Stereotypes are used in a way to dehumanize and make being gay something people can only be “comfortable with” or “cope with.' The oppression and repression of gay men throughout history - from ancient times and early Christianity to the modern AIDS crisis - has been rooted in fear and falsities. Stereotypes may be grounded in the truth or be complete and utter falsehoods, but they are dangerous regardless of where they come from.
When society makes fun of and degrades gay men for things that are patently untrue, young gay men are left without proper role models, failed by a society that describes them with generalizations.
Stereotypes about gay men are destructive to both how society views us, as well as to how we view ourselves. Nonetheless, an unhealthy, pervasive and heteronormative stereotype still exists. In a gay relationship, there is not a man and a woman there are two men. “Who is the girl, and who is the guy in your relationship?” an acquaintance asked me just the other day.
