Pride Month Special: LGBTQ - It's just a fad?

This is a silver-medal winning script I wrote for the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition in 2023. The topic was to write on an inssue that divides generations so I decided to pick one which has been the epicenter of many arguments in my own house. I have many friends who support LGBTQ and many who don't, but what's weird is that I have only a very few friends who actually know what it means and stands for. So, this pride month, instead of raising support, let's first raise awareness because the only thing more harmful than no knowledge is half and incomplete knowledge.

P.S. This script is based in 2019 so I know the perspective and the situation may be a bit old and slightly irrelevant, but the message is clear.

Scene: Brooke is sitting on the faded yellow sofa of her living room, ignoring the breaking news about California’s wildfires as her two second attention span fixates on something which holds as much value for a teenager as the traditions in the Royal Family - her cellphone. Her Dad, a professor of Physics, sits beside her, smoothing his mustache with a judgemental look on his face and mutes the screaming reporter. 

Dad (clears his throat): So, what’s happening nowadays, huh? 

Brooke (without looking up): Not much.

Dad: Aah, I see. Something important going on that I should know about?

Brooke: Yes. Polar ice caps are melting, plastic pollution is increasing and Taylor Swift is protesting.

Dad: Taylor Swift? Isn’t she that blond one whose posters you have stuck all over your room? The one with that song, “Shake It Up”?

Brooke (with an exasperated sigh): It’s “Shake It Off”, Dad. And yes, it’s that blond one.

Dad: Well, what could she be protesting about? She’s rich, white and successful.

Brooke: Stereotypical, much? She’s speaking out to support the Equality Act, of course! She just dropped a single called “You Need To Calm Down” and it’s already peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100! 

Dad: Uhm, what’s the Equality Act?

Brooke (looking up from her phone with an unbelievable expression): Are you living under a rock?! The Equality Act is a piece of legislation being considered in Congress that would create federal protections for LGBTQ Americans against discrimination on the basis of “sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity,” specifically in areas including housing, employment, access to public accommodations, and more.

Dad (with a disgusted tone): I see, L-G-B-T-Q. What does it even stand for?

Brooke: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. How do you live in this century and not know that? Also, what was that tone? Do you, like, not support the LGBTQ? 

Dad: What’s there to support? I just don’t get it. I feel like it’s just a new fad that teenagers are attracted towards, nowadays. Make something colorful and cheery enough, and before you know it, it’s a trend! I could bet you a million dollars that this would all blow over in a month or two, tops.

Brooke (jumping from the sofa and standing up): A fad?! How dare you call LGBTQ a fad?! People fighting for equality, equal respect, and equal treatment are NOT A FAD. It’s a movement! It’s a revolution!

Dad: Woah, woah…calm down! Okay, explain it to me. What does the revolution stand for?

Brooke: First of all, LGBTQ is the name of a community that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer - which I’m assuming you already know the meaning of. Queer is an umbrella term which represents all those who are not heterosexual or cisgender. For years, no, scratch that; for centuries they have been abused, repressed, and discriminated against, often afraid to accept and express themselves. But that needs to stop now. The world is changing, period. The generation is developing, whether for the better or worse, I’m not sure. But advocating for LGBTQ rights is a step forward in the right direction and the Equality Act is a step that under no circumstances, cannot not be taken.

Dad: Okay, but where does Taylor Swift fit in all of this?

Brooke: The song that I told you about, “You Need To Calm Down”? It’s basically an anthem telling all homophobic people to shut their mouths because “shade never makes anybody less gay” (in a singsong voice).  

So, let me tell you the full story. Somewhere in May this year, the House of Representatives passed the bill. It was a clear majority, with all but eight Republican representatives voting against the bill. However, to be sent to the President’s desk for signing, the Equality Act would need to be brought up for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate. And let’s not forget, that President Donald Trump’s administration has also publicly stated that the president won’t support the act, saying that while Trump and his administration “absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all,” they would not support the bill because it “is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights.” Oh also, Trump now likes Taylor Swift’s music twenty-five percent less, so there’s that.

Dad: Ooooooo-kaaaaay. Can you, like, sort of, simplify what you mean?

Brooke: Dad, Trump not supporting this means an absence of a national law! I mean yes, in its absence, at least twenty states have enacted LGBTQ discrimination protections, but those stop at state borders. An openly LGBTQ person driving from Colorado into Nebraska would find that their right to keep their job, to keep their home and to freely engage in commerce evaporates the second they cross the state line. It’s freaking ballistic and illogical and I can’t even believe that this is happening right now!

Dad: So, is your Taylor Swift a part of that community?

Brooke: No, Dad. Tell me, do you have to be a woman to fight for women’s rights?

Dad: Absolutely not.

Brooke: Exactly. Neither Taylor nor I am a part of that community, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot advocate for them.

Dad: I guess, you’re right.

Brooke (walking to the kitchen counter): It’s not that difficult to wrap your mind around, Dad. It just requires a mindset shift. And what better than a rebellious generation to do it?

Dad: Will I be a bad person if I don't support it?

Brooke (keeping a PB&J plate on the coffee table): If you don’t support it, then yes. If you don’t advocate for it, then no. 

Dad (with a confused expression): Huh?!

Brooke (laughs): I can’t believe that you can understand Einstein’s theories but not this! I would say that this is not rocket science, but I feel like it would be easier for you to understand if it were! See, the thing is, advocate means doing things like openly fighting for them, attending rallies, marches, protests, and signing petitions - like I am. However, supporting means not really announcing that you stand for them, but not spreading hate for them either. It’s like, you’re okay with it. You don’t really care, but you care - because you’re a good person and a logical one.

Dad: Well, that makes sense, but it doesn’t. Believe me, I hear what you’re saying and I know that a large part of it is right. But I’m still not fully convinced that people are not following this just because it’s a fad. 

Brooke (sighs): Okay, I admit, some people have no idea what LGBTQ is whatsoever but still follow it just because it seems “cool” or “trendy” or whatever. I mean, even I started doing this because kids at my school formed a club. But that doesn’t mean that all of us do this just for the sake of it. Do you remember Sam? That geeky kid who used to come to Church with his parents wearing those Harry Potter-style spectacles? Even he's gay. And you have no idea how much he gets bullied in school for that. It’s not easy.

Dad: Being different is never easy. And being queer definitely isn’t. Thanks for enlightening me, I guess (chuckles).

Brooke (with a smile): You’re welcome. Now can you please make me some coffee? Pleeeeeease?