LGBTQ Rights In North America: Discrimination

Around the world, very many people are under attack for who they are, how they dress and ultimately who they fall in love with. In very many countries today, being lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual or queer (questioning), means living in daily discrimination and prejudice. This discrimination is based on: gender identity (how you identify yourself despite your biological sex), sexual orientation (who you are attracted to), gender expression (clothing and make up) or sex characteristics (your genitals, chromosomes, hormonal levels or reproductive organs. This discrimination may be as simple as name calling and bullying, discrimination and harassment at the workplace or even something as complex as lack of proper medical care. To these people, this unequal treatment is extensively damaging and even sometimes life threatening. There are very many cases where this group of people have been harassed on the streets, beaten up and injured, some of these cases lead to death. Between October 2016 and September 2017, it was reported that at least 325 individual had been killed in the states of Mexico Brazil and United States for being Trans genders (Ward,54). LGBTQ is an initialism that stands for lesbians, gay, bisexual transgender and queers, the q in this instance may also stand for those who are questioning their gender. This initialism is already applicable in many organizations when labelling topics regarding sexuality and gender identity. Our leaders, and people of influence need to realize the menace that is caused by this discrimination and set up campaigns to create awareness and acceptance of this group of people.

Many authorities have determined that gender identity and sexual orientation do not affect work place performance in any way. However, there ae still high levels of documented discrimination cases against LBTQ in the work place and this has negative influence on their performance at work and lowers their self-esteem. Researchers have found out that at least 42% of LBTQ community have experienced one or several forms of employment discrimination because of their sexual orientation at one time in their lives (Ward, 45) Those who are lucky enough to get work, are faced with a new set of problems as they are immediately faced with discrimination at the workplace. Many of these soon end up losing their jobs due to poor performance, but who would blame them? Imagine working in a place where you are constantly harassed and discriminated against just because of who you are! These harassments, have paused real and immediate threats to our economy as some employees do not reach their potential. Many LGBTQs chose to keep their sexual orientation a secret at the work place so as to minimize the chances of there being any form of harassment. There are certain areas of the state that have laws in place that prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual identity. However not very many work places practice this and until these laws are taken seriously LGBTQ workers will continue to face discrimination at the work place.

About 3.5% Americans identify as either being a lesbian, gay or bisexual(CDC,2013). LGBTQs belong to every race, ethnic group, social class, age and religion. Due to discrimination, the youths in this community are more likely to engage in substance abuse due to discrimination from their peers. One of the major problems that LGBTQs face is lack of proper health care. This is a special community and their health care needs are unique so they need very sensitive health care. The center for disease control and prevention released data in 2014 showing that 83% of the new HIV diagnoses was accounted for by gay and bisexual men(CDC,2013). The gay men were also at an increased risk of various cancers including prostate, testicular, anal, and colon, which might be related to limited culturally sensitive screening services (CDC, 2013) These men also face an increased risk of other sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, hepatitis, human papilloma virus and many others. This group needs special medical care due to the nature of their sexual life, however, many health workers are not trained in addressing the health concerns of the members of this community. This lack of proper training often leads to a strain relationship between the health worker and the patient. This is why 68% of sexual minority youth reported about not discussing their sexual orientation, and 90% reported reservations about reporting them to their clinicians (Robinson, et al ,1989). They say that opening up about their sexual orientation to a health provider more often than not changes the attitude of the health provider. Health care providers should be trained adequately to provide nurturing, empathetic care to this population without any judgement or discrimination. This training will also allow open communication between the patients and physicians as there will be no stigmatization.

Different Christian denominations have different believes when it comes to members of the LGBTQ community. The most vocal of these, being the Catholic Church that strongly opposes this kind of sexual activity(CDC,2013). These different opinions vary according to the place and time, they can also vary regarding on the type homosexuality involved. The mainstream church opposes this kind of marriage arguing that the main purpose of marriage is pro creation. However as same sex marriages cannot produce children, the church argues that this goes against the laws of nature. However, some Christians are in support of same sex marriages. This section of the Christian community identify marriage as an institution that deserves love, honor and commitment despite the sexual orientation of the couple(Ward,2014). Those who argue against these marriages argue that man and woman complete each other emotionally and anatomically.

