I Love You for Who You Are

Love is love, this phrase has become popular in young people during the last years. It means that everyone has the right to love someone else, and gender doesn't matter. However, it hasn't always been that way. Judgement is a part of everyday life in society, especially, sexuality preferences. Because of these, existence isn't easy for people who are part of the LGBT+ community. Unfortunately, hate crimes are part of the history of the community, there have been many victims of those crimes. The important part, is that there will always be gays, bisexuals, trans, non-binary, pansexual, and other people who are willing to fight for the right to love. So, in this blog entry I will first tell you about one of the best known hate crimes in Guatemala; then, I will share a little about the pride march as a tradition; finally, I will talk about sexual diversity.

Maria Conchita Alonso, at first glance seems like another woman's name, but this name has an important weight in the rights of the LGBT+ community in an entire country. Maria Conchita was a trans woman, she used to work as sexual worker in zone 1 in Guatemala City, she was also considered as an activist for trans people rights during the armed conflict. But, in an extremely conservative country as Guatemala, where the army and the church have the power, she was just a freak. She wasn’t part of the society that has rights, she didn’t deserve to live. On October 2nd. 1997 she was killed by 2 males near of the place where she used to work, while she was working. Her friends and people of other organizations tried to help her. Sadly, the cause of her death was a gun shot, apparently the men were recognized as army members, they killed her because she was trans. On October 11th.  of the same year was created “Maria Conchita’s Friends Association.” A commemorative mass was held in a church in zone 1, where once again, her rights weren’t respected, when saying her birth name instead of her woman name because the church didn’t accept her as a woman. After the mass, her friends made a commemorative march to the Central Park, to show the rejection they had towards what had happened, and to show that they were real people like the rest.

Pride parade, also known as pride march, or pride festival is a celebration for people of the community. It happens on June of every year, to express “we are real persons” “we are happy in the way we are” “we want to love and to be love.” The Stonewall Uprising happened on June 28th. 1969, and it marked a series of events between police and LGBT+ protesters that stretched over 6 days. The Stonewall Inn was one of the most popular gay bars in New York City at the time. Homosexuality was still considered a criminal offense, and, until 1966 it was illegal to serve alcohol to homosexual people. For that reason, many bars were forced to operate without license, then, it opened a door for brutal raids. That day, the rights of many people were disrespected, when police arrested some people after they asked justice for a lesbian that had been hurt. On June 28th. 1970, on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, occurred the firsts pride marches in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Hundreds of people commemorated the events of the last year, asked for equal rights, celebrated the liberation movements. With the passage of time, the pride parade has changed, and has been adapted to modern times. It is not only a commemoration for all those victims who were silent for a long time, but it is a celebration of self-acceptance, or achievements.

When we talk about the term “sexual diversity” everyone disagrees, it doesn't have a specific meaning, it means different things for each person. What we agree on, is that today, there are more open-minded people, who are willing to fight, to raise their voice, to express themselves as they are for the right to love. Love is a complex feeling, it already is complicated on its own, I honestly don’t know why should it matter if you're male, female, non-binary, queer, or whatever you feel comfortable about? Why should you care who you're attracted to? Love is present in many different ways, none of them are wrong. During our lives we experience this feeling with diverse people, the only thing that should matter is feeling it. For me, sexual diversity means that everyone has options to identify with they want to be, and love anyone. In my case, I’m pansexual, I feel good about myself, I know I deserve to love and being loved, regardless of sexuality.

The world has changed, although there are still people who think we don’t deserve love, that we are just freaks. LGBT+ people don’t have to be in silence anymore, we can be free, not as we would like, but our voices can be heard. We know it hasn’t over yet, we are still fighting to have a place in an apparently perfect society. Now we can express ourselves as we are, thanks to those who started the fight, we remember all those who couldn't do it. We'll keep trying, until one day, no matter what else, we can say: I love you for who you are.