Imagine this: you sit down at dinner with a couple of your best friends for a night of good food and even better gossip. You joke about love interests, that hookup story from last weekend, or how cute your waiter happens to be. Everything comes naturally; the conversation is carefree and uncensored. You’ve probably had a few of these cherished moments with your college pals.
Now, imagine if you could never be open and honest. Imagine being too afraid to share serious topics, like the qualities you look for in a potential partner. Or pretend you’d been mocked too often to feel safe joking about the waiter’s muscular biceps and perfect teeth, even with the closest friends you have. I hadn’t even considered being in this position before my junior year of college. As the open-book type, I was always first in my friend group to gossip about my love life. And in college, where everyone seems to be scrambling to plan their futures, I couldn’t possibly understand why a person wouldn’t feel comfortable doing the same. That was, until one otherwise unremarkable dinner, at a subpar restaurant on an average night, where I made my first gay friend.
From this single night out, I realized how strongly I believe in the need for widespread acceptance of and equality for the LGBTQA community. Over that dinner, I watched a man become comfortable with himself and begin to discuss his ideas of love and attraction candidly. A few drinks and a shared dessert later, we laughed about the possibility of leaving his number on the check for the cute waiter with the nice smile, and I watched his shoulders deflate with a sigh of relief.
“I’ve never really been able to talk or joke about this stuff,” he said, smiling.
His words have stuck with me ever since. Before that night, I had never known anyone who was gay. I had always supported gay rights, but never had a personal stake in the matter. However, seeing how the freedom to be open with ones own sexuality could take pressure and stress off of a person made my passion for the issues at hand grow. The United States is taking great steps towards achieving equality for the LGBTQA community by legalizing gay marriage nationwide. But laws don’t eliminate discrimination and bullying, or the fear and shame they plant in the minds of young adults who find themselves outside of society’s definition of the ‘norm’. That’s where our own voices come in.
Our generation possesses the ability to change what is viewed as the usual. We can expand the definition of acceptable feelings, definitions of love and sets of beliefs. I believe wholeheartedly in the need for equality in all facets of life for those who do not conform to America’s widely acknowledged sexual orientations or gender roles. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to immerse yourself into the betterment of an issue you do not have a personal connection to. But trust me, the look on a person’s face when they’re set free from the previous restraints placed upon their voice is worth speaking up for.