So at least a dozen red states are jumping on the “Don’t say Gay” bandwagon that seek to prohibit schools from discussing any topics related to gender identity or sexual orientation.
This is systematic and structural transphobia and homophobia being written into legislation. It goes against all medical evidence that creating a safe and supportive environment for LGBTQIA+ youth is essential for them to thrive.
1.8 million LGBTQIA+ youth consider suicide every year. 1.8 MILLION. 87% of trans youth had suicidal thoughts within the past year. These are children! Gown adults are bullying children, who before these bills, experienced exponentially more anxiety and major depressive episodes than non-LGBTQIA+ youth. These bills will only serve to exponentially raise that risk.
Harassing and bullying children "in the name of Christ" is disgusting and yet one more nail in the coffin of evangelical Republicans' bigotry. They don't even read the bible that they claim to follow. If they did, they would know that marginalized, oppressed, and bullied people are exactly who Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is for.
According to the Christian bible, he came to break people free from the bondage of religion of that time period, and he detested how the religion of that time enslaved people to its laws. He hung out with outcasts including thieves, prostitutes, the homeless, the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. The religious leaders of that time hated him for this, and was one of the reasons that led up to his crucifixion.
Anyway, before we go too far down that rabbit hole, Florida was the first state to sign a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, calling any discussion of gender identity or sexual orientation “indoctrination,” which is hilarious coming from evangelical Republicans who indoctrinate their own children in evangelicalism, instilling into them racism, homophobia, and transphobia. They start the religious indoctrination of these harmful and toxic ideologies at birth. This was my experience growing up in evangelicalism myself.
Nowhere is LGBTQIA+ discussion a part of any elementary school education curriculum. Talking about families happens all the time, though, because students naturally have questions about why Billy has two moms or Susan has two dads. Evangelical Republicans want to elimiate that. They want to oppress and marginalize the LGBTQIA+ community even more.
There are some teachers in Florida who are turning the Florida bill back on these right-wing extremists by saying, “Oh, you don’t want to talk about gender identity? From now on all students will be referred to as they/them, and I, the teacher, will be referred to as the gender neutral Mx. instead of Mr. or Ms.”
To celebrate this mentality, and to fight back against oppression, we're releasing our newest design!
I'll Say Gay Whenever I Want Unisex T-Shirt
I'll Say Gay Whenever I Want Slim-Fit Women's Tee
(which runs small, so we strongly recommend ordering a size up!)
We need this to happen across the country- more malicious compliance that backfires in evangelical Republicans' faces. We have to rise up and not allow them to force us to comply with THEIR religious beliefs.
To be clear, this is not all Christians. Progressive Christians tend to be loving and accepting of marginalized communities and work hard for equality. This is specifically mainstream white evangelicalism.
These bills are happening in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, South Carolina, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Tennessee. Texas hasn't legislated any "Don't Say Gay" bills yet, but Governor Abbott promises they will in the next session.
Shop today and wear this shirt with pride. We have to fight back and get loud and be bold so that we can make an impact on everyone around us.
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As of the writing of this blog post, 20% of the sales for this shirt are donated to The Trevor Project, which is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people. One accepting adult decreases the risk of suicide for LGBTQ+ youth by 40%. The Trevor Project provides LGBTQ+ youth with 24/7 crisis counseling via phone, text, and chat.