2012 and the LGBT Community

2012 was a really big year for the LGBT community. We're seeing more and more coverage and support for equal rights and LGBT issues throughout the United States and in Canada.

The USA came a long way. Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington now recognize equal marriage, totaling 8 states that now recognize full marriage equality for the gay and lesbian community, while another 10 states recognize some form of civil unions.  

President Barack Obama has said he supports full marriage equality across all 50 states. 


Gay rights have become a mainstream social issue, with giant corporations taking sides. Chick-Fil-A took sides against gay marriage, and then announced "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" which was met with  resistance from the LGBT community and their supporters. Eventually Chick-Fil-A did some back pedaling when Joe Moreno (Alderman of Chicago’s 1st Ward) disallowed the franchise to enter Chicago based on their discriminatory policies. 

JC Penny hired lesbian Ellen DeGeneres to be their spokesperson, and a handful of a few thousand women calling themselves "One Million Moms" campaigned for a widespread boycott against JC Penny as a result. JC Penny reiterated their support for Ellen, saying that Ellen shares the same values that JC Penny was founded on 110 years ago, which is to "treat people the way you would like to be treated yourself, fair and square".  According to their website, One Million Moms has recently "moved on". 

We've seen a pretty steep increase in gay people on TV throughout 2012. Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, The New Normal all just some of the mainstream programming to feature gay and/or lesbian characters, as well as discussing issues relevant to the gay and lesbian community.

2012 has seen the "It Gets Better" project, which was started in response to a number of gay youth who took their own lives.  Thousands of celebrities, educational institutions, political parties and organizations have created videos and messages directed towards gay youth, spreading the message that life gets better, please stay alive to see it. 

In North America and worldwide, the mainstream is shifting focus in favor of marriage equality and is now seeing discrimination against the gay and lesbian community as civil and human rights issues.  

2012 was not all good news for members of the LGBT community. Uganda has set to pass a new anti-gay law, which originally set the death penalty against individuals found guilty of "aggravated homosexuality". They have unofficially struck the death penalty from the bill, however jail time and severe penalties will still remain. 

We are still fighting for gay rights and equality locally and worldwide. LGBT individuals are still fighting hard under the discrimination of religious groups, state laws and unkind individuals in the community. Homophobia is all around us. And yet, I see hope. I see a shift in awareness and acceptance. I believe that 2012 was an incredible for those fighting for LGBT rights and equality. I also believe that 2013 and 2014 will be equally as important. So stay tuned, and do what you can to keep the fight moving in the right direction in your community and worldwide.

   Stumble like:

Facebook like:

Twitter us: Tweet

Facebook Comments:

That's so gay

What does it mean when someone says "That's so gay"? We hear this phrase all the time. In use it is akin to "That's so lame" or "That's so dumb". Often, the people who use the phrase don't intend to insult gay people and just think it's a catchy, kind of funny phrase. But the phrase "That's so gay" equates the word gay with being lame or being dumb. The phrase means that being gay is uncool, even if that's not the intended message.

A few weeks ago I was in a woman's washroom when I overheard another young woman say "That's so Jew!" I stopped dead in my tracks and asked her if she just said that. I thought what she said was impossibly disturbing. She admitted to having heard the phrase a few minutes earlier and thought she'd try it out herself. It seems she realized that it was a stupid thing to say and said she wouldn't say it again.

Now, in all honesty, I'm not the most politically correct person I know. Just today I walked up to a pride table (with fruit on it) on campus, signed up for the mailing list, and asked if the fruit on the table was 'gay people food'. Then I joked that I was eating my gay apple like a total homosexual. Because the fruit was on the gay pride table! I thought it was funny.

So, I'm not entirely PC all the time. But in public spaces, I think it's important to be aware of the meaning behind our words. The apple was delicious, by the way. Deliciously homosexual. So maybe "That's so gay" is okay with me if it means it's absolutely fantastic, like so fantastically gay.

What do you think?