The world has become far more progressive than it once was. People are beginning to truly accept and to advocate for the LGBTQ community. It is phenomenal how, as a society, we have shifted from not even acknowledging people who identify as part of said community to hosting parades worldwide to celebrate the diversity they manifest. It warms my heart to live in a place where we are taught to embrace each other's differences; however, acceptance is only the first step. We must also educate ourselves in order for us to truly be connected to all of humanity.
Throughout high school, I met a vast amount of diverse people – people of different race, ethnicity, social background but especially people with different sexualities and gender identities. At first, I was confused, and I am often still confused. These people identify differently than myself and most people I know, but that does not give me the right to be ignorant. It is acceptable to be confused, but the confusion displays a need for knowledge. It is everyone's duty to educate themselves because if we remain ignorant on things that are prevalent in our daily lives, then we will often be offensive and have a difficult time connecting with people who are different.
LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) this is the most commonly used acronym to refer to this group of people. Unfortunately, this acronym dismisses many other sexualities and gender identities. Many of us, including myself, are unaware of people who do not fit under the LGBTQ umbrella or who are not like ourselves. A far more accurate yet far less used acronym to describe this community is LGBTQA+(lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, plus). The plus is what most people tend to be least knowledgable about. Until recent years, I did not even know that the "plus" existed, and a large amount of people I have encountered are still unaware of the existence of the plus. According to the website, Deviant Art, some of the identities that qualify as part of the plus category include:
Demisexual - Demisexuality is a sexual orientation in which someone feels sexual attraction only to people with whom they have an emotional bond.
Heteroflexible - Heteroflexibility is a form of a sexual orientation or situational sexual behavior characterized by minimal homosexual activity in an otherwise primarily heterosexual sexual orientation that is considered to distinguish it from bisexuality.
Pansexual - Pansexuals have the capability of attraction to others, regardless of their gender identity or biological sex.
Agender (non-gender) - Agenders do not identify with any gender; it is the feeling of having no gender.
Bigender: Bigender people identify as two genders simultaneously or move between them.
The LGBTQA+ community is our community, regardless of whether we identify as a heterosexual cisgender person or as a pansexual agender person. We were put on this earth to make connections and to love, but neither is possible if we do not make an effort to get to know each other's stories. People will often be different than you, and some people will not be what you consider to be "normal," but we should enrich ourselves with knowledge of other beings ways.
