Dear Future President,

The media has the power to change the way we view things. For example, if a young girl only ever sees thin, tall girls on the covers of magazines and on television, she’ll begin to believe that’s what all women are supposed to look like. If a child watches television and reads books filled with straight people, they’ll begin to think that love can only exist between a man and woman. If a child watches television or reads books with people who are cis-gendered, then they’ll believe that everyone is born a woman or man.

I’m here to talk about the issue of LGBTQ representation in media.

Studies have shown that between 30% and 40% of the LGBT youth has attempted suicide. Throughout history, society has been very intolerant toward these people, influencing many people’s views today. Many people look down upon LGBT community, believing that it is wrong, pulling out old arguments, like, “Don’t you want children?” or “God doesn’t make mistakes.”

I’m sure that many of us remember the fantastic show called Sailor Moon, and it was dubbed in America for children, and personally, I loved it. Except when I realized, many years later, that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were supposed to be a couple. Sailor Moon was a show that was celebrated for creating the standard for magical girls, being an extremely popular series, and showing the many different sides and powers of girls. I do not understand why it was the relationship between Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune was censored, and were instead made to be cousins. This show could have helped many children’s attitudes toward the LGBT community, but instead was censored, to many people’s disappointment. (And actually made them look incestrous, awkwardly enough.)

If people believe that the queer community is wrong, then so be it. If we, in America, could educate future generations that it’s okay to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or whatever sexuality and gender, then the world would be a little bit of a better place. There would be less hate crimes and discrimination against the LGBTQ community, lower rates of suicide, and less pressure to fit into a mold that was created centuries ago.

I believe that this should start in the media. Just think about it, how many people watch television and read books? Just about everyone, especially children. Shows like Steven Universe, where two women are in love with each other and is portrayed as a healthy, true love, are helping many children realize that two women can love each other. If there were more books, movies, and television series that showed the LGBTQ community as something positive, it would make all the difference.

Sincerely,

Kamille Baylon