Society has double standards when it comes to homosexuality. In the closet or not, one is always at fault.
On the 21st of September 2018 a blow was dealt to LGBT+ communities in Zimbabwe. Many on Twitter, Facebook and in WhatsApp groups read a statement by Dr. Neil Hovelmeier, Head of 6th form at St John’s College in Harare.
In his release, Dr. Hovelmeier came out and revealed that he is gay. He went on to share that he had been compelled by former students of the college who had only managed to come out in later stages of their lives.
There was outrage across various platforms with many questioning whether or not he was abusing students at the school. Considering that St John’s College is a private boy’s school, some parents were concerned that the boys were subjected to acts the parents would not approve of.
A parent who spoke during a meeting held at the school three days later argued that Dr. Hovelmeier had chosen the wrong audience for his statement. Some thought that it was selfish and inconsiderate of him to share such information with students who are underage.
However, one of Dr. Hovelmeier’s reasons for coming out was that he felt the school had a silent policy on homophobia and it also did nothing to promote tolerance towards gay people.
His statement read: “I have felt increasingly troubled by the fact that we as an institution have never openly dealt with homophobic behavior and equally failed to provide a safe learning experience for students who may identify as being gay or bisexual to truly flourish and feel accepted”.
He went on to explain that he would be able to help students of similar sexual orientation if he was also honest about himself. If one were to interpret his statement positively, Dr. Hovelmeier is concerned that there could be gay students at the school who are not learning or living freely because of their sexuality. His explanation landed on deaf ears as many expressed that they did not want their children exposed to homosexuality.
Learning to be gay
Most of the outrage seems to come from parents who believe that exposing their children to homosexual teachers and peers will influence their sexuality.
A statement released by Sande Legal Practice representing the parents opposed to Dr. Hovelneier reads, “Such an expression has no place whatsoever in a school environment where there are minors who look up to your staff as their life models as they exercise their role in loco parentis.”
Despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence showing that children learn to be gay from adults, these statements insinuate that minors are introduced to homosexuality by an adult. The argument points out that minors look up to adults for their sexual orientation, which is not true.
An article on kidshealth.org states that knowing one’s sexual orientation, whether straight or gay, is often something that kids or teens recognise with little doubt from a young age. Some gay teens say they had same-sex crushes in childhood, just as their heterosexual peers had opposite-sex crushes. Similarly, the Coming out Project by the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami states that, even if your child seems somewhat fluid or vague in what they say about themselves, scientific data indicates that sexuality is not a simple choice; rather, it has strong biological roots.
These are research institutions working to show that exposing someone to any information on homosexuality does not have the power to change their sexual orientation. Instead, one’s biological composition contributes to the decision on their sexual orientation. Clearly this information is not known to most parents in Zimbabwe, judging by the reactions to Dr. Hovelmeier’s statement.
Homophobia, morality and the law
Another argument levelled against Dr. Hovelmeier was that his sexual orientation was against the school’s founding principles, which are based on Christian values. Another comment on social media agreed with parents, going on to explain that the section that criminalises sodomy is informed by the bible.
Section 73 of the Criminal Codification Act criminalises men having sex with men, not homosexuality. The Act reads, “…any man who with consent of another male person, knowingly performs with that other person anal sexual intercourse, or may act involving physical contact than anal sexual intercourse that will be regarded by a reasonable person to be an indecent act shall be guilty of sodomy.”
By citing the Act, there is an assumption that Dr. Hovelmeier is having sex with men, the boys in the school in particular. As much as there is no evidence pointing to this, reactions from the public expressed fear that Dr. Hovelmeier could have been abusing his learners. He is considered a sexual predator only because he has come out as gay. Ignoring the mass evidence on heterosexual teachers abusing and impregnating their learners
Regardless of all the rage, some students quoted by the press seemed unbothered by Dr Hovelmeier’s sexual orientation. One of them is reported to have said that they would embark on a peaceful counter protest if the school took a back-step on its policy on tolerance.
The public reaction to the announcement shows how Zimbabwe remains intolerant of homosexuality. A meeting between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and LGBT+ rights groups ahead of the 2018 elections had raised hopes that institutionalised homophobia was slowly coming to an end. It took less than two months after the elections for the public to show that nothing had really changed.
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