My Little Sister Came out to Me... By Irie Love from Oahu

My name is Irie Love. I was born and raised in Hawaii on the island of Oahu in the small town of Kailua. I grew up with young Christian parents that made us go to church every Sunday and read the bible. There was never a discussion about sexual orientation in my household. Traditionally, in Hawaiian culture, being homosexual or transgender is completely excepted as a regular part of society. Almost everyone had a 'Mahu' family member meaning third-gender, not identifying as male or female. So there was much less of a stigma on sexual orientation even though I grew up with religion. 

I always felt something was off with everything we were taught about history and religion growing up. There was this confusing mix of freedom and judgement that never made sense to me. Like, we say be free and express yourself but be sure to judge and condemn others if the way they are isn't in alignment with what was written in this old ass book that some colonizers wrote and re-wrote a thousand times which is the biggest hypocrisy ever. I wasn't here for it! I am a 36 year old multi-racial Amazonian woman of color. I have always loved and identified with Drag Queens and Mahu. So for me, there is and never was a wrong way to be. My little sister came out as a bi-sexual woman about 10 years ago. Some of our family, mostly grandparents, were 'disappointed' but they luckily were loving enough to at least treat her just the same and keep their opinions of her life to a minimum. There's this old adage of 'respecting your elders' that to some degree I agree with, but respecting ignorance and bigotry and racism is something I will never be quiet about or allow in my presence, no matter how OLD you are! 

Who the f*ck are we to judge another person, EVER, PERIOD! I just think its the stupidest thing ever. If they aren't hurting anyone, why does it matter? I will never understand the level of ignorance that exists in this lifetime. I'm disgusted and embarrassed to be human sometimes. I loooove the concept of being a safe person. I always have been and always will be. I use my music and fitness career to preach about Freedom and Self Love and Unity! That is my mission in life really, to empower others. It's something I know I have a gift for and I will do everything I can to spread light on this dark world we live in! I am here, for you : irielovesss@gmail.com if anyone needs advice, an ear, etc.