Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights have become more and more normalized in today’s society – but that does not mean the fight is over. Members of the LGBTQ+ community still face a lot of prejudice and hatred on a daily basis. The University of South Florida’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, or OMA, put on events throughout the month of October to spread awareness of these issues and in celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month.
Nicholas Johnson is a junior studying Music Performance at USF, and he identifies as gay. He knew that October was LGBTQ+ History Month, but he did not realize that the OMA had a month full of LGBTQ+ awareness events planned.
“While I think they are a great thing to offer, the events aren’t necessarily things I would attend,” Johnson said.
The OMA put on a number of events, including a Trans+ Support Group and a seminar on Sexual Empowerment, Wellness and Safety. Cassie Stern is a double major in Creative Writing and Women and Gender Studies at USF, and she felt that the OMA did a great job promoting its events to the student body.
“LGBTQ+ History Month was well publicized in all of my women and gender studies classes and was publicized in my residence hall,” Stern said. “I think the Office of Multicultural Affairs did a great job with the events.”
Though Johnson did not know much about the events ahead of time, he did notice an increase in LGBTQ+ pride on campus.
“I’ve seen a lot of people handing out rainbow flags across campus in the past month,” Johnson said.
Forrest Hartmann, one of Johnson’s close friends, considers himself an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.
“I have a passion for people and them receiving the respect they deserve, regardless of gender,” Hartmann said. “I have many friends and family members that are part of the LGBT community and they are just like everybody else.”
Johnson has been quite lucky to have friends like Hartmann throughout his lifetime, as well as an extremely supportive family.
“I have been fortunate enough to have an incredibly accepting family,” Johnson said. “So much so that I openly had two boyfriends before saying that I was gay to my parents. The first time I even mentioned being gay was during a joke at my high school graduation dinner.”
Johnson feels that he has been very lucky to avoid many of the challenges that often come with identifying as gay.
“I became ‘Facebook officially’ gay just by simply changing my ‘interest in’ information one summer,” Johnson said. “No one made a big deal out of it, I just got a couple messages of support.”
Johnson is one of the fortunate few. Violent crimes against the LGBTQ+ community are still a very real threat in today’s society. How could anyone forget the horrific massacre that shattered Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community just last summer at Pulse Gay Nightclub?
According to the New York Times, members of the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to be victims of hate crimes than any other minority. In reports found on the FBI’s website, a fifth of reported hate crimes in 2016 were because of someone’s sexual orientation. That percentage rose from 18.6 percent in 2015 to 20.8 percent in 2016.
This is the terrifying reality that is evident to all members of the LGBTQ+ community. Though huge strides have been made in recent years, especially with the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, today’s society still has a long way to go.
In the meantime, Johnson and other members of the LGBTQ+ community will continue to simply be themselves and show the rest of the world that their sexual orientation does not define who they are.
Johnson hopes that one day, people will be allowed to love freely and without fear of persecution. However, he will not let that get in the way of his happiness now.
“In the long run, a lot of the discomfort from not feeling accepted was actually my own projection of my feelings onto other people,” Johnson said. “I know it sounds cliche, but once you learn to accept yourself, others will accept you. No good comes from hiding from yourself.” (Pictured Below)