Sexual Tolerance

Acceptance towards people, regardless of their sexual orientation, remains sharply
divided by region and individual attitudes. People who still hold conservative views toward the
LGBTQ community seem to be intolerant. Despite major changes in norms and laws, sexual
tolerance has not yet been fully achieved. When people within the LGBTQ community encounter
sexual intolerance, it weighs down on them. This is mostly the case when this occurs to children
within this community. Insecure LGBTQ youths encounter difficulties, especially when they
encounter adults who are intolerant of them. Joel Burns made a speech, It Gets Better, in which
he gets emotional recounting his own experiences as a child within the LGBTQ community. This
paper explores the similarities and differences between an insecure LGBTQ youth and an
intolerant adult watching Burn’s speech and how it would impact their perspective and view on
sexual tolerance.
An insecure LGBTQ youth would be encouraged to courageously embrace their sexual
identity. According to Burns, he encountered difficulties and was harassed severally because he
was ‘different.’ He still embraced his identity and became secure over the years, consequently
coming out and owning his truth. His message would make an insecure LGBTQ youth brave the
hard seasons and hope for better times ahead. On the other hand, an intolerant adult may, after
listening to Burn’s speech, realize that a more negative climate may have a deleterious effect
(Oswald et al., 2018). After hearing the many cases of teenagers that have committed suicide, the
intolerant adult may realize that society has a responsibility to create a tolerant and warm climate
for all children regardless of their sexual orientation.

Further, Burn’s speech may make the intolerant adult perceive the world differently. They
may realize that the perceptions of young people develop as they interact with others across a
variety of community contexts (Oswald et al., 2018). As a result, when young people are
exposed to messages of either rejection or support regarding their sexual orientation, they tend to
affect how they view themselves. As such, even if the adult does not agree with the ideals
embraced by the LGBTQ community, the speech may make them realize that they can create a
supportive environment for the sake of the well-being of the youth who belong to the LGBTQ
community.
On the contrary, the LGBTQ youth may be motivated to reinforce their existing beliefs
that their sexuality matters and that they should embrace themselves and their uniqueness.
Burns’s speech makes it evident that while he suffered at the hands of a few bullies, he had a
strong support system. He thus did not allow the opposition of the few to come in the way of him
loving and embracing himself. The LGBTQ youth can learn from the fact that Burn was even
elected into public office despite being a member of the LGBTQ community. Thus, society has
people who not only tolerate other people’s sexual identities but also support them in living their
best lives possible (Oswald et al., 2018).
It is also important for the intolerant adult to understand that perceptions of a warm and
positive climate tend to promote well-being (Goldberg et al., 2018). Thus, they should
understand that it is enough to create the perceptions of a warm climate. The LGBTQ youth just
need to have a view that they live in a society that accepts and embraces their sexual identities.
This can be done by expressing support to such children. Since they are young, they do not
deserve the cruelty expressed to them for being gay. When the intolerant adult understands that
young lives are lost due to lack of support, then they will know that all they need is support.

Burn gives examples f more than five teenagers who have committed suicide in various ways
due to harassment and sexual intolerance. It is an attitude that is creating an epidemic as young
teens commit suicide when life becomes unbearable.
Further, the insecure LGBTQ youth should understand that the names read out by Burns
are of children whose families are grieving. Suicide is deleterious to family members. It should
never be a solution to bullying. Besides, according to Oswald et al. (2018), perceptions develop
as one interacts with others within society. Thus, to develop positive perceptions, it is important
to interact with people that show support and love. Sometimes it is not possible to get love from
everyone, but it is possible to go where one is received warmly.
Overall, based on Burn’s speech, it is evident that sexual intolerance has existed for a
long time. While society has progressed significantly, it is still possible to find people who are
intolerant toward others based on their sexual orientation. This tends to affect the perceptions of
LGBTQ youth and has even led to several cases of suicide. The speech makes it clear that
society needs to adopt a supportive and more tolerant approach towards others regardless of their
sexual orientation. Also, it is not enough to be tolerant, as support for people within the LGBTQ
community is necessary.

References

Goldberg, A. E., Frost, R. L., Manley, M. H., & Black, K. A. (2018). Meeting other moms:
Lesbian adoptive mothers’ relationships with other parents at school and beyond. Journal
of Lesbian Studies, 22(1), 67-84.
Oswald, R. F., Routon, J. M., McGuire, J. K., & Holman, E. G. (2018). Tolerance versus
support: Perceptions of residential community climate among LGB parents. Family
relations, 67(1), 41-54.