Whatshot
Alternative Sex Supported by the Youth
Alternative Sex Supported by the Youth
Date: 2015-07-03
Late last year on the 28th of December 2014, Leelah Alcorn, aged 17, (aka Joshua Alcorn) committed suicide due to religious conversion therapy. Leelah was a transgender (meaning he no longer identified as a male but rather as the fairer sex) and her parents used religious therapy to convert her to a more traditional conception of gender. This lead to outrage amongst young people and an eruption on social media occurred. Hashtags such as '#ProtectTransKids' were so significant that it prompted US president Barack Obama to also support what was dubbed 'Leelah's Law' which protected people from conversion therapy.
Bruce Jenner is a famous and well-loved Olympic gold medalist who recently came out as transgender and called herself Caitlyn Jenner. The 'New' Jenner was all the rage on Vanity Fair's cover page. The coverage of this event was immense and was headline for all publications and broadcasters. Caitlyn's transition from male to female was met with open arms on various programmes which have a large demographic of young people. The Daily Show would be the best example of this but other examples include the popular website '9GAG' and YouTube programme 'Teens React'. The Caitlyn Jenner story has quickly become a significant figure in our pop culture.
This past week, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was a constitutional right and that marriage could not be prohibited for any resident of the US. The hashtag '#LoveWins' dominated Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. A Facebook app was launched where people could edit their profile pictures to include the famous rainbow flag in support of this event.
What this means is that there is a radical support of alternative conceptions of sex and sexuality by the youth and it is reshaping our history.