Anon sent me this tumblr ask:

about your new story joanna wouldn’t want her dad to be gay

I choked on my breakfast this morning when I read this.

Dear Anon, let’s talk through this rationally.

Children are the product of our beliefs, at least they are until they are able and willing to decide for themselves what they want to believe. They fear what we teach them to fear. They hate what we teach them to hate. Because homosexuality is a social stigma, they grow up learning it is something to shun, be ashamed of and embarrassed about. So our children are not where change begins—we are, as the ones who influence them with our words and actions from the moment they are born. I know a lot of us are working hard to change today’s unfortunate perceptions which surround sexuality when it is not the hetero-kind. To this extent, Star Trek was created as the vision of several people who wanted to show us a future in which such stigmas no longer exist. That does not mean the fear itself will ever become obsolete, only that children would not be taught from an early age to think something is wrong with feeling attraction, sexual interest or love for someone of the same gender. Heck, we are shown that in a ‘better time’ the marriage barrier has even been broken between species! (Think of Spock’s mother and father, a human and a Vulcan respectively.)

My point is this: Joanna, being from the twenty-third century, would not think like the children of our century do. She will see two men as a couple and find nothing amiss because it’s a perfectly normal sight. It is not too difficult, then, to extrapolate that poly relationships (even if they may be less common) would be no more abnormal than same-sex couples. Call it what you wish—free love or free will—but keep in mind that the day will come when our future generations shall look back to this century and celebrate having become a more tolerant, more understanding, more open-minded race. We do it now with our ancestors. It is simply evolution.

Now, if you wish to argue that the human race will collectively stagnate on the social issues of today (it is a possibility, however sad) and thus twenty-third century perceptions will be no better than they are currently, I will argue back: do not underestimate Leonard McCoy as a parent. This man is enlightened. Can you imagine that he would allow his child to view others as lesser beings because of their personal preferences? Can you imagine him condoning bigotry?

No.

Leonard is a proponent of the Golden Rule: treat others as you wish to be treated. We may see him tossing out insults to Spock, but Spock is allowed to insult him right back. Furthermore, the core of Leonard is a man who values all life. Think of the saying “We are all equal in the eyes of God” and replace God with Dr. McCoy. That sums him up. The evidence is there too, shown to us each time he takes a risk to save someone, whether friend, enemy, or stranger, humanoid or non-humanoid. I would expect nothing less of McCoy’s daughter, and certainly neither would he!

Lastly, if Joanna did have no desire for her father to be gay, I doubt her feelings would be rooted in homophobia (refer to the reasons mentioned above), and I anticipate she would change her mind as she matured and realized that to accept someone for who they are is the best gift one can give.

Thank you, if not for giving this matter some further thought, then for reading to the end.

-KLMeri

tumblr post here

In case you didn’t know already, this is where I stand on homophobia. I don’t condone it. It’s okay to claim a character cannot be gay due to his canon love interests. It is not okay to claim such due to your own personal hatred or fear.

I’m off my soap box now.

Live long and prosper, my friends.

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