Like many advocates out there, I am taking to social media to get my point across. The point, sadly, is in reference to all of the recent LGBT suicides.
I know that these suicides are not any more frequent than before, but for whatever reason, the media has decided that it is a hot topic. In a way, I'm glad to see gay issues get so much coverage. It pains me to see so many teens too heart broken to live because of the people that tortured them, and even more so to see the continued prejudice from pubic officials. Still, if these things were left out of the media, like they had been for so long, than no one would care enough to take a stand.
I used to be a religious person. I saw many wonderful things about having religion in my life, which I might add is different than having God in your life, but perhaps that is a whole other debate. The thing that always bothered me though, considering I was raised a Roman Catholic, was the amount of guilt and hate that seemed to stem from the teachings.
I can vividly remember being about ten years old and realizing that I was gay. For many years I would pray to God to make these feelings I had stop because I wanted to be like everyone else. I prayed to God for a lot of things that never changed. I'm not sure if it was something that someone had said to me that made me start to be ok with everything, or if it was a gradually decision that I had made on my own.
I do know the day that everything started though. I was in Confirmation class and we were talking about a lot of different things. The topic of sex had come up quite a bit (I'm pretty sure two of my classmates were doing it and kept asking questions about the "repercussions of premarital sex" because they thought it was funny). My teacher had made many references to breeding and that procreation was the only acceptable reason for sex. One of the kids jokingly made reference to gay people trying to make babies. The teacher turned a shade of red that I hadn't seen before (it wasn't very becoming either), and she began one of the most despicable tangents I had heard.
"Being gay is an abomination", she had said. A man having sex with another man was the same things as having sex with a goat according to her. Bestiality and Homosexuality....apparently...were the same...
Lady. I don't fuck goats. Not even men with long goatees, but that's out of principle. I don't think I need to explain myself there.
I'm not sure what stirred up inside of me, but I was confused and hurt so I had to say something. The only thing I could think of asking was WHY.
Her argument was that being a homosexual "Bared False Witness" which was breaking one of the 10 commandments. She said that gay people were lying to God about who they were, and would surely go to hell because of it.
Not realizing that my sassy gay wit was already boiling inside of me, I retorted with a comment on her hair. I said, "Well miss (blank) you dye your hair blonde. I don't see how that's any different of a "lie" than being gay. It's still a "lie" that has a stereotype associated with it. Does that mean dying your hair is the same as bestiality?"
Needless to say she got upset. But my comment had riled enough people to make them question it too. She had backed herself into a corner by saying that homosexuals were going to hell because they "lie" about it. Still, it bothered me that she had made that comparison.
Flash forward about 8 years. Im living in New York, I'm out and proud, and I'm trying to live the dream by pursuing a career in theater. While I'm doing that, I spend my days working retail for an awesome company. One of the perks of living in the city is the copious amounts of beautiful people that work in front of your life every day.
Because if this, I am always wondering who's playing for what team. I recently asked a couple of my girl friends at work if they knew what "family" meant. Most of them thought I was being literal and asked me why I didn't know them if they were family. None of my straight friends knew this, but all of my gay friends did. Asking if someone is "Family" means asking them if you think the person is out and proud.
With all of the LGBT news springing up, I realized why this title is important. I was using it as a reference for who I should flirt with, but the word "family" has a much more important meaning to it. Any member of the LGBT community is Family because we understand the hardships of being different. It's not like a skin color, being gay, so people have a hard time knowing where we come from. But it really is no different. I never chose to be gay, but I certainly wouldn't choose to be straight if it meant causing pain for others.
That is why we must stay "family". We need to be there for those kids who don't know that there are thousands of others out there that know exactly were they are coming from. Breeders, and I give this name to those out there that do not support our community and think that we are lesser because we cant procreate (at least we can try though :P ), there is only one thing I need to say to you.
You don't need to make a baby to have Family. Cue Sister Sledge.
LOVE AND STRUGGS
BRIAN DANN
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