Cooking Passion - An LGBTQ+ Pride Tribute with Thai Food

This dish is called namtak, an entire that means "waterfall" because of the mixture of flavors that pour from the marinade as you eat it. I picked this dish for pride month because the colors remind me of the rainbow. Unfortunately, even in the mental health world where I come from, we haven't always been kind to the LGBTQ+ population. For a long time, homosexuality was considered a mental health condition and the diagnostic manual of psychological disorders. Finally, in 1973, gay rights activists succeeded to have it removed.

Homosexuality has been around for the entirety of our history. Some of the most intelligent and creative members of our society have been LGBTQ. Two contemporary geniuses like Alan Turing, Tim Cook, or Martine Rothblatt, or historical figures like Alexander the Great, Oscar Wilde, or Leonardo da Vin ci, LGBTQ+ people have made great contributions to society. Yet in return, we have a history of persecuting this community to the highest degree. In my profession, I work with LGBTQ clients who experience mental health disorders, addiction, homelessness, PTSD, religious abuse, among other issues, at a far higher rate than the heterosexual population, all because of the way they are treated by society as a whole.

However, in recent years, we've made great strides as a society. In the past 18 years, the number of Americans who support gay marriage have increased from 30 to 60 percent. Additionally, in 90 percent of countries surveyed, they've seen an increase in positive views held towards their LGBTQ neighbors. Despite these strides, we have a long way to go, and the fight continues, but let's take this month to celebrate our LGBTQ+ friends and family and show them the support they have always deserved.