Western Pennsylvania isn’t the picturesque bastion of social equality it ought to be. Here on the outer reaches of the Keystone state many vulnerable minorities are not as accepted into our communities—one of the most notable being the LGBTQ+ community.

Included in this community is my girlfriend, Jules. I wanted to know what it was like being part of this community here in western Pennsylvania.

Liam: Give me a sense of the attitude you get from people in western Pennsylvania who are not of the LGBTQ+ community?

Jules: This is a hard question because most of my dating life has been in a heteronormative relationship, so I haven’t seen as much backlash as my more LGBTQ+ presenting friends have. However, when I was in a lesbian-presenting relationship, I wasn’t treated with kindness and nor was my partner at the time. People called us [ . . . ] derogatory names. However, my experience hasn’t been as bad as others have been.

Liam: Given the first question, and given your family resides here in western Pennsylvania, how have they reacted to you being part of the LGBTQ+ community?

Jules: To be honest they really didn’t have one. That sounds pretty lame, but I feel I was very lucky in that regard. However, they were super accepting of me, at least my immediate family was.

Liam: How exactly do you identify within the spectrum?

Jules: It took me a little while to figure out how exactly I identify. I identify as bisexual, although I went back and fourth between labels when I was figuring things out. Personally, I think it’s confining to be within a given label, but bisexual matches me the best.

Liam: Last question here. What do you think needs to change within our society to make LGBTQ+ individuals more integrated into our society?

Jules: This is a complicated question, because society won’t change overnight. The advances we’ve seen within the past 20 years have been monumental in making it safer to be yourself. If you look at the presence on social media and on the internet, there are many more allies for young kids to look up to and be themselves. I think there needs to be more compassion and less caring. I’ve never understood why people care for something as trivial as someone’s sexuality. It sounds simple, but mind your own business. Let people be people, and let people be whom they are.

We should all take Julianna’s advice. People deserve to live in a world in which they can openly express themselves. It is unfortunate that we live in a place where many LGBTQ+ individuals feel demoralized in their own sense of being. Let us all grant liberty and kindness to everyone, because everyone deserves it.