• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

THE KIDS STILL AREN’T ALL RIGHT

Written by EMILY HOPKINS Posted February 25, 2015 Filed Under: COLUMNS, Free Radical, NEWS+OPINIONS

FREE RAD TOP

 

The first thing I ever wrote for DigBoston, way back in 2012, was an editorial titled, “The Kids Are Not All Right.” I was angry, frustrated in my own closet, and had just attended a fundraiser for GLAAD. They were organizing an anti-bullying campaign and handling court cases for LGBTQ children.

 

It upset me how the youngest members of our queer parade were being subjected, even at school, to blatant cruelty. And now, two-and-a-half years later (and after countless “It Gets Better” PSAs), it seems society has yet to change enough. LGBT kids still make up a disproportionate percentage homeless youth. Trans teens still commit suicide at alarming rates, sometimes leaving behind blog posts for family members to find.

 

My heart aches for them all, not just because they’re young, but because they are vulnerable. In that way, we’re all children in this patchwork queer family. But some of us are in more danger than others. Barely a single week goes by without the tragic murder of a trans person of color, many of them black trans women. The list of names we read out in defiance and remembrance is getting longer.

 

We need progress, now. It might get better, but not on its own.

Author profile
EMILY HOPKINS

Filed Under: COLUMNS, Free Radical, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: Emily Hopkins, GLAAD, It Gets Better, LGBTQ, suicide, trans activism, Trans Teens

WHAT’S NEW

Disconnected, “Uninformed.” How BPS Students Feel About the Superintendent Search Process

Disconnected, “Uninformed.” How BPS Students Feel About the Superintendent Search Process

State Wire: Mass Groups Say Wheelchair Repair Process Needs Improvements

State Wire: Mass Groups Say Wheelchair Repair Process Needs Improvements

As trains broke down, the MBTA’s million-dollar marketing campaign kept running

As trains broke down, the MBTA’s million-dollar marketing campaign kept running

Photo Recap: Weekend Of Boston Rallies Against SCOTUS Abortion Decision

Photo Recap: Weekend Of Boston Rallies Against SCOTUS Abortion Decision

Inbox: "Debate for Suffolk DA and Sheriff Races This Tuesday"

Inbox: “Debate for Suffolk DA and Sheriff Races This Tuesday”

Inbox: "Coalition Celebrates Advancement of Safe Communities Act"

Inbox: “Coalition Celebrates Advancement of Safe Communities Act”

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

FEATURED EVENT

Advertisement

Most Popular

  • Dig This: The Return Of the Boston Seafood Festival
  • Meet the Phantom Behind Greater Boston’s Awesome Food Feed Everybody Gotta Eat
  • Dig This: The Hot Dog Safari Food Truck & Craft Beer Festival
  • No Smoking, No Thank You. Advocates Decry Cannabis Social Consumption Rules in Mass
  • Why This Pit Kid Is Not Going to ‘Pit-A-Palooza’

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]