Prejudice Within the LGTBQ Community

Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia

Although LGBTQ people face a ridiculous amount of prejudice and discrimination, this does not mean that the LGBTQ community is completely devoid of prejudice itself. Many LGBTQ individuals internalize the way they are viewed by society, which influences how they behave and interact with other members of the community. In addition to this, bisexual, pansexual, sexually fluid, and queer people tend to experience a great deal of suspicion, disbelief, resentment, and intolerance from gays and lesbians. They are considered to be "confused", and are expected to cheat on their partners. Bisexual women are scoffed at by lesbians and treated as experimenting straight girls, rather than people with actual orientations. Bisexual men are believed to be simply gay and not ready to come out of the closet. This is not helped by the fact that many gay and lesbian youth pretend to be bi/pan/fluid/queer as a way to come out of the closet more slowly. People who fall closer to the middle of the sexuality spectrum can sometimes pass or hide their sexuality easier than those who identify more unquestioningly as gay, leading many to feel bitter or even betrayed. Transgender individuals are similarly mistreated by non-transgender LGBQ members. They are constantly misgendered, asked invasive and insensitive questions, desexualized, hyper-sexualized, and excluded from the community. Some are even disgusted by transgender people. Others use derogatory language like "tranny". These reactions are largely because most people simply haven't fully comprehended or accepted what it means to be transgender and so they don't know how to act or respond to a transgender person. Still, many believe the LGBTQ community is homogenous and this type of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic behavior sends a message to non-LGBTQ people that acting this way is acceptable.

Misogyny

Sexism is not linked exclusively to heterosexual men. Many gay men have also been accused of sexism and harassment by women. Women are often excluded or ignored in gay spaces. Some gay men say they are repulsed by women, sexually or socially, and explain this to women in great detail when they meet. Others go the opposite route, reasoning that since they are not sexually attracted to women, it is okay to touch or grope them without permission, or comment on their clothing, weight, and overall appearance regardless of the woman's feelings or agency.

Racism

Almost all representations of the LGBTQ community are white gay men. Of course, this can be partially blamed on society's preference to deal with only one minority at a time, but LGBTQ people of color have a history of being silenced in favor of white LGBTQ people. Statistically, LGBTQ people of color face higher rates of discrimination in housing, employment, health care, and practically every other area, and yet many white people are unwilling to discuss the issue. Additionally, many LGBTQ individuals have revealed that they have a sexual preference for white people or say their sexual attraction rules out certain races completely. On the Grindr app, several have unashamedly posted their preferences, stating, "No Asians, old, black, fat or hairy guys" or "I'm only into white guys. So sorry but if you're anything less then I'm not interested." These are racist statements and do not merely express preferences. A 2015 study of sexual behavior found that racial preferences were closely linked to negative views of minority races. Also, several white gay men claim to have a "strong, black woman" inside them. This notion stems from cultural stereotypes that both black women and gay men are sassy or blunt, but by playing into these stereotypes, gay men perpetrate racist and sexist attitudes about black women. According to another study, 84% of gay and bisexual men of color encountered racism in the gay community.

Ableism

Many people have never heard of ableism, or misunderstand what it means. The definition of ableism is the discrimination or prejudice against disabled people. One example of this would be treating disabled people as though they are children and unable to make decisions for themselves. Many people in the LGBTQ community have this viewpoint, and therefore reason that one should never have sex with someone who is disabled, because that would be taking advantage of them. On the contrary, many disabled individuals lead active sex lives. Another example of ableism in the LGBTQ community is excluding disabled people from events by not making those events accessible. This can mean several things, such as making sure places are wheelchair accessible, hiring an American Sign Language interpreter or using captioning, being aware of people's sensory sensitivity and their needs, and respecting people's triggers. It is also important to be aware of how you treat disabled people. People tend to take disabled people's independence away from them by talking over them or deciding things for them. Language can also be very harmful. Many people unintentionally use ableist slurs in everyday conversation like 'lame', 'retarded', and 'crippled'. There is also a common trend of casually inserting mental illnesses into general discussion, such as claiming to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder after organizing or cleaning or having mood swings and labeling it Bipolar Disorder. These comments can be extremely damaging to the feelings or self esteem of disabled individuals.

Fighting Prejudice

Acknowledging the problems within the LGBTQ community may be challenging for some people. Many resist this notion because they themselves are not transphobic/racist/sexist/etc. The bigger issue is the systematic oppression that actual minorities face from within the LGBTQ community. The community is partially made up of people who don't fit into the sexuality or gender binary, women, people of color, and disabled people, and erasing or ignoring the problems of those communities will only set equality and justice further back. It is true that the community has made strides towards this goal, such as the warm reception of Laverne Cox or the many events and LGBTQ spaces that have become accessible to disabled people. Still, these accomplishments do not mean the community has moved beyond prejudice. Instead, the thing to take from those successes is that with a bit of progress, there is hope for even more such successes in the future.