"A protection strategy is just as important as advocating and educating."
In a recent interview with Alicia Mendez Tonight's Alicia Menendez, GLAAD's very own Sarah Kate Ellis spoke very frankly about where we stand in the movement for LGBT equality. Currently, as Ellis points out, the focus is on marriage equality. But, with more and more states legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, Ellis points out the importance of protecting all that has been accomplished: "Since we are participating in a movement, we must educate and advocate. But now, because we've had such phenominal growth and movement in the last quarter of a century, we also have to protect; we must ensure that the wins we have accomplished are not eroded over time." She explains that just because we are accomplishing our goals in one facet of the LGBT movement, we cannot become complacent with victories as there is still so much more work to be done.
In fact, as Menendez points out, the LGBT movement often comes under fire for its lack of diversity in leadership: "The faces of the movement are gay, white, male, and cis-gender." In her truthful response, Ellis responds by assuring Menendez that GLAAD is fully committed to promoting more races and gender identities/expressions as the faces of LGBT leadership.
Arguably, however, the most important discussion in the interview is why Ellis advocates for the LGBT community: "My fight is for the next generation. I want to make sure that the kids today are protected and that they continue the movement for equality across all groups in America and abroad."