"C" Me at CNU

 
I’m Jake Manickam and I identify as genderfluid, so really whatever pronouns you want to use is acceptable with me! Going to a PWI, racial identity, especially because my south Indian heritage is something that is such a huge part of me, is something that isn’t shown off very much. Also, my pansexuality is something that isn’t talked about very much at all. Others would find it easier to label it bisexual or greedy, so there is such a stigma on this campus concerning identities or concepts that are not common among minority groups. I came out on January 22nd, 2017. It was not a pretty process and my family and I are in a better place, but still with the knowledge that in approximately a year and a half from now, I won’t have a home to go to. To keep a long story short, I am very grateful that my parents are taking me through my bachelors, but once undergrad is over, I have the freedom to be who I want to be at all times and I will have the ability to only keep people in my life who will support me but challenge me to grow. I am typically outspoken about topics most people don’t want to talk about. It’s all about the bystander effect: If you don’t do it, you’re going to wait on someone else to do it, it might not happen. It’s something that is integral to who I am as a person, definitely affects my everyday conversation, and particularly guides what I decide to be passionate about. It’s most definitely not something that I flaunt or even remotely advertise unless it is asked of me. What I ask for is human decency but I believe that should be applicable to all aspects of human interactions, not just in relation to my identity. Not being quick to judge, not understanding everyone’s viewpoints but being able to respect that everyone has an opinion so long as it’s not a detriment to others. Diversity equates to representation which equates to exposure. Exposure, in and of itself opens up the conversation by demanding the two most important questions to begin understanding any concept: “What did I feel?”and “Why did I feel that way?” Diversity to me is recognizing that every individual is different. I think events like the True Life Panel and The Multicultural Festival is so important to expose a lot of people to cultures that they wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to. I think the True Life Panel has more of an impact because there’s more substance in it; you can ask those hard hitting questions that let people realize the intricacies of perception and representation. I think events like those should be more widespread and should reach a lot more people. I look up to so many famous drag queens such as Bianca del Rio, Trixie Mattel, Monique Hart, and even local queens like Shanita Quit and Sylvia Sterling, not that I resonate strongly with their identities, but the fact that they push home the idea that one should always be quintessentially themselves at all times and be proud of it. Love Simon was a film that came out back in March. Though, it received mixed reviews, ranging from people raving over the movie and people saying it was not worth the hype, it did open up the conversation to a lot of people, specifically a lot of parents who, because of the movie, were able to finally learn how to accepting and receptive to their LGBT+ children. It’s the stories of someone’s mother seeing the film and finally wanting to get invested in their daughter’s lesbian orientation that was the ultimate purpose of the film; to start the conversation. Especially in Indian culture, where all of the conversations and generational opinions stem from the film industry, India is finally now dealing with the stigma of mental health and has now decriminalized homosexual relations, which has a lot in part to do with the liberal shift occurring in the film industry. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that film and other forms of media can affect the course of thought among viewers. It’s the same reason we can cry when we see a picture, a movie, or a song. Especially on this PWI, campus is not exposed to inclusivity a lot. There are people who are raised to hate all LGBT+ people, people of color, and even the handicapped. However, all it takes is that one experience that can throw everything a person might know out the window. Inclusivity means exposure and that equates to challenging preconceived notions and once those are knocked down, then primary experiences and legitimate opinions can be formed. Without inclusivity, diversity, which I think has the implication of celebration, would rapidly degenerate into division. 
 

Jake