Beyond hearing casual jokes made about “being a woman trapped in a man’s body,” growing up I had no concept of the complexity of gender identity.
Actually, I didn’t know anything about it until Degrassi introduced the character Adam Torres in season 10. I don’t ever recall having heard the word “transgender” before that, and once I learned what it meant, I got it. And I’m glad a majority of Degrassi viewers understood it as well. Never once did it ever come to mind to be one of those resistant people who still referred to Adam as a “she.”
There are a lot of nuances in the LGBTQ community, and honestly it can be overwhelming trying to learn everything there is to know. There are so many different types of beautiful people with varying experiences and lifestyles. Personally, when I’m asking someone questions about their life it’s about understanding, not judgment.
The latter though is one thing the entire LGBTQ has in common: being judged harshly by society for being themselves. Essentially the world says, “Be who you are…unless who you are is something we don’t approve of.”
As one of the young adults in this video says, it all comes down to respect. This is why I enjoy Connecting The Dots…it’s easy to have opinions about things you see on TV shows and on the news from a distance. But here we’re listening to real people with real thoughts and feelings, simply wanting to live their lives just like everyone else.
Kary's Degrassi Blog 