One of the more popular headlines being shared around social media and the internet recently is the story of a mother who canceled her family's trip to Disney World after learning of the inclusion of a gay character in the new adaptation of the film "Beauty and the Beast." Go ahead and take a look at what she wrote regarding this on her blog here. Naturally, with her passionate deeply-held beliefs, her blog post quickly gained a lot of attention from both individuals who agree and individuals who are opposed to what she said. As an out member of the LGBTQ+ community, here is my response to this individual and her experience.
First, I have to commemorate her dedication to parenting. I have immeasurable amounts of respect for individuals who truly immerse themselves in being parents and put forth the effort to raise their children in good, loving environments, which seems to be the intention of this mother. However, I have to defend this "agenda" that is supposedly threatening her and many others across the world with the inclusion of one gay character in a movie. What this woman is viewing as something immoral that is forced upon her is actually one step closer to having some sort of feasible representation for individuals who identify differently than most.
Growing up, I had absolutely nothing to base my disparate feelings off of and nobody in the media to look up to for having similar experiences that I had. With this in mind, I am incredibly happy that mainstream media sources are taking action, little by little, to give our youth a viewpoint outside of the norm, because there will undoubtedly be more kids who are unsure of their identity and looking for someone who can relate.
In addition, in her blog post, this modest mom decides to compare Disney's bold move to vulgar things that any parent wouldn't want their children viewing, such as pornographic materials and foul language in TV and movies. Obviously, no parent would even think about letting their young child near influencers like this. However, my sexuality, along with that of every other member of the LGBTQ+ community, is not a threat. I am not who I am to corrupt this world. My sexual identity is an incredible part of who I am, and I am proud to love who I love.
The author also mentioned that she has received a collection of hate mail in response to her stance on this topic. Naturally, this had to have been incredibly difficult for this woman to experience. I absolutely do not stand for any sort of destructive action from one person or group to be done upon another. However, I feel as though it is important for her to recognize that this is what members of the queer community face on a daily basis simply because of who they are and what they believe. As a white, cisgendered, Christian woman, our society has absolutely been a safer place for her than for our queer neighbors. Verbal, physical, and even fatal attacks against the LGBTQ+ community occur far too frequently, and this rhetoric of labeling us in a category amongst things that are considered harmful to our youth is simply going to continue the hate.
A friendly reminder to everyone: love thy neighbor. And actually let us exist, even in the media. Do it for the struggling youth who don't have anywhere else to turn to find someone like them. Representation matters.