Recently, there was a posting on Facebook intended as a joke that gave a link to a website called, “Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians.” While the intention may have been to provide some good laughs, what struck me even more was a few of the comments to the posting:
“Old lesbians get really worked up about this. Usually, I think, because they haven’t realized they look like Elton John.”
“and what I hate is butch lesbians that look like men and old men….”
Bullies don’t just come in the form of physical or verbal abuse. They can come in the forms of mocking and putting down a group of people. Anytime we belittle a person or group for our own pleasure, it is another form of bullying. Within the gay community, groups make fun of each other for their masculine or feminine style. Just see the comments above to get a taste of how easy it is to make fun of someone.
There is a fine line between humor and mockery. Perhaps the more we can recognize what is on the inside, we will stop caring what the outside looks like. In the end, we all have the capacity to bully with our jokes about people. Bullying takes many forms and ultimately hurts many people.
Perhaps, when we are laughing at others, we are tapping into a part of ourselves that is still feeling insecure. It can be easier to talk about, mock, or ‘hate’ other people, then to look at the parts of ourselves we dread.
Peace,
Mary Anne