Barren

She thought of all the lullabies she would never sing, 

as she idly kicked the empty swing.

She reminisced about the aeroplane noises she'd never make,

and all the precautions she would never be told to take. 

She felt a shuddering cold,

As she thought of the parental role into which she'd never mould.

Discarded onesies lie wasted in the room,

Damp with tears, enveloped in gloom.

She sobbed as she thought of all the stories she would never tell,

Just because she let her guard down once, and down she fell.

"Your mom's a dyke,isn't she?"

I was just walking down the hallway in the morning, making my way to my art class when I noticed a few people staring and pointing at me. I let it go, I was a little sleep deprived, and I thought maybe I was seeing things.

The stares got to get worse I realized. I could hear whispers, but what had I done? I didn't remember doing anything that could cause all of that! I averted my gaze and walked to my next class looking solely at the floor. I had already checked for any marks on my face or anything physically wrong, but I had come up with nothing .. I just wanted to go home. I felt insecure.. And vulnerable. So very vulnerable. As the teacher began to tell us about the evolution of language, a crumpled ball fell on my desk. I couldn't figure out who threw it at me, I opened it anyway.

"Your mom's a dyke, isn't she?" it read. 

I stared at the piece of paper, lost for words. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think .. I could hear my blood rush in my head but all I could do was stare at that sentence..

My mother had just recently come out and was currently in a relationship with this gorgeous female friend of hers.

How'd I feel about it? Really, I was happy.

That's not to say my mom and dad were horribly rude with each other or anything, but he'd left us almost a decade ago. And I could see how happy my mom was,now. Sure, it was a LOT to take in, but I was happy for my mom.  I struggled to find a way to answer this note. It hit upon me that even if I ignored this one, there'd always be others. We lived in a small town, we didn't really have a lot of drama going on. So this was bound to be the 'it' news on the grapevine for long. I, I didn't even know what I wanted to say..

The bell rang and I ran to the washroom and locked myself in a cubicle. My palms were sweaty and I felt like throwing up. 

Finally, a quarter of an hour later, I made my way out. Only to be blocked by some people I didn't expect.

They were sniggering and I knew what this was about. I mumbled an excuse trying to get past them. In vain.

"Maybe all your mom needs is a man to please her. And she'll forget this bullshit dyke shit. I've seen your mom, she looks so good, damn, I'd totally hit that" Jake said, hi-fiving his friend John.

His crass words were like knives. Is this what they thought of my mom? Is this what everyone wanted to say? I felt warm salty tears wet my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. I stood there for twenty minutes while they said worse things about their anatomy and how exactly would they convince mom to become straight. I gasped at some of the things they said, but I wanted it to get over. I wanted to go home. I just wanted to get the hell out of school and cry in my room....

"At school I would get people coming up to me and saying, your mum's gay. And I was like - it started to get to me because I realised then it wasn't normal, it was different. I sort of felt picked on and the amount of times I went to see the teachers and they said, just ignore them, they'll get bored. They never did get bored."  [Source]

Whether or not you are a supporter of the LGBTQ community, it is your responsibility as a human being to not only try and be as accepting of people as you can but also raise your children well. 

You may not believe or advocate Queer Pride, but what makes you special enough to bully or abuse someone who is? WHO ARE YOU? Just because heterosexuals are in majority doesn't make it right for you to trouble and ruin the lives of others.

Did you know that LGBTQ youth has the highest suicide rates, comparatively? This is generally always linked to homophobic attitudes and bullying. 

About 34,000 youth die every year making it the 3rd leading cause of death among LGBT individuals whose age ranges from 15 to 24. And this is still not the actual report since a lot of individuals do not come out.

According to a study in Taiwan, 1 in 5, or 20% of Taiwanese gay have attempted suicide.

Bullying isn't just physical. It could be sexual, verbal, emotional or cyber bullying. This has lead to the creation of projects such as :

• The Trevor Project
• It Gets Better

The 'It Gets Better' pledge goes as follows :
" Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other bullied teens by letting them know that it gets better."
I took the pledge.. Have you?

Some of the NGOs in India that do amazing work and function as gay/lesbian support groups can be found here, some queer support groups can be found here. 

This is a list of helplines.

