Post
by Jeffret » Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:19 am
Thanks for the welcome!
In case my earlier missives on the idea that Savannah is merely choosing to identify as lesbian as a passing lark or fancy was insufficiently long, let me take off on Hagoth's comment with another idea. There is a common accusation among straight people that gays are merely choosing to be gay. That seems to be the foundation behind the idea that Savannah is too young, that she is choosing to be gay for some unknown reason. But consider what it would mean to choose to be gay. I know that in Ellen's famous "puppy episode" they joked about how she got prizes for joining the lesbian club. The reality was quite different. Ellen's career took a nose dive and she was unable to find work for years. Her guest star for that episode, Laura Dern, who is quite straight in real-life but played a lesbian on Ellen's show, found it hard to get work for several years. Sure, Ellen eventually found her way back and has a huge following now, but that was never a likelihood, let alone a certainty.
To choose to be gay means to be outcast, discriminated against, face a plethora of unjust laws, run a higher risk of unemployment, notably lower average lifetime income, and a paucity of role models. And that's after Obergefell made gay marriage legal throughout the land. Before then, the complications were much worse. For a kid to come out as gay frequently means being kicked out onto the streets and disowned by family, particularly in Utah.
For a Mormon youth to come out as gay means to be ostracized from the community. Often it means to be ostracized from their family. In Savannah's case that doesn't appear to be true of her immediate family but may be the case of her extended family. Cousins may be forbidden from associating with her. She faces the potential for bullying at school, from students and teachers, at church, from peers and leaders, and in her community and neighborhood. She faces the approbation of being cast as one of the greatest sinners and enemies of the church, just for who she is, not the actions she has done. In the Church today, her statement is a worse sin than the scarlet letter of Hester Prynne. She faces unending bishop's interviews should she decide to remain and severe limitations on her participation. If she decides to remain in the Church, she faces a lifetime of not only being denied marriage but any fulfilling relationship and affection.
Frankly, it's not worth the mythical toaster.
"Close your eyes, for your eyes will only tell the truth,
And the truth isn't what you want to see" (Charles Hart, "The Music of the Night")