about ten years ago I was on a bus goikg up Great George Street, and a there were a bunch of young teenagers at the back of the bus. One shouted, “you know what that is? That’s a gay bar!” I braced myself for the inevitable, and another answered indignantly, “I know that! My brother goes there!”
Turned out, the Youth weren’t into the homophobia, just in proving how sophisticated and cosmopolitan they were!
Love this.
I've noticed this with my kids and their school mates. Sexuality and/or sexual curiosity is (mostly) worn with pride and respected. When I was their age, the best case scenario was getting the piss ripped out of you, mercilessly.
Back in the late 1970s, we took a school trip to Cape Cod. Someone started a joke about P-Town and limp wrists. Not one of us knew why it was funny, but we all chimed in...
Our teacher stood up and yelled that we were being hurtful to an entire group of people, someone we may know (not the teacher). Then someone told a gross joke about clamming, and the teacher shook his head and sat back down. Kids will listen and move on most times