Why are Pride, representation, and eliminating biases important? Pride month is a month that I look forward to every year. It's a time where conversations can be started and people can be celebrated.
And let me say, these people deserve it. After being forced into hiding, being stigmatized, and being harassed, they need their time to shine.
After seeing an argument on Facebook about this, it got me to thinking about why things like pride and equal representation are so important. One of the main reasons is the one stated above. People who are part of the LGBTQ community have been silenced for so long because their lifestyle was considered wrong because of religion, culture, and other's opinions. No one should have to worry about discrimination or judgment because of who they choose to share their life with. What should define a person is who they are, how they act, and how they treat others. Who they choose to be.
Another big reason is that people deserve to be represented. Regardless of race, gender, orientation, or ethnicity. This is why films like "Black Panther," "Love, Simon," "13 Reasons Why," and "Wonder Woman" were such a big deal to communities around the world. For the first time, a female was a strong lead that wasn't reduced to the love interest. "Love, Simon" gave a representation of LGBTQ youth and the struggle it is for someone to come out along with the metal process it takes to accept that.
"13 Reasons Why" has a pretty diverse cast while showing same-sex relationships in a positive light. "Black Panther" not only had perfect casting (which tends to not happen with races a lot of the time), but it also portrayed the characters in the right way as well as having Killmonger bring up points about racism and the treatment of others. We have the Women's Marches, Black Lives Matter, the Me Too Movement, and the protests all around the world, and now people are starting to listen.
These are the kinds of things that we need to see. After generations of intolerance, we need to start showing the future generations what we've been striving for in this millennial thing we have going on now. If we want to see the equal treatment of others, fairness, empowerment, and no more biases, we have to start exemplifying it now. We have to use the attention that we're getting from the media, writing, and the workplaces to further push forward the good ideas that we have.
We are, whether we like it or not, whether it's intentional or not, the teachers of the people behind us. If you want respect, you show it and earn it. We should focus on the empowerment and education, that way they can be taught how important these issues are and how crucial they are for the people around them. That way, society and our ways of thinking can change, which can, in turn, cause a shift in our society which can ripple across the country and get everything the way that it should be—fair and beneficial to those who are a part of it.
