We compiled easy-to-understand online resources about LGBTQ+ people that you can use to educate yourselves. This isn’t just for queer folks; it can help you and your friends learn how to be a good ally as well. As the title of the article suggests, this is just an introduction to LGBTQ+ terminologies, identities, issues, history, and media. It’s always best to go out and learn more about the world of the rainbow warriors!

Pride Month may have ended in June, but if you think about it, the fight for equal rights is far from over. School’s out anyway, so do you really have anything better to do?

Difference Between Sex, Gender & Everything Else (SOGIESC)

The words sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression may be confusing for some. In most cases, we tend to actually interchange them. Hell, I still get confused sometimes too! Here is a quick video that shows you what they all mean in a nutshell:

Takeaway: While gender is a term that refers to how society expects us to behave and act, sex is mainly biological.

The Different Sexualities and Labels

Have you ever come across someone identifying themselves as demisexual, but never knew what they meant? It’s a small victory that most people already know what the letters in LGBT stand for, but there’s a reason the community uses a rainbow flag as its symbol. Sexuality is a spectrum, and in it, you’ll find lots of colorful terms that members of the community use to empower themselves!

Unite UK’s A-Z List of Sexualities covers most common terms people use to describe their sexuality. Healthline’s 46 Terms That Describe Attraction, Behavior and Orientation is a great dictionary to learn more about terminologies used within the community. But don’t feel pressured to fit into the labels in those websites. You do you, boo!

Takeaway: “Queer” is an umbrella term for people who aren’t homosexual. It used to have a negative connotation, but the community is reclaiming it.

Pride Month Origin and History

Now let’s delve deeper into how Pride Month started, because it’s a good reminder to us all that gender is intersectional. This means that we can’t tackle it without considering other factors like race and class. Why do I mention that? Because two black trans women, Marsha P. Johnson and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy were at the forefront of the gay rights movement. However, it is an unfortunate fact that BIPOC transwomen nowadays are more susceptible to discrimination and hate crimes. Some white gay men even shun them out of the community!

Bobby Berk’s short write-up tells us a little bit more about Johnson and Griffin-Gracy, the Stonewall Riots, and the origin of Pride Month. Refinery29’s From Stonewall to Pride 50 succinctly tells us about what happens after!

Takeaway: Our trans brothers and sisters are just as important as everyone else in our community. Period.

Straight Privilege

In the same way that white privilege exists, straight people don’t realize the luxuries that they are afforded just for being born straight. It’s Pronounced Metrosexual lists over forty examples of heterosexual or straight privilege in action. If you are reading this article as an ally, it’s a great way to realize how your queer friends’ lives are harder just for being themselves. This article on Bustle is a great addition to the topic, going into more detail.

Takeaway: If you’re straight and can’t wrap your head around why Straight Pride is wrong, then recognize that you already enjoy so many privileges. Straight Pride is unnecessary AF.

LGBTQ+ Issues and Hate Crimes

Unfortunately, we can’t talk about LGBTQ+ community without acknowledging the issues that we face on a micro- and macro-level. For every topic in the list, I linked a short article. Just a note that there are endless articles for these issues because they are more complex and needs more reading to fully understand. This whole list is just a starting point to learn more about them. Safe to say that these should not be read if you do not feel comfortable.

• LGBTQ Youth and Suicide
• LGBTQ Youth, Family Conflict & Homelessness
• LGBTQ Killings & Murders
• LGBTQ Hate Crimes
• LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination
• LGBTQ Healthcare Discrimination
• LGBTQ Discrimination in Media
• Same-Sex Marriage Issues in the World
• Trans Bathroom Access
• Gay Conversion Therapy

Takeaway: With the amount of shit that the LGBTQ+ community faces every day, we are some of the bravest people to walk this earth.

LGBTQ+ Film Recommendations

There are plenty of LGBTQ movies to watch, including documentaries. The content is endless! I mean, just look at Rotten Tomatoes‘ list of the 200 best LGBT movies of all-time. Or if you feel like you’ve watched all the popular ones already, you could always check out The Guardian‘s list of best queer films you haven’t seen. If you’re bummed out that the Pride March was cancelled due to coronavirus (she’s homophobic), you can always make it feel like Pride at home! Just stream your movie of choice and let the laughter and tears roll.

I hope that these resources gave you a deeper insight into yourself, the people around you, and the larger LGBTQ+ community. Remember, all of our experiences are different, but in the end, we are all just human. No matter what your sexuality is and what you identify as, it’s everybody’s responsibility to take care of each other as decent human beings. And educating yourself on the issues is what will give you the empathy that you need to do just that.

