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the dog-whistle here is the reduction of LGBT+ identity to sex; a misunderstanding of where -phobia comes from & a common trope in -phobic rhetoric framing LGBT+ folk as a sexual threat
cw: LGBT+ phobia
(+bonus false equivalence of natural hazards with prejudicial legislation)
cw: LGBT+ phobia
(+bonus false equivalence of natural hazards with prejudicial legislation)
LGBT+ 'phobia is motivated in-part by prevailing masculine norms which devalue & regulate femininity.
Eg. gay men are often viewed as "subordinate masculinites" for defying gender norms & feminine expression; most homophobia is not acted on because of witnessing sex
Eg. gay men are often viewed as "subordinate masculinites" for defying gender norms & feminine expression; most homophobia is not acted on because of witnessing sex
Femininity is viewed as inferior & inauthentic in contrast to masculine norms; the dominant view of a gender binary is also a hierarchy regulated by anti-feminine prejudice that polices a normative view of femininity. This policing occurs across sex, sexual orientation, & gender
the @WHO report (2017) typifies violence against sexual & gender minorities as being motivated by the desire to punish those defying gender stereotypes, as most commonly acted out by men, & most commonly by men who strongly adhere to masculine norms https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/96/1/17-197251/en/
Reidy et al (2014) stated violence is partly motivated when a man believes he is, or is perceived as, insufficiently masculine as determined by social mandates, & seeks to confirm their masculinity by regulating the gender expression of themselves & others https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5868426/
Eg. transmisogyny is motivated by folk viewing trans feminine gender transition as a transgression. This typically manifests as a type of sexual objectification: trans feminine folk are depicted as sexual deviants, fetishists, groomers, deceivers etc.
the consequences are clear: just last year @The_TUC report on LGBT+ sexual harassment revealed that trans women suffer more instances of sexual assault & rape in workplaces than other women
This policing permeates society/ Eg. in 2019 the American Medical Association described the murders of trans women as an “epidemic” of violence; Intersex infants are often subject to unnecessary "normalising" surgeries to conform to expected norms https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/12/medical-experts-call-defer-unnecessary-intersex-surgeries
so when "joined June 2020" above advises "don't fuck someone of the the same-sex in public" to avoid violence they're mistaken: LGBT+-phobia is not about sex, it's about axes of control; you don't need to be caught having sex to suffer violence, you just need to be visible
framing the issue of exposing LGBT+ students to unnecessary risk as solely sex-based reduces nuanced identities to a single issue, ignoring that LGBT+ identities are more than what happens in the bedroom, & overlooks prejudices against gender expression
(it's odd having to say that LGBT+ issues are more than just same-sex intercourse. it's literally in the name)
this framing is also problematic because it sails closely to typical strategies used against LGBT+ folk: reducing LGBT+ folk to purely a sex-based issue is the first step in an old trope that frames LGBT+ as sexual deviants, stokes moral panic, hate & fear
deeply sexualised language typifies 1980s homophobia & current transphobia:
- ignore that people have nuanced relationships with others/themselves & reduce being LGBT+ to just sex
- claim perversion, relate to child abuse, & stoke moral panic
- dehumanise us & promote eradication
- ignore that people have nuanced relationships with others/themselves & reduce being LGBT+ to just sex
- claim perversion, relate to child abuse, & stoke moral panic
- dehumanise us & promote eradication
Eg, research has shown how controversies & moral panics associated with marginalised groups increases the harassment of those groups in schools https://news.utexas.edu/2019/05/13/political-controversies-about-marginalized-groups-increase-bullying-in-youths/
Eg. 2013 Russia's 2013 law banning the communication of referring to homosexuality was explicitly linked to the protection of children, playing on fears that gay men recruit or groom children, & emboldened homophobic violence under the pretence they're defending children
Emboldening hate groups is a form of stochastic terrorism: a group is publicly demonised, inciting statistically probable but seemingly random violence.
Many homophobic groups in Russia use dating sites to lure & then assault unsuspecting gay men https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/gay-hunters-russia-moscow-apps-gangs-homophobia-a8865376.html
Many homophobic groups in Russia use dating sites to lure & then assault unsuspecting gay men https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/gay-hunters-russia-moscow-apps-gangs-homophobia-a8865376.html
this view can be tackled by making people recognise LGBT+ folk as complex humans, not the bogeyman created by anti-LGBT+ folk. It's why visibility helps combat this. E.g. the US Equal Marriage campaign worked because it showed gay folk as your neighbour, siblings etc.
a focus on abstinence also discounts the mental costs of (re)closeting: societal norms are set by majority groups - heterosexuality & cisgender is seen as default. This puts LGBT+ folk on the back-foot, nurturing anxiety & self-loathing from the fear of rejection & prejudice
it also asks LGBT+ folk to accept the burden of navigating the threat of being outed: casual conversation with non-LGBT+ folk is enough of a minefield of seemingly innocuous personal questions which demands either transparency (& an invitation of danger) or denying your identity
asking us to deny our identity only entrenches the idea that LGBT+ folk are the "other", that we are abnormal & our acceptance is conditional to rules set by a majority group; it nurtures a loathing for the parts that don't conform to cisheteronormative society
this is still a problem in Europe: @EURightsAgency 's survey detailed, of 140k LGBTI participants, 70k are never or rarely out about the sexuality &/or gender identity. just holding hands is uncomfortable.
(image - %gay men who avoid doing so)
data here: https://fra.europa.eu/en/data-and-maps/2020/lgbti-survey-data-explorer
(image - %gay men who avoid doing so)
data here: https://fra.europa.eu/en/data-and-maps/2020/lgbti-survey-data-explorer
LGBT+ folk experience enough anxiety & fear over their identity. Asking LGBT+ folk to re-closet (&/or re-traumatise) for a field trip, to conform to cisheteronormative standards, signals that you do not accept or respect us. It's not for us to 'tone it down'
