Growing up gay

by Sean Previl

Growing up gay in Windsor is getting easier, but changes still need to occur to make it better according to members of the Windsor lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.

Roger Samudio, 34, a gay man living in Windsor and owner of the Legends of 2012 bar, said adults and youth need to be educated in order to become more accepting of the LGBT community.

“If we are going to do anything, it should come from the education at home, the education at school, the media and everyone else,” said Samudio.

He also said without education, youth might go a direction that will not make them happy.

“A kid is going to grow up, probably get married to a girl, knowing that the only way his friends and the people around him are going to accept him is if he’s with that girl,” said Samudio. “But is that truly his happiness, or what he wants in life? More than likely not.”

Daniel Dussault, a gay man who previously lived in Windsor said he believes as time goes by, Windsor has grown more accepting.

“(Being gay is) a lot different cause today it is a lot more accepted,” said Dussault. “Today people accepted this a lot more and you are looked at a lot less as you being sick.”

A recent study conducted by Scott Mattson, a University of Windsor graduate student studying Psychology, showed that homophobic bullying is occurring but at a higher rate. It is 62 per cent in Catholic schools compared to 55 per cent at public schools in the city.

Danielle Peters, a volunteer at Windsor Pride, said that the statistics come from more than the type of school in which the bullying occurs.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily the schools, I think it’s a lot to do with the upbringing,” said Peters. “The way parents view different things, it’s a lot to do with culture.”

Samudio said gay youth need people around them who are accepting and who allow them to be themselves.

“Without society we are nothing,” said Samudio. “I don’t care how strong your mind is, you need someone around you … to be able to go in and say, ‘wow there is a person that (does) care,’ and that will give them strength to keep them moving forward.”

Samudio said the way to make Windsor better for LGBT youth is to concentrate on making the city a community that does not discriminate because of a person’s race or sexual orientation.