I went home for Easter last weekend after 3 months of separation from my family. I missed them a great deal and, judging from the insistance of my mother and little sister to buy/cook me delicious treasures, they seemed to miss me just as much. Every time I return home to my family, I am reminded of the love between each of its members. Sometimes that love is so encouraging that I question if it is time for me to tell them what I’ve been hiding for so long.
My mother isn’t the type to disown one of her children or cry out to God as to why she has been cursed with a non-heterosexual daughter. In fact, my sister and I are her pride and joy. Unfortunately, she lives through us. However, I still find myself throwing out the idea of telling her or my little sister any time soon. Actually, I’m terrified that she might find this blog by accident. The fear of abandonment and disappointing my family is ever present. This is why I feel that the Day of Silence is important. Whether you choose to be silent that day or not is up to you. The most important thing is that the word gets out. We have all faced the pressure to remain silent about our sexualities whether we realized it or not. It’s important to remind ourselves and others that, although we have made a great deal of progress, we still have quite a way to go.
My family predicament also makes me wonder how much easier it would be if I had gay father(s) or lesbian mother(s). While I am assuming that my situation would be significantly less dramatic if my parent(s) were of the same “persuasion” as I, I can’t help but think that it’s true. As a result, I am a strong supporter of LGBT people adopting/birthing children. Call me biased (and I would completely agree with you) but I think we would make great parents! We are open-minded. Most of us are (pop)culturally aware. What kid wouldn’t want that?! I understand that many LGBT people don’t want to get married/pop out kids and I support that, too. However, we must think of our community at large. I know that it’s easy to forget about the world outside of our Chambana bubble, but let’s not become complacent. As for my brothers and sisters who are forced to be silent, we hear you.
In other news, here are some videos that have kept me sane as the school year draws to a close. The first one relates to the topics discussed; the other is from my not-so-secret stash.
Jessica : Jessica is double majoring in Nerdology and Aesthetics and has a minor headache. She enjoys philosophical discussions and challenging the status quo. Above all else, she wants to hear YOUR story,too!
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Jessica
Jessica is double majoring in Nerdology and Aesthetics and has a minor headache. She enjoys philosophical discussions and challenging the status quo. Above all else, she wants to hear YOUR story,too!
unklt1 (unklt1) says:
(Posted April 18th, 2009 at 7:08 pm)
Hey Jessica. I saw you yesterday but didn’t get a chance to say hi. I too think that the Day of Silence is important. There’s an urgent message that needs to be communicated and It obviously got quite a bit of attention. If not in the classrooms, definitely on the Quad. Even today, I was sitting in Panera getting some work done and a group of students were talking about it.
It was amazing watching the students from our ministry so eager to support LGBT folks, even to the point of sitting on the Quad all day in our booth. We had another activity planned at the HUB but they insisted on heading to Green Street instead for the Hug-In.
The message was heard, loud and clear. I believe that it made a difference. But still so much more work to be done.
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