Understanding LGBTQ+ | Teen Ink

Understanding LGBTQ+

March 18, 2016
By BridgetH9 BRONZE, Unalaska, Alaska
BridgetH9 BRONZE, Unalaska, Alaska
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

There are always people who don’t have the same interests as you, and some people, who are against whatever you like, don’t approve it. If you try to explain to those people why you like certain genders and they don’t understand, they might get angry and tell you to just stop liking them because it’s “not right”. People, in general, not including the LGBTQ+ community, might be homophobic and they will tell others that they can’t marry who they love because it’s against their religion. By saying this, those people are actually saying that you can’t eat that donut because I’m on a diet. This is really all there is to understanding it but there is a lot more to say. Understanding this should be simple, if you don’t like certain things, then ignore it, like I ignore rude people.


The reason why there is a plus sign after LGBTQ, is because there aren’t only lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and all in all, queer people. Queer, means odd or abnormal, it was used since the 20th century and also had the meaning “homosexual” and was used to belittle and insult people. Now it is used to include any person whose sexuality of gender falls out of the heterosexual group.


There are so many different genders, and yes, there are more than two genders not just male and female, that people don’t understand. I can easily understand why these individuals have their interests because I was taught that everyone is human no matter what, like if they are transgender, or asexual. There is an easier way to say LGBTQ+ and its S.A.G.A, which means Sexuality and Gender Acceptance. The name of this community was made so the ‘plus’ people wouldn’t feel left out.


Sometimes understanding means just being aware of other people’s feelings and knowing that it’s okay for them to like doing something or like someone. When you understand someone, not by how they are talking, you can realize why they do the things they do and you can maybe accept it.

 

If you’re against it, I just want to ask one question: why? If you are heterosexual, then that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t let others love who they want. If it’s “just because God said it’s not right”, then I don’t think you understood what he had said, didn’t he say that you should love one another? To love your neighbor no matter what? You could dislike them for any other reason, besides their sexuality, like if they’re annoying or just plain loud or rude. So please don’t say that they can’t love someone because they have certain body parts, say that they could love someone for their soul or their personality.


Being homophobic does not mean that you are “scared” of homosexuals, you’re just being rude. This is just like racism, because you don’t like certain people for a reason that is useless. If you think that some person might “hit” on you because they’re gay, then you’re wrong. They can see if you get uncomfortable or if you don’t like them being by you, and they would understand that they should leave. If you told one of these people, “No”, then they would definitely understand that no, means no, not only LGBTQ+ but nicer people too if they know what it means.


If a homophobic person says that you can just choose to be gay and that you can choose to be straight again, then they should try choosing to be gay and see if it’s by choice that they are who they are. It is completely worthless when they say this because it’s like saying that you can choose who your heart wants and your brain isn’t the one trying to do this; your brain can’t choose who to love and that’s that.


Some people, when they are asked if they are gay, lesbian, etc. they immediately want to defend themselves, and I think that it’s not even important. Like the actor, Johnny Galecki, who also thinks this situation is insignificant answered this question with saying that he just ignored it because it’s not even an insult. When someone thinks that someone is gay or something else, then just let them think it, it’s not important and it shouldn’t change what they think about you or anyone else.


Insulting someone for who they are, and saying that they are not normal, just means that normal is boring. Humans include everyone, and when there is equality for everyone, they should be treated the same, but some people want justice, not equality. Equality is not the same as justice, but this doesn’t mean that certain people needed to be treated as kings and queens, or whichever, compared to everyone else. It just means that they should be treated better in order to “level out the playing field”. Equality is when everyone is treated exactly the same; with this, certain people are still not getting the treatment that they deserve.


An example for justice could be shown in a classroom, in a classroom, certain students would need more help to catch up to the other students so everyone could pass their classes. Equality would be everyone getting the same amount of help and some of the students would be falling behind without the correct help. Although it’s not the best explanation, it gives an idea of what the difference is between the two.


The main point of understanding S.A.G.A people is to see them as people. There are stereotypes of this community and many find these as offensive, you can’t exactly say that someone “seems gay” or “seems straight” because you can’t tell if someone is gay or lesbian just by looking at them. If you don’t stereotype people, then it would be easier to see LGBTQ+ people as people.


I you aren’t attracted to every single person of the opposite gender, then obviously LGBTQ+ people won’t be attracted to every person that is the same gender that they are interested in. You can’t assume that a gay person is attracted to you just because they share the same gender as you, and you might not be their type. Stereotyping people by what you hear about how different types of people should act is plain rude. Not all people would be exactly the same as what you hear and you can’t always believe what you hear as well.
You also have to understand that you can’t choose who you’re interested into as well. It’s not a choice, if people don’t like certain people then you just have to live with it. There are always ups and downs of being a part of this community and you really have to focus on the up parts of it. After, it will be the easiest to understand this very colorful community and once you do, the world will definitely be a very peaceful place.


The author's comments:

With only one word, people could become easily offended, so I decided to help out by writing this piece so others can be more aware of how this community feels about a touchy subject.


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