In today's society, no one really thinks about the things we see, such as violence. What has become normal is heterosexual relationships and how they are the 'right' kind of relationship. Children as young as 2 are being blasted with this ideal on television and in social media. We are told at young ages that if we have a friend of the opposite sex, that means we have a crush on them or that we will end up married at some point in our lives.
However, some children figure out that they're transgender by three and some teenagers figure out that they like the same sex in middle school. They aren't shown on any platform that the same sex relationships they desire are okay to have and that they aren't wrong for liking the same gender or because they find it to be uncomfortable thinking of being with a boy or a girl.
We exclude these ideas when we write scripts for movies, TV shows and so much more. Homophobia is everywhere, which as ridiculous as it sounds, many members of the LGBT community are constantly under attack. If you do see representation in the media, it's usually a selling point, not an important plot point. And it doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
If we can normalize same-sex couples, transgender couples and other couples from the LGBT community, we as a society would lose a lot of the stigma we have surrounding LGBT. Many people claim that LGBT people are greedy and obnoxious for wanting these things, like representation, acceptance and safe spaces, but anyone who identifies as LGBT has to go through ridicule for coming out, harassment for who they are, the risk of being kicked out is very high in some cases and then they might not even have any safe spaces near them where they can be themselves. These all lead to depression, anxiety and sometimes even suicide. Many times, people come out in college because it's the first place they have to be themselves without risking being thrown out, but they then have to go back to being closeted once they get home.
With more exposure to same-sex couplings, the public can have more of an accepting view of LGBT couples. But not only that, any child who identifies as a member of the LGBT community would be able to finally see themselves in a character they love and to fee okay that they like the same sex, are transgender or don't like anyone at all because asexuality is a valid sexuality. By telling these children that they are okay and not broken for being different, we are creating a new generation that is more accepting of others differences and accepts one another.
