I remember one of my tutors looking at my CV and noticing I’d written for Gay Star News before starting my journalism course and saying: ‘I assume you’re gay.’

The response I felt was of much annoyance – not because I’ve been in a relationship with a woman for the past two and half years – but for the narrow mindedness displayed by another straight person only a decade or two my senior.

Such ignorance brought back terrible memories of being hounded by other straight men thinking I was gay because I didn’t have a girlfriend in high school. It seems in the leafy, affluent suburbs of south east England which I’ve had to call home only gay, lesbian and bisexual and transgender people make up the LGBT movement and are the only people who read LGBT news.

Well now is the time to expose the truth about the gay rights movement, which is best described as the civil rights movement of our generation. I am a straight man with many friends who are gay, lesbian or bisexual, and here is why I support gay rights.

1 Sexual superiority is the same as racial superiority

I’m sick of being made to think I’m normal or (god forbid) superior to others because of my sexuality. Being told I’m part of the ‘superior’ race and my homeland is ‘the greatest in the world’ creates nothing but xenophobia. Something which does not hold up in the 21 century.

Having the freedom to marry any woman I want but knowing my friend cannot because he/she prefers the same sex, is simply unjust. Gay people being unable to marry does not make me feel free – because having more liberties than others does not mean equality – and for me, equality is the road to full freedom for everybody.

Heterosexuality should not be deemed the ‘natural’ or ‘superior’ orientation. Such ignorance comes from the white, upper class, heterosexuals who have been in charge of the world since organized religion replaced the ancient civilisations where homosexuality was celebrated.

Such an attitude is what kept blacks, Asians and other racial groups segregated by the white man who thought he was superior. Frankly, the same attitude is being employed by the straight man in charge of society, and this humiliates me as it is not right when you hear of others like you suppressing men and women who have committed no crime.

2 ‘Gay’ is not a euphemism for ‘bad’

A little history: the term ‘gay’ was originally an acronym for ‘Good As You’, started by gay people in the 1960s and was always meant to be a term of pride and unity.

But in the generation I grew up in, the term has been stolen and desecrated into a disgusting euphemism to describe anything that is wrong. I’ve known people to use it so liberally to describe someone or something they do not like or find annoying.

One of the most sickening memories I have of high school is someone answering their cell phone with: ‘Alright gay?’

The term gay is not meant to be hurtful; it is about accepting new things and new people into the mainstream of life. I am all for free speech, but before you jump on me and say I’m being a hypocrite by telling people to stop using it as a curse – consult a few dictionaries or history books. You will find this terminology belongs to gay people and not to homophobes.

Using the word ‘gay’ for the horrible things in life is watered down homophobia so I urge you to think about the terms you pick next time you express your anger at someone or something.

3 You’re being childish when you say you’re ‘protecting’ your kids

This has not been the first time parental guidance groups, from the USA in particular, have sprung up saying they are fighting to keep children safe from the ‘horror’ that is equality.

Groups such as the Parents Music Resource Centre have in the past expressed their intent to censor music and film for the protection of children. This is akin to the current trend of parent groups, like the Coalition for Marriage, saying they want to protect their children from gay couples marrying and having their own children.

All I can say to this, is groups like the Coalition for Marriage are basing their ideology on traditions which are so out of date they belong to the era before Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and women gaining the rights to vote, let alone the sexual revolution.

People who support these groups do not understand love and compassion people feel for one another and are the kind of parents who are scared of discussing important things with their children. It is because of groups like the Coalition for Marriage that LGBT people cannot come to terms with their lives and feel alienated by society.

This type of ideology being employed in an age of science and reason and liberation is not only outdated, in the words of a fourth grader it’s ‘childish’. Society needs to accept humanity for what it is and stop seeing it as the bearer of traditional values which have not existed for generations.

That’s why I am a straight man for gay rights. LGBT people are part of the future of society. If we are to live in a society that is truly democratic and multicultural – then equal rights and freedom of marriage is essential to the evolution of society. It’s time to sit down, discuss and build bridges rather than cling onto ideas that do not apply to the world today.

I’m not the only straight ally too. There are many straight celebrities who support the LGBT movement: James Franco, Richard Dawkins, Henry Rollins, Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Rice and Liza Minelli are just a few who spring to mind.

You don’t have to be gay to support gay rights.