All of us who grew up before and after the turn of the millennium know very well what it is to be gay, lesbian, trans, knowing that we would be stigmatized, and not only by the school environment or the circle of friends, but also in the family environment.
We heard so many things that would currently be considered toxic, such as: "Boys don't play with dolls, pink for girls, blue for boys, you're a sissy." This was not exclusive to boys and girls. But also the same conversations in family celebrations between brothers-in-law, uncles, friends (mostly men), most of their conversations or "jokes" are about sexual orientation in the most old-fashioned style of Pajares and Esteso, but with the same toxicity as Chernobyl.
I remember very well the fear of being singled out for my sexual orientation, as did many of my generation.
But for boys it gets even worse.
You question many things and many whys of what you feel and why you are not like the others.
"Last one's a fag" to start a race, "Don't be a sissy" so you're not a coward (as if sexual orientation had anything to do with courage).
At that time, there wasn't even any series with inclusive content, and the only one I got to see at that time was an American series called Queer as Folk. It was broadcast in the early hours of the morning as content for over 18s (which was not normal), fortunately now we can find any inclusive series on platforms such as Netflix, HBO or Prime.
Now I see with sadness and fear how those times of concealment, shame, opprobrium, pointing fingers, ignominy are returning, this time with accusations and throwing our rights in the trash on a 10-meter canvas.
Growing up without being yourself is not growing up in a good way. On the contrary, it is growing up learning how to hide and adapt to a society very lacking in empathy and very full of prejudices.
Nowadays, many of those who used all that homophobia as a cheesy joke are the ones who call us "the glass generation" because supposedly "everything offends us" but make no mistake! It no longer offends us, we just don't allow future generations and those who are already here to suffer what we suffered.
You only have to take a look at the fact that homosexuality exists in 450 different species, but homophobia only in one.
Guess which one it is.
Homophobia stole our freedom, equality, growing up being and feeling as we wanted without fear, it stole many moments that will never be repeated and it took something more valuable. Our time that no one is going to give us back.
It stole our sleep for fear of homophobic bullying at school, in the street, in family gatherings and made us feel like we were weirdos.
But despite all that disastrous theft, it didn't manage to take away our courage, so that later we could not only come out of the closet but also take a hammer and smash it to pieces.
Love is Love.