Where I Started...
Back in middle school was where I first learned a little bit about this community but didn’t think much of it because of how little it was talked about back then. No one really teaches you anything about the LGBTQ+ community in elementary or middle school (at least for our generation). I also think this is why many people see the community as weird because they are not told about it at a young age and therefore think anything else that doesn’t follow their "norms" that they learn in childhood is just weird and not normal.
Many people see the community as a joke but why treat a community you’ve never learned about as if they were insignificant? That’s why I never followed that personality myself even when I knew nothing. I decided to just let people be and to not think of anything as weird or abnormal.
Beginning of my freshman year was when social media really was the main place for people to share about the community and to get the word out that they weren’t just a joke but a striving community of activists and supporters wanting change for what society thinks about the LGBTQ+ community and to stop homophobic acts that affect people in tons of horrible ways.
This is where I really started to educate myself on the topic and ended up being an ally for many amazing people that I now hang out with all the time! Using apps like Instagram you can really find many amazing pages to educate yourself and learn more just like I did! A few very informative Instagram pages are linked at the bottom.
Even this month's issue is a great place to learn a little about different parts of the community and many different topics, especially if you don’t know much at all! So look around and educate yourself!