Media.www.LALoyolan.com – Jennifer Beckwith
As a volunteer speaker for an organization that aims to eradicate homophobia, I tell my coming out story, focusing on two main themes: diversity and communication. The acceptance and understanding of diversity has been stressed to me throughout my life and now I continually try to uphold that amazing legacy.
Open communication, I feel, is the means by which one develops understanding, particularly about issues which are generally only whispered about. Transgender people are probably the most whispered about group of all.
As a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, I face many dangers wrought by a society that refuses to embrace us as we have embraced ourselves and our identity. Transgender people, however, have it worst. They are a minority within a minority and face the most misunderstanding and ignorance, which often leads to violence.