*warning video contains explicit language*
Goal 10 is all about equality which is something that as humans we have all throughout history been extensively bad at, it usually comes from a dangerous mixture of greed and lack of understanding. For example In the past we had slavery which feels completely wrong and immoral today but was thought to be normal not too long ago, it was largely due to social divide and a misunderstanding of people.
This same segregation and lack of understanding is now happening with the LGBTQ+ community, it’s these same issues that create any kind of inequality and it stems from the fear of change, I don’t think that there is a lack of information and articles about gender and sexuality. I think the real issue is that a lot of people chose to ignore or belittle that information because it scares them.
what you can do
Fear is instinctive and has helped us stay safe throughout human evolution. However it can easily turn into hate and discrimination. I don’t think you need to have memorized all 58 gender options Facebook has or what all the letter stand for in
LGBTQIA+
However its important to stay acceptant and respectful, no matter how wrong something sounds or feels just know that people felt the same way about giving women the vote or not using black people as slaves. For example is someone comes out just be supportive and ask loads of questions.
It’s a big misconception that people get offended if they get misgendered or you wrongly assume their sexuality, it only becomes a problem when you chose to ignore or belittle information, for example a lot of people dislike using they/them pronouns which are gender neutral and are often used in the LGBTQ+ community, if you refer to someone as she/her and they explain to you that they go by they/them that isn’t a problem at all, however if you purposely misgender because you feel that they/them “sounds wrong” or “isn’t natural” then you are bullying and segregating someone because of the small inconvenience it causes you. Its easy to assume that pan sexual means that they want to date kitchenware which is easily laughed at; however some simple education would show you that pan sexual means you like all genders, which again probably sounds complicated and weird to most of you which is fine. Just chose not too use that fear and negativity to fuel hatred and oppression.
There are millions of resources out there just stay open and loving no matter how wrong boys wearing makeup or girls wanting to be boys feels. Its all new, to everyone and we just have stay open and embrace change together.
That said here are a couple of my favourite resources for education:
In conclusion its completely normal not to know or understand all of these new ideologies that are developing Everyone has their own unique identity and we must remember to stay open and inclusive to let everyone live with the same freedom and love we would want for ourselves.
here are a few fun videos to make you think about gender and sexuality
*warning explicit language and explicit sculptures*
Thank you for reading my blog i hope you enjoyed it and may have learned a little,
Quentin D
A really well written article Quentin. I very much like this statement "it’s a big misconception that people get offended if they get misgendered or you wrongly assume their sexuality, it only becomes a problem when you chose to ignore or belittle information" - Levels of acceptance have improved drastically since I was an IB / A-level student back in 1995. When I went to university, there was a thriving LGB society (1997-2000) and I used to work some of their fantastic events behind the bar. Honestly, as a teacher, I rely massively on my students to be educated on LGBTQ+ and articles like this are a real aid. Thanks again. Mr Podbury.