By Frankie Van Sickle, Contributing Writer
Are you the problem? In my life, I have faced hardships for one thing that stands out the most.
You might not know who I am, or if you do, then you probably guessed it; I’m gay. Being gay mostly sucks about 80% of the time.
When I was younger, we didn’t have any public figures to look up to. I didn’t discover until I was significantly older what I should be in my life because I didn’t have anyone to look up to. I felt like being straight was the only option, because I had no one in my life.
Gay people were finally coming into the scene in Hollywood. This was one of the biggest changes in my life. I finally felt normal. They started coming onto MTV, Bravo, movies and even social media. This was a huge step into shedding light on the LBGTQA+ community, and it is being normalized into society. You would think this would be a stepping stone until we talk about it in younger children’s shows.
In 2019, Disney decided to cancel its “Andi Mack” show during its third season. In the second season, one of the characters decided to come out to their friends, and this caused a big uproar in parents whose kids watch Disney Channel.
They didn’t want homosexuality or bisexuality forced on their children when now we are seeing more and more people come out to their friends and families. It’s starting to become more normalized and people need to accept that the normal is starting to change.
In the final episode of season three, there was a big moment that people have been waiting for Cyrus and TJ, played by Joshua Rush and Luke Mullen, to finally admit that they had feelings for each other and held hands on the bench they were sitting at.
Later we discover that the show was canceled because of six felony charges against Stoney Westmoreland who played the grandfather. As well as the charges, one of the biggest uproars that made the show cancel was how parents were upset that this lifestyle was shown. What is the problem with this?
I honestly don’t see the problem with it at all. Don’t you want people to be loved by someone else? I just don’t understand what the parents are thinking to not let someone be loved. Not seeing people like me on tv really put me in a bad mental state of feeling stuck on who I am and not being able to comprehend what I’m going to do with life.
Now think about that to dozens of teenagers or children who are trying to figure themselves out. Don’t you want them to have someone like Cyrus and TJ to make them not feel alone? What if this was your child? You want them to be loved and supported no matter what.
This is your chance! It is all about wanting to be loved by someone, and if that means the same sex, then whatever. Just having love in the world can become something wonderful.
vansicfr18@bonaventure.edu
