Say What?
Say What?
Say Lesbian.
Say Gay.
Say Bisexual.
Say Transgender.
Say Queer.
They'll stay queer whether you talk to them about it or not. "Don't Say Gay" is a measure signed by Florida's governor that forbids discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools. For grades 4-12, the bill prohibits lessons "not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate," as well as a blanket ban on LGBTQ content through grade 3. The vague language does not define "age-appropriate" or "developmentally appropriate." Thus, it gives parents the right to sue school districts for anything that they feel may violate the law. Again, I will repeat myself: No matter what you do at school, your gay kids will stay gay. Can you guess how I know that? My education never included any lessons about the LGBTQ community. Children's books about homosexuals were nonexistent. There were no stories about children with two dads or moms, and no LGBTQ history was documented. I consumed only media depicting straight relationships. All of my sexual education courses were heterosexual. Nevertheless, here I am, queer AF. Not saying gay didn't change who I was as a person -- it made things worse.
A lot worse, actually. In the absence of self-awareness in schools, what happens? Gay children begin to explore their sexuality elsewhere. They search on Reddit. They venture onto pornographic websites. They converse in internet chat rooms. They fabricate their age and perceive things aimed at adults. They do this because they have been marginalized within the mainstream environment so much that their only outlet for recognition is the internet's periphery, which is not designed for children. I am talking about a situation that is familiar to every LGBTQ person. If you know, you know.
Being gay myself, I cannot tell you how seeing a storybook with a gay kid in it would have changed my life. I’ve lost friends and family to suicide over being homosexual and feeling unaccepted by the world around them. This hateful bill isn’t about stopping teaching of sexuality — something that isn’t happening and shouldn’t be feared. “Anyone who wants to talk about sexuality to little kids must be a sexual predator,” critics say. Yet, it is those same people that show their children media that depicts Sleeping Beauty being kissed while unconscious without consent (on top of thirty other Disney characters engaging in physical relationships). Those who believe that children are too young to learn about LGBTQ individuals do so because they believe that being LGBTQ is just about sex. These opponents see sexual identity as a sequence of sexual behaviors reserved for adults, rather than a complicated element of a person's identity from birth. This is incorrect. When you tell a child that someone has a mother and a father, he or she does not instantly start questioning about the couple's sex life. So, if parents are gay, why is it assumed that a child would magically bring physical intimacy into the conversation? They never have and never will because children do not have fully established sex conceptions. They, like you, are capable of learning about LGBTQ individuals without using a sexual point of view. What it is about for supporters of this bill is limiting child ten’s exposure to exclusively heterosexual stories, movies, shows, songs, etc. It keeps kids in the closet for what these politicians and supporters hope is a lifetime. “If you have a problem, you have a preference,” I say. By that, I mean that if you are worried your son or daughter may become anything other than straight simply by exposure to homosexuality, then you have a preference. It’s no wonder gay children are 7x more likely to commit suicide than their straight peers. (The estimate is that nearly 4,000 teens may now attempt suicide in Florida this year because of this bill.) It is because you feel as though you’re a failure when you don’t live up to the one and only option society tells you is available. If parents are as worried about their children as they claim to be, then maybe they should consider that fact. Limiting exposure won’t change their child’s innate sexuality. It will only make them hate themselves for years to come. How would these politicians feel if their legislation caused their child to kill themself? Is that “protecting children’?
Dr. Scott Hadland, Pediatrician and Chief of Adolescent Medicine at MassGeneral Hospital, just tweeted that “Today CDC released data that 1 in 4 LGBTQ youth attempted suicide in the first half of 2021. When we discriminate against #LGBT ppl on topics like same-sex marriage, workplace discrimination, trans athletes, K-3 ed: queer teens are listening, internalizing, and suffering.” A straight child would never be told that they are too young to understand that they are straight. Gay males are, on average, aware of same-sex attraction at about age 9; the average age for lesbians is 10. Therefore, to make homosexuality "inappropriate" to children is just a variation of traditional homophobia (the same homophobia rooted in the belief that queer people are harmful to society and perverse). The best part is that these innocent, hurting children are chess pieces to politician’s games. This bill is about furthering an agenda. These faux leaders are scared of the LGBTQ community becoming accepted by society at large. The only way to prevent this is to eliminate homosexuality as a viable option to keep children in the closet for what they hope is a lifetime — all while uncomfortably sexualizing a sexuality. Being gay isn't only about sexual attraction; it is about the freedom to be unique and the capacity to accept oneself for who one is. Teaching these concepts to adolescents should not be contentious. The opposite is true. At any age, it should be proper to teach children to love themselves and appreciate differences.
While homosexual children read hundreds of novels with heterosexual characters, they still grow up as gay. These legislators are so terrified, though, that if their son, John, reads even one book about a turtle with two fathers, he'll wake up the following day and ask Luke to be his date to the homecoming dance. Maintaining this belief shows pure ignorance — a lack of knowledge of the gay experience and its reality. The "Don't Say Gay" bill is founded on the fear of the unknown. So, if you subscribe to the aforementioned school of thought in which John and Luke will menace the Christian society after one children's book, I am very politely asking you to shut up. Yes — you read that right. Do not tell me what I am and am not allowed to say. I will always #SayGay and be gay no matter how hard you try to deny my existence. It is you who should not speak. Despite the right to openly express ones views, no matter how erroneous, those who research a subject and engage in conversation from a position of knowledge deserve to have their opinions considered. That being said, this bill exhibits a knowledge gap. So please: Do not talk to me until you have done your homework. In the meantime, I will be screaming from every rooftop in your honor.
Say what? #SayGay
