Fortunately for our society, members of the LGBTQ community are gaining more acceptance every day. However, teens and adults who do not identify as straight and cis-gender are still faced with danger for being who they are. In 2016, the Pulse Nightclub shooting became the deadliest act of terror against LGBTQ members in history, as well as the deadliest attack to occur since the fall of the Twin Towers. In 2013, transgender women of color were victims of 67% of all homicide cases nationwide. From 2016 to 2017, reported homicides against LGBTQ members has increased 400%. In 2016, the FBI verified 6,100 hate crimes against people who identify within the LGBTQ community. What’s most alarming about these statistics is that they only reflect violence that has been reported.
In recent interviews, Lasell students shared their personal experiences of living in accordance with their identities. A Lasell College junior, Nicole Arcese, describes the fears she’s had from being openly gay:
“The way society is today, anything could happen. You could go to a restaurant with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you’re a same-sex couple, you could face backlash anywhere you go. There have been so many incidents where same-sex couples have been beaten up, shot, killed…you just never know what could happen.”
Bella Nucci, a sophomore at Lasell, confessed that since coming out over a year ago, her dad has still not accepted her sexuality.
“My mom and my friends were all fine with it but my dad was not. He always says I just haven’t found the right guy or asks me if I’ve met a boy yet. He doesn’t like it when I
talk about girls,” Bella says tearfully as she holds her girlfriend, Nicole’s hand.
Nicole also recounts a time she felt particularly threatened because of her sexuality:
“I dated a girl my senior year of high school and her family was extremely religious. Her brother blackmailed us to her mom and she flipped out. She said I was never allowed at their house again or allowed to see her daughter again. My ex ended up switching schools because of it. I gave her an iPod to use so she could text me but her mom found it, smashed it, and threatened me with a restraining order. It wasn’t necessarily that I felt unsafe, but there was a lot to factor into that particular situation where I never knew what her mom was going to do next.”
Fellow Lasell sophomore, Jish Langford, explains his sexual orientation to be gay “with a question mark at the end.” Like the rest of us, Jish still questions who he will end up with and he feels that is completely okay. He details his thoughts on how his sexuality has made dating a challenge:
“Dating is very difficult for me because men in society are stereotypically standardized to be masculine. They are often very shut in and closed off from society for fear of being bullied, or worse, being assaulted. It’s difficult because no one understands (unless they are gay) that you’re basically secluded to the internet aspect of dating. The internet is when people are normally more open and want to observe more or experiment more. You just never really know, it's fun to believe that everyone is a little bit gay or bi-curious on the inside, but it's all a blur and people are sometimes afraid of being viewed differently just because of who they are interested in.”
For a glance at a different perspective, Parker tells his story as a member of the LGBTQ community:
“I identify as a trans-male; I had previously come out to my family but I gave them about a year to accept it and then I socially came out last January. Before I started my medical transition I was constantly worried about how people perceived me. Since I’ve started hormones and what not, I feel more confident in myself. When I’m not in school or at work and I’m just out in public I tend to worry about how people perceive me, but it’s gotten a lot easier since starting my medical transition.”
With these intimate details, the question remains, what are we going to do to stop senseless violence, prejudice, and other acts of discrimination against the LGBTQ community? The first step in doing so is keeping your own privilege in check. If you are a person who identifies as straight and cis-gender, it is harder for you to relate to the backlash the LGBTQ community faces. Now, understand the geographic standpoint of the situation as well. In a portion of my interview with Jish, that was not included in this article, he mentioned how fortunate he is to live in such a liberal community. Imagine the everyday fears your LGBTQ peers have in our liberal community, and then imagine them on a national or global scale where they are perhaps more unsafe in their communities. Imagine identifying as queer in a country where being gay or transgender is punishable by death. You could even try to imagine the hardships the LGBTQ community faced before gay marriage was legalized nationwide. It has only been a little over three years since this Supreme Court decision. The next step is to become an ally. Speak out and show the community your love. Most importantly, know that even if you are not part of the LGBTQ community, the fight for human rights is a unified effort.
References
Human Rights Campaign. “Hate Crimes and Violence Against LGBTQ People.” Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/hate-crimes-and-violence-against-lgbt-people.
TILLERY, BEVERLY. “Anti-LGBTQ Hate Crimes Are on the Rise, and Our Government Is to Blame.” Them., Them., 19 Mar. 2018, www.them.us/story/anti-lgbtq-hate-crimes-are-on-the-rise.
“Orlando Nightclub Shooting.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Nov. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_nightclub_shooting.
MYKHYALYSHYN, HAEYOUN PARK and IARYNA. “L.G.B.T. People Are More Likely to Be Targets of Hate Crimes Than Any Other Minority Group.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/06/16/us/hate-crimes-against-lgbt.html.