A Heterosexual’s Reaction to Homosexuality and “Boys on the Side” movie The issues of homosexuality and fatal diseases such as AIDS or HIV are serious concepts and are quite risky to present and explore in a movie. This is because such topics draw diverse reactions because of the social and moral issues involved in it. It is not mere literal implications of being gay or lesbian which grabs attention and create reaction among homosexuals and straight people.
Rather, it is homosexual sexual lifestyles, preferences and activities which have evidently made them susceptible of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases and the dreadful AIDS or HIV. This is aside from the fact the homosexuals are stereo-typed characters society. Sadly, making fun and subjecting them to ridicule seem to be an acceptable practice. It is for these reasons that the contributions of gay and lesbian people towards society are undermined.
Despite this, modern societies, specifically those with straight sexual orientation, so to speak, have begun to realize true value of homosexuals in society. It is also noteworthy homosexuality or the performance of homosexual social functions have become recognized and appreciated by heterosexuals. A straight person’s reaction to a homosexual movie as well as one’s feeling towards issues pertaining to their sexuality has shifted from the conventional manner to the liberal or more flexible perspective.
This is basically because of the realization that beyond homosexuality lay more serious and straight issues such as love, friendship, violence, gender empowerment, self-respect and most importantly, honest efforts to prevent, treat and accept the painful realities of sex-related illnesses. This realization is evident with the heterosexuals’ reaction of the movie “Boys on the Side” as well as the feelings of straight people towards sexual issues in relation to homosexuals’ lifestyles or preferences and their vulnerability to sex-related diseases.
The 1995 movie tells of the lives of a black lesbian (Whoopi Goldberg as Jane), sexually appealing yet gullible female blonde (Drew Barrymore as Holly) and an AIDS-stricken woman (Mary-Louise Parker as Robin). It is basically the main idea of the movie to focus on the female characters and how they journey through their lives and leaving behind of putting men or their characters on the side thus the title “Boys on the Side. ” On a road trip, the three women reached and understood each other as well as successfully manifested respect and affection to one another (“Boys on the Side,” 1995).
In the movie, both the lesbian and straight women were punished for their sexualities and issues relating to their lifestyles or activities. Since Jane prefers the same sexy, she is faced with the idea of rejection coming from straight women and the eventuality of being alone and lonely. On the other hand, the heterosexuals Holly and Robin have their respective burden with the former always falling prey to violent boyfriends and the latter suffering from the pains of AIDS resulting from a single mistake (“Boys on the Side,” 1995).
The concept of homosexuality as well as the sexual lifestyle and identity of gays and lesbian is deviant for most heterosexuals. While in today’s world, it does not matter anymore to whom a homosexual is attracted to or what are the sexual preferences of gays and lesbians, it still has left an uncomfortable reaction among heterosexuals wherein it remains to be unusual to see two persons of the same sex being intimate with each other. Since the actual public, such as the homophobic and sexists, remains uncomfortable over homosexuality, this could be the main reason that the movie chose not to expose.
In effect, this has enabled her to build a deeper kind of friendship with the two straight women rather than a desire for their affection. While dealing with homosexuals is generally related with a feeling of uneasiness, the modern society, however, has tamed on its position. This is the reason why the movie redeems the lesbian character in such as way that the straight women felt comfortable having her on a journey. In the movie, men are left behind or put aside in order to center on the characters of the lesbian and two straight women.
While the sexual issues pertaining to the heterosexual women, such as their love scenes are evident, the sexual desires or inclinations of the lesbian are seem to be unexpressed which enabled the straight women to feel comfortable with the lesbian and created a caring relationship among the three. This obvious bonding among the characters proved that the male characters can be set aside yet a movie such as “Boys on the Side” can still effectively present how heterosexuals react and feel for homosexuals’ sexual inclinations.
However, the movie ultimately presented in the end that it never pays to be a homosexual. This is evident as seen in the straight women ending their lives positively with Holly eventually being married and Robin dies but was alleviated of her pain while Jane continues with her lonely journey.
Reference
Roos. D. (1995). Boys on the Side (Motion Picture). Produced by Alcor Films and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.