Reaching adolescence as a member of LGBTQ community is arguably one of the hardest milestones the have to undergo. At this stage, discrimination is not only in their homes and it mainly revolves around homophobic and heterosexisms. As adolescents they struggle with issues of discrimination and denial at schools and in the larger community. In middle high school they tend to live an isolated life as not many would like to associate with them. Since established LGBT groups find it difficult to accept teenage participation, these teens find themselves in unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse and high risk sexual behaviors.(HHS,34). Most teenagers in this group tend to be more prone to risks such as depression and suicidal intentions, some end up committing suicide as they struggle with acceptance. All stake holders in the society should develop solid societal structures to deal with challenges facing these youths. Teachers, medical personnel, parents send even society as a whole should play significant roles in minimizing these issues that LGBTQ teenagers face.

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Many straight people have always thought LBGTQs to belong to the rich and affluent I n the society, they have often associated this community with a certain economic class. However that is not true. Reports show that most members of this community who come from a lesser economic class choose to live in denial. Sex change, which is the main procedure that trans genders rely on is a quite expensive operation and thus many cannot afford it. Those who cannot afford the change live in denial of being trapped in the wrong body leading to discrimination. They end up being less productive members of the society and they are viewed as to drain the society of its moral constrains. Trans genders who have already undergone medical treatment can appeal to those with influence in society to make some of these services affordable and accessible. “Trans persons who undergo medical treatment can appeal to civilians, politicians, and lawmakers for equal rights and protection from discrimination on the basis that transsexuality is a genetic predisposition or disability”.(viopnd,17). What most people do not know is that trans people deal with a lot of hormonal imbalances and require routine hormone therapy and procedures (vipond, 24). Less affluent members of this community rely on unsafe sexual behaviors to finance their lifestyle. It is also notable that acceptance in the society is mostly granted to those who seem socially and economically privileged.

There are several daily challenges that LGBTQs have to deal with, they struggle with things that others view as normal. “Trans people should have access to washrooms, change rooms and other gender specific services and facilities based on their lived gender identity.”(vipond,35). A good example is social facilities such as bathrooms and changing rooms. Many are confused on the facilities to use especially when in public. Public places should consider providing the members of this community where they can feel comfortable to be who they are.

Topics regarding homophobic and gender discrimination should be examined through intersectional level Research indicates that the sexual identities and gender identities and expressions of LGBTQ youth change across time and context and are impacted by often overlooked factors including faith, Indigenous ancestry, disability, and class. The size of the community, its cultural believes and characteristics of the people, have a significant impact on LGBTQs identity, development and expression. many communities do not seem to have any problem with open lesbian relationships, however, many seem not to accept openly gay men and trans genders.

LGBT community has faced discrimination for a very long time, but with the recent acceptance by the law, the community has grown as many more members have been able to come out of the closet. Still there is polarization to how much they are accepted. The University of Chicago in 1973, carried out a study based on the question whether sex between two adults of the same sex is acceptable. 69.7% of those questioned said that it is not acceptable while only 10.7 % said it is acceptable.(smith,2011). The same study in 2011 stated that 43.5% of the population regarded homosexuality as an unacceptable act while 40.6% said it was acceptable.(smith,2011). There has been a change of heart over the years as the younger generations are getting exposed socially. Social media and mainstream media have both played their role in educating the public about LGTQs and advocating for acceptance. As society has become more accepting of gay people, the media has presented increasingly positive images of gays and lesbians, succeeding generations are raised with more tolerant attitudes (smith, 2011). This has also helped the old to change their opinion about LGTQs.

Discrimination is often brought about by people’s fear of the unknown which is primarily promoted by lack of proper education and obliviousness toward circumstances and happenings that they are not familiar with. “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” (Moore, 2005) Over time, these discriminatory practices have become socially accepted and so they have to be tolerable. Acceptance should begin at the family level then community level and then extend to the national level. Members of the family should support the sexual orientation of one of them, if you do not accept one of your own, who do you expect to accept them? When one is accepted at the family level, what society thinks is generally not a problem. Society, and especially the church has to learn to accept the existence of LBGTQs as not being sinners but as being equal members of the society. When church begins to embrace them, people will begin to accept them too. These are our brothers and sisters and everybody should be able to feel proud of who they are and to express themselves freely. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protect everyone’s rights to express themselves freely. The stereotype that members of this community are any different is damaging across all society. By embracing LGBTQ, the society can learn how to remove the many limitations that are caused by gender stereotyping. Removing these limitations empowers everyone to reach their full potential without having to worry what the society thinks of them. There is no doubt that the LGBTQ movement has made significant progress over the last couple of years, however, there is still more to be done by everyone else, to ensure acceptance and assimilation of this community.

Reference

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