October is Gay History Month or LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered) History Month. I am so lucky to have LOGO in my satellite package.I wouldn't even know about it with that blessed channel.
In case you've been too afraid to watch the "Gay Network", you've missed a lot! You all know I'm from a small town where sexuality in general is not discussed. It is easy to be prejudiced because you aren't exposed to other things. Watching love stories about two men, like Adam and Steve, or two women, like Imagine You and Me, have made me more comfortable with actually seeing LGBT relationships in front of me. At the same time, it makes me so proud that the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage...way to go Iowa!!!
Yesterday on LOGO there was an awesome documentary called A Jihad for Love. It was about the struggle that gay and lesbian Muslims have faced balancing their religion and sexuality. But it went beyond the religion and into the governments of places like Iran where homosexual sex is illegal. The punishment for one of the men caught included 100 lashes....truly sickening. A lot of the men and women had moved to more inclusion countries like Turkey and Canada.
So, I tagged this post as education for two reasons: 1) because all people should be educated on the struggles faced by LGBT people and 2) because educators have to be really sensitive in these areas. All students (in high school) are discovering their sexuality, no matter the preference. But no teacher wants to bring this issue up. I found a wonderful article called "Raising Gay/Lesbian Issues in the Classroom" that give examples of issues and potential ways for teachers to deal with them. They are generic but still helpful.
In this month that we are celebrating the fight for civil rights among the gay and lesbian community, we should remember that the struggle was started because of love and that's how it should end. With all people accepting that love really is all we need.
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