Trends are everywhere, and unless you live under a rock in the desert, chances are you’ve been part of a trend in some way, shape, or form. Mom jeans, crop tops, weird colored sunglasses, highlight, you know, trends like that.

If you do happen to live under a rock in the desert, hi, welcome to the internet. You’ve got lots to learn.

A trend is something that is popular, something a mass of people are doing/saying/participating in/thinking. Some are fun, some are absurd, and some are just downright wrong. I am here to tell you 3 of these trends that need to pack their bags and just go. Grab a snack and get comfy, you’re gonna be here a minute.

Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Oh, were you expecting a list of fashion trends? Yeah no not here, not today. I’ve got some bigger fish to fry.

It’s a social trend. And it needs to stop.

LGBT rights have always been an issue. We are called names, bullied, fired from jobs, sought out for personal attacks, murdered, all because of who we identify as and who we love.

LGBT people have always been treated as second class citizens. Our current president is erasing eight years of LGBT equality the previous administration worked so hard to create.

Cisgendered, heterosexual people have been telling us we can’t get married. Although same-sex marriage became legal on June 25th, 2016, there are still people fighting against it.

People are fired from their jobs because they are gay.

People in my community commit suicide because of how they are treated by others due to them being gay/transgendered/non-binary. Children and teens are abandoned by their families, many of which attempt suicide. Children. Commit suicide. The LGBT community has one of the highest suicide rates.

People are murdered for being gay. People are murdered because they don’t identify with their physical gender.

It doesn’t matter if a woman loves another woman or a man loves another man, or if someone born to a physically female body identifies as a man, or if someone doesn’t want to identify as a gender at all! Unless you are that persons doctor it literally does not matter and does not inflict your life in any way.

My gay marriage will not affect your straight marriage. Me being gay does not make me a bad employee.

We are human beings, and we want to be treated as such. You cannot get rid of us.

Telling Women What They Should Be Doing, Wearing, and Thinking

Oh look, another trend.

I grew up being told I shouldn’t cut my hair because “people pay $200+ to have hair like yours” despite the headaches it gave me. I was yelled at when I was 14 because a Vegas hotel bellboy looked down my shirt (that I was told to wear for a wedding). I work in a field with a female majority run by mostly men.

I was told growing up I should find a man to take care of me, not that I can be successful on my own. Maybe I was, but I don’t remember it.

Movies and TV shows told me a relationship was more important than a successful career. Because female CEO’s and bosses are bitches, apparently. And no one wants to be a bitch.

Female music artists are viewed as slutty and trashy for singing songs with the same message male artists spread.

All of my schools dress code policies had paragraphs for the female dress code, and only sentences for the male dress code. They are still that way. Teenagers are fighting dress codes everywhere. Educators would rather kick a girl out of class for wearing seasonally appropriate clothes in summer rather than give her an education.

Media taught me I needed to cover myself up because I didn’t look like Britney Spears, and I still struggle with body image as an adult.

Women aren’t inferior to men.
Women aren’t inferior to men.

Stop telling girls and women what to do with themselves. Stop telling girls and women what they can and can’t do. Stop blaming girls and women for things that aren’t their fault.

Women can literally do anything a man can.

If you want to wear that crop top, wear it. If you want to have dark eyebrows, go for it. If you want to shave your head, shave it. If you want to become the CEO of a company, do it. There literally is no limit for you.

Telling People Their Mental Health Issues Aren’t Real

Just because you cannot see a physical ailment does not mean nothing is wrong.

Somebody with depression isn’t being lazy because they physically cannot get out of bed. Somebody with social anxiety isn’t just shy and need to come out of their shell. Somebody with any type of anxiety isn’t being a crybaby because they can’t or won’t do something.

Mental health issues are viewed as “not real” or a “cry for attention” by many. Sufferers are even bullied because of their mental health “isn’t what it should be”. People are told to get over it, move on with their lives. People are told they are weak because they cannot handle a seemingly simple task.

Just because you can go the grocery store alone doesn’t mean I can. Just because I answered customer service phones calls for three years with no issues doesn’t mean I can easily call a company to fix something of ours.

Your experience isn’t someone elses.

Who are you to tell someone their thoughts and feelings aren’t real? They are very real. They are valid. You don’t have to experience it to understand it, to be open to it. Help others instead of write them off as an attention whore.

If you have a friend or family member that has depression, accept the fact that they cancel plans. If you have a friend with social anxiety, accept the fact that they would rather stay at home or your house instead of going out somewhere.

Let people be people. Let consenting adults marry each other. Let all humans be equals. Help others in need. Don’t be an asshole.