Speak Up. Your Voice Will Be Heard.

The other morning, BuzzFeed featured a story from Project Unbreakable (website/Tumblr), who work with survivors of sexual assault, photographing them holding a poster with a quote from their attacker. The unique story uncovered stories from men who have been assaulted, and touched base on some of the stigmas surrounding men and sex, with quotes from attackers such as “Don’t worry, boys are supposed to like this,” and “You’re a guy, you can’t say no to a girl like me.”, as well as many threats to hurt loved ones. Many people still don’t realize that yes, men CAN and ARE victims of sexual abuse, not only from women but from fellow men, and that it is not made any less traumatizing for a man simply because he is a man, and saying things like “man up” does nothing except further de humanize and hurt the victim. There is, if possible, even more blame put on a male victim of sexual abuse than female because people assume that all men want sex, from any person, at any time. Stop this. Stop the abuse of ANYBODY, stop victim blaming, and stop telling male abuse survivors that men being raped “isn’t a real thing.” You can read the full story and see the rest of the pictures here.

Share YOUR Story!

Project: Become

Purpose:

            The purpose of Project: Become, in it’s simplest form, is to bring people together through the sharing of experiences in an online forum. There is a lot of hate in the world directed at peoples’ sexual identity, and I know that I’m not the only one that has experienced it. I want this blog to be a place where people can share these experiences in a safe and supportive environment. The world can be a mean place. Coming out can be scary. This blog is a place where those who identify as LGBT, or close friends of theirs, can share stories and experiences. It will also be a place where anyone that is coming out can find advice and support. It will be a place where friends of those in the LGBT community can find advice if they are having trouble coming to terms with accepting or understanding a friend.

Authors:

            As far as authors and contributors go, it my opinion that the more the better, but I also understand that quantity does not mean quality. I want authors, LGBT or friends, which have an experience relating to the LGBT community to share whether it is good or bad. At the same time, I want the posts to be positive. I also think the blog should be open to people with questions. For example, if a person is confused about their identity or going through a certain situation, I want them to explain a little about what is going on and then ask their questions. Hopefully, people can comment and help. Remember, the blog is about building support and making connections.

Readers:

            Readers on the site should keep and open mind whether they are gay, straight, or other. People should visit the blog to gain perspective of what the people living around them are going through. I want readers to provide helpful comments when they feel so inclined to do so.

Privacy:

            Privacy can be a sensitive issue. People contributing directly to the blog as authors have their names appear after their post. I haven’t yet figured out how to make a post anonymous if the author wishes it to be. However, for now if someone wants the post to be anonymous they can email me the post in a Word.doc, and I can then post it myself without their name. Anyone can comment, and they are given the option to have their comment remain anonymous. To be added as an author, people just have to email me, and then I can invite them to the blog. My email is briarthorn712@gmail.com

Sorry everyone it took me so long to get this information up. I've been waiting to hear a reply from the LGBT Director, but it's been a week and a half so I've decided to just go ahead and put this up anyways. 

Peace. 

Stop the Hate

The purpose of the things I write about here on this blog is bring people closer together. I plan to do that by opening peoples' eyes to the terrible things that are happening on a daily basis around us.

There is so much hate in the world, and having personally experienced it, I want to try to stop some of this hate. When I can't stop it, I at least want to help others that it affects. To be more specific, I want to stop the hate associated with homosexuality. The world must become accepting of the fact that what whomever you love doesn't make you lesser. "Man, that's gay." is a common expression that I hear so often. People call each other faggots behind their backs and sometimes to their faces. Gay has become synonymous with meaning lesser. I want to change this, all of it. This blog is going to be my way of retaliating against this hate; nonviolent retaliation. I don't believe that violence will fix this problem, this epidemic of ignorance, but I do believe that if everyone can become supportive, the hate will wither away.

I know that I can't possible do it by myself. That is why I'm starting Project: Become. I want people to read this and see the things happening around them with opened eyes. I want people to catch themselves before they spread the hate. I want people to stand up for those being oppressed, to care, and to be aware. I want people to become connected by their basic likeness in humanity.