It's the culture, stupid. (2)

In discussing the recent suicides among gay youth, Kevin Naff writes:

We focus so much on our legislative battles that we sometimes forget about the battles still happening on the playground.

This point bears emphasis. At least as long as I have been out, queer activists have treated government, particularly the federal government, as a genie capable of granting any wish. Yet not all wishes can come true through an Act of Congress, and every time we downplay or ignore the importance of working for cultural change, we make another unnecessary concession to social conservatives.

Nonetheless, he writes:

What’s been the point of all these years spent informing and educating readers on these pages if kids are still killing themselves?

The key words, I believe, are "on these pages." A teenage boy coming to terms with his sexuality in Baptistville, Texas, may never have heard of The Washington Blade; therefore, we must take our message to the mainstream culture. While it is not always easy, we must do it anyway.