Yesterday while walking the dogs I saw a teenage kid weeding the flowerbed in front of his home. I’ve noticed this kid before because I’ve seen him doing this several times during the hottest days of summer. I was impressed that he worked diligently, on his own, pulling weeds and appeared to be perfectly content. This stood out to me because of the stark contrast to my own teenage step kids who never helped with housework, chores or anything remotely resembling work.
I noticed something different about the kid this time. He had curled his hair, and highlighted each ringlet in hot pink. I also noticed that instead of wearing a plain white t-shirt, the kid had on some kind of blouse and a necklace that definitely appeared feminine.
I thought two things:
- I don’t really like the pink ringlet highlights. It looks strange.
- I guess this kid is exploring cross-dressing or transsexuality.
Then I had a follow up thought:
- whatever…
In my neighborhood, I’ve noticed more pride flags, bumper stickers and signs than I’ve ever seen before. I have no idea if the homeowners and drivers are LGBTQ themselves or simply supporters.
And I don’t care.
At all.
How someone dresses, who they want to have sex with, what gender they espouse are none of my business. If someone wanted my opinion, they would ask me.
In 56 years, not one person ever has.
I’ve had gay employees. I have a friend who transitioned from a man into a woman. I’ve known many LGBT people. They’re just people – just like you and me.
Actually, I do care about one thing.
It’s kind of nice that fewer people feel compelled to hide their sexual orientation, their support for pride, their identities, or their beliefs.
When I was a teenager, much of society was quite hostile toward anyone who was openly not “straight”. There were slurs, jokes, discrimination and outright violence.
As with racial discrimination, I’m aware these things still happen today. But, it seems like the stigma and the frequency of these occurrences have diminished.
That, to me, is a good thing.
