A Lot to Learn about LGBTQ+

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On Friday I went to the showing of the movie Jungen, or Boys. It is a LGBTQ+ film about a “queer coming of age” story. As a cis straight male, I thought that this movie may be hard to write about, but I was certainly wrong. After the viewing of this movie, I began thinking a lot about how little I actually knew about the LGBTQ+ movement. I obviously support the movement, but after watching the movie I think I have a lot to learn about the movement and myself as well. I think for a long time I was uninterested in learning about the movement because I thought it didn’t apply to me, yet I think it applied to all of us. People who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to be treated equally in society, and more often than not they are not treated fairly. I think that in order to truly be supportive of the movement, it is necessary to listen to and understand the people who are a part of the movement. For me this may mean watching more movies like this and possibly having conversations with members of the LGBTQ+ community to hear their stories and for others it may mean something different, but whatever it is that we each need to do, we should do it.

One thought on “A Lot to Learn about LGBTQ+”

  1. I definitely agree that there is a lot about the LGBTQ+ movement that people don’t fully understand or know about. I feel like a lot of that comes from people supporting the movement but not really immersing themselves in it because it doesn’t specifically apply to them or someone they’re close to. This is true for me and a lot of people I know. Even though we may not feel particularly close to the movement, it’s definitely important to understand the “why” of it all and to make small but sure strides towards the desired end goal. One way I recently learned this can be done is through mentioning your pronouns as you introduce yourself in a group setting. In this way, you are helping to create a safe space for those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community by allowing others to offer as much or as little information about themselves as they want to, thus removing a level of assumption.