi We are in 2020, it’s definitely okay to be gay. It should be normalized, especially in a province like this. If you walk down the street and there is a gay couple, I think many people look at them differently and talk about them specifically and not just respect and accept. Kavishya My parents are very religious, and I often have discussions with them about LGBT rights. For me personally, I can’t fathom how anybody can see it as so bad. For my parents, it took a while to understand that it’s not a choice, it’s just how people are. Them also being a minority group and experiencing discrimination, it’s easier for them to understand that there are people that are different and in different groups. It’s a matter of perspective on the issue. People can love who they want to love. Insa I don’t think that should be a question at all. It’s okay to be anyone you want, as long as you’re not hurting anyone in the process. I don’t see a point in getting upset about people being gay or initially different to you. I don’t have a big understanding for people who think it’s not okay. You’re not in the situation, so why would you bother? Tekst en fotografie: Jody Simone Mitch In a country where it’s been accepted for so long it’s just part of being human. Leeuwarden has been progressive, and the rest has not. The further outside the city you go it gets progressively worse. Then again, I have also seen people not really caring out there (villages), so it really differs from person to person. Anonymous From my religion it’s not acceptable to be gay, so that is why I am not okay with it. It’s not that I won’t allow people to be gay, if you want to be gay that’s okay with me but the fundamental parts of my religion are not accepting it. I am not one who will punish a person if they choose to be gay. My religion teaches us that if someone is going the wrong way, that’s their way to search for the right thing. We are not God. It’s not our position to make the judgment. Chantal Absolutely. We should come to a point where we don’t even need to be asking this question and its totally normal. I know that is very naïve. In the last couple of years, I have had so many friends, who I didn’t even know where gay, talk about it in conversation. It wasn’t really “coming out.” It does not make a difference at all, that’s how it should be, but I am aware that that’s not the case and we still have a long

way to go. Anonymous The bible says a man and a man may not lay with one another. Biologically speaking that makes sense. The foundation of human life is to reproduce. So, in this aspect, I get it. When it comes to loving somebody, there should be no boundaries, but religion has created these boundaries based on their interpretation of “man may not lay with man.”