-They may be signaling you’re gay
TEENAGERS today appear to become very fascinated with fashion, and it seems that no sooner something new quite hits the market, than its avidly grabbed up in the name of fashion, especially if known to be worn by popular artistes.  The next thing you know is that hordes of young people are going crazy after it. And, strange enough, these may range from absolutely trendy garbs, unbelievably – to what many right-thinking persons  may consider ‘rags and tatters’.   But the bottom-line is,  they cost a whole lot;  are  worn by a whole lot of kids; and in order to be ‘in with the crowd’,  they opt to wear them.

But while we’re on this subject of in-fashion  , the HIV/AIDS Mailbox is particularly concerned about the impact of some fashion on our young people, and more so, the messages that could be knowingly or unknowingly conveyed by the persons wearing those garments.

In choosing the clothes we wear, it is important to know that like the names we give our children, the type of clothing we wear  could impact our personality one way or the other.

It could also send messages about our alliances or perceived alliances, which can sometimes be dangerous or damaging to our personality.

Think of how many times you might have walked into a store and purchased a pair of jeans that is designed with a skull and crossbones, and never realized it was there until you got home.  Maybe too, you might have consciously bought it, because the other boys are buying them.

Have you ever heard about the ‘rainbow flag’?  If you haven’t, then today, the HIV mailbox wishes to put our young people on guard, since certainly we would not like to have our youth step out, dressed in a rainbow flag print, thinking himself/herself to be looking very cute, when in fact persons looking at you perceive you to be gay.

What an awkward position to be in!  Particularly if you are homophobic! What would you do then?   Tear the shirt off in public?  Or, if its one of those fashionable handbags, would you just dump it into the nearest garbage bin?

A person who is homophobic is one who has a hatred or fear of homosexuals, that is, lesbians and gay men, sometimes leading to acts of violence and expressions of hostility.

Homophobia is not confined to any one segment of society, and can be found in people in society.  It is not unusual in the Caribbean for persons to viciously attack  homosexuals and use violent language in attempting to register their disapproval of them.

I recall a story once told by a Jamaican colleague at an HIV/AIDS Caribbean International Workshop.  She related that a group calling themselves ‘gay’, planned to have a recognition march through the streets one Sunday morning.

The word went out Friday afternoon, she said, and by Saturday afternoon, all the cutlasses in the shops were sold out.  You don’t have to ask: The march never got off the ground.   That, we conceded, was a classic demonstration of homophobia.

Well, just so you don’t ever step out in the wrong colours, or , if you are gay or lesbian, into the wrong place with what you might perceive to be the ‘right colours’, we bring you below a rainbow flag, or the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Flag:  The symbol of pride for the gay and lesbian community.

The rainbow flag, sometimes called ‘the freedom flag’, was popularized as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978.

The different colours symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is used predominantly at gay pride events and in gay villages worldwide in various forms, including banners, clothing and jewellery.

For the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, held in 1994 in New York city, a mile-long rainbow flag was created, and post-parade, cut up in sections that have since been used around the world.

Originally created with eight colours, pink and turquoise were removed for production purposes, and as of 2008, the flag consists of six coloured stripes, which should always be displayed with red on top or to the left.

It is most commonly flown with the red stripe on top, as the colours appear in a natural rainbow. Aside from the obvious symbolism of a mixed LGBT community, the colours were designed to symbolize: Red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), blue (harmony), and purple/violet (spirit).

The removed colours stood for sex (pink) and art/magic (turquoise). Another presumed origin is the song, Over the Rainbow, synonymous with gay icon, Judy Garland, whose film, The Wizard of Oz has often been interpreted as an allegory of gay coming out.