Gay in the South

As of September 2015, I will have lived twenty years of my life in the, so-called, South as a gay male. Thinking back to as far as I can remember, I would have never guessed that this is who I was meant to be. I grew up in a somewhat religious household where church wasn’t optional and prayer over every meal was a must. Everything I learned in church and everything that I was taught by my parents was how to be a smart and well-behaved man. Unfortunately, their definition of a man and my type of personality just didn’t seem to match up. I had feminine tendencies that seemed to be unsettling with everyone around me. My mother would always glare at me when she saw something that didn’t fit her fancy. I swear if I looked hard enough, I could see flames burning in the back of her eyes. Threats of a whipping were frequent and fear of what she may do was bestowed in my heart. If you ask me, a child shouldn’t be taught or influenced to fear their parents. Love and a sense of trust should be the go to feeling when thinking of your mom or dad.
Now, if dealing with my mother wasn’t enough, I had to deal with daily bullying from poorly potty trained, inconsiderate, incompetent children I called classmates. Elementary and middle school where probably some of the worst years of my life…so far. Throughout those eight years, it never occurred to me that kids are taught hatred and discrimination, but from whom? Their parents!
The majority of the population in the southern parts of America consists of the elderly, whom have most likely lived through some part of the Civil Rights Movement. Hopefully, we all know that that was a time where Negro men and women came together to fight for their rights. But the homosexual community was still seen as a foul and disgusting niche of human society. These thoughts and accusation were passed down from generation to generation, which continually made it difficult for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender) community to “come out of he closet”.
Now I have never lived up North, but people that I’ve known from the North say that the atmosphere towards gays is less discriminative. The Trevor Project, created to help prevent suicidal attempts in the LGBT community, has studies that show southern states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee are ten percent more likely to have LGBT suicide attempts. Hmm, I wonder why. Personally, growing up as a gay male in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was and still isn’t the easiest thing to do. However, I know for a fact that I am psychologically capable of handling any disgust and hatred that I may face. So, baby, won’t you come my way because I’m ready to show you what I’m made of.
A couple words of advice: stop belittling others because they don’t like what you like, talk how you talk, and dress how you dress because if you open your mind just a tad bit more, and stop being simple-minded, you would realize that all of us are different and unique in our very own way. Spend a little less time peeping into other’s personal lives and take some time to fix your own. No one is perfect and no one is asking us to be.