“We have to learn how to live and let live” – Dawn Kennedy, sister to Sean Kennedy who was murdered in Columbia, South Carolina, on May 15th 2007

Hello everybody! Or nobody! Or somebody! 🙂 Today I am doing something very different to my past posts, because I realize this is my blog and therefore I can write about anything I want, not just mental health. The content of the blog will continue to be mostly focused on mental health, but I also want to start tackling some other topics because they are also important to me. If you haven’t already guessed it, this entry will be about LGBTQ+ and my own personal views/opinions. If you are someone that does not respect or support the LGBTQ+ community, please skip this entry and kindly refrain from posting anything derogatory, rude, etc., because that is a waste of your breathe and my time. I believe everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions, but I do not want to have any sort of discrimination on my blog. Thank you for respecting my wishes.

Now, onto the topic! June is recognized by many as PRIDE month, meaning that it is a time to talk about it, discuss it, raise awareness, celebrate, educate, and so on. I personally used to identify as a heterosexual, cisgender female, but  recently I have come to realize and embrace the fact that I am likely bisexual, though this post is not going to be focused on my own identity as much as the issues surrounding discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community. I have always had many many many friends who identify as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer, and I also have relatives that belong to this community, and I also have friends who are allies to the community (meaning they support it and, in many cases, do not necessarily identify with any label other than heterosexual). I wanted to write today simply to express my own thoughts and show my support to this wonderful and beautiful community. If at any point I say or write something that someone within the LGBTQ+ community may find offensive, please let me know so I can correct my words! I try very hard to be respectful and inclusive ❤

My view is pretty simply: I believe that all humans have the right to love, express their love, and identify with whatever gender they feel is true to their soul. Some of the beliefs I have that led me to having this view are:

• Being gay/lesbian/transgender is NOT a choice
• Love is Love
• A same-sex couple can raise a child as well or better than a “traditional” couple
• A same-sex couple should have the right to marry
• Discriminating someone because of their orientation or gender identity is the same as discriminating someone due to religious beliefs, skin color, nationality, etc.

When you have the same beliefs as what I listed above, then it is a no-brainer that respecting someone from the LGBTQ+ should be a given. It is not a big deal, and I wish it wasn’t a big deal for others. However, there are many reasons why so many people in the world do not feel like the LGBTQ+ community should be respected, should have the same rights as other groups, or should even be allowed to exist. And some of these reasons are:

• Religious/Doctrine beliefs
• How they were raised
• Fear of the unknown/different perspective
• Fear of admitting they themselves might identify with LGBTQ+
• Lack of exposure/education

Now please pay attention, I am in no way saying that everyone who is religious, or who was raised a certain way, or who might be confused by the topic is automatically trying to attack the LGBTQ+ community. There are plenty of churches, pastors, conservatives, “old-school” people who are allies and who have come to accept this and respect this, which is really awesome and provides hope to others. But at the same time, there are many people who have absolutely no religious affiliation and still think “a man and another man” is simply wrong. I have personal experience with relatives and acquaintances who think like that, and who to this day cannot come to accept it, and so it will continue to be a struggle. Every person is unique, and every person should be able to believe what they want and explore the world and be exposed to different things in order to construct their own opinions, but unfortunately I have found that many people tend to simply follow what others think, or are too scared to disagree, or are too scared to stand for what they believe in. I know people who, out of fear of being ostracized, hide the fact that they support gay rights, or same-sex marriage, etc.

I have always been open minded, and I never ever thought for a second that being gay or being transgender, or being bisexual is wrong, never, even growing up in a culture where the LGBTQ+ community continues to fight for basic human rights. My own parents have had to grow and educate themselves at a tremendous pace in order to accept it and at the very least respect it, and for that I am proud of them. Not everyone will, and not everyone might want to, but I hope that more and more people can at least have the courage to stand against hate crimes and discrimination. I myself am, in a way, part of a minority based on my country of origin and where I currently live; I am lucky that I do not face hate crimes, but if I ever did, I would like to think that others would stand next to me in support. Is that really too much to ask? To be respected, and to not fear for your life and to not have to explain why you love the way you love?

Perhaps you are now asking yourself: what can you do as an ally? You can do things like simply respect others, step in when you witness discrimination, or donate to a foundation that you think is doing amazing things. If you feel comfortable with it, you can attend a Pride Parade (I have done this many times, it is awesome), you can display things like the rainbow flag or the upside down rainbow triangle, or you can even participate in campaigns around your community (like the NoH8 photoshoots). I am personally very passionate about this topic so I go out of my way to attend events, make donations, etc., but not everyone has to and that’s also totally OK! You do you and let other be themselves ❤

Anyway, that’s my piece for now. If you enjoyed this post let me know, and if you are interested in this topic or if you are looking to learn more I encourage you to ask and explore the topics/issues that interest you. I will leave some links of things I found educational, motivational, and interesting.

Fagbug (2009)
Milk (2008)
Paris is Burning (1990)
Growing up Coy (2016)
Engiqueers Canada
It Gets Better Foundation
NoH8 Campaign
As always, sending virtual hugs,
–
Karen ❤