This Professor's "Questions For Heterosexuals" Makes A Great Point About Homophobia

Despite the strides we've made in LGBTQ acceptance and inclusivity, queer people still face microaggressions every day, even from people who mean well. So one professor decided to flip the script on the invasive, inappropriate questions LGBTQ people are often asked about their sexuality and ask straight people the same questions.

Elise, a student in the class, took a photo of her professor's list of questions and tweeted it:

The questions, which her professor put in a Powerpoint slide, read:

— What do you think caused your heterosexuality?
— When did you decide you were a heterosexual?
— Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase that you may grow out of?
— Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Why can’t you just be what you are and keep quiet about it?
— Why do you heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into your lifestyle?
— Have you considered therapy to change your heterosexual tendencies?

Elise told BuzzFeed that the professor created the list of questions for her Human Sexuality course, "to show [the class] how hard these questions are to answer."

"The slide is supposed to be funny, but she made us really think about why it was so funny," Elise told BuzzFeed. "A lot of people in the class had probably never been asked these questions before, so I think she was trying to show them what it would be like, but in a humorous way."

Since Elise posted the photo of the questions on Twitter, it has gone viral, with over 18,000 retweets and 30,000 likes at the time of writing. Many Twitter users are applauding the professor for such an innovative way of subverting heteronormativity, and some are even adding their own suggestions to the list.

However, others haven't received the professor's teaching methods as warmly.

"I’ve had a couple responses talking about getting my professor fired, and even some slurs and death threats," Elise told BuzzFeed. "That’s why I didn’t want to share my professor’s name or my school."

"I think that a lot of straight people feel victimized by these questions," she continued. "I don’t think that’s the purpose of the questions at all. But I do think it’s silly that someone would be offended by these questions to straight people but not appalled at the way the LGBTQ community is treated."

As far as we've come, those responses show that we still have a ways to go when it comes to LGBTQ acceptance. In the meantime, we can respect this professor for the brilliant way she taught her straight students about how society treats queer people, and why it's not OK.