Speaking Out Against GLBT Intolerence with Art

Today is the National Day of Silence to Raise Awareness About, and Fight Against, GLBT Teasing, Bullying and Abuse in Schools. This event has evolved over the years and is organized and carried out by youth and students.

I am not young. I am not a student (officially). And I'm no good at being quiet. In fact, I wrote some Facebook status messages about this, and a friend astutely pointed out that I couldn't even be silent in writing.

I guess this is okay, because non-students and adults are encouraged to participate by signing a pledge to speak up about this issue.

In the past year, I've been expressing myself through the artwork I do for my store, so this is a small gesture, but I've chosen today to be the day that I add a new design supporting GLBT families, and I'll use this blog post as a way to say a bit more about this issue.

The Day of Silence is organized to focus on harassment of GLBT children and youth in schools (not on the rights of GLBT parents to care for their families), so my drawing isn't entirely relevant. However, the passage of Prop 8 in California seems like evidence that far too many Americans are comfortable tolerating, or even championing, bigotry. And bigotry is what is underneath all of this.



In reflecting on my childhood and adolescence, I wasn't really personally hurt by anti-gay teasing or bullying. I remember that I used to hold hands and skip in the hall with another oddball student in highschool and that we were accused of being lesbians. We didn't do that often and I don't remember the teasing being persistent. It is an example of people thinking that calling someone a lesbian is an insult though.

What stands out a lot more in my memory is my summer school session on US History . . . the teacher told us his version of the evolution of the word "fag" as an insult. Brits will tell you that fag is another word for stick (it's used for cigarettes because they look like sticks). According to this teacher, the word fag was associated with gay people, because during the witch trials, people would throw accused homosexuals on the fire with the accused witches - treating them like nothing more than sticks to burn.

I really don't know if there is any truth to what this teacher told us, but I have always remembered it. It's a vivid portrayal of how horrific hatred can become when it goes unchecked. GLBT individuals are human beings. When someone chooses to hurl the word "fag" as an insult, s/he is invoking the kind of hatred and de-humanizing that results in persecution and murder. If we hear other people do that - casually or deliberately - we have a responsibility to speak up right then.

When I was an elementary school teacher, I was careful to firmly say, "Gay (or fag) is not a word to say to hurt someone or insult them" if I heard it used in that way. It was inappropriate for me to elaborate, but I at least took that stand. If you're reading this, please feel supported in taking whatever stand you can.