"Equality for Everyone!" (Blog for A Cause, Day 1)

Welcome to the linkup of blog for a cause! This linkup is about focusing on a world that is outside of ourselves, onto something else that is greater than any of us. I am spreading awareness to help inform others of different things, because I believe that ignorance is something that is helpful to finding cures/happiness. This is a two day event, so be sure to tune into the other cause that is near and dear to my heart. 

Many people don't understand what it's like to be different, and how hard it is to figure out who you really are may or may not be accepted by everyone. Whether it's discovering that you are bi or gay, discovering that you'd rather be known by a different gender than your birth one, or discovering that you're just not into anyone sexually, there's more to life than being a guy that likes a girl. Unfortunately, not many people realize that. 

I am an ally of LGBTQIA network. Yes, that was a mouthful. It stands for Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans/Queer or Questioning/Intersex/Asexual. Being an ally simply means that you support the people that go by any of those things. This is something that I believe is important, because I feel like everyone should have equal rights, straight or not. 

When I was younger, I was a bit more conservative than I am now. I now wonder if it's due to the fact  that I didn't have enough knowledge about the subject, or the way that I was exposed to the subject. (My family is still a bit more conservative than I'd like them to be). In high school, I met some lovely people through my friend Griffin. They were a part of our school's gay straight alliance, and were heavy advocates for the cause. During this time in high school we had days of silence, and wore purple in order in to raise awareness. 

Meeting those people really opened my eyes, because it taught me that everyone deserves to have the same rights as others. To this day, it bothers me that people still think that being gay is a sickness that should be cured in some way shape or form. It's not. It also bothers me that people think that gay marriage is something that shouldn't happen because it's not between a man or a woman. Last time I checked, marriage is something that happens between two people that truly love each other, in addition to cherishing and respecting each other. It shouldn't matter whether or not they are a man and a woman, two men, two women, or two gender-queer people. 

The biggest thing that bothers me the most is the fact that it's still not as accepted as it should be. I know people that throw the word 'faggot' like it's going out of style. Whenever I hear that word use in that manner I want to throw something at someone because it's something that has to stop. Same thing as the word 'gay.' Being gay isn't something that's bad, and using those words to describe something that is like saying that being gay is bad. Which is not. The same goes for people who are transgender. It's just the way that you're born, and what makes someone happy. 

This is an issue, because I feel like many people still don't get it. I am a straight heterosexual woman, and that comes with it's own set of stereotypes. But it's still the norm. Gay/bi is still working it's way into the norm, which is something that should be celebrated. However, we often leave out the gender-queer people because of lack of information and lack of looking towards the color. I think that we live in a black and white society, and we often don't realize how giant the gray areas are. Gender-queer, which is when you don't register by a gender, is something that I've learned about through a friend, and is extremely difficult for one to explain. Not many people accept it, many get frustrated easily, and it's something that needs to be acknowledged. Gender is a tricky issue for some, and we have to realize that in many ways, shapes, and forms. 

People should be accepted for who they really are, regardless of gender they chose to be, or who they love. Being different is difficult. But, I want to leave you all with this thought. Are they really that different? They are human, have blood going through their veins, breathe through lungs, and see the same world as we do. They cry at the same things. They eat the same foods, are subject to the same illness, and die in the same veins. Therefore, they should be treated like human beings. 

Make Love Louder

A few days ago, I was watching the 700 Club accidently. First of all, I was watching it because I was waiting to watch Gilmore Girls, but that's beside the point.

Anyways, there was a person talking about homosexuality, and so I listened. They then began to bash people who were, and told the caller not to enable her niece in that sort of behavior. Then, they proceeded to talk about how people tended to push people into believing that homosexuality is okay, when in their opinion it's not. 

Okay. 

Well, here's what I, a Catholic born and raised, have to say about that. Homosexual people were born to their sexual orientation. They did not by any means wake up one day and decide that they were gay. 

As an ally to the GLSEN community, I can honestly say that this is complete and total bullshit. Just because a man loves a man insead of a woman, doesn't mean that they suddenly have a lesser part in this world if they were heterosexual. It makes me upset that such people still exist in this world, and although I wish I can tell these people where to go, I do realize that I have to respect what they were saying. 

People who are gay are not by any means sinners. They are the same brand of humanity as all of us. They love, they cry when they are hurt, and they want to be happy. They have to go through enough bullshit, and have to deal with people like that. Homosexuals have to go through enough, which is why they tend to be more depressed then heterosexuals. Why do we have to make them feel ashamed about it, when they are just being who they really are?

