I can still remember the “Yes” on Proposition 8 commercials. They opened with a little girl excitingly telling her mother she learned in school that she could grow up and marry a female. (Cue ominous music and guy with deep voice). Wednesday in West Hollywood, standing amongst the men, women and children whose smiles peeked through tears of joy, I could hardly believe how only five years ago the idea of a little girl learning she could marry a female when she grows up was considered a bad thing.
The full spectrum of humanity was in attendance at the rally on San Vicente and Santa Monica Boulevard — a landmark location for LGBT activism in West Hollywood, Los Angeles — from gay to straight, black to white, old to young. I even ran into a Catholic priest in the crowd of over 2,000 people.
Whether it was two elderly men holding up a sign that said, “We’ve been together 40 years, it’s about damn time!” or a six-year-old girl waving a small rainbow flag, yelling “My mommies are getting married,” yesterday’s rally was one of celebration and love — a climate so different from 2008.
I remember the angry, confused faces all over TV. I remember watching people march down Santa Monica Boulevard, demanding equal rights. But most of all, I remember my silence.
My teenage apathy for Prop 8 was a shield because any admission of anger or disbelief would reveal a part of me that I so strongly sought to conceal — that I love women. Ever since I was six, I knew I was gay. But, I had grown up learning from my parents and society that being gay was something to be ashamed of. So I buried it away, ignoring the soul-aching nag that comes when you deny yourself of your own truth.
It wasn’t until I came to Boston University when I realized this mountain I had created in my mind was really just a small hill. I was thousands of miles from home, and I could finally be myself. Every friend I came out to was incredibly supportive, which gave me courage to tell other people. And, although it took time, my parents are now more supportive than ever.
As I looked around the rally one last time, the sea of faces began to look familiar. Their story was my story and my story was their story. Just as the nation has come so far in the past five years, I thought about how far I have come in the past five years. Like so many others, this rally signified the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.
But there is still work to be done in many states that do not allow same-sex marriage, which made me think about what I could do to help this time around.
So I will leave you with an idea by Harvey Milk, who urged gays and lesbians to come out, so that others will realize “that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and all. And once you do, you will feel so much better.”
I am happy to be who I am.
Marisa Benjamin is a senior in the College of Communication. She can be reached at marisab3@bu.edu.
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