Imagine More
Acceptance Journeys/Imagine More is a project of Diverse and Resilient, Inc. The end of anti-gay and anti-transgender discrimination is key to our health and well-being.
Through an assessment of the readiness of heterosexual people to address anti-gay discrimination in Milwaukee, we learned that many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are ambivalent about addressing homophobia as well. On one hand, they would like the benefits of knowing they are wanted, supported, and safe. On the other, they fear rejection or worse.
Further discussions suggest that while many local LGBT people are living big lives in safe, supportive communities, others have become resigned to limited acceptance they receive. They mistake avoidance for tolerance. They mistake tolerance for acceptance.
We heard a story from a young gay man who proudly reported that his family was wonderful and accepting. Then we learned the details that were far removed from his cherished belief. His family had told him to leave, piling his clothes at the curb, when he was 16. After many months of “couch hopping,” he was allowed back in his home on the condition that he not talk about his social life. His family’s behavior was rejecting and avoiding.
We heard from a couple who had been together in a committed relationship for over 10 years that one of their parents had finally grown to accept them. Again, the reality was that they had allowed her in their home for the first time since they learned she was a lesbian. There is much to be pleased about in this change – there is movement, progress even. But not acceptance.
On the other hand we also heard stories told by people in Milwaukee about their love and support of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person. Acceptance Journeys seeks to put words, faces, and names to the process that each of us goes through in learning to love. We initially asked three dozen heterosexual people to take a picture and tell their story. Almost everyone responded affirmatively immediately. These stories were waiting to be told.
Their stories are about relationships with parents, children, friends, pastors, neighbors, co-workers, aunts, nephews, and customers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Some people talked about how they first became aware of their friend or family member being a gay or lesbian person. A few talked about their feelings of anger when they learned because they felt that they had not been trusted with the information earlier. A couple cried about knowing that their loved one had struggled in silence for a period of time.
So, Acceptance Journeys/Imagine More was developed to encourage LGBT people to expect more in their daily lives – not more comfort or material good, but more love and support.
Soon you will be able to learn more about Acceptance Journeys, to read stories and see the pictures of those who told their stories, and to contribute your own story. To be updated on this project, please check back here regularly or click here to leave a message for staff. Please write Imagine More in the subject line.
You can also see some items from Acceptance Journeys/Imagine More, by clicking here.
