Athlete Simon Dunn has called out a homophobic meme that uses his image alongside a list of ‘undesirable’ attributes in gay men.
Dunn became aware of the meme after friends started tagging him on social media. It lists ‘desirable’ qualities of gay men as “acts like a normal human being”, “has a personality” and “doesn’t force upon you the fact that they are gay” as qualities they respect. The list appears next to Dunn’s image.
Alongside an image of camp comedian Julian Clary is a list of attributes the creator of the meme does not respect including “Sexuality is the focal point of their existence”, as well as having too much rainbow fashion and “dressing like a clown.”
Dunn was part of Australia’s Bobsled team before announcing his retirement last year.
When Dunn became aware of the meme he instantly posted to social media saying it did not represent his views.
“Don’t use my image for your internalized homophobia,’ he wrote on Twitter on Friday. “Don’t make assumptions on the kind of gay man I am or the kind of gay men I associate with.
“I’ll always support those those who are true to themselves and be who they truly are. I will always be your biggest advocate!”
Dunn told Gay Star News that he found the message of the meme to be appaling.
“Clearly whoever created it doesn’t have any idea of the person I am and what I stand for. I’ve spent the last several years being very public about my sexuality whilst I was an athlete and still continue to do so today.”
“The gay community is notorious for not being our own allies.
“We need to learn to be more accepting of others within our community and stop idealizing a certain type whilst acting like anything else is lesser.” Dunn said.
OIP Staff
