Dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and disguised as a “parental rights” issue, it’s actually an attempt to muzzle teachers and control conversations.
This bill makes students less safe, because it’s been my experience that homophobic bigots need little coaxing to declare open season on the LGBTQIA community.
I know. I was that kid. I spent my primary education furious and frustrated by how I was treated. I barely understood what gay meant, but that didn’t prevent people around me from sharing strong opinions on my sexuality.
From the classic bullying from the sporty kids, to the wildly inappropriate and unsolicited advice from school officials.
One time a school counselor called me in to discuss the way I sat. It was too feminine, and she worried I would cause a distraction by “sitting like a male rape victim.”
I was 11 years old.
It didn’t take long for me to realize what “gay” actually meant: stay firmly in the closet unless you want to get hurt. Looking back, the experience not only robbed me of precious time, it caused years of mental anguish and depression.
It’s been so long, I nearly forgot what it felt like – until 22 Florida State Senators cast their vote for this bigoted bill.
Despite the struggles of my adolescence, I’m one of the lucky ones. Many kids don’t survive that kind of oppression. Over 40% of LGBTQ+ youth have considered suicide in the last year – more than FOUR TIMES the rate of their straight peers according to The Trevor Project.
The Human Rights Campaign reports that 2021 was the deadliest year for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the U.S. on record.
Remember: the vast majority of violent crime against members of the LGBTQIA community goes unreported.
We have fought too hard and too long to allow this abject bigotry to take root again.
As hate crimes against marginalized communities increase upwards of 300%, we must also contend with bigotry that isn’t out in the open, but insidiously embedded in spaces meant to be safe.
The attitudes that grow hate and ignorance can be found right inside our own progressive institutions, among people who are supposed to be our allies.
Anti-LGBTQ attitudes take many forms. It can be a highly publicized, orchestrated smear campaign to destroy the credibility of a promising gay candidate. Or it can be as subtle as someone on your team deliberately disrespecting a trans or non-binary team member’s pronouns.
Allyship isn’t easy. It can be difficult to know what to say and do, or to recognize when you’re causing harm.
So I ask you this:
- Are you standing up for your LGBTQ peers in those moments when the subtle homophobia rears its head?
- Do you recognize people in the movement who pretend to be allies while perpetuating harmful stereotypes portraying queer people as deviant and untrustworthy?
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Do you intervene when someone outs a queer person without their knowledge or active consent?
- Have you noticed, even in our progressive spaces, people who actively want to harm – who do harm – queer people?
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Are you doing the work to understand how your behavior, assumptions, and attitudes contribute to making your space less safe for the LGBTQIA people in your life?
