Adolescence marks pride

In adolescence, you stop being a child and you 'rebel' against your parents and the world. You discover yourself and forge your personality. You think you're invincible even though you don't have a clue about life. You take risks, you fail, you learn, you get up and start again... You have your first girlfriend, your first kiss, your first time having sex...

…all this, unless you're gay, lesbian, trans, queer… in which case, to the already heavy stuff of the time, an extra layer of complexity is added. If you're gay… I'd bet a testicle that your adolescence wasn't 100% "normal".

Today, on the occasion of MADO and as a culmination of the festivities we've had this Pride month, we're talking about LGBTQ+ adolescence

The stolen adolescence of millennials and those who came before

Our grandparents had to deal with a timid and a prudish law.

With no role models, adolescence for gay people back then was… fucked up… at best. They watched TV and the only gay person they saw was in Arévalo's jokes. 🤦‍♂️ Let's not add fuel to the fire.

Over time, legal rights were won, but above all, public opinion shifted towards tolerance… even acceptance. Even so, many grew up in this era feeling like they didn't quite fit in.

• It was taught that to be happy you needed a university degree, excel in sports, and have a wife and 1.7 children.

• Movies, books, and video games were full of ripped guys who could make curvy chicks wet at the slightest display of violence and a motherfucker staring into the distance.

• Phrases like 'If my son is gay, I will love him and I will have to accept him.' either 'Let them do whatever they want as long as it's in private'They were very common.

• In Disney movies, the villain looked like sarasa And in Physics or Chemistry, they'd shoot the faggot.

• In short, if a gay man compared himself to his peers (something that is absolutely normal in adolescence) he saw that… something was not the same.

There were a lot of signs that were gradually sinking in about what was 'normal' and what wasn't. And you, my dear… perhaps you weren't entirely "normal". 😜 Given that scenario… the most “normal” thing to do is to deny one's feelings or put them on hold. To put on a mask to fit.

Did they "steal" your adolescence?

If that's what happened, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't; we couldn't; one couldn't show oneself as one truly is.

• Out of fear of ridicule, aggression, or rejection,

• Or simply out of a desire to fit in, to belong, and to feel accepted and loved… like any human being.

Feeling one thing but acting and trying to think another... well, in the long run it causes problems: difficulties establishing healthy relationships with others, difficulty trusting, you idealize role models and/or toxic patterns that you want to experience now because you didn't in your adolescence (Peter Pan complex). p.m.)...

Although it could have been worse. We could have been killed (literally).

The new teenagers. Without backpacks but… only on social media?

Today's teenagers have already grown up with the legalization of gay marriage, the recognition of adoption and, as of this week, a Trans Law.

And they have a fresh new batch of role models to look to and draw inspiration from to build their identity:

• Lil Nas X claims in twitter the right to be a power bottom because passives are also powerful and she kisses two black men in prime time in addition to topping the American charts,

• There are interesting, non-caricatured series like Pose, SexEd either Euphoria. In this category of series, I'm sorry, but season 4 of Elite does NOT qualify. 😜 Having a threesome with your boyfriend and a classmate in the locker room showers... well... 😅

• Disney It has a series where the protagonist discovers his identity (With love, Simon)

• Approximately 50% of the youths They do NOT define themselves as exclusively 100% heterosexual and 80% believe that gender does not define a person.

• And there are so many books, and movies, and public figures...

Social media has played a key role in all of this. Just take a look at Instagram or TikTok and you'll see the new generation of influencers showcasing all the realities of the rainbow from a perspective of identification and normality.

So everything is resolved then? Mmm, from our point of view... we're afraid not.

There are people already talking about the 'Reality privilege'Or how, on the internet we all have the same rights and can express ourselves as we wish… but it is not true that all those people can transpose their virtual 'avatars' into real life.

The gay man from the village who gets hundreds of likes on TikTok might still be harassed in the streets, the lesbian who participates in discussion forums from Nigeria is still being persecuted, we still read news about LGBTQ+ attacks, or some, in a more subtle way, continue to say that we have to 'disguise of the sight of the children'protest festivals like Pride.

Pride to see (us) all in the streets

Those who are well past 20 years old have no remedy when it comes to 'stolen' adolescence.But the visibility of Pride also serves to make up for lost time and to ensure that, in the future, no young person has to put their feelings and their experience counter on 'pause' (at best).

It's also good so that the new kids see more options from the beginning... so they don't waste energy covering up and hiding, but rather invest it in being out there, showing off and strutting around.

And finally, it serves to sweep away stigmas and anachronisms that, however outdated they may be, are still present in certain physical environments... because virtual ones have long since banished them.

Happy Pride, temporary and eternal teenagers!

P.dThis pride, in Siwon We collaborate with the Eddy-G Foundation that welcomes young people who flee their environment due to mistreatment, family violence, bullying or any other type of LGBTphobic aggression. We will donate half the amount you buy in our online store on July 3rd and 4th for MADO. 🖤