Friday, January 14, 2011

Queer Streets


According to Queer Streets, 25 to 50 percent of 20,000 homeless people in New York City are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and/or Transgender (LGBT). Because of heterosexist oppression throughout the United States, many people who are LGBT move out to New York City because they here it is a tolerant place. What they do not hear is that it is a hard place to live and it is a hard place to make it. They have no other choice but to go to homeless shelters until they can survive on their own. There is only one homeless shelter named Sylvia’s Place that focuses on the LGBT community. People go there to get stabilized (get food, get medical care), and are allowed to stay there up to ninety days. Many times it takes so many years until they can fully escape the circle of homeless shelters. For one lesbian named J.D. it took her seven years until she bought her own apartment!
What was really interesting was the fact that the LGBT homeless are more likely to suffer from violence, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, sex work, and mental illness than the straight homeless. The only reason I can see for this is because of heterosexist oppression. In the United States, the LGBT community does not have very many civil rights. In practically every state, the LGBT community is still prohibited from legal marriages! One transgender named Isyss could not get a proper job because her legal sex is male even though she identifies as a female. Because of this set back and the fact that she desperately needed money, she became a prostitute. I do not believe this would have happened if she was given a fair chance at a job and not automatically disqualified because of her sexual identity.
What I noticed in this video and other LGBT-related material is that the LGBT community seems to focus more on the G part and not so much on the LBT part. This short film was a little different because it focused on three transgender, but only male to female transgender. There was not a single female to male in the whole short film! Another thing that stuck out to me was the fact that there was only one lesbian and no bisexuals (male or female). I just wish that the LGBT community was more represented in this video. I mean, what happened to the Q (questioning) part of LGBT? In my opinion, instead of LGBT it should be LGBTQ! I think Q should be included as well because they go through a lot of emotional turmoil as well. Also, I think they are discriminated against because they do not go along with the status qua. Even if they eventually decided that they are not lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender they still questioned their sexual identity. Because of heterosexist oppression that shows they are somehow not “normal” and will be looked at differently. 

3 comments:

  1. You make a great point that Q should be included with LGBT. Also, I think that many LGBTs in our society are discriminated against not just because of who they are but because they're not afraid to show it and are proud. I think people often get annoyed or perhaps embarassed for them because many heterosexuals think that LGBTs should be ashamed of who they are. I think that people often don't have so much of a problem with the fact that someone is LGBT but more so how they express it. Our society needs to become more accepting of those who aren't considered the "norm"

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  2. Great post. Courtney, I also agree that Q should be included and that LGBT's are discriminated against because they are proud and confident in who they are. I wonder if heterosexual people have resentment towards that group for being so secure in their identities when I find that heterosexual people are usually insecure and always looking to "find themselves".

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  3. I know it's disturbing to me that some claim to "accept" gays but only if they are not "flaming" or blatant about their identity. Or they claim to be comfortable with trans people who "pass" but not with those who can be "read." To me, neither of these is true acceptance. Heterosexual and gender-normative people "flaunt" their identities constantly in everyday life, so there is a real double-standard with regards to variant gender and sexuality in this culture.

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