The reality for many queer teens in the modern age
Whenever I’m at school, I could be as flamboyant as I want. Limp wrists and the Paris Hilton voice are used to communicate. Grotesque and elaborate sexual imageries expressed through my interpolating mouth second by second, with no interruptions. The freedom of expressing any of my political views without much ridicule, or at least without any hate that is based off of complete ignorance.
It’s 180 outside of school and my friends, I have to act ‘straight’. I won’t express any of my opinions because my relatives just doesn’t really understand the global context, especially surrounding LGBT+ issues. Perhaps it has something to do with my culture as well, most Cantonese families are quite conservative after all. LGBTQ+ people are seen as comedic beats to boomers — they see us as abnormal and weird — “unnatural”. Being gay is something to laugh at when it is seen on TV, not a thing that is normal in our everyday lives. If I ever do speak anything about gay and trans rights, or any other identifying issues, there is no doubt that they will turn their backs and laugh at me.
I just never really feel accepted by my relatives and family, because they don’t know my tea. And even if I want to tell them, I honestly would never know how they would react.
Is there a solution around making older generations more open about queer people? I know this for a fact, that when people don’t like things, they won’t be convinced even with heavy persuasion — and this goes with every single issue ranging from Pro-gun control to Pro-choice.
The whole society seems to be staggering with this problem. How do we change the minds of those who are inherently fixed, stuck to the their ideas with the strongest gorilla glue ever made? So far, we still haven’t found a way to convince people that being queer is ok, especially to the very religious folks.
What do you think? Is discrimination for queer people inevitable for the future generations, or is there still a glimpse of change that we can reach for to attain social cohesion?
