Safe Zone Dialogues

The Safe Zone Dialogues during class were a very interesting experience for me. I truly enjoyed the dialogues because they were eye opening and in a comfortable environment. The Safe Zone dialogues focused on the questions surrounding the LGBT(Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) community. The dialogues had a facilitator and two informants to lead the discussion in a progressive productive manner. The students participating in this ongoing conversation were allowed to ask questions and present opinions after being informed on the lifestyles and experiences of our informants. Many questions were presented in the dialogues on homosexuality . I felt that the majority of the students in my group were comfortable and open about their feelings on the matter. The subjects ranged from gay marriage to attraction. I thought it was incredibly interesting to listen to the different opinions. The best part was the informants though. Our informants were a bisexual UAB employee and a gay UAB student. I label them this way for the sake of relevance , their stories however showed that they were much more than those labels. They made me realize that one of the best ways to point out the ridiculousness of homophobia may be to point out humanity. Our informants talked about relationships , life, happiness, pain, and struggle just like anyone else would. One thing I respected about our Informants was their openness. You have to give the proper recognition to someone who gets up and gives you a wonderful testimonial of themself in such a humble manner. I feel like by doing this it may have opened some eyes or further progressed some into acceptance. This was a great thing for me to see because I hate discrimination. I relate to any oppressed group on the planet and understand the struggle. I was happy to discuss this with my peers and see some new sides of a subject I'd like to further educate myself on.