Former Australian bobsledder and rugby player Simon Dunn is not having the homophobic meme featuring his likeness that’s been circulating on social media.
The meme, which began making the rounds last week, features Dunn’s face next to a list of qualities describing “gay people that I respect.”
The traits include: “acts like a normal human being; has a personality; doesn’t force upon you the fact that they’re gay; literally is a normal person that you can be friends with.”
Below it are a list of contrasting gay stereotypes describing “gay people I do not respect.”
Dunn blasted the meme in a tweet over the weekend, writing: “Don’t use my image for your internalised homophobia, don’t make assumptions on the kind of gay man I am or the kind of gay men I associate myself 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!”
Speaking to Gay Star News, he explains, “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.”
The 31-year-old, who was the first openly gay male to represent his country in the sport of bobsled before retiring in 2016, concluded by saying, “If you think its ok to ‘not respect’ others, perhaps your respect isn’t something that people want anyway.”
