The Issue Of The Acceptance Of The LGBTQ Community Members

Looking forward into 2019 I think an important topic of discussion should be the equality and acceptance of members from the LGBTQ community. This topic has always had a place close to my heart even though I myself identify as straight. Growing up you meet people in your life who come and go but theres a small selection who would be considered crucial to your story line.

Two people who I identify as reoccurring characters in my life are my friends James and Mackenzie. James and I have known each other since the two of us were in kindergarten. When James and I first met, he was Ola. A slightly strange little girl who wasn’t quite like the others, and maybe thats part of what I loved about her. Ola didn’t had the easiest of times growing up. She was constantly picked on or slighted because she was different and at a time like high school when everybody is just trying to navigate through life, figuring out who they are, Ola struggled with feeling different and never understanding why she was never quite okay with herself. At 16 Ola and I weren’t in contact with each other. Our lives temporarily separated us. She transferred to a different school while I was taken from mine and placed in a treatment centre for my depression. By 17, the two of us would have one of the impactful years of our lives. That summer I was released from treatment, and assigned to a different school, the same one as my friend. A school I knew only one person at, or so I thought. I reached out to Ola and let her know my situation and my fears of starting at a new school. She immediately returned with her own fears for the upcoming school year with it being her first year in school with her new identity as James. He explained to me his past year of self discovery and how he came to terms with everything. I was nothing but supportive because I couldn’t fathom being anything but. James and I proceeded to attend school, excel and support each other through our final years of high school.

When I transferred schools James introduced me to a flamboyant guy named Mackenzie. Mackenzie and I were a match made in heaven. We loved fashion, makeup, and hair. I wore high heels every day of high school and Mackenzie was my biggest cheerleader for it. He would come over and raid my closet, trying on anything that fit. It wasn’t until one day when Mackenzie told me that he was interested in drag and how he wanted to perform in his spare time, I finally had the opportunity to be his cheerleader. After countless shopping trips, helping properly fit him for bras, the self realization set in that maybe this was always the right fit for him. About a year later Mackenzie told me that he was going by Kenzie and identified as a female. I wasn’t shocked in the slightest. I think a part of me always knew but it brought me joy knowing that she now knew too.

The next few years would be filled with stress and struggles of being transgender that most of us will never understand. I think this is a very important topic of discussion because people don’t understand the Transgender community. The misuse of names like ‘crossdresser’ or ‘tranny’, and complaints that the necessary pronouns are ‘to complicated.’ What people don’t realize is that there is immense psychological and physical pain that comes with being transgender.