Day of Silence
If I am correct, Day of Silence is tomorrow. I didn’t really plan on it and didn’t really even realize it was tomorrow till last night, so I don’t think I will be partaking in it. But this is what I have to say on the whole matter.
It is often said that Day of Silence is about Gay Rights. Lets take this back just a bit. Gay Rights. Gay rights would imply that it is only the movement for gay gentleman to have rights. Not saying they shouldn’t, but I think we all know that this is more than just gay men. This is not a rights movement purely for fetish’s and sex and beards everywhere. This isn’t just about lust, or love, or a piece of paper with your name on it.
This is about Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Pansexual, Asexual, Polysexual, Demisexual, Genderqueer, Agender, Bigender, and Transgender and everything-else-in-between rights. This is about not being afraid to be who you know you are, who you didn’t choose to be but who you’ve accepted to become. To be that person that can take a step forward when everyone wants to take one back. To be able to talk about the safety of more than just one kind of sex in one position in school. To be able to be in a locker room without the worry of someone catching you looking the wrong way for a second. To be able to raise your hand to tell the teacher your name and not have this small panic attack in the back of your head over whether or not they will call you out on it. To not have to worry about saying something and not being able to get a paycheck for it. To not have to stand around for ten minutes wondering which bathroom you should use, which store will let you in a fitting room, and which state you can get away with being you in.
This is about safety in sex, mental, and physical health. This is about freedom. This is America and this is a demand for not Gay Rights, but Human Rights. We cannot stay silent, we cannot stop “whining”, and we WILL NOT step down. We have always been here, always will be here, and we are here now. You don’t have to love us, but you need to respect us.
Thank you.
