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Playlist: Love, marriage, family and equality

Gemma O’Donoghue

As the American Supreme court ruled same sex marriage legal in every state last month, many of us took a moment to celebrate how far we have come in the fight for marriage equality, and also on how far we still need to go. These TED and TEDx talks tell different stories of our struggles and our successes in our steps toward equality and the right we all have to be and to love whomever we choose.

LZ Granderson: The Myth of the Gay Agenda 

With equal measures of good humour and good sense, LZ Granderson (pictured) takes apart the notion of the ‘gay lifestyle’ and the ‘gay agenda’, and reminds us of our age-old principles of equality, love and respect.

Andrew Solomon: Love No Matter What 

The eloquent and articulate Andrew Solomon talks about his work writing about parents who have children who, in various ways, were different to what the parents had expected, and he also reflects on what it is to be a parent, to be a family, and love, no matter what.

Lee Mokobe: A Powerful Poem About What It Feels Like to be Transgender

Slam poet Lee Mokobe makes the political personal in this beautiful piece of work.

Yoruba Richen: What the Gay Rights Movement Learned from the Civil Rights Movement 

Filmmaker Yoruba Richen talks about the connections between the Civil Rights Movement and the Gay Rights Movement, and the strategies employed to fight inequality, in any of its forms.

Io Tillett: Fifty Shades of Gay?

In response to the marriage equality debate artist and photographer IO Tillett began SELF EVIDENT TRUTHS, a photographic record of LGBTO America. In her talk, she discusses our habit of wanting to put people into boxes, and its truly pernicious consequences.

Cameron Sithole-Modisane: Being African and Gay 

In this moving talk from TEDxSoweto, Cameron Sithole-Modisane talks about being African and gay. He talks about the discrimination and hate-related crimes, but he also tells the story of his life, his culture, his love and his wedding.

Image courtesy of TED.com

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