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Not Female, Not Male, Not Your Business. Carli Solomon
An important trend was seen in 2017 that we are hoping will stay strong or grow even stronger as we move into the new year. A trend that isn’t physical or small-scale by any means. It sparked and spread in 2017 more than ever before, becoming a new way of life for modern society. So what is this trend that’s taken 2017 by storm? It’s acceptance. Yes, acceptance…and it’s frickin’ electrifying. Now before you become disappointed by the “biggest trend of 2017” being acceptance, a word we are all already so familiar with, let me explain why it is so revolutionary. Our society has been growing for centuries, not by the amount of people or by urbanization, but by the ways in which we have allowed for change and diversity. In the past few years we have seen undeniable progress for the LGBTQ community as well as advancements for cultural acceptance. 2016 set the path for LGBTQ acceptance with many historical achievements, such as the ban on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military being lifted in June of 2016 and the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro having the highest number of “out” athletes compete (CNN). In 2017, the acceptance of the LGBTQ community has accelerated, giving the community more rights and is moving towards an all-accepting America. One of the most recent, and profound examples of acceptance that society saw was the allowance of an “x” option for gender on a driver’s license. This option is to recognize non-binary people, or people who simply do not identify with the male or female gender. This option is extremely important for those who
feel that they do not match the gender identification given on their ID, since they were forced to choose between male or female. Oregon became the first state to offer this option in June, with the District of Columbia passing the same bill shortly after. California has become the most recent state to allow this option on their state IDs, and more states are expected to do the same. Although some people still may not completely understand the importance of this third option on the ID or may even be opposed, it is undeniably a huge step towards accepting people no matter how they identify or do not identify themselves. Oregon governor Kate Brown, spoke out about the bill saying that, “it’s an important step towards creating a society that upholds the rights, liberties, and dignity of each of it’s people” (NBC News). This option gives people more privacy and comfort in knowing that they are not locked into a gender that they do
not feel they can identify with. Most importantly, people of the LGBTQ community are beginning to feel fully accepted for who they are, allowing them to be comfortable in their own skin and feel like an equal part of society. An incredible amount of progress was made for everybody this year, whether it be the person who decided they were going to be more accepting of someone, or the person who is finally feeling like they are being accepted. America should be proud of the country it has become, a country that strives for equality and acceptance. Of course, there is still more progress to be made for the LGBTQ community but 2017 created a trend that will definitely prosper in 2018. Society will be eagerly waiting as more states follow in the footsteps of Oregon, D.C., and California and acknowledge the need for equal rights.