Have you grown up seeing men and women get together romantically in tv shows, movies, books you’ve read, heck even just commercials? You see them create families, buy homes, and love one another. Were you ever shown all types of families? Eventually you were. As time has passed we have seen the different kinds of families in media. Interracial families, blended (step mom/dad) families, multi-generational (grandparents, parents, you) families, and LGBTQ families. It has taken America far too long, in my humble opinion, to show all the different types of families. I grew up seeing couples on shows, or in the books I read ALL heterosexual. Absolutely nothing wrong with being straight, so if you came here thinking I’m going to bash on straight people you can leave. I’m here to discuss how I grew up thinking I was an abomination because the people I had crushes on were of the same sex as me. I thought something was wrong with me, that I was flawed. I wasn’t, I’m not. To be fair I was raised religiously, Catholic to be exact. AGAIN I am not here to bash on anyone, not even their religion. I currently know very LGBTQ accepting Catholics. Specifically the church I went to was against LGBTQ people, and called us sins. We were mistakes created by God, we were going to spend an eternity in hell for LOVING someone. To me that seemed very backwards, why would God of all people smite someone for loving another person? No matter their gender or sexual identity? I didn’t like that perspective so I ended up leaving that church and religion. America is a very religious country, and when I was growing up most religions were not accepting of LGBTQ people. I am so very lucky to see in my lifetime, and mind you I’m only 25, more acceptance of LGBTQ people, marriage equality, and laws against discrimination. Keep in mind the current President and Vice President aren’t really on the LGBTQ loving train. I am not really into politics but I know they don’t really care for LGBTQ rights from my observations. But this is not a political post, back to why I’m writing this one. I think it’s important for young people to grow up with different kinds of love portrayed in media. People who go through their youth never seeing a gay, lesbian, transgender, interracial, divorced, step family, and single parent relationships/families might not understand it later in life. For example, I never saw lesbian relationships in the books I read, the movies I watched, or the tv shows I watched. I didn’t know of the word lesbian until I was in high school, I just knew women couldn’t love women in that way, according to God. I had never considered that I wasn’t into guys like my other female friends were, I just thought it was how it was suppose to be. Or maybe some day in my future I would find a guy attractive. Now I would say “oh he’s hot”, mostly about guys who had all the muscles, to fit in with my friends. In a way I think young women are conditioned to think a certain way about the opposite gender, same with men. So having LGBTQ relationships in the media might have helped me figure out myself a little sooner than I did. To be fair, it would have been hard no matter what age I figured it out. If I had seen a lesbian couple or gay couple in the media being in love, having a family, I would never have thought it weird. Our thoughts on what makes up a family are social constructs taught to us at a young age by media, and our families. Your parents could have never given a negative view on LGBTQ families, but you only saw heterosexual ones in your shows and books. Therefore that’s what you have constituted as the norm in our society.

7 reasons why we need more LGBTQ relationships:

1. Teaches the kids that YES it is indeed normal. There is nothing wrong with having two mommies, or two daddies.
2. Gives kids who might not know they're LGBTQ the terminology to figure it out.
3. Shows young LGBTQ people that you can survive this world, no matter how hard it might be in the moment.
4. Shows not only you can survive you can also be happy as you grow up.
5. By having LGBTQ relationships in tv shows, movies, and books it shows normalcy therefore heterosexual children growing up may be less likely to bully LGBTQ people. If they see it in their media, they won't view it as different and wrong. Unless their families are assholes, and preach to them that it is wrong.
6. Having more LGBTQ relationships in media could be informational to people misinformed about LGBTQ relationships.
7. Equality