By: Esmée Silverman
When I came out to the school as transgender at the beginning of the year and started using my preferred name Esmée, I was not doing it for attention, and I wanted to stay as low as possible on the radar, knowing that this decision would have a ripple effect that influences other people’s thoughts and actions.
I was not doing it for sports. I have been playing on the men’s tennis team (yes, we have a men’s tennis team) since sophomore year and have enjoyed every second of it. I was not doing it for anything else, other than to feel comfortable in a school that has provided me the confidence, support, and resources to be able to come out after two years of deliberation, doctors appointments, and long, painful nights of thought that would seemingly never end at the time.
I do not regret my decision at all.
The LGBT+ community was brought to the spotlight in the 2010s, with events such as the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide, the transgender military ban, Caitlyn Jenner, and her vanity fair cover appearance, Sam Smith deciding to use they/them pronouns, the list goes on.
The main reason I am writing is to convey a message, one that was said by the philosopher George Santayana, “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The LGBT+ community as a whole has been under much scrutiny, I’ve heard it all, “I don’t want my kid going into a bathroom with that thing,” “but she’s a guy, she’ll win the race no matter what,” “so if you like everyone, why don’t you like me?”
Honestly, I understand where people are coming from when they say they don’t understand it. If you don’t know something exists, and then something seemingly new comes along, it takes a while for everything to adjust, and mistakes will be made. To those of you who are confused about the LGBT+ community, I can say I understand, because I was once in your shoes, debating my identity as a whole.
Going back to the aforementioned quote, there is a history lesson that often does not make it to the high school classroom, Stonewall. Back in the 1960s, the atmosphere for LGBT+ rights was a dangerous place. Many establishments did not welcome LGBT+ people, and the places that did were usually bars. However, police raids of suspected gay bars were commonplace. During one of those raids, fueled by decades of mistreatment, injustice, and anger fueled by misrepresentation as a whole, the members of the Stonewall Inn in New York revolted. The result was weeks of protests, dozens of groups forming safe spaces so marginalized groups would feel like they belonged, and tensions towards the LGBT+ community which continues to this day.
Looking back, these riots could have been avoided if people had seen the signs of a disgruntled group of people, but they did not, and a revolt soon followed. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Almost all marginalized groups revolt to get fair and equal treatment. The American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Bolshevik takeover of Russia. Stonewall is just a brick of the house built by revolutions that are results of ignorance and intolerance towards certain people.
So how can you help? How can you make a change towards the LGBT+ community for the better?
To start, the community needs allies, people who are willing to support us and help us through the best and worst of times. Just being a decent human and listening is one of the easiest ways you can help someone. Joining a gender sexuality alliance is also another great way to help, they are open to anyone, and I mean anyone, as a safe space. One thing that seems overlooked is pronouns, he/him, she/her, they/them, they are ways we address ourselves and others “she has the cup” “he is wearing his baseball hat” “yes, that is them.” Just doing something as simple as putting your pronouns in your bio helps LGBT+ people feel they are not alone and have a sense of community. Respecting your friend’s pronoun and name choices may not seem like such a big deal, but to them, it is if you want to truly make someone’s day, call them what they want to be called.
With a new decade upon us, it is essential to realize that it’s a new decade, a new time to right the wrongs you did last decade, to be a completely different person, to learn something, and to make someone’s life better. The LGBT+ community is no exception; to end all the negative stigmatize surrounding it will not be easy. Still, as evident from the past, the same past that will be repeated if we do not avoid it, it is possible to do anything if you have enough people. Together, we can usher in a new era of acceptance, a new era where everyone can feel safe, truly expressing themselves, and a new era where we can all say, love, wins.
To all my LGBT+ friends out there, and there are many of you, be you, and never stop being you, love one another, and never give up on the fight for equality in this world, nothing is too big if everyone is beside you.
To my non LGBT+ friends, together we are more powerful than all of us separate. Your support is the most valuable thing to us genuinely, and I have to thank you all for it, I would not be where I am without allies.
To those of you who are confused about yourself, other people, want to ask questions, or talk, our group meets every Wednesday after school in room 224. I am more than happy to talk to anyone who comes in, regardless of beliefs, practices, thoughts, politics, anything is welcome in the safe space.
I hope those of you who know who you are, that you will help the other people, who aren’t as sure as where they belong, and to those of you who don’t know who you are yet, let it come to you, life is long, and you are on a journey that will do things you never imagined. If history is to repeat itself, then let’s make it usher in a new era of acceptance, love, diversity, and equality. One becomes everyone.