"Why are you so gay?" TED Talk Analysis
Mateo Rull 12th grade
Social Justice Magazine Club
Frontier Regional School
10/19/2017
Why are you so gay?
“The interesting thing about this question too, is the opposing motivations as to why do people ask this question. Some people ask this question as a way to shame me, and to shame the (gay) identity . . . but then also, people very close to me . . . ask from a place of love and concern, ‘why are you so visible?’ ‘Why would you subject yourself to potential discrimination when you don’t have to?’ And therefore, answering this question involves addressing both of these sides of concern . . . (To me) it comes down to 3 things: One, is my obligation to history; two are the realities of my own identity; and lastly, our obligations for those yet to come” (Lloyd 2014)
As on any other Monday morning at Frontier, the stream of classes flowed smoothly, undisturbed, unconcerned; occasionally a few shabby rocks would get dragged along, causing a slight agitation that was quickly settled by the drowning current of tranquility, the stream never losing its peaceful nature. This particular morning, however, the tranquility of the stream was agitated, and it caused in me a deeper shock than usual (or at least I perceived it so to be):
During the second period of the day, my class actively engaged in a debate about the Senior class superlatives, which many people had varied opinions about. After this, a comment was made regarding the fact that, during the spirit week, one of the dress ups was cancelled and changed from last year: The Gender-Bender. The class agreed that the controversy was not worth stressing about, since the school did not impose this tradition on anyone who did not feel comfortable dressing up as either gender. After this was settled, however, came the effect of groupthink, which I believe prompted one of my classmates to say: “I don’t know if I wanna say this, because I feel like it could be either dumb or rude, but I think that more people are coming out recently and it's because they just want attention”.
At a first glance, this statement should feel familiar to all high school students who are experiencing the newest wave of the “Pride” movement; living in one of the 14 states in the US with a LGTBQ community of over 4% of the total population (Williams, 2016), it is common to encounter people embracing their sexuality and personal identity. However, even for the somewhat accustomed communities, it remains hard to fully integrate this change.
In order to answer this question we first have to understand what difference means, to which Lloyd responds:
“It was in (high school) that I started what we know as covering [...] even if I didn’t necessarily feel that different from my peers, other people did. Suddenly I (deliberately ) thinked about every single step that I took [...] the things that (everyone else takes) for granted were critical things I had to think about every second of the day. I had to expand all of my creative energy in covering what it was that made me different”
Breaking through societal constructs is no easy task, but it is our responsibility in the fight for social justice. For the LGTBQ community to “own (them)selves and use (their) identities to change the system around (them)’” is an action of bravery that influences the other side of the community, the side where Lloyd resided at prior to his personal revolution. Bravery that, in his words “influenced (his) vow to be outrageous”.
Although progress is literally visible in the street nowadays, Lloyd truthfully states that “there are still so many (LGBTQ members) behind [...] in our community who do not have the resources that they need and it is our obligation not to assimilate, not to cover, because we need to keep the community open so that one day they can feel comfortable” The humble task that Lloyd takes upon during his talk, is at the same time an invitation. An invitation to change the way we see the world. An invitation to change the meaning of a word. To be strong enough to keep your identity, and equally strong for others to embrace it, in order for the rest of the community to feel that much needed sense of belonging. For “It is easier to change a community, It is easier to change a society, than to change your own identity.”
Lloyd wraps up this passion filled talk with his final response to the title: “So to answer the question . . . I am so gay because I had such loving resources that provided me with so much strength like my parents that it would be selfish and wrong, not to share that with the people who do not have them (just) yet.”
Works Cited:
(2014, November 19). Retrieved October 19, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U1foLW8h54
“LGTB Data & Demographics.” The Williams Institute, UCLA, May 2016, williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/visualization/lgbt-stats/?topic=LGBT&area=11#economic.
I found this article very interesting. I personally don't think people come out for attention, they come out when they are ready. Most people even hide their feelings for a while because they are insecure. Everyone should be able to feel safe in their school, and everyone should feel free to come out. People shouldn't be afraid to come out because of what others might say.
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ReplyDeleteThe growing LGBTQ community in schools and society is addressed in this article. Many people continue to have negative opinions about the LGBTQ community, which may prevent people from coming out and being comfortable in their own skin. I believe the ultimate goal of 21st century society is to create a community that is safe and comfortable for everyone.
ReplyDeleteThe growing LGBTQ in high schools seems to cause controversy when things need to change. The ultimate goal of high school is for everyone to feel safe and comfortable enough to learn. When our gender bender day needed to disappear some people thought because it is optional that it is okay, other people see that it makes some people feel uncomfortable so it should not continue. This is the growing controversy in high schools.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article. I found that it very effectively discussed an issue that often remains unaddressed and unacknowledged in our society. In my opinion, the very idea that people come out for attention is insulting, inaccurate, and invalidating to the LGBTQ+ community. I believe this issue and this controversy is not only in our school, it can be found almost where ever you go and wherever you are. It is important for this to be discussed in order to break through the societal construct of hetero-normality and make LGBTQ+ be able to feel comfortable with who they are and know that they are safe and welcomed. I very much appreciate this article.
ReplyDelete~Emmett McGranaghan
I believe some people possibly did come out for the attention, but many people probably did not. Most people actually saw it as a good opportunity to tell people how they really are, instead of hiding. Both sides of the argument are valid. But what matters is the people who really got something out of this movement, have won themselves hope/pride.
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses an issue that is very important and something that isn't talked about enough. There are a lot of people out there who think that people of the LGBTQ+ community are starting to come out because they want attention, which is insulting to the community. This topic is very important because with people making these accusations it will impede some people's ability to come out because they will start to think "If I come out, people are going to think it's just for attention". Instead of making ignorant comments or accusations we should be supporting the people of the LGBTQ+ community so they can feel safe and comfortable in not only school environments, but everywhere they may go.
ReplyDeleteAs high school students who think regularly about how people perceive us, and worry about how we will be judged for how we dress, who we talk to, who our friends are, who we date or even what kind of car we drive, I feel like we should be more sensitive to how we treat people around us. We should understand how hard it is for someone to come out and understand that very few people are coming out for attention.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how many people come out, for attention or otherwise it shouldn't matter. The most important thing is that you are comfortable with yourself, because that's who you have to deal with the most. Everyone around you will adapt by either accepting or ignoring you, and while being ignored or mistreated may feel bad, if you have self acceptance and support, the rest becomes negligible. While someone may come out for attention, or because they feel like they need to for whatever reason, they should be accepted too. You can never know, even if you are right in thinking that they weren't, it can be emotionally damaging to face discrimination solely on the bias of "i feel like that's not true" and would be even more so if you were wrong and treated them as such. In the end if you don't accept yourself as who you are, whether it be gay, straight, bi, or whatever else, the only person who will suffer from that is you.
ReplyDeleteI admire this article a lot. LGBTQ is something that should be taken very seriously, and not be taken as a joke or "attention seeking," many kids find it hard to come out because they're afraid people will judge them, or tease them, etc, and that should not be the case. I find many people who do "come out" or come off as "gay" are bullied which isn't fair. You don't understand how their feeling, so you have no right to judge or bully them. They are human, the same as you, except like everyone else have different personalites, sexualities, character traits, etc.
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