June is Pride Month, a month dedicated to celebrating and uplifting LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and more) individuals and communities across the world. We love and support ALL of our Girl Scouts: they’re changing the world and making sure the future is brighter!
One Girl Scout Senior (soon to be Ambassador!) from Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Mac, recently developed an app at our first-ever Hackathon sponsored by Motorola, an app designed to educate users on everything from appropriate pronoun usage, the diversity of gender and sexual identities, and more.
Read on to hear Mac’s story in her own words!
The battle is far from over.
Written by Girl Scout Mac
The LGBTQ+ community is surrounded by a lot of misinformation both internally and externally. The lack of information surrounding the topic usually leads to a lot of confusion and fear of LGBTQ+ individuals. The general public may not understand the community and the seemingly foreign terms they use such as cisgender, genderqueer, and asexuality. My app aims to provide a basic understanding of the LGBTQ+ community to eliminate some of the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding it. My app also provides a wide variety of useful information from the proper usage of pronouns, to the definitions of common sexualities.
Every day, I see news of LGBTQ+ individuals facing discrimination and the constant trivialization of their rights. Anti-trans legislation and the erasure of LBGTQ+ celebrities are just a few examples of issues I see. As someone who knows many in the community, seeing their rights being taken away daily enraged me! I wanted to make a difference and spread awareness, even if it only reached a small number of people. That small difference could save an individual’s life, with the suicide rates of LGBTQ+ individuals still shockingly high, especially in the times we live in. People assume now that LGBTQ+ individuals can get married in the United States, that the battle is over. However, this development only came six years ago. The battle is far from over, and I’m ready to fight it.
Normalization of LGBTQ+ individuals is really important to prevent them from feeling excluded. I would like to see the normalization of asking for pronouns and the support of trans and those of differing sexualities in Girl Scouts. I hope that above all, I can stop an LGBTQ+ individual from facing bullying and harassment. I’ve wanted to change the world for a while now; it’s just something about making an impact and leaving behind a legacy has been really important to me.
Girl Scouts allowed me to grow as an individual and develop new skills. From fire building to problem-solving, the experiences I’ve learned help me every day. It has also let me make friends and share new experiences with them. My love for Girl Scouting fostered my leadership skills and provided new opportunities.
Thank you so much to Mac for sharing her story with us!
We’ve Got This, Together!
Strength, resilience, togetherness, and the support of community—that’s what Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana is all about. So in this uncertain world, you can count on one thing for sure: today, tomorrow, together, we are on your team.
Renew your membership for 2021-22 today and you’ll receive a FREE “We’ve Got This” patch, plus access to the newest programs for the summer and beyond!