BEING IN TOUCH

It never seize to amaze me to hear people chanting unsavoury names towards people who ‘seem’, through their behavioural manner to be homosexuals. Homophobic behaviour has grown to the point of weird obsession in our societal existence in South Africa, mainly due to a lack of knowledge to, what it means to be in touch.

In this life, a brother who is in touch with the aesthetics of the world will not see the light of day, unless he becomes two sides of a single coin and pretends to be something he is not, machismo and homosexual. It doesn’t matter whether this brother is attracted to the opposite sex or not. Meagre acts like admiring the stars at night, glancing up at the sunset or calling a flower ‘beautiful’, in front of his gangster brethren will render him ‘homo’.

If this brother happens to be on the hygienic side of things and is poised on keeping, his clothes clean, his shoes sparkling, face spotless and his body in shape; a metro-sexual male. Once or twice uses cologne and facial products. Well, that is equivalent to taking a rope and putting a noose around his neck. Moreover, being straight won’t save the day for the poor fellow from society’s well schooled eyes. After all, it was Somizi Mhlongo, the expert, who blurted a comment on the youth radio station YFM, by arguing: “If you are metro-sexual, you have to decide whether you’re bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual, there’s no such thing as metro-sexual.” Agree don’t agree?

Sensitivity and intelligence, which a metro-sexual has in abundance means nothing to the erudite eyes of society. Eyes that will reap him apart, lest he shows his affection for art, poetry and books; and pays attention towards, true loving educated women. However, educated women also, turn to shy-away from a brother that’s in touch. He’s either too uptight, serious and extremely spiritual for their predilection.

To society’s norms this brother, similar to Jesus in prehistoric Jerusalem is excessively taboo. He loves his fellow man, a pacifist (not coward), at heart and a true leader. His neighbours adore him and women admire him. However, like Jesus he is a gentle mannered man, especially at this present time where H.I.V/Aids reigns supreme in our lives. Where, women prefer brothers who have big pockets and flashy wheels no matter the condition of their sensitivity. Like Jesus, the brother is not wedged in the circumstances of the flesh but of a spiritual nature. He shies away from intoxicating braveries, not deliberately but by nature. As Jesus was persecuted, by his fellow man so is this brother, for being who he is. Like Jesus...oh, maybe that’s pushing the Jesus parody a bit too far, but you get the drift.

Now ladies; would you rather have a brother that is narcissistic and spiritually inclined or have a thug that leaves everything laying around for you to tend, immediately he hits the door - A brother that will understand your position as a nurturing woman and helps you to be at your super best. A man, who is in touch, through understanding what he wants from his woman and meets the needs of what his woman, wants. A man who shares intuitive virtues, which are personified through nature, by masculine and feminine powers. A man that gets it and is not preoccupied in what people think about his pink shirt and his cologne.

A person who is in love with the exquisiteness that life possesses and takes it in their stride to enrich their environment by celebrating its existence. With an extreme flamboyance should not be branded as homosexual, especially when their true interest lies in uplifting life, for others.

Mannerisms are not all that define homosexuality or the validity of being in touch with your inner self. In a book written by South African author and Noble Laureate for Literature, J.M. Coetzee, (Who has immigrated to Australia), Youth. The narrator, a young man who has turned a new lease in life by immigrating to England, from South Africa. Is a rigid character, that’s into poetry and has fantasies about venturing into history to rediscover his sexuality by sowing his yearning oaths, with as many women as time permits. At one point, he encounters a homosexual epiphany, he sighs: “Is that homosexuality? Is that the sum of it? Even if there is more to it than that, it seems a puny activity compared with sex with a woman…”

Spiritual attachment is seen as an epitome of homosexuality, mainly due to church brothers who hide what they are, behind the veil of religion. Therefore, promote clandestine sexual exploitation of young lads, in the name of religion. In addition, you find brothers who are gays and insist on courting brothers who are not. What’s up with that? These brothers are spiritually ignorant and so they perpetuate their persona as every ones. Such church brothers and their forceful counterparts are the ones who give a bad name to a brother that’s in touch with life.

Being in touch with both powers of masculine and feminine panache, and understanding the aesthetics that life has to offer, does not constitute one as a homosexual; however means only that one is ‘gay’ about life. Gay, as in being content about whom you are. A transvestite is not necessarily gay, and a gay person is not necessarily a transvestite. These two individual dichotomies compliment each other, however are not necessarily a norm in all male behavioural manner.

Why judge a book when you truly have no idea what the contents of that book entail? Do mannerisms define one’s personality or sexual preference?

To reach a new ground in human evolution, we must understand that our spiritual self is not bound only to our matter-physical appearance of masculine and feminine, however to an entwinement of all sexes. This makes us who and what we are. Individual development is the key to unlocking the shackles of sexual repression amongst people. Let’s not denigrate individual birth rights that we see as taboo. Let’s not permit the fear of the unknown rule our hearts. Whether their preference is immoral or moral, that’s for God to judge, not us.

Ladies and gentlemen, don’t judge a book by its cover, because there are some reasonably interesting books out there. Next time you come across a brother that seem to be a metro-sexual male, whether their homosexual or not, have a conversation with them and found out who they are and what their about. Let’s liberate ourselves from sexual stereotypes.