Opinion by Anna Hoffard

Dating is hard enough in high school. Imagine how hard it would be if you were gay, transgender, or bisexual.

My friend Josey is bisexual and has hit a few bumps down the road.  Last year, Josey wanted to go out on a date with a girl who seemed to be flirtatious. Josey confessed her feelings for her, and the girl completely freaked out on her. Turns out Josey mistook the girl’s friendliness for flirtation. When Josey asked her out, she called Josey a creep and a freak. She told Josey, “nobody likes you because you’re bisexual.”

Josey decided it was best to just leave the situation alone and not fight back with this girl. On the other hand, I told the girl that she couldn’t go around saying things like that because she didn’t really know what was going on in Josey’s life and adding her criticism could just make things a whole lot worse. The girl ended up apologizing to Josey, but she still gossiped behind her back, calling Josey a freak and other names.

This is how I would like to see things go down…

Turning someone down who is gay, bisexual, or transgender is the same as turning down someone who is straight. Let them down easy and say, “Look, I’m flattered but I don’t see you in that kind of way. I have nothing against you. I’m personally not attracted to you in that way.” Don’t say, “Ew I don’t like you, you’re gay and I don’t like gays. You’re a freak.” Try to accept others for who they are, don’t cancel them out because of who they want to be.

Being gay, bisexual, or transgender isn’t always easy because so many people can be unaccepting. However, it is easy to be kind to one another. Even if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, it’s possible to be kind.  There are so many kind things to say to cheer somebody up because they are feeling down. It’s possible to keep your negative opinions to yourself.