The Humsafar Trust has been working for the LGBTQ community since 1994 with their various projects spanning health care, support, project management, community work, counseling, etc.

'Labians' = Lesbians and Bisexuals in Action is an autonomous and non funded, queer feminist collective of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women since 1995. They can be mailed at : streesangam@gmail.com , and their helpline 09833278171 is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 5pm-8pm.

(This post was written for the iDiya contest hosted by Indiblogger)

Blog about any social cause you are passionate about, and its potential solution. If there are any inspiring people or organizations working towards solving it, blog about them as well. INR 30000 goes towards an NGO of your choosing!

Disclaimer : The post is liberal dramatization based on a quote of actual events. It is a work of fiction.

"You are so beautiful mom"

" .. But momma, why did they trouble you? You are so beautiful mom"

"Aww, thank you sweety. And they used to enjoy troubling me because when momma was a little girl, for 2-3 months, momma didn't have the hair she has now.. I was bald honey, and they used to enjoy poking fun of it, and me."

" .. One day, as Kayla, Josh and their friends were making fun of me not having hair, a small boy, about my height, came over to me and told them that he found me beautiful.." she said wistfully.
"And you won't believe how red, just like a tomato she'd turned!" Nathaniel added, with a laugh.
"Dadddyyy, you aa home" Lily squealed, running to hug him.

"Then what happen mommy?" Lily asked, settling comfortably on her father's lap.
"That boy and I soon became really close friends, he was the only one who would help me, sit beside me during lunch. In a week or two, we were practically inseparable. He was the first person outside my family I told that I had cancer and --"
"What is cancer mom? Is it like cooties?"
"It's a disease love. You will learn about it more in school when you grow up, okay? And I don't have it anymore, so you needn't worry." she added, reassuring her daughter.

"One day the bullying took a turn for the worse, and my best friend found me near the music room, crying my eyes out. I still remember the way he hugged me tight. It made everything seem bearable.. And then, then he told me he loved me. And I told him I love him too!" she completed, the beginning of a blush evident on her face.

"Then what mom?"

"He took me to his house that day. The two of us, hand in hand, walked up to his mom's room, where she managed a saloon. Apparently he had told her about me. And guess what Lily?" she asked, a grin illuminating her face.

"His mom had tons of wigs. Of so many styles and colors. His mom took a liking to me, and she made me sit on her chair for hours, and she set wig upon wig onto my head, till she was finally satisfied with how I looked. She gave me shoulder length curly hair. And let me tell you, I WAS IN LOVE! The way my curls swayed with every step I took, the way they would wrap themselves around my finger as I ran my fingers through my hair .. I can't thank her enough."

"We still have it Lil, come look" Nath said, opening the small drawer to reveal a curly haired wig.

"Then what happened mom?" the bright eyed 7 year old asked.
"Haha, she was slowly accepted by people at school hon, and in 2 months, her own hair grew out and she no longer needed the wig" Nath spoke.
"Slowly, everyone almost forgot about that year. My hair grew long and I made new friends, but his mom, if she wouldn't have been there, I'd probably not be here. She helped me when I really needed it and --"
"and that was the end of my hair problems!" Nath finished, trying to mimic her voice.

"Daddy, you are crazy! Who was that boy mom?"
"Yes Nath, but only my hair problems, but school, and actually all my problems. And baby, it was no one but your mad goofy dad!" she ended with so much love in her eyes.
"Aww, you two are the bestest pawents ever. That is so cute mommy. And daddy you were so nice. I also want someone like that.." Lily said.
"Not until you're 20" Nath said sternly, as Mary burst out laughing. "20? Really? But I always knew this would happen. Hahahaha, hilarious"
"Hilarious, oh I'll show you hilarious. And you too Lil, joining on your ma's team eh? Here comes the tickle monster...!" Nath shouted, as Lily tried to wriggle out in vain and tickled her and his gorgeous wife till they cried of laughter.



(I wanted to use a non celeb, but it might become a copyright issue. So yeah, imagine this hair, minus the face :P)
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This an entry for the "... and that was the end of my hair problems!" contest by Dove on Indiblogger. This is their 'Hair Aware App' which not only checks how much you know about your hair, but also suggests the Dove shampoo&conditioner range best suited for your use.