I work a few days of the week at a high school in Brooklyn. On October 11, 2011 when I got to work, I was in for a big surprise. I discovered that it was National Coming Out Day. Not that the day was the surprise, but how I was reminded of the holiday. The secretary of the school came through the loud speakers, “Good morning students, today is National Coming Out Day. To celebrate this day, everyone make sure to stop by the Gay Straight Alliance table today at lunch and get your GSA bracelets.” I started thinking, in all of my years throughout school, I never felt that someone being apart of the LGBT community was acceptable in public schools. In my high school it was, but then again, I went to a performing arts high school that was a lover of creativity and being who you are, so this was very interesting to me. I felt so overwhelmed because I never thought I’d see the day that a school administration would be so open to students. Showing that we accept our students was a beautiful thing. At the GSA table, they not only gave out bracelets that they made themselves, but they also gave name tags where people, if they volunteered, could say that they are apart of the LGBT community or an ally of the group.
I remembered how so many people told me that in other countries, it is illegal to be considered a homosexual so I did a little research. In over 80 different countries, most of which are in Africa and western Asia, homosexuality is illegal. This includes: same-sex sexual activity, recognition of same-sex relationships, same-sex marriage, allowing gays to serve openly in the military, anti-discrimination, and laws concerning gender identity/expression. Some cases even show that in some countries, homosexuality is considered to be punishable by death or an extended prison sentence if their is evidence that proves someone is LGBT. To think that their are so many people having to hide a part of who they are in fear that they may be murdered, face jail time, be discriminated against and possibly not be able to marry someone that they love because it is outlawed, is completely ridiculous to me.
Even though some states in the United States of America are closed minded and legally don’t except same-sex marriage, etc., we are becoming, slowly but surely, more accepting of people regardless of their sexual orientation. We can see signs in this gradual change through things like legalizing same sex marriage in New York on June 24, 2011. This is big considering that New York is considered one of the most globalized cities in this county that has a lot of international influence.
I know people feel the stress of discrimination that comes with being homosexual. Everyone can see that with opening up a newspaper and seeing how many people committed suicide because of the torment and the abuse that sometimes comes with ‘coming out’ and being open with ones sexuality, or because their was a video recorded of someone engaging in sexual acts with the same sex on camera and they felt ashamed because it was not accepted. Going back to my school that I work at, it makes me so happy that the school is so openly accepting of the LGBT community especially when the school is in a predominately caribbean majority neighborhood in brooklyn. It shows that people are willing to except others for who they are no matter their orientation. With having such a welcoming environment to ‘come out’ in, this provides a safe space that the students can function being themselves and have one less thing to worry about. I guess this really might be America, land of the free. :)
Alexis Roe
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