Celebrating Pride still matters.
I don’t often weigh in on political issues unless I’m nearly entirely confident about where I stand. There is always something more to learn or another perspective to consider. I’m not always successful at this, but I try to hold my opinions loosely and develop them slowly. I’m also not afraid to say I don’t know enough about x subject to comment.
So many opinions come from poor information and little listening. I observe this when I listen to specific podcasts. The hosts and the guests have extreme opinions without seemingly having spoken to the person or group of people they are talking about.
Onto my political take. June is Pride Month, and I’m gay. I came out to my parents when I was fifteen, and I luckily had a very positive coming out experience. Many people around me did not, and I had been bullied quite a lot before that by kids at school.
Growing up, I had no LGBTQ+ role models. Both of my parents are straight, and 3 of my siblings are too, although one of my sisters is also lesbian. I was not taught about sexuality at school, nor was I at home. Gosh, that would have saved me from a lot of trauma.
In the cultural and political discourse at the moment, many discussions are happening around trans people and teaching kids about sexuality at school. I’m not going to comment about the “sudden” uptick of trans kids, nor will I make any suggestions about when kids should be educated on sexuality. I don’t have children, but I am an uncle to a fair few, and I earnestly hope that they will be taught about sex, gender and sexuality as early as suitable.
I knew from age six that I was different from the other kids. I didn’t have the word gay then, but I knew.
One thing I want to say is that I think the trend towards LGBTQ+ book bans in the USA, fear of queerness growing and moral panic around drag-queen story hour is a bit much.
It is time to embrace a wide range of ways for people to show up in the world and welcome that with love, compassion, and openness.
Watching Heartbreak High, Heartstopper and Young Royals on Netflix warms my heart. These LGBTQ+ shows did not exist when I was younger, and if they had, perhaps the kids at school would have bullied me less, and I would have ended up feeling less shame and guilt about my gayness, which I cannot change and is entirely natural.
So, what does this have to do with healing? Many, myself included, harbour many known and unknown prejudices that separate us from others. Often from a lack of understanding and curiosity.
I want you to ask yourself, who or what group of people am I prejudiced toward because of an untrue assumption about them?
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