欧美名人演讲 第72期:同性恋与道德的关系(18)

 　　You know, we are often uncomfortable in the face of things that are unfamiliar¹,

　　要知道，我们常常在面对自己不熟悉的事物时，感到不自在、不舒服。

　　and that's especially true when we're talking about sex.

　　而当我们在讨论到性的时候，这种情况更容易发生。

　　I want you to think back to the first time you ever heard about sex.

　　请回忆一下你第一次听说"性"这件事的时候。

　　I remember when my parents gave me this book "Where Do Babies Come From? "

　　我记得我父母给过我《小孩从何而来》这本读物。

　　It was about two years ago. And...

　　大概两年前吧。

　　I learned fast.

　　我学得很快。

　　Seriously, I was a child, and my parents gave me this book "Where Do Babies Come From? "

　　不开玩笑地说，我那时还是个孩子，我父母给了我这本书。

　　And I'm reading through it, "Two people love each other very much, apparently² that's the key to the whole process ."

　　我从头到尾开始读："两个人彼此相爱..."很明显，这个前提很关键。

　　I thought that if I loved my mother too much she might become pregnant³.

　　我那时候生怕爱妈妈太深了，导致她怀孕。

　　Then she became pregnant with my sister and I was kind of freaked out by that.

　　结果她真的怀了我妹妹的时候，我都惊慌失措了。

　　But I remember when I was going through this book, coming to this page, going,

　　我还记得我开始读这本书的时候，翻到了这样一页

　　"You're supposed to put what, where, and do what with it? !"

　　："需要把xx放到xx里，然后xxoo！！？？"

　　And it wasn't just because I was a little gay kid.

　　不管我是不是一个同性恋小孩。

　　Sex is weird⁴. I mean think about it. Sex is...

　　"性"对那时的我来说都是件见鬼的事情。

　　Two people, they get naked, they rub up and down, they exchange bodily fluids,

　　想想吧，两个人，脱光了衣服，互相摸来摸去，还要交换体液。

　　and then you try and think, "Oh, I get it now."

　　当你亲身实践"性"的时候，你会慢慢了解它。

　　But, in the abstract, sex is kind of weird, and I think that when it comes to homosexuality,

　　可是，作为一个抽象概念的话，"性"确实是一个怪东西。同样道理，当人们碰到"同性恋"这个陌生概念的时候，

　　a lot of people never get past that whole "that's just weird" reaction.

　　很多人都会停留在"那真是个怪东西"这个阶段。（而无法通过实践去了解，因为他们是异性恋）

　　And then, they translate that "that's just weird" reaction to "that's wrong!"

　　接下来他们会把"那真是件怪东西"解读为"那是错的"。

　　So, if that's the problem or at least part of the problem, what's the solution?

　　所以如果这是导致歧视的真正问题所在，或者说这是真正问题的一部分的话，我们如何解决这个问题呢？

　　Am I going to suggest that you all should go out and try it?

　　我是否应该建议异性恋都尝试一下同性恋行为呢？

　　No. That would be interesting, but no.

　　我看不错--但是不行啊！

　　I think a big part of the solution is for straight people to actually get to know gay and lesbian people

　　我想，解决歧视问题的很重要的一部分，是让异性恋能够真正了解同性恋人群。

　　because only then do we come to realize that we have many of the same hopes and dreams, fears and challenges as everyone else.

　　因为只有这样，我们才会真正懂得，我们都拥有相同的希冀和梦想、相同的恐惧和挑战。

　　That sounds very simple, but it's not easy.

　　听起来很简单，但做起来却很难。

　　It's not easy because it gives us all a responsibility-a kind of homework assignment, if you will.

　　它难在赋予我们每个人肩上一份责任，就如同家庭作业一样。

　　It gives a responsibility to straight people because it means

　　异性恋朋友的责任是，

　　you've got to get outside of your comfort zones a little bit, when talking to gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.

　　稍微克制一下不自在的感觉，来和同性恋、双性恋朋友进行交流。

　　And straight people say to me, "Oh no, I'm cool with the gay thing. I used to watch Will and Grace."

　　有异性恋朋友跟我说："同性恋对我没什么大不了，我看过同性电视剧《威尔和格蕾丝》。"

　　Yeah, great.

　　好极了。

　　That's not just what I'm talking about though.

　　不过我指的不是那些文艺作品。

　　I'm talking about real life, flesh and blood people.

　　我指的是活生生的有血有肉的人，和他们的生活。

　　But that, of course, puts a responsibility on those of us who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual

　　同样我们同性恋和双性恋朋友们的肩上也有一份责任，

　　because it means that in order to do that kind of education by example, we have to be out of the closet.

　　因为如果我们想教会异性恋朋友们如何理解我们，首先要走出禁锢自己的"柜子"。

　　When I saw out of the closet I don't mean, "Well, I go to the bar on the weekend."

　　"走出柜子"对我来说，不是指在周末去同志酒吧，

　　That's nice, but I just mean being honest about who we are.

　　而是指诚实地面对自己。

　　And that's not easy to do.

　　这可不是件容易事。

　　In fact sometimes it's not safe to do.

　　事实上甚至不是一件足够安全的事情。

　　Maybe you're not at a point where you can do that, but it's so important.

　　也许你心里还没有准备好做这件事，但"走出柜子"真的太重要了。

1 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。