While reading the pieces "The Joy of the Castrated Boy" by Joon Oluchi Lee and "How To Bring Your Kids Up Gay" by Eve Sedgwick, I found myself wondering a couple of things. Reading the statistics about the suicide rates of LGBT youths vs the suicide rates of other young people really opened by eyes to the hatred within our society that is focused on this group of people. To think that these children see death as their only option to escape ridicule and persecution made me realize how the expectations of our society can dictate the lives of individuals in extremely negative ways. In the same way, Lee's testimony also made me think about how individuals often change who they are against their will in an effort to please society. The idea that humans can have so much hatred and prejudice in their heart for people makes me sick; makes me sick at the idea that this hatred is so accepted, that society justifies the injustice as the cost of other human lives.

Another think I found my self wondering about, is the role of a parent in a child's life. At first, thinking about a parent making decisions for their child regarding their sexual orientation and gender identification seems astounding; shouldn't a child have their own say in the matter? Shouldn't the child get to decide their fate and the course by which they will life their life? Yet, is this area of a child's life much different from any other decision that a parent makes for their child? Although many would argue that a parent's decisions to direct their children to a heterosexual lifestyle is a negative approach, I can see why many do. Although it brings up much controversy, I began to consider the possibility that these parents are justified. They are justified to a certain extent as the are attempting to protect their children from the judgement of society. But even then I struggle to discern which is more important, a child's choice and freewill, or the parents attempt to protect their child from things that they are yet too young to realize.