Imagine this. You’re 13 years old. You’re having a conversation with the popular girls and they ask if you’ve ever kissed a girl. You mishear what they said and respond with “it was a guy”. They start laughing. They call you “gay” for the first time and suddenly everything is different. That day changed my life.
Now, almost ten years later, LGBTQA+ equality/representation is more important than ever in today’s society.
Even though it shouldn’t be a big issue anymore, it still is. People are still scared of coming out to their family and friends. That homophobia unfortunately still exists today. And now, after the U.S. election, LGBTQA+ representation is much needed.
People who are still struggling with coming out need to know that it’s okay and normal. No one should have to shut a part of themselves off because it might offend somebody else. Trust me when I say, be yourself. Because if you don’t, you’ll feel lonely and afraid. Looking back now, I’m so glad I came out when I did. It lifted a huge burden off of my shoulders and I was finally free.
As I mentioned earlier, people are scared of who they are. That’s why LGBTQA+ representation in television shows can make a huge impact. Take ‘Supergirl‘, for example. Over the last few episodes, one of the characters, Alex, has just discovered she is gay/bisexual. The writers have done such an excellent job fleshing out this storyline and taking it slow. Chyler Leigh has done an amazing job of portraying the inner struggles of Alex’s sexuality. It’s something I haven’t seen in a while. Kudos.
I believe having this kind of representation in the community gives people hope. It gives them normality. Seeing a homosexual couple on television and having the raw and honest component to the story, makes it all too relatable.
Another reason is because people shouldn’t be afraid to hold their partner’s hand in public. For me, I can’t even marry in my own country because marriage equality is still illegal. I mean, seriously? How crazy is that? I just don’t understand what the big deal is. A bunch of old people in control of the government haven’t signed off on it yet. The world has changed, history has changed. We’ve been ready for how many years now?
I just want people to know that it is okay to like somebody of the same sex. To quote myself from one of my YouTube videos, “people fall in love with humans, not genders”. We need to continue spreading the message of hope and love.
Featured image source.