As an ally, I am offended by the coined term of pushy. Let me tell you something. Why shouldn't I be pushy about the equality of everyone? Everyone deserves the rights to be able to get married, if he, they or she chooses. Everyone deserves the rights to marry who they choose, and everyone deserves  to walk the streets of this earth without the side dish of shame. 

I can see why people are more reserved to be more supportive of the GLSEN network. I respect your views, but I honestly don't agree with them. People say hateful, hurtful things about the people in the community, as well as the allies. I wish that I can make the hate louder than the love, but I can't. All I can do is support my friend who is a gender-queer person, and just wish that they had an easier time in this world. 

This is something that won't go away simply by ignoring it. It's something that I think we all need to learn about. Education, as well as stubborness, is a huge factor of bigotry. I hope that we can one day look at the day of closeted homosexuality, in addition to reservations about being homosexual and supporting those who are. 

We still have a long way to go, and we still need to make love louder than the hate. We need to get out every rainbow Sharpie, and we need to realize make it louder than the black ones. We have to make love louder.

"Leave the Boxes Unchecked."

Recently, one of my closest friends told me that they were genderqueer. When they told me this, I've decided to do some research on it, to gain more knowledge about for my friend. They have even decided to use their pronouns they/them/theirs, which is sort of confusing for me to get used to. I am trying, and I hope that they know that. However, by doing some research on this, I felt this was a step closer to gaining understanding about what does it mean to register as genderqueer.
Genderqueer is when you don't identify with as a man, and you don't identify as a woman either. People who are in fact genderqueer often use the pronouns they, them, theirs, move between genders, often have blurred lines between sexual orientation, and basically are gender neutral. People who are in fact gender queer do realize and recognize that their gender doesn't fit the social norms of a specific gender. Like if someone doesn't feel like they are a woman, but don't fit the norms of being a man, then they are considered to be gender queer.
This term is relatively new. People who are gender queer can be straight, gay or bisexual. Some are even pansexual, which is when you like someone based on the person, not the gender that they are in. They can even be considered to be transgender, or bigender which means that they are both man and woman.
After doing some research about the subject, I feel like I am more informed about my friend and their decision. Before, I just knew the term by how they explained it. However, doing some research on its own really opened my eyes up to the term that my friend presented. I think that doing research helps, because that way you can really understand things, whether its a different brand of people, or a new term. That way, ignorance by not knowing is ignored, and we can become a more informed society.

Ally Week!

I'm an ally. I wear purple on spirit days, and I'm silent on days of silence. I'm not a lesbian, but I sure as hell support the glsen and wear that label proudly. I think that ally week should be every week because they are just as important as the people who actually are in the community. Without allys, the community would lack the support needed for acceptance to make the community at long last, a part of society that truly has a voice.
One of my best friends is gay. It bothers me that he can't get married in certain states, just because he wants to marry a man. People who can get married after not known each other for very long can get married anywhere, but two men who are in love and deserve to get married can't because in some states, that's illegal. It bothers me that people still think that it's cool to say words such as "fag" or use phrases such as "that's so gay". Dude, it's offensive. Whenever I hear those words, I literally want to punch those people in the face. Hate has become an avid part of our society, and I think it's simply stupid. We're faced with prejudices and sterotypes, and some hate those are different than the norm. I think that since we don't know or are afraid of it, we simply hate on it. Hate is stupid, because when we hate, we're closing our minds to change. To change, we need to have an open mind. I think that we need to change, because things are pretty fucked up the way that they are. Sure, we've made progress, but that doesn't mean that there's still more to be made.
I've known people who are self conscious because they think lesbians are wierd, or self conscious, and that's  okay because that's what floats their book. I respect those who have oposing views because I want them to respect my views. We live in a society where I think that we can benefit from more ideas, and more ideas make a brighter future. If I encounter someone who doesn't agree with me, I simply nod, and ask them what made them think the way that they do. There are people on this earth who don't agree with gay marriage and rights, and they suck, in my opinion. To hate on them because they simply view things differently than I do? That's like going down to their level, and fighting a war on hate with hate will only produce hate.
One thing that I would like to address about being an ally is that it doesn't mean that I'm a lesbian. There's nothing wrong with that first of all. Second of all, I feel like people need to get their heads out of their asses and educate themselves on what being an ally really is. We support people who are lesbian, gay, transgenders, and bi. We're the progression, looking to make tomorrow a world that's free for everyone. If you're not an ally, we respect your views too. But don't hate on us, because we're trying to make tomorrow's generation more liberal.