Class Consciousness and LGBTQ

Its not until you start talking about class that you realize that people just don't really talk about class. You don't hear people going around saying "I'm middle class" or "I'm lower class". And you especially don't hear people saying "I'm gay and upper class." So while our dialogue in Class Consciousness: Intersections of Class and LGBTQ Identity had a strong leaning towards talking about class without sexual identity, it still really made me think. I am highlighting the areas that I have been thinking a lot about since I left on Thursday.

Spokesperson: One of the student facilitators of the discussion asked the question "How many LGBTQ spokespeople are out there? Can you identify one?" It took a while before anyone really spoke up. Names of gay celebrities popped through my head; Nathan Lane, Ellen DeGeneres, KD Lang, Melissa Ethridge, Elton John, Andrew Sullivan. But there is a difference between being gay and being a spokesperson and I honestly cannot recall a household celebrity name being a spokesperson for the LGBTQ community. Someone brought up an excellent point however, and that was if there was a spokesperson, would that person be the "token" insert adjectives here and not really able to speak for every voice in the LGBTQ community.  We talked about how because of television when people think of gay, they think of upper-class-gay-white-males, like Will from Will and Grace.

Youth and Homelessness: People do not think of the teens that become homeless because their families kick them out (did you know there is 1.6 million homeless teens, of which between 20-40% are LGBTQ.). Since the teens are on the streets, they are either turning to sex for money to be able to survive, or they are turning to crime. Turning to a shelter is only a temporary option, and as someone pointed out, some shelters will turn you away if you self-identify as LGBTQ either because of religious affiliations, or because they make up excuses about crime (because we all know that if you are gay, you are automatically attracted to every person of the same sex and will rape them---sarcasm alert). And if they are arrested and sent to jail, it is the start of a cycle.

Employment: In our discuss we touched on how people do not consider that in some counties, states even, being gay is not protected and you can loose your job if you were to come out. One day you have everything, and the next day you have nothing because you openly admit who you are. My roommate is a perfect example because Prince William County is one of those counties that does not adhere to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, so he could have lost his job as a teacher if he were to come out, and probably would not have gotten his job if he admitted he was gay when he started. He now works in Arlington where there is a non-discrimination policy for sexual orientation. Not to mention what a transperson would go through if they were to go through the transition. Would the health care the employer provides (if provided) cover the transition?

Like I said, we really got into the class side of things more than we did the sexual orientation/ gender identity. But the conversation was heartfelt and I walked out of there feeling energized to make a difference.