Name:Darwin Dale Sipe Date:10/02/18

Grade:Grade 10 St.Matthew

The Case of Bisexual towards living

When I was in elementary school, around 8 or 9 years old, my music class watched "West Side Story" as part of a unit
on musical theatre. If you’ve seen "West Side Story," you probably know about the much giggled-at line from Maria’s song “I
Feel Pretty” where she sings: “I feel pretty, oh so pretty, oh so pretty and witty and gay!” I still remember my music teacher
telling the class that gay, in this context, meant happy or joyful. It did not mean homosexual. The whole class erupted into
laughter. This was the first time I remember hearing the word homosexual in my life, and though I had no clue what it meant, I
could feel the connotation it held among my peers.

Let me tell another story: I have one younger brother, and he’s always been a bit of a joker. My family was sitting at the table,
having dinner one night and for some reason my brother began talking in a high-pitched feminine voice, obviously finding it very
funny. My father’s face immediately darkened, and he instantly said, “Stop that, you sound like a homosexual!” My brother went
silent and his face turned red, obviously from embarrassment. My mother jumped in, perhaps trying to comfort my brother,
saying, “It’s just choice in the world, but it’s a choice we’d prefer you wouldn’t make.” Even after all these years, those exact
words are burned in my memory. It’s a choice we’d prefer you wouldn’t make.

These are some of my earliest memories of homosexuality being discussed at my home or at school. As a child, I knew no gay
people. I saw none on television or in movies. Gayness was a thoroughly abstract concept, something that I knew existed in the
world, but was never part of my immediate surroundings.

I was growing up and going through puberty in this environment, and I later realized that I was not like my peers. To this day, my
female friends will jokingly discuss which male characters they had crushes on as small children-- Aladdin, Ash from Pokemon,
Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. I have no memory of crushes like this. Instead, I remember idolizing and being fixated on
Disney princesses, Mary Jane from Spiderman, or the Pink Power Ranger.

I can still recall, in middle school, the first time one of my friend exclaimed “that’s so gay!” in response to something stupid
happening. Though I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, I felt deeply unsettled. I face flushed red, and a knot formed in my throat as I
tried to say, “hey, you guys really shouldn’t say that.” But I was drowned out by their laughter. I had never in my life heard
gayness or gay people discussed in a positive-- or even neutral-- light. At home, my dad was always watching Fox News. He
would go on about how “the gays” were infiltrating the education system, becoming teachers and corrupting innocent,
impressionable children. He’d talk about gay marriage ruining family values and destroying everything America stood for.

When I was 12 years old, I met my first non-straight person. One of my closest friends came out of the closet as bisexual. This
was, for me, a watershed moment. After this friend came out, I began thinking a lot about my sexuality. It was as though there
had been a part of me missing for my whole life, and suddenly it was revealed. I consider myself lucky that our generation grew
up with, and on, the internet. I was googling all kinds of stuff about bisexuality, and found loads of wonderful resources on the
internet, and for a brief moment, I was really happy. I had finally found a word to encompass something that had been a part of
me for as long as I can remember. But after that momentary happiness, my next emotion was panic. What do I do now? Do I have
to “come out”? What does that mean? Do I have to tell my parents? What will their response be? And so on and so on.
Everything was overwhelming, mainly because I had never seen anyone else go through this process, and I felt like I had no one
to confide in. I was confused, terrified, and very alone. So I kept this part of me, for the moment, a secret.

Over time, I came out to my friends and they were, of course, wonderful and accepting people. I’ll always be grateful for that.
But even at 12 years old, I knew I couldn’t come out to my parents. I was aware of their attitudes towards gay people and gay
rights, and I genuinely felt that they would hate me if I told them I wasn’t straight. I feared that they would kick me out of the
house or cut me off financially or sent me to some gay-away program like I had read about. And it wasn’t just my family that I
was scared of. Even though my immediate friend circle was accepting, not everyone at my school was. People would
occasionally confront me with statements like, “Oh, I heard you were bisexual” or “Do you like girls??” and my instant reaction
was to backpedal as hard as I could. I’d immediately retreat from these conversations like, “of course I’m straight! Of course! I’m
as straight as the next person!” I was absolutely petrified of the judgement of others and this complete and utter terror colored a
lot of my adolescence. Even though I was fortunate enough to know a lot of kind and loving people growing up, much of the
culture of people my age was still walking around the school hallways saying, “that’s so gay!” or “no homo.” Boys mocked each
other by calling each other gay. My brother’s boy scout troop would play a game they called “spear the queer” and no adults
present seemed to have a problem with it. Things like this were so pervasive while I was growing up, and even though I didn’t
grow up in the deep south or among a particularly religious or intensely conservative environment, homophobia of this nature
still ran rampant, and was very much a part of how I saw gay people depicted and heard gay people talked about in my
community.

At this point, you’re probably wondering what the point of these stories are. You may be thinking: I know, I know! It’s just
another sad gay person story! We get it! And that’s part of the problem. Experiences of any marginalized group tend to get
flattened into a single, stereotyped story. The story of being gay in the US tends to go like this: from a young age you realize you
feel different from other kids, then you realize you’re gay, maybe through repressed romantic and/or sexual feelings for a same-
sex friend, then you hate yourself for a while, then you come out dramatically to everyone in your life at once, and some people
are supportive and it is touching and tears are shed, but some people are not and they cut you out of their lives while yelling about
how you’re a sinner or a pervert or will never give them grandchildren, then you are depressed, then you try to kill yourself, and
finally you reach some dramatic turning point where you learn to completely accept and understand yourself and your sexuality
and then you ride off into the sunset with your same-sex partner and adopted children. Certainly there are LGBT+ people who
experience parts of this story. Some people maybe experience all of it, exactly in that order. Elements of my story are reflected in
the stereotyped story, but other elements aren’t. This story can dominate and drown out other, equally meaningful narratives.

