LGBTQ Passion Project

The Fight for Equality: LGBTQ Acceptance in the 21st Century

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The Fight for Equality:
LGBTQ Acceptance in the 21st Century
A Review of the Literature
Laura Lehman
Edina High School

The Fight for Equality: LGBTQ Acceptance in the 21st Century

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The Fight for Equality: LGBTQ Acceptance in the 21st Century
A Review of the Literature According to the Human Rights Campaign, 92% of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Questioning) youth say they hear negative messages about their sexuality. The top sources of these negative messages are school, the Internet and their peers. Being bullied and harassed for who you choose to love isn’t just, and certainly isn’t humane. I chose this topic as my passion project because I strongly believe everyone was created equal, and that everyone deserves to be treated that way no matter what. I know from experience with my LGBTQ friends how hard it can be to hide who they truly are every single day, or face the hurtful words and actions from peers just because of who they love. I want to make a difference in this problem with teens, and lead by example of how to be an advocate. Although the situation is improving,
LGBTQ identifiers, especially teens, are still not treated as equals in society at larger. Raising awareness and standing up for identifiers are ways to reach equality. Background of the Information
Inequality like slavery has existed in America previously, and racism is beginning to

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disappear altogether. Even though this form of discrimination is dying down, sexual orientation inequality still is present and very controversial in the 21st century. This is a problem because so many LGBTQ identifiers are losing benefits and rights that straight people are born with. For example, teenagers are being kicked out of schools because of who they love. Many Christian schools in Georgia actually make their enrolled students sign a paper saying that they are straight. Kids who want to attend these schools for the education ,but are homosexual, have to be incredibly secretive. A student attending a Georgia one such school recalls a moment from his friends past,
"They found out she was a lesbian, and they made her go in front of the entire school and tell them," says Tristan (the student). "And then they kicked her out the next day."
(Morris, 2013,p.9). LGBTQ adults are being discriminated as well, but in a more serious form.
An identified teacher says “
After 12 years together I was excited to finally be able to marry my partner. Because of that, I was fired from Holy Ghost Preparatory School today. I am an alumnus of the school and have taught there for 12 years.” (Brydum, 2013,p. 3). Being fired from your job and being denied the right to marry is discrimination and awareness needs to be raised so equality can be met. Evidence of the Problem

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Being accepted by others a teen can be hard, but imagine how it feels to come out to a society that still isn’t 100% supportive about your sexuality. The research from the Human
Rights Campaign say that 26% of LGBTQ youth’s biggest problem in life is not feeling accepted by their family/peer and afraid of being bullied for coming out. Meanwhile, 22% of straight teens say their biggest problem is having trouble in class with exams and grades. Homosexual students are spending so much time worrying so much about how others will accept them for who they are, that they are forgetting about schoolwork and not doing their best. This is a reason we need to raise awareness of LGBTQ equality because identifiers shouldn’t spend their days worrying about society and how they will react, rather than enjoying life as a teenager. This lack of sexual acceptance by society, especially in teens, is a problem because gay and lesbian suicide rates keep climbing up. According to SPEAK (Suicide Prevention Education Awareness for Kids), suicide is the leading cause of death among LGBTQ teens in the 21st century and more than 30% of gay youth attempt suicide near the age of 15. The New Civil Rights Movement produced an article with the shocking statistic that it is estimated that 1,000 LGBTQ youth commit suicide in the United States every year. That is approximately three LGBTQ youth committing suicide every day
.
This is significant because homosexual teens are two­six more times likely than straight teens to commit suicide for reasons like bullying and non­acceptance. Suicide in general

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is an issue that needs to be resolved, but these LGBTQ suicide rates are a problem because it shows that society is so harsh on their sexuality, that kids would rather die than truly be who they are. The lack of LGBTQ equality is also a problem with adults because they are being denied basic rights that straight married couples have. According to the Human Rights Campaign’s study on federal rights, there are supposed to be 1,138 benefits, rights and protections that you should receive during marriage. However, LGBTQ couples do not have access to social security
& tax benefits, immigration papers, family & medical leave, and employee benefits. This is because the Defense of Marriage Act states that marriage is between one man and one woman, which means the marriage rights do not apply to same sex couples. This is unfair and is a problem because homosexual couples are being limited to their basic rights just because of who they love. For example, LGBTQ couples do not have immigration rights like straight couples do; so every year thousands of homosexual spouses are either being deported, or are constantly in fear of being deported. This denial of rights is evidence that LGBTQ unequality because every married couple should have the same rights/benefits as the next.

