The year is 2020, and we’re quite possibly at the peak of human civilization so far. Everything right from the current updates of a country located halfway across the world to add things to your grocery cart can be done using the click of a button. The Internet is one of the most powerful inventions of mankind and we’re progressing as a society (to some extent). And yet the issue of discrimination against the LGBT+ community prevails. This brings me to explain why I choose to be an ally of the LGBT+ community, and why everyone should be, too.
The members of the LGBT+ community continue to face discrimination, homophobic comments, and even violence on a regular basis for having a specific gender and/or sexual identity and for having feelings towards their preferred gender. The fact that heterosexuals have this freedom to love who they want to and exist as they are, and the members of the LGBT+ community do not is execrable. It’s important to note that supporting the LGBT+ community should not be out of pity, but rather out of empathy and a motivation to create a more accepting environment.
A reason we often fail to recognize is homophobia, transphobia and just general discrimination against a specific part of a population leads to mental health disorders – depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and the list goes on and on. Ask yourself – would you, a heterosexual citizen living in the 21st century, be okay with going through all that the members of the LGBT+ community have to go through, for choosing to love who you love? Why does there need to be a difference in the extension of this freedom?
Let’s consider a scenario where a heterosexual woman A and a homosexual woman B are both applicants for a specific job. B happens to have better qualifications than A does and yet, the employer selects woman A because of blatant narrow-mindedness. This is a clear waste of someone’s talent and hard-work when person B was clearly the better choice considering the fact that she was better qualified. This is, unfortunately, a common incident. Why is it that most often than not, professional and/or educational opportunities are awarded based on an illiberal bias?
Most importantly, I believe that it’s essential to be an ally of the LGBT+ community because if we do not pick a side, we choose to stand with the oppressor, unintentionally. We have the opportunity to demolish the pillars of the long-prevailing discrimination against the LGBT+ community by choosing to support the members of the said community. Every voice matters.