My platform for my reign of Mr Phoenix Gay Pride is GLSEN (The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network). The why is easy. They help promote safe schools. Not just for LGBTQ youth but for everyone. I look at kids today and they don’t realize how lucky they are, really. Many schools now have a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) and counselors who are both knowledgeable and supportive. Many gay and lesbian juniors and seniors are finding they can take their partners to prom with little upset. Trans kids are more able to express their gender identity than ever before. Yes, there is still bullying, ignorance and intolerance. This is evident by the rash of LGBTQ teen suicides over the last year or so. Luckily, thanks in part to Dan Savage’s It Gets Better Project, that number has dropped to next to nothing. But the bullying is still there.
So while I didn’t go back into the closet completely, I kind of cracked the door some. That’s when I first realized it was “wrong” to be gay. It didn’t really change anything though. I didn’t stop seeing my girlfriend. And I didn’t stop being gay. A year and a half or so after all this went down I graduated from high school and moved to Hawaii. I often wonder if any of my old teachers, principals, headmasters, etc look at the school and realize just how little support there is for any LGBTQ students there. I know some of them are probably in complete denial, and don’t like to think about the prospect of there being gay youth at THEIR school, but that won’t make it go away.
I would have thought it would have ended there, and my father would have just let it go. But no. A couple of months after I got to Hawaii I got a letter from my dad that said, in a nutshell, “I hope you have a large circle of friends, all sorts of people, so that what happened in Bangkok doesn’t happen there.” In other words, make sure no one thinks you’re a lesbian. My reply was less than nice. Basically, I wrote back, told him I was a tattooed lesbian who was sleeping with my suite-mate. Oh, and I shaved my head. I was done. I couldn’t deal with his narrow-mindedness anymore.
What GLSEN does is important for everyone; teachers, students, gay, trans, lesbian, queer, questioning, straight, Muslim, Buddhist, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, you name it. Safe schools doesn’t just mean safe for the gays, it means safe for everyone. It means educating teachers and counselors about kids that are coming out. It means educating students about bullying and why it’s just not ok. Granted, my coming out story isn’t violent or all that exciting, but there would have been less drama had there been somewhere for me to go or someone for me to talk to, who could talk to my teachers and my dad. After I graduated, one of my classmates ended up coming out too. I had a class of 15. Two of us identified as lesbians. Then a couple years later, another one of my friends came out who was a couple years behind me. And it makes me wonder how many kids are in international schools all over the world who are hesitant to come out of the closet for fear of teasing or retribution. Right now, there isn’t a lot I can do about it on an international level, but I CAN help right here. If the fundraisers I hold can help fund one more GSA being formed or get one speaker to address a school, then it’s progress.
Safe schools, education, acceptance are all a necessary part of the learning and growing experience of today’s youth, regardless of colour, creed, sexual preference, gender identity, religion or favourite colour. Organisations like GLSEN help that happen.
So help me show support this year, and always. If you look at my calendar, you’ll see events scheduled that will be benefiting GLSEN. I encourage you to attend and give freely for a cause that will help shape the future of our youth, this country, and maybe even other countries.