This is for you

Recently there has been letters from fathers to their sons that have been making their rounds on the Twittersphere and other social networking sites. The initial letter that sparked all of this was a letter James (a gay individual) received from his father, in which his father expressed that he had decided to disown James as a son (and as a result disassociate himself from James). This letter sparked 2 other letters, one from a heterosexual father to his hypothetically gay son and the other from a gay father to his two adoptive sons. It should be rather indicative that a letter would be appropriate for today's post. So here goes:

To All My Viewers

The recent letters that fathers have written to their sons has inspired me to leave a message to you to show my admiration for you in a more personal capacity. Coming to terms with your sexuality is a difficult process, and seldom are you ever congratulated for the courage, patience and perseverance you put in. Well this is my congratulations to you.

I realize life may seem tough at the moment. Looking around there's constant battles. Battles regarding the position homosexuals occupy in modern day society, whether it's marriage equality, adoption rights or even decriminalizing homosexuality. Living in a conservative community myself, I know that being authentic to oneself is much easier said than done, but isn't impossible. Personally, I have contemplated thoughts of suicide, running away and leaving everything I have behind. At that time, anything seemed better than confronting my sexuality and the attraction to members of the same sex. I had spent countless nights crying myself to sleep as thoughts of inadequacy filled my head; never getting to fulfill the role I believed I was meant to fulfill. Then came my shame. My shame in feeling the emotions I felt. I tried to suppress the thoughts and to dismiss the truth- but it all caught up with me eventually.

In pursuing this journey you may find yourself back at the starting line in many aspects of your life, but you'll find yourself at the beginning with other people just as yourself. These are the people who have cried at night with you- who felt just as alone as you did- who were ready to leave, yet here you stand, united. It's all trial and error, and you needn't feel ashamed of the mistakes you've made. Never think you're worthless or inadequate, regardless of what other peoples opinions are. I promise you a day will come, where you will look back and be thankful for the choice you made. The hurt and anger you feel now will dissipate as you begin to live your life the way your heart intended to live it. 

Finally, I want you to know that you are never alone. There's one person you can always rely on, and that person is you. As cliche` as it may sound, Mariah Carey says it best, "So when you feel like hope is gone look inside you and be strong, and you'll finally see the truth, that a hero lies in you." It's important you always remember that- THAT A HERO LIES IN YOU.

I wish you all the best on your journeys

Yours  sincerely- Greg 

Final Thought:
The letter may seem irrelevant to many of you yet to some it might speak great volumes. My intention was to let you know that all these emotions you might be experiencing are not irregular. Regardless your age, gender, race and religion- coming out is an emotional experience. So if you too sit up at night and cry till your tear ducts can't anymore, if you constantly thinking about how inadequate you think you are , even if you read this letter and wished you weren't gay- this is for you... No one said it would be easy- they said it'd be worth it. AND IT WILL BE!



If you have any personal questions or you need someone to talk to- do not hesitate to email me (gregodemi@gmail.com). I keep my emails separate from the blog, private.  
 

Brand Support

A new post is well overdue. Admittedly I have been so preoccupied with the Olympics- that much of my life has been put on pause- but not my blog! If any of you were hoping I would do a post regarding the Olympic games- I have already covered it in a previous post entitled Sport GAYmes. You can also see who the 22 openly gay Olympians participating in this years Olympic games are by clicking this Outsports link.

Apart from the Olympic Games covering the front pages of the news recently; there has also been a lot of gay-related news. One particular story that I noticed was the American fast-food company Chick-fill-A's stance on homosexuality. Appalled at what company president Dan Cathy had to say about the gays- and the battle that has pursued- I decided that I would use this time to share brands known world-wide that SUPPORT HOMOSEXUALITY AND EQUALITY (the true pioneers of anti-discrimination).

The new face of homophobia, Chick-fill-a's president, Dan Cathy

Many of you may be familiar with Google. Google has largely become the encyclopedia to many questions we encounter on day-to-day occasions. For those unaware of Google (you need to step out of your cave), Google  is a multinational corporation, and is famously known for their web search engine Google search. Google launched their new Legalize Love campaign earlier in July this year. Their aim is to support members of the LGBT community, focusing specifically on places with homophobic cultures. Google are continuously showing their support for equality and the community. Below is a video released on Valentines Day this year by Google and its employees:

Another company that supports gay rights has been around for quite some time (since 1853)- Levis. Not only was Levi's the creator of blue jeans- but they also created what is known as the White Knot. The White Knot, depicted below, is Levis appeal to the people to make their support for marriage equality and equal rights visible. Anne Hathaway, Brokeback Mountain and recent Batman star, was seen wearing a white knot at President Obama's inauguration- to show her support for marriage equality. (Anne's brother, Thomas Hathaway is a member of our community-gay). Levis also has various other t-shirts prints for the LGBT community- one being two woman just married.

Left: Levi Display Mannequin wearing a White Knot. Right: Anne Hathaway wears a White Knot in public. 

One company that wasn't initially met with open arms, when showing their support for the LGBT community, was Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA Games). Many of you may know EA Games for the games they've released, with titles including: Need for Speed, The Sims, Fifa and the Harry Potter series. One game in particular included the option of a gay romance in the plot- Mass Effect 3. Many anti-gay organizations were angered by this decision, but EA Games' vice president of corporate communications Jeff Brown defended their decision claiming, "...In short, we do put options for same-sex relationships in our games; we don't tolerate hate speech on our forums." Now gamers world-wide can utilize the option of playing games and being gay. (Below is a short scene from Mass Effect 3 with gay characters- probably an age restriction of 16)

Staying on the topic of fictional characters; Marvel- the comic book company that has published characters such as; Spiderman, Thor, X-Men, Hulk and Iron Man are also supporters of the LGBT community. Gay character Northstar, who revealed he is gay back in 1992, proposed to his longtime partner Kyle Jinadu earlier in May this year. Following in theme- Archie comics, whom introduced its first gay character in September last year, also had wedding bells ringing this year when Kevin Keller married African-American Doctor Clay Walker. And if that wasn't enough- DC Comics, another comic company founded in 1934, has also recently revealed that their superhero- Green Lantern is gay- thus making 2012 a great year for gay superhero's and characters!

Marvel's Northstar and Kyle Jinadu wed...

Archie characters newly-weds: Kyle Keller and Clay Walker

DC-Comic's openly gay Green Lantern

Among the many other brands: Amazon, the worlds largest online retailer, pledged $2.5 million to help pass a referendum on same-sex marriage in Washington State. Microsoft, the world's largest software makers, was one of the first companies to offer employee benefits to same-sex domestic partners- they also have a resource group called Gleam for LGBT employees and have also donated money towards marriage equality campaigns. Those not yet mentioned; Apple, Walt Disney Co, Starbucks and many other companies (some displayed below) are also among these supporters of LGBT rights and marriage equality.   

KFC sign in light of the recent issues with Chick-fill-a

Iconic Armani advert

Oreo showing their colors/support for gay pride

Absolut Vodka pride edition bottle in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the gay pride flag

Clothing brand GAP advert

Final Thought:
Many of the brands mentioned above are household brand names. Most of them are the leading brands in their fields- and the reason they support equal rights and gay rights is simply because it is the right thing to do. In today's society- publicity is enormously important, and no one wants to associate with companies that have prejudice and discriminant views. The irony is that majority of the homophobic people in the world- use LGBT supportive brands on a daily basis and although one company speaks out about it's anti-gay/homophobic views- another 10 come out in support of the LGBT community. Have a look at these brands- and remember to show your support in return (they've all been here awhile anyways).