And that’s another reason I’m telling my story. Thankfully, the world has been evolving, views have been shifting, and
acceptance for queer individuals has been on the rise. Gay marriage is becoming legalized around the world, adoption rights for
same-sex couples are progressing, and more and more people are emboldened to come out and live as their true selves. Children
today are more able to see gay people in film and on TV, and acts of violent homophobia are becoming more and more
condemned by the mainstream public. The downside of this is that for lots of people (especially straight people), homophobia is
an abstract concept. Something they’ve only heard about off in the distance. If straight people aren’t seeing overt, “serious”
homophobia, it gets dismissed as something that’s no longer a problem in today’s world. But even if violent acts of outright
hatred are decreasing, they still exist and are a painful reality for many gay people, especially gay youth, in the world. Not to
mention that microaggressions and other, less overt acts of homophobia still color the experience of young gay people coming
out today.

I consider myself lucky. No one has ever directly cut me out of their lives for being bisexual. I’ve never had my life threatened,
and never experienced physical violence against me as a result of my sexual orientation. But if being lucky just means I can say,
“yeah, no one’s ever assaulted me and my parent’s didn’t kick me out of the house” then we need to do better. We need to make
the world a loving space for queer youth, and eliminate all homophobia, regardless of perceived “seriousness” or “importance.”
We need to be compassionate, and one way to do so is to diversify our understanding of what it means to be a member of the
LGBT community today. LGBT has many meanings and stories and identities behind it. I am just one small voice among many,
but I strive to add some kind of new perspective into the myriad of voices out there.

My analysis:

According to the Personal experience of the Author of the story, he told his chronological experience on how he catch up with the
world that is full of uncertainty and a close minded person .Hence, like many of us we are afraid to come out of something that
may lead us to humiliation , embarrassment and being an outcast in the community. Furthermore, Many of us still have doubts on
what are they?,What they belong to?, What am I?, we hardly admit that at somepoint we are affected by the people around us,
because of wrong judgements,insecurities and the uniqueness that we appreciate but they aren’t.As the Personal story says that
the author himself wasn’t knew that he would be became from what he is now , but as the time goes by , community let him
glimpse on something that he is really suitable.But as a person who hides himself to the environment makes him lose his
confidence, hence ,many possibilities comes out from his mind in what may happen if he does come out, in the story it tells us
about on how he cope up with different factors coming from different sources, like his family , he worried that things like worst
may happen, if he does come out.Another thing is the peer pressure , which for him was a really hard to deal because , he isn’t
sure if the circle really accepts to what he is,.Another thing is the people aroud him, though he has potential to show the world on
what he really is ,He can’t avoid to hardly deal with people around him,.Otherwise he may feel like he was guilty about it , if he
didn’t says some offset for other people not to think that he is a bisexual.For him it isn’t an easy to do, to do something to cover
up on things that really defines you from what you are, and be feel to free the harmony of the environment.It was also stated that
being a part of a homosexual classification, was hard thing to do hence, for some they are familiar with this kind of plot story –
Experiences of any marginalized group tend to get flattened into a single, stereotyped story. The story of being gay in the US
tends to go like this: from a young age you realize you feel different from other kids, then you realize you’re gay, maybe through
repressed romantic and/or sexual feelings for a same-sex friend, then you hate yourself for a while, then you come out
dramatically to everyone in your life at once, and some people are supportive and it is touching and tears are shed, but some
people are not and they cut you out of their lives while yelling about how you’re a sinner or a pervert or will never give them
grandchildren, then you are depressed, then you try to kill yourself, and finally you reach some dramatic turning point where you
learn to completely accept and understand yourself and your sexuality and then you ride off into the sunset with your same-sex
partner and adopted children.— Up to now this kind of plot seems to be prevalent in the world we live today, people are used to
heard about these things but they just see it as a habit of all homosexual plot, hence they are stereotype that they are worthless in
this type of Era, hence about the homosexual plot said in the story , it show that how the life of homosexual takes off that for
sometimes we can’t avoid seeing the other side of life which is death, a blind person option when he is hopeless, See this how we
act towards them without thinking what might happen in the inside of them.What is more is that Homosexuals are prohibited and
left upon the priority .,Homophobia ,we are blind of acceptance that we are just stuck up in the thinking of the existence of two
sexual identity we must adapt what other people thinks not just for ourselves but also for others, . Also the story portrays about
the life after he has when the Doomsday times come to his life it was like a stormy journey where he walks in the desert and no
one open a door him. Then at one time someone open to him, that LGBT community.He was thankful these days where he
experience being with a greater family the LGBT, he already saw some improvement in his community because now, many
people are now accepting people like them, even in media many members of the LGBT are now being acknowledge, and in other
countries which enables same sex marriages, the world had gone through a good and sunny day for the memebers of the LGBT
for they have been open up some doors by the other people.Now he himself was filled with calmness and tranquillity because he
was accepted by many now.

We should not see them like an alien species ,but as a part of our community where we lived as one without seeing others people
differences. We Should be affectionate on what they feel , it is for them to live with their free will, to choose a life with grace and
calmness.We should feel how they feel on their shoe , and reflect to what might you feel.As you exercise you freedom , it is for
them also to exercise their freedom in this wonderful world. They need love they are also human who can feel the same as you,
all of us needs love, then if not then you stonehearted.Once again we heard a story of a Bisexual , may it change the ways on how
you think of them.Thank you.