about how the “Don’t Say Gay” bill would affect their life, as well as what their experience has been like growing up queer in Florida.
“From an early age I knew I was different. I wasn’t interested in the things other boys my age did, and I didn’t really feel comfortable in the clothes my parents bought me,” they wrote. “The struggle for acceptance was not just internal, it also felt as if my classmates didn’t know what to make of me. By fourth grade I was convinced that I was broken. I didn’t know how to defend myself when other kids made hateful comments or bullied me — I didn’t know why I was the way that I was.
They then wrote about how one of their teachers comforted them after being threatened with violence by peers — and she said she remembered feeling the same way when she was a queer kid growing up. “Had the proposed law been in effect last year, my teacher could have put herself in jeopardy by being there for me,” they say.“I have come to realize that those who have been so openly hateful toward me often knew little about the queer community — they thought being LGBTQ was a conscious choice. Education didn’t just give me a sense of self worth but also the knowledge of a community and lifeline there for countless young people.” WHERE DID THEY SAY THIS?that their fight is just starting.
Future Groomer