S.A.G.A. Rights in America | Teen Ink

S.A.G.A. Rights in America

March 21, 2016
By SherlockOf221b BRONZE, Unalaska, Alaska
SherlockOf221b BRONZE, Unalaska, Alaska
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Wednesday has been cancelled due to scheduling errors"


 “Saga”- Noun  1.” A long story of heroic achievement.”


Unfortunately, America is not as free as it seems. S.A.G.A (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance) is a new and less known term for LGBTIQ+. This is so people don’t feel left out if their term is not included. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, asking for the freedom of all people. Today people are still fighting for their freedom to love whom they love, dress how they feel, and to be who they are with the acceptance of other people. People don’t allow the S.A.G.A community to have all of the same rights as any ‘normal’ person, so they have support groups across the world helping and fighting for their acceptance.
  Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to go to an all-white school, only her teacher accepted her as a normal person and taught her like she would normally teach a class of whites. Her story involves her fighting for freedom and her human rights and people continue to fight today, but for other reasons like the S.A.G.A rights. All people deserve to be treated equally, not rejected by society. Most problems concerning the S.A.G.A community involve bullying, which is one of the big reasons there are support groups. People have no reason to bully other people for whom they love, because that person does not affect them in any way. If that person has harassed them in any way then they should talk to an adult or someone who can help.


It is upsetting to think amazing people are hurt physically and emotionally for who they are. I grew up thinking everyone was equal whether they were a boy, girl, or nonbinary. My family has always been accepting, even if they did not understood how the person thought. I admire people who are open about being queer, meaning being different than others (in the terms of sexuality or gender preference) because it takes courage to face people that aren’t as accepting. There are many people in the world that would do anything to harm queer people and try to force their thoughts into people’s brains, just so that person would feel unaccepted. I think it is unfair to do this to a person just because they think differently than a heterosexual cis (cisgender) person does.


Before a child was born, the parents would have a ‘gender reveal party’, immediately assigning the child a gender, disallowing them to think for themselves in the future. A child should have the right to think for themselves concerning their sexuality or gender. Usually when parents are asked, “What gender do you want your child to be?” even though they shouldn’t decide, they answer, “We don’t care, as long as they’re happy”. This statement usually changes as soon as their child starts thinking differently. Although some people might disagree with me, I think children should assign their own genders when they can think and dress how they would like.


Society tells you to just be yourself in order to be happy, but when they don’t like the way you live, they will tell you to live like they do. When heterosexual (or cisgender) people don’t agree with queer people, or don’t call them by their preferred pronouns, they are basically saying that they know that person better than they do themselves. They are also saying that they are superior to them and they decide their gender and sexuality themselves instead of letting that person decide. When people say that it was their choice to be queer instead of heterosexual (cisgender), it says that they had a choice to be bullied and hated or to be accepted and loved. No person would ever choose to be bullied or disliked by family and people around them.
Even though we have started to fight for S.A.G.A rights in the world, it doesn’t mean the S.A.G.A “community” can use it against people. If someone thinks you dislike them or don’t talk to them because they are queer and they use it against you by saying you are just homophobic or transphobic, etc. then they are using their sexuality against you. It isn’t right to use their sexuality against anyone, because it is unfair, and other people automatically assume that that person is homophobic or transphobic etc. They automatically hate that person even if they have never spoken to them.


All people need to be accepted for who they are, but there still are some things that are wrong and some things that are right for everyone.   You can’t force your own thoughts and opinions into someone’s mind, because that is wrong. You can influence them and be a role model, but you shouldn’t change them from whom they are, into someone you want them to be. You shouldn’t bully someone because they aren’t like you, or look different than you, because you don’t know them as a person. If you bully someone or hate someone by their appearance and sexuality, you are judging them by their cover. If your child or future child turns out to be queer, would you force them to be whom you wish for them to be? Or would you accept them for who they are as your child and as a person?


The author's comments:

Some of my friends were bullied for being queer, I only want for everyone to understand what it is like to be queer. No one deserves to feel unloved by their family or friends.


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