This week in our course we have been discussing the topics of Sexuality and Heterosexism. Since our class discussion, I have been struggling to wrap my head around everything. I learned things in class that I had never thought about. Ex: how I had the privilege of never having to "come out" by sharing my sexual preference with others because I knew it would be accepted. How can we change our attitudes as a society so that individuals that identify as LGBTQ don't need to "come out" to others? How do we create a community that embraces ALL of its people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity?
A very interesting article I read, titled "Should a Student Conceal Her Lesbian Identity in College Application Essays?" discusses a young woman and her decision to disclose her lesbian identity and the uncertainty that brings with it. If a woman decides to "come out" in her application essays will admission councils be less likely to admit her? If they do not admit her because of her identity it is probably not a good fit for her, anyhow. I think it is very brave and admiring that a young woman is so confident in her identity that she is willing to "come out" in her application essay. Just the fact the people need to come out at all is still something I'm struggling with.
The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/booming/should-a-student-conceal-her-lesbian-identity-in-college-application-essays.html?smid=tw-share
Another article I read that discusses an individual disclosing their sexual identity to others, titled The Coming Out of Apple’s Tim Cook: ‘This Will Resonate’, discusses how a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Apple, came out publicly. As the first publicly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company, this represents a big step for society. Because Tim Cook is a somewhat influential and powerful individual, this may give courage to others to come out or voice their opinions on their sexuality for the first time.
This article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/technology/apple-chief-tim-cooks-coming-out-this-will-resonate.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A13%22%7D
I really hope someday I can live in a society where people do not need to come out in the sense that everyone will be accepted for who they are regardless of their sexual orientation, ability, race, ethnicity, religion, etc. As a future school counselor I will advocate for these traditionally underserved individuals in hope of that!
This is just a test comment. My other one got deleted for some reason >:/
ReplyDeleteReal comment: I agree that we as a society need to become better able to be more accepting of those in the LGBTQ community, and I think part of that can be accomplished by realizing that there is more to all of their identities than just who they are attracted to. For instance, with the girl in the article you linked, there is probably much more that makes up her identity--such as the extracurriculars she partook in or her grades--that should be considered and are more important than just who she is sexually attracted to. LGBTQ individuals certainly have parts of their identity that is heavily informed by their sexuality, but that should not be all that defines them.
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