[I]
Social Responsibility (N) – The practice of producing goods and services in a way that is not harmful to society or the environment: The whole area of social responsibility is becoming much more important to the consumer.
Corporate Social Responsibility is an issue on which we can judge even the smallest company
Social responsibility is an ethical framework and suggests that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act for the benefit of society at large.
Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems.
[II]
Social Responsibility is a term which refers to exactly that, being socially responsible. It’s about taking responsibility within your community, whether by yourself or as a group. It’s making sure everything is right and keeping everything in order. A modern way to describe social responsibility would be activism. Specifically speaking on online activism, “Social Justice Warrior” is a term used less than endearingly to describe people who may tend to be agitating when acting on their concept of social responsibility. “Social Justice Warriors” or “SJWs” prefer to keep things politically correct and progressive despite being seen as just being combative online. Though many people may not be a fan of the intensity projected by SJWs it is, however, admirable to see people at least making an effort towards social responsibility and protecting their peers.
[III]
Social responsibility is, has been, and will always be an important factor within communities. The community in question that I’ve chosen to speak on is the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and so on. This community is the home of millions of marginalized people of all ages, myself included. I found that while growing up, my local LGBTQ+ youth group was the ideal safe space for any teen that felt alienated by society, family, and/or peers. A comfortable place with the opportunities to be educated about safety precautions, your sexuality or identity, and dealing with the oppressions of everyday life. A place to be ourselves without harmful backlash or fear. It was and still is an amazing center where you’ll feel unjudged, protected, and included.
Disappointingly enough, with marginalized groups comes opposing groups. This is where social responsibility comes into play. Without anyone taking action and creating safe spaces like this, who knows where the majority of queer teens could end up. A number of my friends and fellow LGBTQ+ community members have taken it upon themselves to be socially responsible in their local areas, whether it be creating groups of their own (online and off), taking the time to help educate allies, or attending peaceful rallies and protests. I have several online acquaintances who personally enjoy providing safe spaces for their local communities. One developed an underground DIY venue as a way for their local community members to express themselves through music. Another who heads a trans masc/non binary group, throws mixers frequently so locals may safely meet others of the same demographic and make friends, partners, love interests or just be in good company.
Unfortunately I’ve reached the topic of violence geared towards the LGBTQ+ community. There is and has always been copious amounts of hatred spewed towards my community, simply based on how we live our lives. Legitimate hate groups have been formed intending harm upon us. For centuries and ongoing my people have been murdered, beaten, and berated for loving who they love and being who they are. As of September 2018, 19 trans women, mostly trans women of color, have been murdered for their identities. Murdered for being and presenting themselves as who they truly are. Reports of senseless violence towards the community have become such a frequent happening which, while horrendous, it creates a ripple. That ripple has the ability to cause the percentage of allies to climb, along with the amount of social responsibility being taken towards creating a change. Taking everything into consideration, I can only hope, though with little faith, that with time and plenty of fight, we may absolutely change the way the world sees the LGBTQ+ community. If more people opened their minds and lifted the ignorance blinders, they’d see that we are just the same as everyone else, we eat, breathe, bleed, and cry the same. This has the potential to majorly impact the number of lives lost.
Allies are another huge example of social responsibility as they take it upon themselves to do a lot of “grunt work”, we’ll call it. Allies are people who while may not have the same preferences or lifestyles, devote lots of their time to educating other non-community members. They may attend protests or rallies alongside their queer friends, family members, or just for the good of nature. For example, many of my friends make sure to correct and check others for their ignorance whether online or in person. That’s just one of the many progressive acts of support for the community along with helping run camps and workshops for LGBTQ+ youth. This involves teaching them about inclusivity, safe sex, how to deal with bullying, proper pronoun usage, etc. The friends/allies that I’ve gained over the years have always tried their best to properly support, educate themselves, and defend my community and for that I cannot thank them enough for all the hard work they’ve provided. I believe that taking social responsibility within the LGBTQ+ community is extremely beneficial not only for educating ourselves, but educating our allies as well. My community is and will continue to be unstoppable and I am so confident in further progression for the future.
Pictured is the logo for the aforementioned youth group I attended as a teen. A local group that has helped hundreds of local LGBT youth through the everyday struggles that come with being a part of such a marginalized community in America. Just one of many life changing centers that I hope to see eternally expand.
