Some people are wary or hostile towards individuals, or groups, who are different to them. Such hostility can be based on ignorance or fear, or a whole host of other factors. Lack of acceptance is a widespread problem but, often, people simply need it pointed out to them that everyone is different.
SOPHIE: Look at the state of that. Just when you think she can’t get any uglier, she does.
NICOLA: Who?
SOPHIE: Dora. Look, she’s just got on the bus. Look at her stretching up to put her bag on the shelf. That waistband looks like boxer shorts. Did you see that?
NICOLA: No, but so what if she is?
SOPHIE: I bet she’s hiding a willy in there too. She’s such a lesbian. I’ll ask her at break.
NICOLA: Leave her alone, Sophie.
SOPHIE: Her mum’s a lesbian too. Holly’s brother reckons he saw her touching some woman up in the pub last week. I think old lesbians are even worse, don’t you?
NICOLA: What is your problem with lesbians?
SOPHIE: Well, they’re just creepy aren’t they? It’s not natural.
NICOLA: What isn’t natural?
SOPHIE: The stuff they get up to.
NICOLA: Like being in love with another person? What’s so unnatural about that?
SOPHIE: Well, nothing. But the point of sex is to reproduce isn’t it. Two women are never going to reproduce. Just like two men together aren’t going to make a baby. That’s just as weird. I’m not just getting at lesbians; gay men are just as bad.
NICOLA: Actually lots of gay couples are having children these days. There are plenty of ways, and many gay people make wonderful parents.
SOPHIE: It’s not fair on the kids.
NICOLA: Why does it bother you so much what other people choose to do, anyway? You’re verbally attacking Dora because you suspect she is a lesbian. Even if she is, what does that say about you?
SOPHIE: I don’t know what you’re getting at, Nic.
NICOLA: Just that there are billions of people in the world, and they’re all different. Your brother has learning difficulties, doesn’t he?
SOPHIE: Yes, what about him? He’s great.
NICOLA: I know he is, I agree with you. But you hate it when people in the street stare at him, don’t you?
SOPHIE: Yes, I do, because he’s not a freak. He’s just a person.
NICOLA: Then why do you consider lesbians to be such freaks? Surely everyone is different and none of this really makes any difference to the fact that we are all human.
SOPHIE: I see your point. I suppose I just don’t like the thought of some lesbian like Dora staring at me in the swimming pool showers.
NICOLA: Don’t flatter yourself, Sophie. What makes you think that, just because she may like women, that she’d be interested in you? Besides that, even if she was attracted to you, she is not likely to be a pervert about it. She’s seems to be a nice person.
SOPHIE: Why does all this bother you so much anyway?
NICOLA: Because people who are narrow-minded and who are unaccepting of other people create a problem for everyone. They create a hostile environment where people are worried about being themselves. When people are trying to conform to some kind of ideal, rather than being who they really are, it can eat them up inside. It’s just not fair, and who knows when you might discover you are a little different from some other people around you? At that point, I can almost guarantee that you would want acceptance and understanding, not hostility.
