Have we all stepped through the looking glass? ~ Dowager Countess, from Downton Abbey
Thinking about this topic and the long distance we’ve come over the last few years, I can’t believe I’m experiencing this in my (relative) youth. I truly believed that Thomas and I would be in our sixties or seventies lined up at the courthouse to be legally married. We were one of the first couples married in our county in Missouri here before the Supreme Court decision two years ago.
I enjoyed seeing all the pictures of the same-sex couples on social media that got to go to Prom without petitioning the school board for permission. They celebrated a right of passage along with their straight friends, I hope without the fear of being assaulted.
And yet, we still see pictures of gay couples being assaulted for public displays of affection. Just when I think we are moving forward, I see stuff like that. I don’t even want to get into the transgendered bathroom issue. I need to get the badge that says, “I will go with you” and wear it all the time.
I suppose that’s why I love writing historical books. I am so grateful that, for the most part, I’ve never had to hide in the closet. Sometimes I really have to scheme to figure out how to get the characters together in a plausible fashion that works for their times. In A Place to Call Their Own, it’s the unsettled Kansas Prairie. In Disappear With Me, it was a housekeeper’s need to get home to her family. Need Your Love is about the struggle in the 60s that two professional men have to figure out their way in the homophobic world.
So this year, let’s celebrate what we do have, that life is pretty good for most of us. Let’s continue to push for reform that makes the rest of country, and the world, a safer place to be for all of us.
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Blog Hop for Visibility, Awareness and Equality.
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my thought continues to be equality must be for all.
ReplyDeletecvsimpkins@msn.com
M/M historicals are so eye-opening to me, and really put things in perspective!
ReplyDeletevitajex(At)aol(dot)com
Thank you for joining the hop!
ReplyDeleteChris (from the Blog Hop Team)
Thank you for the post. It is sad to see but there are a lot of support out there for those strangers and that says a lot and means a lot.
ReplyDeletehumhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
I have one of those "I'll go with you" buttons, and I get asked about it regularly...but so far, no one has asked me to go with them.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad my kids are growing up in a much more open-minded time than I did. Gives me hope for our future.
Belated congratulations on your wedding, Dean. I was also surprised how quickly marriage equality happened, not because it wasn't a long-fought battle, but because it was a tall step up from victories in anti-discrimination laws and positive attitudes toward LGBTs crossing over the 50% line. Still, as you mention, there's a long way to go with transgender rights and ending hate crimes. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteDean,
ReplyDeletemakes my heart happy to see you able to celebrate milestones with your love in your *relative* youth. Very happy. Let's keep doing what we do in hopes that one day there will be kids who have to learn about bigotry around LGBTQI matters in history books, because it's so rare in their world.
Cherie, Hop Admin
Congratulations on your wedding! It's true societies are changing, albeit slowly, but fortunately nowadays we see realities our grandparents never dreamt of. Let's hope our society keeps improving!
ReplyDeleteLoved your post, so thoughtful and inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Dean, I also love historical fiction partly as its a reminder of how much progress (changes) there has been in such a short time, but still there is so many bad things happening and still progress to be made.
ReplyDelete