“No homo” – a phrase so incredibly ridiculous it makes me want to pour hydrochloric acid down my ears.

A guy says to his other guy friend “You look really good today!” but of course it’s followed by a “Oh, but no homo dude!”

When did it become so taboo to show affection for one another? When did sending a compliment to a friend become a bad thing? And when exactly did we have to start saying that we aren’t actually homosexual every single time that we said something nice to each other?

I understand. This is a trend. A fad. However, ever stop and think about how a short-term fad affects others? Because it does.

With two short words, an onslaught of negative thoughts and feelings are thrown about.

With two short words, you say that showing affection is a bad thing because “Looky here, I’m too straight to possibly show that I care about someone who happens to be the same gender as me!”

With two short, measly words, you convey that by complimenting a friend, you must definitely mean you’re gay.

And by having to say that you’re not gay, you’re telling those that are in fact homosexual that it’s not normal, and that we should all be sticking to normality.

Just yesterday I was talking to someone who didn’t believe in gay rights. I asked him what he thought about the whole “no homo” trend.

He approved of it because he said that we shouldn’t be wanting people to think that we were gay since, of course, being gay is a sin.

But what I don’t understand is why on earth is showing that we care a “homosexual only” thing?

Are people so out of touch with their cisgender heterosexuality that they can’t embrace the fact that saying that you love someone doesn’t always have to be a romantic thing? I say that I love my friends all the time, never have I had to say that “I ain’t lesbian!”

Which kind of leads me to this next point: this trend seems to be an only boys kind of thing.

Girls are taught from the start that it’s okay to take control of that emotional side to them, which makes them human. But right from the start, boys were taught to only embrace the masculine side of them. No emotions ought to be coming out of you, sir!

So, now this trend gives them an excuse to care about another guy. But there shouldn’t be a need to have an excuse! If you’re a guy and you  want to say, “Dude! I think your hair looks spot on today!” then go right on ahead. No lame excuses of “no homo” needed.

Straight people, and those that are comfortable with the gender they are given and accept it, have it easiest – they aren’t criticized about their sexuality or ridiculed for being straight.

And yet, people that are heterosexual are so … not confident with their “straightness” that they can’t say something affectionate without thinking that it’s gay. And that’s a problem pushed by societal norms and stereotypes that desperately needs to be fixed.

But, not only is the saying degrading to those that are actually homosexual, it’s hard to imagine the roles being reversed and yet should they have been reversed, think of how many straight people would be insulted.

“No hetero man!” See how ridiculous that sounds?