The kids are all write: Being different and being ourselves

I think there should be a wider LGBT acceptance in society. When we are growing up, we are always taught to be ourselves and it’s okay to be different, because we are all unique. So why shouldn’t we be ourselves? If we are not ourselves then we surely won’t be happy. I know it might sound cheesy, but isn’t happiness the most important thing? You love who you love and you are who you are.

Brighton has the highest population of LGBT people in the UK. However, it’s still not accepted so openly in certain areas. It’s thought to be an open place, but sadly it is not. Brighton is meant to be “The gay capital” so you would have thought it would have been respected. But you still get people that don’t agree or accept diversity, that show negativity towards LGBT through violence, harmful words and rude gestures.

I can understand some older people who don’t agree with LGBT people because when they were young it was never heard of or accepted, and if you were, you were laughed at. If someone saw a man in drag they would probably laugh. Your family might have even disowned you. But even though it might not be understood with the older generation, it doesn’t mean bullying and rudeness is to be tolerated. How would you feel if you went into the street holding your lover’s hand or being dressed up in drag, to be then called a trannie, gay boy or a gal-boy? How would you feel if your friends did not like you anymore and your family disowned you?

You still get people that don’t accept diversity

I think some people don’t like the thought of change or difference. Change can be good or bad. Being oneself is fundamental to being human and happy. We should be able to express ourselves freely in a safe community and not be judged for who we are. No one can help the way they are, we are the way we are for a reason. Nobody is completely alone in who they are and there are probably more people in the same situation than we think.

There are websites available to help. There are even transvestite models now and a lot of celebrities are coming out now like Rowan Blanchard and Bella Thorne. This shows the world being different, being ourselves is becoming more accepted and shows that it is improving too.

Nine students from Portslade Aldridge Community Academy have been writing their own articles about something that matters to them, as part of Little Green Pig’s weekly after-school Tuesday club. For more info about the projects being set up for young writers across the city, go to littlegreenpig.org.uk