Featured Image: Gotta Be Worth It on Pexels

The post The Beginner’s Guide to the LGBTQ+ Community appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

Got nothing better to do in this rainy weather? With classes about to resume and the coronavirus pandemic forcing us into our own homes, it’s a great time to finally sit back and enjoy a book. The great news is that you can order all of these from Fully Booked Online, which is open for orders and delivery. Simply click on the book title, and you will be redirected to the order page in the website (this isn’t a sponsored post, but I just love Fully Booked).

Even though some of these books may delve into some heavy topics, these are books for teenagers alike! I went ahead and placed content and mature theme warnings for our younger readers. I recommend researching these books further; after all, they don’t come cheap.

1. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Content Warning: Depression

What It’s About: The author details his own experience of suffering from depression as he tries to inspire the readers to celebrate the small victories in life. There is always one thing to live for.

Why Read It: This book was published in 2015 when the phrase “mental health” was making its way into our everyday vocabulary, and we were just starting to take the matter seriously. Haig removes the stigma around the issue of depression, and some parts will definitely make a lot of people go, “I feel that too” or “So that’s why my friend behaves this way”. He speaks very openly about the topic, and does not hold back. The fact that he is a “survivor” makes him all the more credible and inspiring at the same time.

There is no standard normal. Normal is subjective. There are seven billion versions of normal on this planet.

2. The Dictator’s Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita & Alastair Smith

Genre: Non-Fiction, Politics

What It’s About: Is democracy real, or is it just a made-up concept that the powerful leaders in the world continue to propagate to make us think that we have a choice in the matter? The authors of the book cynically believe that leaders will do whatever it takes to stay in power, and delve into real-life examples to support their case.

Why Read It: I love me some fact-based political conspiracies! If you loved watching Frank and Claire Underwood politic their way to the top in House of Cards, then this book will remind you to be wary of the leaders we’re in. Given the political climate here in the Philippines where we’re basically live in a faux democracy, this one is an appropriate read and will make you realize the inner mechanism of our government’s minds.

There’s nothing better than a rigged election, so long as you’re the one rigging it.

3. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Content Warning: Multiple mature themes

What It’s About: As the title suggests, this book gives us an insight into how strangers think and how misguided we are in striking a conversation with them. The author of this book happens to host a podcast about history, so he gives us practical tips on how to talk to strangers built on the foundation of, you guessed it: historical events.

Why Read It: ‘Tis the season of Tinder, Bumble & Grindr, and we are in these dating apps to have our own quaranthings/quaranflings. The problem? Some of us have no idea how to talk to strangers. Like, at all. If you don’t like the feeling of being left on read by someone you barely know and you wonder why that happens to you a lot, maybe this book is for you. It all boils down to one thing: miscommunication.

You believe someone not because you have no doubts about them. Belief is not the absence of doubt. You believe someone because you don’t have enough doubts about them.

4. Whole Again: Healing Your Heart and Rediscovering Your True Self After Toxic Relationships and Emotional Abuse by Jackson MacKenzie

Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

Content Warning: Emotional abuse, talk of truama

What It’s About: That is one extremely detailed and informational title for a book! The author is a psychologist that helps people process their toxic relationships. He guides readers in realizing the traumas that they have encountered, how their toxic relationship has changed the way they behave (believe me, it really messes up our psyche), and helps us cope through some exercises.

Why Read It: This one is pretty close to my heart, as I’ve helped picked up the pieces of my friends when they were going through a toxic relationship. The worst part is that most of them did not even realize that they were already being emotionally abused by their partner. This book is not only informative, but explains how much damage someone inflicted on you. More than that, it helps you look into yourself and feel free. I would recommend this book even to those people who had not felt that they were in a toxic relationship, but felt like they were not themselves after a breakup.

It is recognizing and accepting the full extent of the damage this person caused, and choosing not to carry it as your own damage anymore. It means you can walk away much faster the next time.

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

What It’s About: This award-winning book which also had a critically-successful film adaptation centers on 16-year old Starr Carter, who witnesses the unjust killing of her best friend. And of course, a police officer did it because what? All cops are bastards! The killing sparks protests, and Starr is caught between keeping quiet, or risking her life.

Why Read It: It’s chilling how this book published in 2017 reminds me so much of what’s happening outside our own walls. It mirrors so much of what’s happening right now with the Black Lives Matter movement, and is a pretty realistic reflection of society. We follow the story of a female black teenager navigating a world where black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) get the short end of the stick, and end up dead for just being born with a different skin color. More than that, a lot of issues intertwined with race, like class divide, are also highlighted in the book. Older readers, don’t be fooled. This may be a young adult novel, but it’s a damn good one that doesn’t beat around the bush. It may even move you to tears!

I can’t change where I come from or what I’ve been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?

That’s it! Happy reading. I hope these (mostly non-fiction) book recommendations for zoomers and young people not only entertain you, but move you to think differently of yourself and the world around you.

Featured Image: Min An on Pexels

The post 5 Essential Books for the Filipino Gen Z Struggling in the Pandemic appeared first on Zoomers Corner.