A 12 year old Mormon girl’s response when her brother comes out to her

By Brooklynn Blair (Proud Baby Sister Dragon)

America is living with segregation. But not racial segregation, segregation based on sexual orientation. People treat them different, call them names, and act like they’re not human. Isn’t that exactly how they treated minorities?!?! Instead of being literally chained by a white person, they’re being emotionally chained by their secret. About 5-ish% of people are gay and in Utah almost half of the homeless teens are gay. They have been forced onto the street, just because they told the truth! My mom said that she used to think they were some sort of perverted people who chose to be gay, but then realized it’s just as natural as a girl liking a boy. The term “gay” was originally describing happy people. I think if you’re gay, you should be allowed to be happy with who you are. It may seem strange for a “straight” 12-year-old girl to share her feelings about gays, but I just found out my brother’s gay. He’s 18 and he’s a fantastic brother, cousin, son, grandson, nephew, etc. He’s a talented actor/pianist/singer/hugger/comforter/friend/cook. I can’t imagine life without him. Okay, I can but it’s just not the same.

He hopes to get married, adopt children, and raise a happy family. I’m proud that he knows that he can tell me and that he’ll still be my big brother, and that I’ll still love him no matter what. In some ways, he looks completely the same, but in some ways he’s so different. He looks happier, more confident, even. I’m glad he’s finally starting to open up to people, but most still don’t know. I’m devastated that he’ll be scorned and that so many people who once loved him will turn away. I’ve been wanting to write a novel for a while, so I finally decided, instead, to write about this extreme issue.

This is what society looks like through my 12 year old eyes.