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Current Action Being Taken
Because LGBTQ equality and acceptance is a more recent issue, there are many actions people are currently doing to try and make a difference. Many celebrities have voiced their opinions on this subject by taking action, and have created lasting effects on their fans and many other people. A very well known example of celebrity action being taking about sexual equality is Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s song “Same Love”. For me personally, I think this song is one of the best and most strong messages that has been delivered to teenagers (and others) about awareness for LGBTQ equality. Lyrics throughout the song like “
The right wing conservatives think it's a decision and you can be cured with some treatment and religion...man­made rewiring of a predisposition, playing God...” and “If I was gay, I would think hip­hop hates me..."Man, that's gay" gets dropped on the daily, We become so numb to what we're saying” are relevant to today's teens, and therefore leave a longer lasting impression. Macklemore is making an impact with his messages about drug addiction, race, and equality. Listening to “Same Love”is a completely different way of delivering a message to people about LGBTQ equality, and it still has the same impact.
Another celebrity that has used their fame as a way of taking action is Carly Rae Jepsen.
She never had publicly voiced her political opinion about same sex­marriage before the Boy

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Scouts of America had asked her to perform and she said yes.
But according to the Rolling
Stones, Carly canceled the concert because of her opposition to the organization's controversial policy that bans openly gay boys from joining. She tweeted out to her fans saying “
As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America
Jamboree this summer...” (Jepsen, 2013). This choice she made was significant because it shows that Jepsen would rather lose money and not carry out her professional duties, than to perform and create positive publicity for an organization that does not support equality for all its member.
When people advocate for LGBTQ equality, others notice and take action.
The Salvation Army is a Christian organization that has had issues with the LGBTQ community in the past. According to Advocate.com, in 2011 several LGBTQ advocates called for a boycott of donations to the Salvation Army because they refused to serve the “sexually impure”.
In November of 2013, the Salvation Army website had posted two links to organizations for so­called ex­gays and provided them with therapy.
Both organizations believe in "reparative therapy," which aims to turn gay people straight through prayer and counseling.
However, a LGBTQ organization Truth Wins Out contacted the Salvation Army about the supposed endorsement of the practice that aims to turn gay people straight. The Salvation Army's director of communications, Jennifer Byrd, responded and claimed the "ex­gay" links were part

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of an archived page that was inadvertently republished when the organization relaunched its site last month. Byrd said in the letter that “ (They) apologize for our oversight and any confusion this may have caused...The Salvation Army does not consider homosexual orientation a sin.
Please know that we serve anyone who comes to our doors without discrimination." (Brydum,
2013, p.4). Truth Wins Out thanked them by saying “We thank the Salvation Army for acting swiftly and decisively in addressing our concerns about links to ‘ex­gay’ organization...This is a step in the right direction and congruent with their anti discrimination campaign. We hope this action leads to further progress in gaining the full confidence and trust of the LGBT community." (Brydum, 2013. p.1). The calm & respectful feedback from Truth Wins Out and the reaction & action of the Salvation Army show current action towards LGBTQ equality because it means people are starting to work together to remove homosexual hate from the world in a peaceful way. Proposed Solutions/What You Can Do
Being an advocate/ally for LGBTQ teens can profoundly affect them in a positive way right now, and later on in their life. An example of how standing up for someone being bullied will stick with you forever is Tim Gunn.
Tim was already a target for bullying because of his

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stutter, and his sexual orientation made it worse for him. However, his friend Craig stood up for him and helped Tim Gunn through his school years. Tim was so touched by Craigs actions towards him and the bullies, he hasn't forgotten it, even after all these years. Tim was talking in a video about the memory and said that “When Craig stood up for me, the bullying was immediately dissipated. Doesn’t mean it didn't rise again, but at the moment, it certainly extinguished it. And I was just so grateful for having that mome nt.” (Gunn, 2013). From personal experience about being bullied, I know having someone by your side to protect you and let you know its going to be all right is one of the best feelings in the world. That why a proposed action towards LGBTQ equality is standing up and becoming an open advocate. A proposed action that I can do on my own to promote homosexual equality is going to a few different major
Minnesota high schools and present them with ways to become an advocate. My target audience in this passion project is teenagers around my age, so I believe that this is an effective solution I can provide. When I go to the high schools and talk about my passion project, I plan to show a powerpoint that consists of personal experiences with bullying/becoming an advocate, Minnesota history on LGBTQ equality throughout the 21st century, and ways of how they can become an advocate for their identified peers. There are too many kids out there suffering from bullying, rejection, or simply being mistreated for who they are. Standing up for LGBTQ identifiers when

