We Are a Gay People

In America, it is easy to become blinded towards the rest of the world.

Here we have it all.

Despite our obstacles, such as living by our own personal agendas, having to deal with our own set of issues and rules, and having to keep up with our fast paced lives, we live in a nation where we say what goes. A place where each of our individual’s voices have a chance of being heard no matter our status in society or our level of economic wealth. In this nation, we are allowed to make the rules, bend them, adapt them and continually change them. if we believe something we speak up if we reject something we make it known.

This wonderful land is where love triumphed because of a people who fought a long and strenuous battle to achieve their desires. The LGBTQIA community or the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Queer and Intersexual and Asexual community makes up roughly around 3.8% of Americas population different statistics across the worlds countries.  

Nonetheless, in America we are allowed the right to speak freely, and to fight freely for our causes, but internationally there are countries who restrict their peoples integration into the making of laws, who constrict their actions and impede their involvement in anything the government finds undesirable.

This is the sick reality for those living in anti-gay countries of the LGBTQIA community.

Credits To: Unknown

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, or ILGA, gives a list of 75 countries with criminal laws against sexual activity by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people (LGBTIs), but that number an understatement.

The map above highlights 79 countries across the globe that still have laws against sexual relations between same sex people. Russia and Lithuania are not highlighted only because they do not have laws against same sex acts but do have repressive laws against the propaganda of homosexuality.

What do people go through when living in these countries and wanting to freely express their human rights?

Well, the results are horrendous.

National geographic photographers and journalist searched these countries to find those who have been affected by these laws personally and by the people around them wishing to implicate the laws themselves onto this community.

Personal accounts from 65 individuals demonstrated to sharing common experiences with discriminative acts. But violent acts ranged from beating out in the open, death threats , to malicious treatment by officials themselves.

This series of accounts called “Where Love isIllegal” was documented by Robin Hammond and it takes an in-depth look at abused and intolerance faced by the LGBTQIA in 7 different countries.

How can these issues be approached?

For instance, the African continent, being the largest continent to have the most countries with anti-gay laws, must approach this issue through multiple angles. Whether they be political, social, cultural and legal, Udoka Okafor, states that the influence of the west during pre and post colonialization is what caused such a homophobia due to the spread of Christian religion at the time. Seeing Africa from a different light, such as that which predate homosexuality to much earlier times she believes will introduce a new perspective and initiate a process of gradual acceptance of the LGBTQIA community in this continent.

What is America doing to help the cause?

President Obama saw it fit to express his support for thegay community before his trip to Africa, letting other world leaders know where he stands on the issue in the attempt to hopefully increase open mindedness about it. Nonetheless, in reality we cannot do much against the governments of others, all we are able to do thus far is continue to fight for the cause, hoping that these ancient mindsets conclude what should have been concluded long ago- Love will win sooner or later so might as well make it sooner.

Here the gay community was victorious on June 16, 2015 and over all America is a country where open mindedness is practically required as part of acquiring citizenship.  Here, we can  live our lives to the fullest, love who we want to and be whatever we work for. The same cannot and will not be able to be said for many years to come in these places of conflict. In my perspective, the inability to cultivate love where it is due affects all of us in the end so, like The Beatles once told the world, Let It Be.