Cassidy Nielsen Reflection English 1050

Gender is a very sensitive topic these days. It seems that there are

people who are very blunt and there is no question of gender for anyone, you

are what you are. Although, to everything there is an opposition. When it

comes to gender, there is definitely some grey area. There are so many

possibilities for gender, the options are endless it seems. Everyone should be

able to find something within the realm of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Queer

Intersexual Asexual and all of those in between (LGBTQIA+) community. The

ongoing battle trying to decide if this is right or wrong is probably never

going to be resolved in full. Its so hard because it seems like everyone has a

family member or friend that is dealing with trying to figure themselves out.

Is it right or wrong? Im sure people dealing with this ask themselves that

question every day. After having the reading and discussion on this topic, Ive

come to the conclusion for myself that the LGBTQIA+ community are all

human beings, and they deserve to have their rights as citizens and just as

human beings. Just because they have made a choice to live differently, it

shouldnt affect their rights as a human being.

Reading the articles on this topic opened my eyes in different ways. I

myself, dont really have a close connection to the LGBTQIA+ community.

The closest I get is one of my friends brothers, who I dont think I have ever

actually had a conversation with. Even though I dont have a close

relationship with his brother, I have seen how it has affected the family. Its

been very interesting to see how they have all reacted and how they are all

taking his choice to live as a gay man. Being completely honest, they all had
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a very shocked and saddened reaction. My friend in particular didnt have

anything to say about it. He was silent. I think the family was upset for

themselves, they didnt understand and they were also saddened because

they knew how the community would react to his coming out. Being different

is hard, and people are rude. That could all become a reality for him as he

found his way through his journey.

With this being said, it ties in a topic of one of the articles that was

connected to the discussion. Its titled L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be

Targets. In this article they have a startling statistic, L.G.B.T. people are

twice as likely to be targeted as African-Americans, and the rate of hate

crimes against them has surpassed that of crimes against Jews. (Park) Its

hard to see anyone for any reason be the target of a hate crime. Its not

necessary, and it is definitely not fair.

Reading more into the article it talks about how the different political

parties cant agree on the motivation behind the Orlando shooting. They are

in debate between whether it was a hate crime, a terrorist attack, or both.

The majority of Republicans say it was both of the options, but more favoring

the side of terrorism. The majority of Democrats say it was both, but more

favoring the hate crime. Who is to say which is right or which is wrong? There

is really nothing but opinions that can decide that for a person. What Ive

come to notice, is that the different political parties are becoming so against

each other, that they refuse to hear what the other side has to say, and
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therefore their ideas spread farther and farther apart. Its very confusing for

someone who is trying to figure out where they sit on the different issues we

face today. In my opinion, the shooting in Orlando was definitely both, there

is no doubt about that. Although the man responsible for the shooting was a

gay man and he was also Muslim. Those are two contradicting things. So he

had a conflict within himself because he didnt know which way to go. Im not

that educated when it comes to the Muslim religion. I dont know how bad it

would have been if he wouldve come out as gay. But it was obviously

something he decided to handle the wrong way, and hurt a lot of families in

the process. Hate crimes are never appropriate under any circumstance.

Another article about LGBTQIA+ rights we read is called Why Marriage

Matters Its About Family. The author is a lesbian woman who is also a

veteran. She has been diagnosed with a dreadful disease and wants her wife

to have a secure future, because her own health is deteriorating. She makes

a point to note that her wife cant be buried with her in a veterans

cemetery, because of their sexual preferences. She says

I was angry. Really, we couldn't be buried together?! It's not like the

neighbors are going to walk out, or people who come to pay their

respects to their loved ones are going to boycott-everyone's DEAD!

Why should this even matter? Maggie was going to be taking care of

me as this disease progressed, & making sure she had the same

benefits as any other spouse was the least I could do for her. I had to
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fight for her because she is the best thing that's happened to me. And

she deserves everything I can give her. (Cooper-Harris)

To me, its not the end of the world if a LGBTQIA+ couple is buried together.

Despite where they are married. I would hope that people would be

respectful enough to allow that. They have been married and have had the

same problems that any other married couple has to deal with. They deserve

to be able to be buried together, just like any other couple would want to be.

In the article, Im transgender and cant use the student bathroom.

The Supreme Court could change that it talks about something that all

transgender people have to deal with. The bathroom. This is a topic that is

hard for me to wrap my mind around. What is right and what is wrong? The

first thing that comes to mind honestly- is I dont want a man to share the

same bathroom with me in public. Im naturally going to the thoughts of

what if they are just pretending, just to get in the womens restroom? That

is just not okay, but its also not okay for someone to feel like they arent

allowed to use the bathroom either. In the article the author writes,

Even though I used the restrooms for almost two months without

any disturbance, a group of parents and community members

heard that a girl was using the boys restroom and began

complaining. Instead of supporting me and the decision of the

school administrators, the school board convened two public

meetings, inviting the community to discuss my genitals and

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restroom usage in front of reporters and television cameras. I

continue to suffer daily because of the school boards decision to

make my bathroom use a matter of public debate. (Grimm)

If I were in this position I would be very upset. I think it would be hard to deal

with. Its like you are more of an animal than a human. You arent making

your own decisions. Its all taken out of your hands. I dont think its fair, but I

also think you need to keep the general public in mind. With that being said,

the article continues...

After the public discussion, the school board passed a new policy to

stop me from using the same bathrooms as other kids. The policy says

students with gender identity issues cant use the restrooms that

match the gender they live every day. Instead, the school board said I

should go back to using the nurses office or use a new unisex single-

stall restroom so that no one else would have their privacy invaded by

using the same restroom as me. It was humiliating and painful.

(Grimm)

As much as it kills me to say it, Im in agreeance with the school board and

the parents of the other children. It was wrong of them to make such a big

deal about it, it couldve been handled in a different way- less public.

In conclusion, after all of the debate by political parties and different

peoples opinions, one fact still remains the same- we are all human. It
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doesnt matter your race, your religion, or your sexual orientation, we are all

bonded by being human. Throughout this class, Ive come to realize that

outside of my own bubble people are dealing with these issues. The troubles

people face are very real. Ive taken some time to analyze what my own

thoughts are. The fact is, our country is a mix of all sorts of cultures, bringing

that into a bigger perspective- the world is chalk full of different cultures.

That is a beautiful thing, we all have so much to learn from each other.

Tolerance is something that everyone needs to work on.

Citations

Cooper-Harris, Tracy. "Why Marriage Matters...It's About Family." Marriage

Equality USA [New York] 2014: n. pag. Print.

Grimm, Gavin. "Im Transgender and Cant Use the Student Bathroom. The

Supreme Court Could Change That." The Washington Post 27 Oct. 2016: n.

pag. Print.
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Park, Haeyoun. "Share L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of Hate

Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group." The New York Times. The New York

Times, 16 June 2016. Web. 19Apr. 2017.