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This week, the New York Times published an article called "Americans Are Turning Against Gay People," and if you're wondering whether the paper has completely lost touch with reality, the answer is yes.
The piece opens with some gushing about a show I’ve never even heard of — and I suspect you haven’t, either — called Heated Rivalry,featuring gay hockey players, suggesting that its success proves "acceptance of queer love continues to grow." The authors, Tessa Charlesworth and Eli Finkel, lament that this is not the case. "We wish we could share that optimism," they write, before citing research showing that acceptance of gay people peaked around 2020 and has "sharply reversed" since then.
I’d be willing to bet that most people haven’t heard of Heated Rivalry, but even so, it’s irrelevant. Gay characters have been on television and in movies for decades, often as leads. These days, you’d have a tougher time finding a show or movie that doesn’t feature LGBTQ characters. If you watch game shows, you’ve probably wondered if they have quotas for LGBTQ contestants, and if they’re required to boast about their sexual orientation.
Nevertheless, the article expresses shock that anti-gay bias reversed course after two decades. Before 2020, they note, everything seemed to be moving forward together. Bigger Pride parades. Rainbow-lit landmarks. Federal legalization of same-sex marriage. Americans' bias against gay people was dropping so fast, faster than any other tracked prejudice, that the researchers even predicted that anti-gay bias would hit zero by 2022. That's possibly the dumbest prediction anyone could make about human nature and social attitudes. Bias hitting zero? Really? Heck, those who preach tolerance are some of the most biased people I’ve ever met. And these are supposed to be serious academics.
Continued below.
pjmedia.com
The piece opens with some gushing about a show I’ve never even heard of — and I suspect you haven’t, either — called Heated Rivalry,featuring gay hockey players, suggesting that its success proves "acceptance of queer love continues to grow." The authors, Tessa Charlesworth and Eli Finkel, lament that this is not the case. "We wish we could share that optimism," they write, before citing research showing that acceptance of gay people peaked around 2020 and has "sharply reversed" since then.
I’d be willing to bet that most people haven’t heard of Heated Rivalry, but even so, it’s irrelevant. Gay characters have been on television and in movies for decades, often as leads. These days, you’d have a tougher time finding a show or movie that doesn’t feature LGBTQ characters. If you watch game shows, you’ve probably wondered if they have quotas for LGBTQ contestants, and if they’re required to boast about their sexual orientation.
Nevertheless, the article expresses shock that anti-gay bias reversed course after two decades. Before 2020, they note, everything seemed to be moving forward together. Bigger Pride parades. Rainbow-lit landmarks. Federal legalization of same-sex marriage. Americans' bias against gay people was dropping so fast, faster than any other tracked prejudice, that the researchers even predicted that anti-gay bias would hit zero by 2022. That's possibly the dumbest prediction anyone could make about human nature and social attitudes. Bias hitting zero? Really? Heck, those who preach tolerance are some of the most biased people I’ve ever met. And these are supposed to be serious academics.
Continued below.
The New York Times Wonders Why Americans Are ‘Turning Against Gay People.’ Isn’t It Obvious?
A critical look at the decline of acceptance towards gay people in America.
pjmedia.com
