Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Queer

I just officially finished my English 2850 GLBT Studies class at Salt Lake Community College. It was the best class I've taken so far. It caused me to realize the depth of my passion for LGBTQ rights and support. I've been raised in a conservative home, not really knowing much about queer people, but hearing that it was a sin. As I reached my teenage years I decided that I did not believe that homosexuality was wrong, and my support grow stronger throughout the years, especially when my close friend came out to me. But this class made me realize how much I love learning about queerness! I know many people nowadays would say that if they lived in the 60s, they would've Marched on Washington with MLK. In fifty years when same-sex marriages are normal and the gender binary system is broken down, I don't want to look back and regret not marching. Treating people like second-class citizens simply based on who they love is ridiculously wrong. It's just as wrong as segregation. 


Sometimes I wonder, in twenty years when queer people have their rights and no longer need activists, what will I do? I mean, could I really make a life-long career out of being passionate about equality? The answer is yes, I can. There are thousands of other people out there who are being discriminated against and treated unequally. Gay rights are the hot topic right now, but queers will get their rights and a new group of people will rise up and fight. 


I just have to throw my two cents in about religion vs. queer. (And this is probably/hopefully all I'll say about it because it gets messy and offensive.) Christians eat shellfish. Christians wear clothing made out of two different materials. Christians get tattoos. Why can't Christians love? (Yes, there is a double meaning in that.) I don't intend to hate or offend. I just ask you to stop and ask yourself, What Would Jesus Do?


I could write about this forever - and I probably will - so expect further, deeper blogs about this in the future.


A few things:
-LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer. Ally, Pansexual, Asexual, and Questioning could all be added to that as well (feel free to ask about of any of these, although I'll probably blog about them in the future). (:
-I realize that the fight for civil rights in the 60s is not exactly the same thing as the fight for queer equality right now. But it seems similar enough to me to make a decent comparison.

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