Just 58 years ago, there was no place in America where homosexual couples could legally be a couple.

30 years ago, a famous jazz musician felt too afraid to tell anyone he was transgender until his deathbed. 21 years ago, a gay college student was savagely beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die. And only 5 years ago, same-sex couples could not get married in the US.

The acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community has come a long way since the early 1900’s, but there are still steps to take. For example, there are still countries that consider homosexuality a crime, such as Afghanistan, Iran, Kenya, and more..

According to USA Today, in 2018, only 45% of Americans between 18 and 34 were comfortable interacting with people who are LGBTQ+. This percent is down from 63% in 2016. Also, 36% of young people said they were uncomfortable learning a family member was LGBTQ. This can make it a lot harder for people to feel proud about their identity, knowing that there will still be an instinctive bias against them.

Homophobia has changed over the years from murders and arrests to name-calling and dirty looks which are common in schools. In a UK survey, 90% of students reported using the word “gay” as a derrogatorry term, and 45% of teachers reported homophobic bullying among pupils.

The fact is, teachers do not completely understand the situation LGBTQ+ students are in. It can be as if they are saying that if a student is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, they are bound to get bullied. It is as if getting bullied is one of the “perks” of being themselves.

This hatred and bullying in school can be overbearing for LGBTQ+ teenagers. Therefore, they turn to self-destructive methods of relief. Around 5,000 LGBTQ youth commit suicide every year and 500,000 kids attempt it. This is a real crisis that needs to be solved. Teens should be allowed to be themselves without being persecuted. This is an emotionally fragile time for these kids, and instead of being welcomed with open arms, they are being torn down to bits. Bullying chips away at the self-esteem of any teen, but with LGBTQ+ teens, it can cause them to hide their sense of self. This situation is no longer simply about acceptance; it is about denial.

Now, the most difficult part of the LGBTQ+ experience, coming out. Coming out is a very difficult experience for any person in the LGBT+ community since there is a sensitive stigma around it. All people, adult or teen, fear this part of the process. This is when that bias forms, and it can feel like everything around the person is changes.

However, LGBTQ+ youth withhold the truth from their families for multiple reasons. According to the Human Right Campaign’s National Coming Out Day Youth Report, 30% of youth do not come out to their families because their families are not accepting, 19% do not do it because they are scared of reaction, and 16% say that they can not come out due to religious reasons.

This is the problem at its core: fear. From the fear of the LGBTQ+ community itself to the fear of being accepted, fear is the biggest barrier from acceptance. It may not seem possible to overcome this fear, but it is possible.

Hatred is the other fuel for the fire. The fear and hatred have changed throughout history, and they are still changing to this day. The most valuable thing that can be done is to be respectful of others. The first step to take is to start with understanding the community.

According to freshman Siddharth Jayakrishnan, “The biggest steps we can take to be more accepting is to be more open-minded and improve our listening skills.”

Anytime someone is unsure about their opinions about this community, the most important thing that can be done is to listen and be there because a presence at the right time can save someone’s life.