Changing the Future

Hi all! Welcome to Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and Transphobia and my website. We are honoring the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17th) with this blog hop and PRIZES!

What are Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia? I like Morgan Freeman's definition the best. 

Let's talk about how we can change things! My background is in communications and when asked about homophobia, I usually talk about the inter-generational transmission of beliefs and target-specific stigma change. Which is fascinating, swear but a bit dry. So here it is boiled down a bit.

I believe that, as a writer, I can make a difference by having honest portrayals of LGBTQA characters in my fiction.

Simple, right? If we create -- mysteries and sci-fi and horror and romance -- books with reaffirming and realistic people that are from all areas of the LGBT+ spectrum, people will see the truth. If we treat the subject with respect, avoiding cliches and stereotypes, we'll overshadow all the hate. It can be done. It has been done. People have already changed the world, one story at a time, to influence race, religion, gender equality. More must be done through positive representation in media.

Do you remember Queer as Folk? Will and Grace? The Color Purple? They all have influenced the public beliefs or understanding of homosexuals. What about Brokeback Mountain? Laverne Cox? Philadelphia? And Tango makes Three? They've all shaped how the next generation sees gender and sexual identity.

Recently, I was featured on the Papercuts Podcast and we talked at length about the importance of representation in YA fiction. If you can't see yourself in the characters you read, how does that impact your self worth and identity? I believe we can drastically lower the teen suicide rate and homelessness by supporting LGBT representation in our YA fiction, especially in schools and local libraries. A really good resource for these books is http://www.gayya.org/.  Listen to the complete podcast here.

Now for the goodies. I'm a huge fan of OmniLit and AllRomance, a distribution site for ebooks. They have a great selection of YA LGBT books including Sock it to Me, Santa! by Madison Parker (which I reread each Christmas) and The Soccer Field is Empty by Mark A. Roeder. Two of my favorites and books discussed during the podcast. I'm giving one winner $20.00 in Omni Bucks (the site's version of a gift certificate) and all you need to do to win is either comment on this blog post or share the post on Facebook or Twitter. Like three chances to win? Do all three. On the 25th, I'll announce a winner and email them the Omni Bucks. 

There are over 50 writers, editors, publishers, and artists who are participating in this HOP! Go check them out. http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/