THE DANGERS OF BEING YOURSELF

Riley Austin, Editor
December 2, 2021

Imagine you sit down in the safety of your own home, wanting to tell the people that should love you most in the world something they don’t know. Something that is important to you and who you are. You gulp, hoping that everything will be okay. But, as you reveal what you have been building up in your head for years, you sigh in relief but are constantly berated and attacked. The venomous hatred spews out of their mouths, hitting you with each jibe.

This is what happens to thousands of children across the world. Their families can instantaneously turn from having “unconditional” love to cold, detached love. The type of love that depends solely on what you share with others and how you express yourself. This situation occurs with children and young adults that come out to their families as being LGBTQ+. I personally have dealt with this situation playing constantly in my head, as something that is seemingly the worst yet most probable outcome.

Thousands of children and teens are risking their lives to just be who they truly are. Many are ruthlessly kicked out of their homes for something that they can not control or change. In the United States alone, LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their heterosexual peers and add up to 40% of homeless youth according to Truecolorsuntied.com. LGBTQ+ homeless youth must face the dangers of not having their basic needs met as well as the pressures of society due to their identity. Although children of all different backgrounds may experience homelessness, those that are LGBTQ+ experience it at a higher and disproportionate rate.

We, as a country, have made some progress on this issue; however, there is still so much more we could be doing to prevent the repercussions of coming out and us being ourselves as well as homophobia, which is so normalized in our society. The casual homophobia in our society ranges from subtle actions of hate such as calling someone “gay” as an insult, to hate crimes like the PULSE Nightclub shooting. It is absolutely ridiculous that, even in 2021, we still have these issues. The issues that force children and adults to mask who they are in order to either appeal to their family and friends or to just be able to keep their relationships with them. I cannot even fathom why someone would be okay with completely losing their relationship with their child, best friend, or other close relationship simply because they are in the LGBTQ+ community.

In my life, I worry constantly that someone will find out about my identity and either tell everyone that knows me, or that I will lose them. I have already lost relationships due to the questioning of my identity, and it really hurts to know that people will disregard our relationship (however long we’ve been acquainted) solely based on who I am. It hurts, even more, to know that losing a relationship with those individuals is not the worst thing that could happen to me. I, along with thousands of others, could lose my home, family, job, safety, rights and perhaps, most importantly, my life.

The number of teens who feel this way on a daily basis is astronomical. This is one of the most socially accepted ways to discriminate and abuse anyone just because of who they are. It’s completely unacceptable that this is still a worry for anyone in our society, and we need to be better to save innocent lives everywhere. People like your child, best friend, and me. You need to put yourself in our shoes and think of how it would feel to lose your family or be berated because of who you love. We need to do better because we are losing too many people for who they love—even one is too many. Love and kindness are two very important aspects of life, and you shouldn’t have to lose yours for being who you are.

View Comments (2)

Polls

Loading ...

Polls Archive

Connersville High School

47

Mt. Vernon High School- Fortville

135

Jan 4 / Varsity Boys Swimming
Connersville High School

77

Mt. Vernon High School- Fortville

85

Jan 4 / Varsity Girls Swimming
Connersville High School

100

Batesville High School

48

Dec 1 / Varsity Boys Swimming
Connersville High School

107

Batesville High School

60

Dec 1 / Varsity Girls Swimming
Connersville High School

54

Muncie Central High School

21

Oct 23 / Varsity Football

Comments (2)

All Clarion Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

S

Steve Headlee • Dec 12, 2021 at 2:23 am

I am so proud of you. This article is so true. Most gay or bi people can’t come out because of the bias that is attached to them. I’m so proud of you, and I just want to see you happy. I’m always here for you. Love you kiddo


https://connersvilleclarion.com/3236/editorial/the-dangers-of-being-yourself/#comment-23
K

Kenneth Stevens • Dec 5, 2021 at 1:53 pm

Wow, this was so well written! As a hetero 70 year old lo g time married gent, I am amazed how many folks still treat LGBQT folks poorly. During my career in Information Technology management, there was first hand knowledge of folks of all types no matter of their race, nationality, sex, or orientation, who just wanted to do a good job and live a happy life. With former coworkers, friends, and current friends who may identify sexually differently from me, I value our friendship and love equally.

Yes, there may be a little partiality, as the writer of the editorial is my great-neice, but what a great way to explore a difficult issue in our society.

You are a brave young lady, and will always have our love and support!

Uncle Ken


https://connersvilleclarion.com/3236/editorial/the-dangers-of-being-yourself/#comment-22