You are a female high school senior. You are single and in the closet, you're bisexual. Only your best friend knows.
<img src="https://usercontent1.hubstatic.com/14088600_f520.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="Two foxes">
[[next]]It is the Wednesday before prom week and people have been doing "promposals" all week. You are walking to the parking lot after the final bell and you see a group of other juniors in the hallway and the girl you sit next to in your science class, Lauren, is at the head of the group. Music starts playing and the group starts to dance.
Do you [[stay to watch the promposal]] or [[keep walking out to your car]]?The group dances to one of your favorite songs, "Closer" by Tegan and Sara.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WcZM2SUz0xE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You look around and try to see who she is doing this for. At the end of the song she grabs a bouquet of roses and walks up to you. "Will you go to prom with me?"
Do you [[say yes]] or [[say no]]?You get to your car and drive home. When you get there you get a text:
LAUREN: Hey, why did you leave?
YOU: I had to get home to do some homework and I've seen a ton of promposals this week already. I hope it went well!
LAUREN: Well, actually, I was trying to ask you.
Do you [[apologize]] or [[say yes]] ?You tell Lauren that your mom is very Christian and can't know so you plan about the dance in secret. You end up going to prom together and taking pictures and having fun.
Lauren says she knows you don't want your mom to know but she wants to tell people about your relationship and post the pictures.
[[What do you do?]]You don't go to prom just to avoid the stress and you ask your teacher in science to move closer to the board so that you can see better for notes.
Your (Christian) mother asks why you didn't go to prom. Do you [[explain what happened]] or [[tell her you just didn't feel like it]].YOU: Oh, sorry.
LAUREN: So?
Do you [[say yes]], [[say no]], or [[not respond]]?At school for the rest of the week you avoid going to science, asking other classmates for notes ahead of time and emailing your teacher to say that you're sick.
Your, very Christian, mother finds out that you've been skipping class. Do you [[explain what happened]] or [[apologize and promise to go back to class]]?You tell your mom that Lauren asked you to prom and you panicked and didn't know what to do. Your mom gets upset and responds, "Why? Are you gay or something?"
Do you [[lie]] or [[come out]]?You go back to class but can't focus so the teacher is forced to bring your mom in for a parent-teacher meeting to talk about what has been going on.
You get in trouble and [[your mom confiscates your phone]].You avoid dances and other school events for the rest of your time in high school. You never end up coming out to your mom. You are out at college and she passes away before you find a committed relationship so she never knew that you were gay.You tell Lauren that you'll talk to your mom and [[come out]] Your mom snoops through your phone and finds the messages with Lauren. She asks why a girl would ask you to the dance.
Do you [[lie]] or [[come out]] ?You tell your mom that a friend of yours told Lauren to do it as a joke. Your mom reacts in disgust but thanks God that you aren't a lesbian because homosexuality is a sin.
<img src="http://wp.production.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/files/2014/12/Bible-Verses-About-Homosexuality.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="Two foxes">
Your mom then contacts Lauren's parents, outing her to them (who happen to be another family at your church). Lauren is [[kicked out]] of her home.Your mom is shocked and ends up crying and screaming. You give her time to calm down and leave the house for a few hours. When you come back you are expecting the worse but hoping for the best.
Which way will your mom end up reacting? [[1]] or [[2]]?<img src="https://www.1800runaway.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/40-to-none-day-2017.png" width="500" length="300">
[[Why does this story matter?]] Your mom accepts you. She says that as a Christian it is her duty to love. She is worried about your safety and all the other problems that come along with being LGBT+ but she is thankful you came out to her.
[[Why does this story matter?]]When you get back home there are two suitcases packed and sitting by the door. You are being [[kicked out]] and your mom is telling you that no daughter of her will be gay and if you decide that you want to stop sinning you can come home. You leave home and are forced to live on the streets.We will be starting a unit on LGBT+ theatre, with options of reading plays like "The Laramie Project", "Angels in America", "Fun Home", or "Stop Kiss".
This was to give a preview of the possible struggles or triumphs of the LGBT+ community. While this exact story doesn't apply to everyone it is a realistic example of what can happen.