Blog Post
Let’s paint a picture in the easiest social setting.
Five kids playing in the toy room. Four like to play with the toy planes but the fifth one does not. He likes to sit by the window reading or humming his favorite poems. He likes to talk to kids who are more like him. He even enjoys setting up the dollhouse once in a while but is too afraid of what the other boys will think of him. He is teased about being different. He is questioned about his differences. His parents notice this too. They think he’s uncomfortable with social settings. But truth be told, he’s simply a child who has differing preferences. And instead of embracing his choices, we question it. What we fail to realize is that it’s not him who is uncomfortable with these social settings. But it’s the very setting, which is restrictive. This boy in our picture is dissimilar not because he’s any different from the other kids but because we as a society are not progressive enough to accept his choices!
Now picture our society. Men and women are born into their biological bodies. Some conform, function, and accept belonging to it. Others don’t. These others are the people who are thrown into the closet from a very young age. They are called out for being different. For standing uniquely out of the status quo. For treading on a self-acceptance journey. They are constantly pushed into being someone they are not. Embrace an identity that isn’t theirs. And this is what we as a society, endlessly do to the queer community.
The queer community is a large part of societies all over the world. The LGBTQIA+ community is a diverse umbrella of individuals who do not conform and identify with society’s internalized gender binary. While the 21st century has proven to be a progressing ladder for the community, we as humans still have a lot to contribute to the welfare of our people.
Homophobic and Transphobic Violence is continuously being reported from all parts of the world. The inequality, humiliation, and denial of basic human rights that these individuals have to face are normalizing at an alarming rate. The lack of awareness and education has made our societies extremely dangerous for them. We have failed to make our environments safe for our fellow human beings.
The Brand Called You has featured a number of social entrepreneurs and supporters of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Catherine Hyde, a social entrepreneur and an avid supporter of the transgender community featured on our podcast and shared her absolute beliefs in gender inclusivity and equality. She is the Founder of Navigating What’s Next an organization that helps educate people about the transgender community. Her daughter who came out as transgender at the tiny age of 3, motivated Catherine into the incredible work that she does. Catherine is a great believer in sharing her story with everyone to create an atmosphere of inclusivity and understanding. She talks about the issues her daughter faces for living as a trans person. Catherine believes that acceptance is the most powerful gift we can give to the community.
“We saw here in America, the passage of the same-sex marriage law in the Supreme Court. And once that happened, the acceptance of the LGBTQ community grew exponentially. With the Trans Community though, what happens is that it lags a bit because it’s a little bit harder to wrap your head around I think. The backlash of marriage equality has been focused on the transgender population. And it’s a shame because that population is so vulnerable. The statistics around their children suffering from assault and harassment are just horrifying.”
To sum up my opinions on this topic, I believe that it is easy to display rainbow flags across your social media but to be an ally, is far more than that. The problems this community largely faces need to be acknowledged. Their problems need to be heard!
Completely eradicating biases might be very tough but standing up against these biases is not!
Self identity and Love are two things we often take pride in. And that being said,
Imagine being harassed for your identity.
Imagine being shamed for choosing who you love.
The rainbow community not only needs support but also dignity.
It not only needs allies but also an equal, peaceful and just place in this world.
If love has no boundaries, why do we limit people?
Why do we build walls so high that people are dying in the process?
If we can tune along to
“jab pyaar kiya toh darna kya?”
Why can’t we tune along to
Jab pyaar kiya toh gender kya? 😉
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