Letters to Our Queer Youth

“Dear Queer Kiddo,

Your existence is resistance to all those who tried to extinguish your flame.

You are an endless fire that burns

Your core shall not be shaken by voices who don’t understand

Who never even try to understand

That Pride, is not about them

It’s about you.

Your magic

Your gifts

Your love.

Pride is your story to share on your terms

And our job to celebrate and uplift

Love always,

Oneg”

Without a doubt, our worlds have been changing rapidly and intensely. With the technological advances over the last few decades, we have more access to information than ever before. Along with that, the majority of folks have been given a platform to voice their opinions. On one hand, voices that have been silenced can now be empowered. On the other hand, hate and discrimination can also soar globally with the brakes off. And it does.

Alongside that, we see governments struggling to maintain their power over the masses. This often translates into bills and legislation that looks to oppress and keep oppressing marginalized people that now have a voice. It constantly feels like two steps forward, and then one back.

Marginalized youth particularly, get the brunt of it. Our youth suffer.

As a queer white settler, privileged to be living in Canada, I can only really speak to that context, but the statistics emerging just out of here still baffle me and are important to share. In Canada, the LGBTQ+ population has reached over a million, yet hate crimes and anti-queer and anti-trans policies are emerging in retaliation. Most LGBTQ+ folks ride a rollercoaster that impacts whole life spans, often in the forms of bullying, harassment, physical and sexual assaults, disappearances, hate crimes, and more.

LGBTQ+ youth face approximately 14 times the risk of suicide and substance abuse than their heterosexual peers.

In an Ontario-based survey, Ontario being the most populated province in Canada, 77% of trans participants saud they had seriously considered suicide, while 45% had attempted. It breaks my heart to know that such a high percentage of beautiful trans human beings feel that they don’t belong on this earth. At the same time, I remember being one of them myself when I was younger.

And while LGBTQ+ folks have a lot more rights in Canada than most around the world, the anti-queer and anti-trans policies that have been introduced and even passed over the last few years are frightening. What’s happening in the States is by no means any better. To have Canada issue a travel advisory to the United States regarding certain states being unsafe for LGBTQ+ folks is terrifying. And our queer youth are suffering. Our queer adults are suffering. Our queer elders are suffering.

And so, this challenge is a meaningful, impactful, and even personal one. We want you to join us in making a difference. Even if it validates just one queer youth. It takes one to change the world.

—

Your Challenge:

Pen a letter of support to 2SLGBTQ+ youth

-Word count should between 500-2,000 words

-Must be submitted to the PRIDE community

-Please link your entry in the comments to helps us find your submission

-The contest is open until July 1st at 11:59PM EST

-Open to EVERYONE, we encourage everyone to participate

Any degrading, discriminatory, or hateful submissions will immediately be rejected and are in direct violation of Vocal policies.

The 3 QVV admins and 3 V*iM admins will judge the entries and award prizes to the top 3.

The Prize Pool

1st Place - $15 + Feature in QVV & ViM

2nd Place - $7 + Feature in QVV & ViM

3rd Place - $5 + Feature in QVV & ViM

Help us spread the message of love, support, and validation to our queer youth. Show them that they are not alone, and that someone is looking out for them. They are our future. And they deserve to feel that their futures matter just as much as anyone else. They deserve to know that they matter.

Sources:

Canada's LGBTQ population now 1 million — but hate crimes are rising too: Statistics Canada (cbc.ca)

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Queer identified People and Mental Health (cmha.ca)

To find out more about our two wonderful groups:

Queer Vocal Voices is the only 2SLGBTQ+ writers and readers Vocal affiliated group on Facebook. Our was group born out of a need for more representation of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community on Vocal Media in all the site’s communities. The goal of our group is to elevate queer voices and queer stories with Pride in our identities. We are currently a 2SLGBTQIA+ community only. We are not open to allies joining at this time in order to prioritize queer voices.

Voices in Minor (ViM) (Vocal & Mus'd) is a Facebook group for readers and writers on Vocal and Mus’d. We hold community in our core, "We all rise when we lift each other up".