#6 I Don't Bi It

Bisexual is not a new term, but there are people who still believe that this sexuality doesn't exist or shouldn't be respected.  Even among the queer community bisexuals are looked down on. There are many lesbians and gay men who won't date a bisexual because they feel that they are unreliable, greedy, and confused. There are so many stereotypes about bisexuals that are false.

Most often bisexuals are seen as confused because they can't make up their mind or they are using the term bisexual as a stepping stone to eventually come out as gay or lesbian. Many people have done this before, they will come out as bisexual to their families to soften the blow, to not disappoint them too much. Later when they realize that they are just gay or lesbian, it reinforces the stereotype that bisexuals are just confused or lying. There is also the bisexual phase. A lot of girls during their freshman year of college will start to experiment and say that they are bisexual, but they are usually just heterosexual. This reinforces the idea that bisexuals are unreliable and usually just lying. Then there are the people who just believe that bisexuals are greedy and that they can't be trusted in a serious relationship because they have double the chance to cheat on their partner.

Sexuality is a difficult to understand and sometimes people can be confused on what their identity is at first, this doesn't mean that bisexuality doesn't exist or doesn't deserve respect. There are a lot of men and women that identify as bisexual and they face discrimination even inside the community that is supposed to be accepting of them. We must remember the motto love wins. This motto embodies the LGBT community so we should be accepting of all sexual identities. So, until next time always remember #LoveWins.

#5 Read the Labels

Everyone loves to put labels on themselves to define who they are as human beings. Leader, mother, nerd, jock, smart: these are all labels that people use every day. Labels are very important in the LGBT community. Labels give LGBT people a sense of security that they don't have before accepting their identity. Before coming out most queer people are too afraid to even use words such as queer, bisexual, and especially gay. After they come out they can claim those words and they become a part of their self-identity. they can then proudly proclaim their queerness even if other people don't accept it. Some people will scoff at certain labels such as asexual, bi-romantic, or pansexual. Some heterosexual people do not understand the need or use of queer labels, but what they don't realize is that everyone uses them, ours are just more important to us. That’s why a queer person will ask you to respect and use the correct labels and pronouns, because they are a part of who LGBT people are. So until next time, always be kind and remember #LoveWins.

#4 LGBT+

This week I wanted to talk about the plus at the end of the acronym for the queer community. As some people may know the queer community is quite expansive and includes many different types of sexualities and identities. Technically the full acronym for the queer community is    

LGBT(GGGGBTTTTQIAAAAAPPOODSCT) This stands for Lesbian, Gay, Gender queer, Gender fluid, Genderless, Gynesexual, Bisexual, Bigender, Transexual, Transgender, Transvestite, Two-Spirited, Transitioning, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Agender, Ally, Androgenous, Androsexual, Pansexual, Pangender, Omnisexual, Omnigender, Demisexual, Skoliosexual, Cisgender, and Third-Gender. Since this is incredibly hard to say, it has been shortened to LGBT+ and the plus is meant to signify all of the other identities that do not have a letter in the shortened acronym.

But this is of course can be a bit of a sore spot for those that fall into a category that is not the most known four letters LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender). Some people will say that they feel left out of the community because their identity is not as present as the first four letters of the acronym. The queer community has always tried to be as inclusive as possible, but there are just so many different sexual identities that it becomes hard to keep up with all of them, let alone remember a thirty-letter-long acronym.

So is there a way to satisfy everyone? So far there has been no set in stone way to make everyone feel included, while also making the acronym easy to say. There has been a recent idea to throw out the acronym LGBT+ completely, and replace it with the acronym SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance). This would make everything easier to say and by making it more vague, it will hopefully spread to include all sexuality and gender identities, even as more are discovered and added to the community. As I like to say gender and sexuality are fluid, which means they are constantly changing. What do you think of this new acronym SAGA? Do you think it will or should replace LGBT+? Leave your comments below. Until next time, always remember #LoveWins!

#3 Protect Trans Kids

So, recently something has happened that directly affects a large chunk of the LGBT community. Our current president has signed off on a lot of executive orders recently that have a had a huge effect on America. Most recently the Trump administration has revoked the federal guidelines, put in place by the Obama administration, that protected transgender kids in schools by mandating schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that most correctly aligned to their gender identity. This will allow states to make their own laws on the bathroom issue, and transgender kids will no longer protected in the federal government.

I feel like this post belongs on this blog about LGBT stereotypes and discrimination because for a long time transgender people have suffered abuses for being "unnatural" or "an abomination." Transgender individuals should be a protected minority because 1 in 12 trans women are killed each year, and it's 1 in 8 for trans women of color. Cisgender, white, heterosexuals often see someone different from them or anyone they have ever seen, and feel threatened or angry, and they will often lash out. Transgender peoples, especially trans women, hear a plethora of insults and slurs hurled at them everyday. Slurs such as: tranny, he/she. and she male are not only hurtful but life destroying for someone facing severe gender dysphoria.

So in light of the recent changes, several celebrities have taken up a battle cry on Twitter. Just recently #ProtectTransKids was trending. Several protests have also been using this saying on their signs I believe this is a powerful cause and not to be taken lightly. If anyone is in the Topeka area, one place there will always be support for all youths is the equality house, which will soon be turned into a hangout space for LGBT individuals and allies as well. Until next week always remember #LoveWins.

Women's March on Topeka

A few months ago I was lucky enough to be able to participate in one of the Women's Marches that were occurring around the United States. We all stood in solidarity against a powerful force that wishes to knock us down and silence our voices. I got to be surrounded by the most amazing people that preached equality, love, and freedom. I took several pictures to document this historical event. These are a few of my favorite pictures.