A few days ago, Beth David and Esteban Bravo released the short film "In a Heartbeat," an animated short about a closeted teenage boy whose heart pops out of his chest, threatening to reveal his true feelings for his crush, another teenage boy. For those who haven't seen it, the video is below.
I recently watched the video, which was extremely well done and got its message across crystal clear: love is love, and no one should have to hide their feelings. The amount of backlash this cartoon has received from hundreds of thousands of people on Facebook is sickening to me, and there are a few things I'd like to say to those who view this cartoon as "inappropriate" or pushing a "twisted agenda."
Let me start by saying that the LGBTQ+ community is one that has faced lots of attention on the national stage in the past few months and years. Legalizing gay marriage was a huge step forward, but banning transgender people from the military was just as large of a step backward. This is a group that, as I see it, is almost constantly scrutinized in one way or another simply because they are different. While I am not a member of this community and cannot speak for all of its members, I would like to say a few things to the people that feel as though they can pass judgment on this group.
First, to those who think that homosexuality is an illness, this claim is scientifically not sound. Studies have shown that exposure to different sex hormones in the womb can impact sexual orientation. There are parts of the brain that could be involved in sexual orientation. Gay and straight women and men have the same amount of sex hormones, and these hormones cannot be changed after a person is born. For even more reading on this, you can go to this article. Homosexuality cannot be likened to diseases like schizophrenia, like several people equated it to when defending Trump's recent military transgender ban, because there is nothing wrong with the brains or thoughts of an LGBTQ+ individual. Science proves it.
The cartoon paints this picture beautifully. While the closeted boy does not want to tell his crush how he feels, his heart cannot help itself. It was not the boy's choice to tell his crush about his feelings; the boy's heart leaps out of his chest and starts to chase his crush while the boy tries to stop it. This illustrates the fact that people do not "choose" their sexual orientation incredibly well.
Many critics of this cartoon said that kids are impressionable and teaching them that homosexuality is normal is not okay. But why do they think that homosexuality is not normal? The answer to this question is easy: because homosexuality is something that these people don't understand and don't care to understand. They don't think it's "normal" because it's not who they are. The LGBTQ+ community is no different than any other minority group that has been marginalized in history. Minorities are looked down upon because they do not share the same opinions or thoughts as the majority. But who is to say that a minority's ideas are inherently wrong? Who gets the right to tell a group tens of thousands of people strong that they are sick or twisted because they are not the same? The answer to this question is also pretty simple: no one has this right. Just because someone is different from you does not give you the right to look down on them. You can agree to disagree with someone, but attacking them based on factors they can't control is ridiculous and counterproductive.
Along this same line, people have to realize that a cartoon will not make children become gay. The idea to "let kids be kids" and not expose them to homosexuality at a young age is okay for some, but what about kids who begin to question their sexuality at a young age? This cartoon is not pushing any kind of agenda and its creators are not trying to force any ideology down the throats of their viewers. To me, this cartoon is aimed to help kids questioning their sexual orientation. LGBTQ+ kids may be young, but they should still be able to express themselves in whatever way they see fit. If this cartoon can even make one LGBTQ+ child more comfortable within his or her own sin, I think it's amazing. Kids in the LGBTQ+ community today are being brought up in a world they think hates them. Many probably already feel as though they are less than others because they are different, and these kids should be lifted up and helped instead of shoved aside or ignored. We should be teaching kids the importance of love and acceptance, not that it's okay to spew hate and judgment upon others.
To those who criticized this video simply because it features gay teenagers, I have one word for you: tolerance. You don't have to understand everything about the LGBTQ+ community, but you should still accept this group. Yes, these people are different than the majority of Americans, but that does not mean that they are any less. These are people that we're talking about, and they should be treated as such. They cannot and should not change who they are to fit into the "normal" mold that some Americans are trying to force them into. They are perfectly normal and perfectly equal to everyone else and should not be looked down upon for any reason.
Again, I can't speak for LGBTQ+ people because I am not one of them, but I can speak for the members of the straight community that are tired of seeing this group receive so much backlash. To those that would prefer to not see this cartoon or things like it: don't watch it. LGBTQ+ people are not going to go away, so you're wasting your time and your energy posting negative things about them. No one is trying the shove any kind of agenda down your throat with things like this cartoon, so don't try to shove your own agenda down anyone else's. This video wouldn't be so controversial if people would simply tolerate and accept each other for who they are.
To everyone: Spread love, not hate. If you can't spread love, don't spread your negativity.
No one deserves to be talked to or talked about like they are less than anyone else. Yes, people are all different, but that's what makes the world such an exciting place. Don't pass judgment on anyone because they are not the same as you. Everyone deserves to be who they really are, so don't try to force someone to be something they're not so they fit into your version of "normal."
