Dear Anita

I feel like incorporating lgbtq history in social studies can help students build awareness on lgbtq people paving the way for more inclusivity. Elton John who wrote “Candle in the Wind” song that was played as a tribute to Princess Diana was an open advocate of lgbtq rights and identified as gay. Alan Turing played a major role in cracking German codes in WWII and was a computer developer and mathematician; he was persecuted for being gay. Elliot Page, a Canadian actor known for films “Inception,” “Juno,” and “X-men: last stand” came out as a trans male. Michael Dillon was a physician and the first trans male to undergo a phalloplasty (when surgeons take donor tissue usually from forearm to construct a penis).

Learning about famous people in history with different sexualities and gender identities can help students understand that there is nothing wrong with identifying as lgbtq and that lgbtq people are part of society too. They have feelings and contributions.