Evan's Blog. Meh.

biteofpythias:

Look, suicide rates amongst LGBTQ youth is a problem we should all be concerned about. But we should be careful in efforts to frame this as being all about peer victimization. That is an issue certainly, but the stress and shame and stigma is family related as often as it is peer related. Family rejection and stigma is a huge factor in LGBTQ teen homelessness, substance use, sexual risk-taking, etc…

And I applaud these “it gets better” videos and statements from celebrities at some level if it can reach teens and have them look toward a future where they can leave their family and their towns and find community and live their lives to some degree of fulfillment.

But as a society we should be fucking ashamed that the reality is that it doesn’t get all that fucking much better for lots of people. Stigma impacts adults. People can’t get health care or benefits for those they love. People can’t marry and publicly recognize their relationships. People are discriminated against in the work place. People are discriminated against in hiring. People are discriminated against in real estate transactions. People are not allowed to foster children. People meet resistance to adopting children. People aren’t allowed to have their families acknowledged in books at their children’s schools. Even in news articles addressing an invasion of privacy and public shaming refer to “gay sex acts” or use words like indecent. So, ya, it gets better in that when you grow up you can find community and straight allies and a place to fit in. But let us not be too quick to pat ourselves on the back about how much better it gets in our society.

I wish I could reblog this more than once.