❝𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕤 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞 𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪/𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕪𝕠𝕦? 𝕨𝕙𝕠 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕧𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞? 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕒 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕒 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕦𝕒𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙, 𝕒 𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕣 𝕒 𝕡𝕠𝕖𝕞 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕡𝕖𝕠𝕡𝕝𝕖 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕦𝕖❞

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 - 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 — 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐠𝐛𝐭𝐪𝐢𝐚+ 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

"We have to do it because we can no longer stay invisible. We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are." Said Sylvia Rivera, a LGBT activist, Stonewall veteran, and a transgender woman. Sylvia Rivera, born 1951 and died 2002, was assigned male at birth. However, ever since the Stonewall Riots on June 27 1969, when she was just 19, she has been fighting for transgender and LGBTQ+ rights. And I'm sure you all know George Takei, the actor of Lieutenant Sulu on Star Trek, an Asian American actor, and an openly gay activist for Gay Rights. 

There have been countless activists and members of the LGBTQIA+ (standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual) community fighting for their rights - the legalisation of same-sex marriage and gender transformation, and the equal treatment of the queer community. 

However, there are still many disadvantages and setbacks for the LGBTQ+ community. Openly queer people often face discrimination, finding trouble getting jobs, or being accepted, even in the modern world which has become a lot more accepting compared to the '40s.

I strongly believe that the LGBTQ+ community should be treated equally and deserve to be able to live without having to face discrimination, or, for some people, further discrimination, for example black women that are part of the LGBT community. (A/N I'm just going to clarify right here - I am not being racist or sexist, I am just stating an example that would be very likely.)

Many queer people especially queer youth, suffer from depression as they are not accepted and face discrimination. In fact, data shows that 82% of transgender individuals have thought about killing themselves, and 40% have attempted suicide, the highest being among transgender youth.

Furthermore, as of 2019, while only 10% to 20% of heterosexual teens practice self harm, 30% to 53% of lesbian, gay and bisexual teens cut, hit or bruise themselves.

A trend that has been spotted in this is that the "stigma and discrimination experience by the youth are large contributing factors". This also Causes them to have "poor mental health outcomes, including depression, and suicidal thoughts and behaviour." said study author Richard Liu, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and human behaviour at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Rhode Island.

Secondly, people should not be judged on who they love, or how they feel. If a boy likes another boy (gay), it is just how they feel. If somebody loves others because of who they are as a person, regardless of their gender (pansexual), it is just their opinion, their take on life and love, and it doesn't have anything to do with you. If somebody decides they can't go by a certain pair of pronouns, and instead go by both male and female (genderqueer/genderfluid, I think, please correct me if I'm wrong!), or don't go by any gender at all (non-binary, I think. Again, please correct me if I'm wrong!), it is how they act, how they feel about their body. It doesn't have any impact on you.

Even now, coming out as gay, or bi, or pan, or trans, or simply just queer, is difficult. If you throw insults and slurs at them, it only makes matters worse. You can definitely support them, especially if they're your friend, a family member, or someone close to you. However, as the phrase goes, "If you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Finally, if people are unaware and are not educated about the LGBTQ+ community, it can harm others as well as themselves. People should spread awareness, not hide away. In fact, many celebrities are supporting or part of the LGBTQ+ community, and spreading awareness. However, people are still not being treated equally. 

Parents should talk to their kids about the LGBTQ+ community, keep them caught up on the latest news. Schools should inform students about it. People can struggle to identify themselves and their sexuality if they do not know about the LGBTQ+ community, and this can cause them to spiral, leading them to depression, self-harm or even suicide. 

Furthermore, it requires a lot of courage for someone to come out - some people stay closeted for their whole life - and if their peers do not know about LGBTQ+, it can cause them to have negative responses.

Many authors have included characters in their books that are part of the LGBTQ+ community. For example, Alex Fierro from the Magnus Chase trilogy by Rick Riordan is genderfluid, and also by Rick Riordan, Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace from the Percy Jackson and the gods of Olympus series, are gay. The Selection series by Kiera Cass and Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas by Andrea Pyros both briefly mention gay supporting characters. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus features Cooper Clay, a gay main character, and Drama by Raina Telgemeier stars gay twins Jesse and Justin. The Best at it by Maulik Pancholy is a coming out story revolving around a young boy discovering his sexuality. Even movies have included LGBTQ+ characters and themes - movies from big production companies, such as Disney, Pixar and Marvel. 

Singers have also written many songs hinting at or about LGBTQ themes, and many celebrities have come out, for example Brendan Urie, Laverne Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Lovato, Tessa Thompson, Kim Petras, Amandla Stenberg, and more, setting examples for the LGBTQ+ community. 

However, even these efforts have come to a halt as some countries have banned books, movies or songs with LGBTQ+ themes, and homophobia, transphobia and biphobia is still as strong as ever. 

We need to raise awareness and spread the message - Love is love, the LGBTQ+ community deserves equal rights as well.

In conclusion, we are all humans. No matter if you have brown or white skin, if you're from China or America. No matter if you're male of female, or both or none. No matter if you love boys or girls or all or nobody. We are all human, and we all deserve equal rights.

You shouldn't be denied a job because you're gay. You shouldn't have to endure abuse just because you're lesbian. You shouldn't be more severely punished for a significantly minor crime because you're bisexual. You shouldn't be denied from a good school because you're transgender. You shouldn't be forced to live on the streets, beg for even a scrap of food, have to fight for you life, every day, just because you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. And yet, this is the conditions that many of the LGBTQ+ community are faced with.

Even if you are not part of the community, we need to make a stand. We need to stand up and fight. Fight for everyone's voices to be heard. Fight for everyone to have equal rights. Fight for equality, fight for what you think is right, fight for love.

A/N Word Count: 1196 words. So, a brief speech I wrote about LGBTQ+ rights. I may not be entirely correct about the different sexualities and stuff, so please kindly correct me if I'm wrong! Please spread the word. This is for school, but I mean every word that I wrote, and I hope that you guys will help me to spread this message, and to make a stand. This is different from what I would usually right, and is very different from the rest of the things in this book, but it is equally, if not more, important.

Everybody deserves to be treated equally. 

#LoveIsLove #Pride 

Lena 🏳️‍🌈