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they are being bullied is a way to promote equality, and a way to make people feel like there are people out there who care for them no matter who they love.
Another solut ion I will be putting into action during this project is participating in the
GLSEN Day of Silence for the third year in a row. The National Day of Silence is a day of action in which students across the country take a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti­LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. It is a student­led action sponsored by Gay,
Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). This is important because the Day of Silence creates a powerful statement about the important issue of anti­LGBT bullying,and when you organize others to join you that message becomes stronger and more effective. It’s hard not to talk for a whole day, but its worth it when you know how many people are participating and what an impact it has on people. The GLSEN Day of Silence represents how voiceless LGBTQ teens feel and how hard it is to hide who you truly are. Participating in this day lets identifiers know how many people are advocating for them, and how many supporters they have. It is important because thousands of students around the country will remain silent for all or part of the school day to call attention to the harassment and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.This is an action anyone can do to promote LGBTQ equality, and it’s incredibly powerful and moving to see the difference it makes in people's lives.

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The most effective action for LGBTQ equality is to fully legalize gay marriage everywhere. Even though many states have legalized it, there are still many people out there who disagree with the concept. Petitioning and participating in marches are ways I, and thousands of others, have raised awareness on the topic of same­sex marriage.
Conclusion
I chose LGBTQ equality as my passion project because everyone was created equal, and just because you love someone of the same sex does not make you a lesser being than a straight person. Being denied rights and becoming a target for bullying are unacceptable actions that have been put upon homosexual individuals, and the LGBTQ identifiers as a whole. Human equality is important to have in our society because its something we all deserve. Although the situation is improving, there is still a long way to go before we reach sexual equality. Becoming an advocate, standing up for identifiers, participating in LGBTQ awareness days, and supporting gay rights are all different ways people can promote and achieve equality for LGBTQ identifiers within the 21st century society.
"We deserve to experience love fully, equally, and without shame and without compromise." ­Ellen Page (2014).

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Resources: An overview of federal rights. (n.d.). Retrieved from Human Rights Campaign website: https://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/an­overview­of­federal­rights­and­protections­granted­to­m arried­couples Badash, D. (2010, October 6). Safe schools – facts about LGBT teen suicide you need to know. Retrieved from The New Civil Rights Movement website: http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/ safe­schools­facts­about­lgbt­teen­suicide­you­need­to­know/healthcare/2010/10/ 06/13419 Brydum, S. (2013, December 8). Gay teacher fired after obtaining marriage license.
Advocate
. http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage­equality/2013/12/08/gay­teacher­fired­after­obtainin g­marriage­license Brydum, S. (2013, November 27). Salvation army 'does not consider homosexual orientation a sin'.
Advocate
. http://www.advocate.com/business/2013/11/27/salvation­army­does­not­consider­homosexual­or ientation­sin

Carrington, R. (2014, February 14).
Ellen page comes out at hrcf's time to thrive conference [Video file]. Retrieved from http://smb06.org/ ellen­page­comes­out­at­hrcf039s­time­to­thrive­conference

Carly rae jepsen drops boy scouts concert over anti­gay policy. (2013, March 5).
Rolling Stone
.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/carly­rae­jepsen­drops­boy­scouts­concert­over­anti­ga y­policy­20130305 Growing up lgbt in america: View statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from Human Rights Campaign website: http://www.hrc.org/youth/view­statistics#.Uv_e_UJdV7U

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Jepsen, C. R. (2013, March 5). As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the boy scouts of america jamboree this summer.. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/carlyraejepsen/ status/308946285359149057 Morris, A. (2013, October 10). The hidden war against gay teens.
Rolling Stone
.
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the­hidden­war­against­gay­teens­20131010
Speak: Suicide prevention. (n.d.). Retrieved from Speak website: http://www.speakforthem.org/facts.html Tim gunn tells his bullying story [Video file]. (2013, August 1). Retrieved from http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2013/08/01/ watch­tim­gunn­tells­his­bullying­story