BBC Young Reporter @ LCS
LGBT; how it Changed our Lives and LGBT People Who Changed Society
By: By Lara
The LGBT (an initialism of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community has shaped our world and may continue to shape it.
Over the years there have been protests for LGBT people’s rights. For example, when 300 people protested outside Parkfield Community School, earlier this year. Slowly, we may get to a point where everyone is treated equally, no matter what their sexuality or differences are.
Lately, health officials working alongside the NHS (National Health Services) have been checking NHS polices, which seem to allow transgender men to be cared for in women’s wards, even if they have not gone through the necessary medical transitions. So currently it’s the kind of situation where patients are being treated as they present themselves (regarding their gender) in current legal records.
Many people and activists have been noted to transform our lives by simply stating that their LGBT and proud and simple actions like this have been noted to change our lives.
Now let’s look at some of these legendary people.
I'm as gay as a daffodil, my dear!
Kodo Nishimura, a makeup artist from Japan and a fully trained Buddhist monk, claims that his religion has allowed him to be gay and accepted him to be who he is.
After training as a makeup artist in the US, he returned to Japan and decided to become a monk at the temple his father owned. Due to the role of a monk allowing people to balance two jobs, Kodo is able to both follow his heart and the scriptures.
Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the famous rock band Queen, died: 1991 from AIDS. He was bisexual and proud, and one way of him expressing this was when he was asked a question about his sexuality.
He simply replied with,
“I’m as gay as a daffodil, my dear!”
By saying things like this he encouraged people who were LGBT to be open and proud of themselves. He even encouraged people who weren’t LGBT to fight for their rights.
Detective Rosa Diaz, a fictional character from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, was open about being bisexual to her friends and attempted to tell her family in season 5.
The episode where she tells her family, depicts the potential struggles of an LGBT person when being open, whilst trying to put up with the hate and stress from outsiders.
John Barrowman, an openly gay celebrity who has played in Doctor Who and Torchwood. Barrowman has been noted to receive an MBE from the Queen, due to his work as an entertainer and comedian.
We can only hope that the world continues to accept these people and many others, whether they’re LGBT or not.