The World is Changing

It’s National Portfolio Day at a local university. My daughter (Girl #1) and I brave the crowd to attend. She’s a high school senior and interested in areas more along the creative side of life, so we’re here… learning and exploring her options.

One of the participating schools is Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Girl #1 barely knows what to do with a needle and thread and is not applying there; however, why not talk to them… their waiting line is short… and this is an opportunity for Girl #1 to have her photography critiqued by a professional.

While in line, she’s given an information card to fill out. I look at it and my eyes land on the gender boxes. And there it is, “Female,” “Male,” and “Other.”

click to enlarge

(I didn't have whiteout, so I had to use acrylic paint to cover my daughter's info.)

“Oh. Interesting,” are the words going through my mind. “I’ve never seen this before. Is “Other” a box for transgender people? Will all forms begin to have a third gender category?”

Last year, I was at my other daughter’s high school for their fall festival. A friend of mine was there, too. She had a square, rainbow colored sticker on her jacket that had “Ally” written on it, and so did other people who were walking around.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It represents the Gay/Straight Alliance, which is also a school club here,” she answered.

I don’t remember how I responded, but we continued the conversation on the subject. Somewhere in the midst of it, she asked if my readers (as in, blog readers) could handle the topic. In other words, would they talk about it? She strongly supports LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) students.

“I don’t know, Judy,” I said, “I don’t know.”

So here I am, talking about the sexual preference/identification subject that should be added to the non-safe subjects of race, religion, and politics. However, as you read on, you will notice that I’m really not delving deep into it. Maybe I should have named this post My Lips are Sealed—Part 2. In my previous post named so, I attempted to explain why I would not divulge my presidential choice in the last election.

Currently, I shy away from voicing my feelings on homosexuality on this worldwide accessible blog because of how people react to it in small circles; i.e., friends, acquaintances, family, church members, exercise class, walking group, etc. For example, the same sex marriage agenda conversations can be tense! But… don’t let that stop “you.” Feel free to respectfully comment whatever comes to your mind.

Regardless of what side of the coin you’re on, or if you have mixed emotions about homosexuality, it is not going back into the closet. My goddaughter is lesbian. My friend’s son is gay. I think a few of my relatives are closet gays. You can probably say the same.

In addition to whatever you may want to say about homosexual issues, how do you decide where to draw the line when blogging? Are there subjects that you “don’t touch?”