There are times in our lives when we need a little explicit sexuality education and there are times in our lives when we need a little community education. They offer different kinds of learning, growing, and support.
I learned this morning about a community storytelling event that’s happening on an Air Force base in Germany next month, and it makes me so happy that it exists I just had to share. Here’s the flyer:
Now, graphic quality aside, this is such an amazing indication of growth and support for the military community! Look at that language: “Every airman matters, every airman has a story.” The inclusivity and love in those words are beautiful.
And here is the text from the email that accompanied this invitation:
This year’s LGBT Committee is hosting a “Storytellers” event for members to come out, tell their story, or hear a story, that may inspire them to learn more about the LGBT community and acceptance within the community.
If you have a member who may want to tell their story, please have them contact me ASAP. If you have someone who may be afraid to tell their story in a public setting, but is willing to have someone narrate their story for them, also have them contact me.
This event is being used to raise awareness in the LBGT community and support members of the KMC.
This kind, loving, honoring approach to telling coming-out stories in a recently accepting community makes me so happy for so many reasons!
- Learning how other people have come out paves the way for people who are looking to do it in the future.
- People who are trying to understand what it means to be LGBQ need to hear personal stories in order to reduce their fear and other internal cultural barriers to acceptance. They need to see gay people as real, human, and their pains and their loves as real and human too.
- Institutional support (particularly as evidence here) is so incredibly powerful in changing perspectives.
I’m going to be in the Ramstein area a month after this event. If I’d known it was happening I might have tried to get there earlier.
