Lorraine Robinson
The LGBTQIA+
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
has had a long and ongoing fight for civil and equal
rights
Rights are the things everyone should be allowed to do like have a say, or go to school.
, and while
diversity
Diversity means people from all different cultures and backgrounds.
is increasingly being considered in everyday life, conversations around diversity are often focused on ‘one-dimensional’ identity.
This is probably aided by legislation’s narrow descriptions of characteristics and forms of
discrimination
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently (usually in a bad way) because of things like their disability or their
religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
.
, but we all have different facets to our identities.
The reality and experience of those considered as ‘minorities’ is entirely different to anyone else's. Ultimately, this presents tensions that force people to choose where they fit and on which platform they should base their lived experience.
The ongoing debate within LGBTQIA+ communities is a prime example of the importance of identity, but also shows that even this complexity does not fully address a person’s whole self.
We know that people are marginalised, abused, persecuted and oppressed as a result of specific ‘characteristics’ such as their
sexuality
Sexuality is how you feel about yourself and your body. It is about finding out and knowing what feels right for you.
, race, age, disability,
gender
Your gender is how you think of yourself. Most people think of themselves as a man or woman. Some people think of themselves as non-binary.
, religion, and other socio-economic factors.
This is often the case for sexual minorities. But what if this ‘identity’ overlaps with other minority identities? How might these other layers of diversity affect their experience in society and in their communities?
The term intersectionality was first used in the late 1980s and defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender.”
To take an example from history, Marsha P. Johnson was a Black trans woman who identified as
gay
Gay means a man who fancies other men, or a woman who fancies other women.
, a transvestite, and as a queen (referring to drag queen or street queen). In everything but name, she was a true example of intersectionality.
Marsha was one of the most prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969. But she still experienced exclusion within the LGBT community, as well as racial profiling having been blamed for starting the riots.
Considering intersectionality must be a crucial component in our effort to confront and remove discriminatory behaviour and practices in Mencap and in wider society.
Imagine how a young, gay, Black man from a poor and religious community might be perceived. What will be people see first – his gender, race, or sexuality? What assumptions will be made about him based on established stereotypes?
Compared to a young white, heterosexual, middle class man, how might this young gay Black man be perceived and treated by society? Or by members of the LGBTQIA community, his faith group, his family and wider social groups?
The more minority groups a person identifies with, the more likely they are likely to experience discrimination and stigma even within respective groups, as we are aware hierarchies of privilege exist even within minority groups.
This young man is likely to experience similar disparities but additional stigma, exclusion, and traumas as a result of society’s view of his sexuality. He is likely to experience
racism
Racism is when people are treated in a bad way because of things like their culture and background, or the colour of their skin.
within the LGBTQIA communities; 51 per cent of BAME LGBT people face discrimination within the LGBT community according to Stonewall.
He is also likely to be shunned and excluded by his faith community, family members and friends because of his sexuality.
The National LGBT
survey
A survey is when someone asks you to answer some questions.
found:
-
24% of all respondents living with family members, excluding partners, were not open at all about being LGBT.
-
26% of all respondents had experienced verbal harassment, insults or other hurtful comments.
-
More than two thirds of LGBT respondents said they avoid holding hands with a same-sex partner for fear of a negative reaction from others.
-
24% of respondents had accessed mental health services in the 12 months preceding the survey.
Kadra Abdinasir, head of children and young people at the Centre of Mental Health, said: “Young Black men are caught at the intersection between the current crisis and longstanding inequalities. They are bearing the brunt, and the worst may be yet to come.”
Different communities understand and talk about mental health in different ways, but can also be influenced by societal exclusion, institutional and systemic barriers. Research undertaken by the charity Just Like Us and reported by the Guardian in May 2020 found:
-
Young LGBT+
LGBT means
lesbian
A lesbian is a woman who fancies other women.
, gay,
bisexual
A bisexual is someone who fancies men and women.
and
transgender
Transgender means someone who feels like they have the wrong body. This could be someone who has the body of a man but feels they are a woman, or the other way around. Some people who feel like this have an operation to change their body.
. The + means that it also includes lots of other identities.
people are three times more likely to self-harm and twice as likely to contemplate suicide as their non-LGBT+ peers -
68% of LGBT+ young people had experienced suicidal thoughts, compared with 29% of young people who were not LGBT+. Lesbian(74%) and transgender (77%) young people were the most likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings.
-
Of the Black LGBT+ young people surveyed, 89% had experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, compared with 67% of the white LGBT+ young people.
Based on socio-economic factors such as income and wealth, this young man is likely to have less access and opportunities to
employment
Employment means having a job.
and sustainable income, suitable housing and healthcare.
He is also likely to experience further isolation, trauma and negative outcomes because of disapproval and rejection from family members, friends, community and faith groups. As a consequence, he will not have a sufficient support network that fully understands his unique life experiences.
It is the uniqueness of any human being that exemplifies the importance of considering intersectionality. Considering and responding to only one or two of the minority groups this young man may be associated with would fail to address the multifaceted nature of his identity or the oppression, exclusion, and trauma he is likely to face.
Whilst this specific scenario presented is fictional for the purposes of this blog, there are individuals with similar and varying profiles. This scenario could easily be applied to young Black lesbian who would also have to contend with societal sexism, or a member of the LGBTQIA community who has a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
.
Mencap’s vision is to make The UK the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives. That includes people from all backgrounds and communities, and means considering multifaceted identities and experiences.
We are all unique – there is no one in the world like us. Yet society, institutions, and organisations have labelled, stigmatised, oppressed and excluded people according to categories defined by a dominant core and their standards of normality.
We honour and support the ongoing fight of LGBTQIA+ communities for equal rights. It's high time we stopped labelling or categorising individuals and groups, and work to rectify and remove the inequalities this has caused.
This is the only way we can create a society where we are all simply embraced and celebrated for the diversity and uniqueness of our individuality and our humanity.
Lorraine Robinson
Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion