The
Central Coast PFLAG
by Rosemary
Lusardi
The Central Coast PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians And Gays, Bisexual and Transgender Persons) is part of a National Organization. It was started as a support group of parents with gay children for families learning to cope with having a gay family member. It now does much more.
PFLAG's mission is to promote the health and well being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families, and friends through:
SUPPORT- to cope with an adverse society........our local monthly meetings are conducted in a warm and safe environment, where parents are given the tools and support to better understand their children, just the way they are.
EDUCATION- to enlighten an ill-informed public. Our PFLAG chapter has hosted a Thursday Night Farmers market booth for years, where materials and the opportunity to initiate dialog are always available. Please stop by!
ADVOCACY- to end discrimination and to secure equal rights- At the national level, PFLAG has grown into a strong, effective and "listened to" voice in the halls of the Capitol. With hundreds of chapters in the United States and in foreign countries, our organization is committed to securing equal rights for all gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons.
Educate yourself on homosexuality. Even if you think homosexuality is a sin, "sick," or just something you'd rather not think about because it doesn't affect you; educate yourself! The current accepted statistic is that10% of the population is gay; one in every ten people you know is or is predestined to be homosexual! Think about it!
Of course, many people never admit even to themselves that they are homosexual, it's too frightening. Instead they go through life confused, frustrated and afraid, they feel totally alone: many chose suicide. Thirty percent of teen suicides are gay and lesbian youth. Try to imagine how it must feel to suspect that you are gay, knowing that a lot of people think that makes you weird or even evil and you have no one to talk to. Many gay youth are kicked out of their homes, verbally or physically abused by frightened, homophobic family members (they are victims of homophobia too). Forty-two percent of homeless teens are gay or lesbian. Our society makes heterosexuality the "only" right way. Our society through schools, laws; TV, books, our churches, our time honored organizations (like the Boy Scouts), all tell us that homosexuality is anything from unacceptable and disgusting, to "you will-go-to-hell-for-all-eternity." Everyone gets this message all their lives, by being different from the majority in this way, he or she is of less value, has no rights and is unworthy of love and equality. Then one day, as the child is emerging into an adult, it hits him, "I am this horrible, disgusting thing that even the really good adults I know won't talk about!" We need to educate ourselves and our children. We need to insist on, at the very least, tolerance and strive for understanding and acceptance. Some very famous people have been gay or lesbian: the leaders, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Chief Crazy Horse, King James I; the musicians, Joan Baez, David Bowie, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Bessie Smith; the artists, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Georgia O'Keffe; the writers Walt Whitman, Gertrude Stein, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, W. Somerset Maugham; the philosophers Socrates and Plato; some judges, politicians, major athletes and many, many more. How much richer the world is because of them!
1) We need to educate ourselves. 2) We need to insist on training for the teachers and for law enforcement people. 3) We need to educate the children and insist on a zero % tolerance for harassment, violence and discrimination in matters of sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation as well as gender, race, ethnicity or religion. Start with you. Suggested reading: Beyond Acceptance, My Son Eric, Invisible Families, Straight Parents, Gay Children, (there are many more titles available at local bookstores and libraries, and information is available from PFLAG - Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons (http://www.pflag.org) local phone (805) 438-3889, national phone (202) 638-4200; GLSEN - The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (http://www.glsen.org) national phone (212) 727-0135. There is an excellent video, "It's Elementary" and "Out of the Past" both award winning documentaries on the subject. The Palm Theater has shown the first listed. With enough requests maybe we could get them to show both of these films together!
PFLAG, with the help of GLSEN, is trying to get the schools in our county to get training for all teachers, counselors, and school staff so that they can be a positive force in helping that 10% to realize they are not alone and not freaks and that they have a right to a safe place to get their education. And to help the 90% (of heterosexuals) to see that this is okay and that in no way does a homosexual's presence threaten them. We also hope to make literature more readily available to all, especially to kids who need to know. If you have a child in the school system here, call and encourage them to take part in the program we're offering. Or call us and join our group, donate money for educational materials, or to take training with us to help educate the educators. Until we all can be open and accepting, we are victims of homophobia.
The Central Coast Chapter of PFLAG invites you to join us on the second Tuesday of each month at the United Methodist Church, 1515 Fredricks Street, San Luis Obispo, beginning at 7 p.m. (this is located between California Blvd. and Grand Ave. in the main church building).
Questions, call 438-3889 (or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Please Join Us!
Rosemary Lusardi, Central Coast PFLAG Director, GLSEN member
