The LGBT Community is Not Unified- Well, DUH!

10/12/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Apparently, I did not get the memo when I was a minute and a half old that, when I grew up to be a full participatory member of the LGBT Community, I must follow lock step behind the political beliefs of someone I had never met, and likely would never meet. Not even all gays, lesbians and transpeople are in agreement over whether or not we need to repeal certain laws even though most do agree on that. We do not agree on what should come first marriage rights or employment rights. We do not even seem to agree on whether or not to have nights where we all just gather in one place and socialize.

A recent opinion piece at the Daily Beast by Jacob Bernstein sought to show the world in a very horrified tone that the LGBT Community was, well, not unified. Anyone living within the LGBT Community could have told them that, as could our allies, and even many of our detractors. The fact that, by some estimates, as many as 150,000 gays, lesbians, transpeople and their allies marched in Washington, DC this weekend is a triumph in and of itself. While there was no unity in the support for President Barack Obama, there was a unity of purpose.

No Civil Rights movement is ever unified. I do not believe that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X ever sat down and said “ok, we’re going to all march peacefully in the streets until we get what we want.” Instead, the two had different philosophies and different views on how to achieve a set of goals that overlapped, but were not even themselves unified. There was not even agreement over whether or not to push hard to change the establishment. Some people even pushed for a slow, gradual change to the system rather than a more liberal or radical push for equality.

Representative Barney Frank, for instance, comes from a generation which is, let us face it, not the most active when it comes to the fight for equality, but also he comes from within Congress and has a very different view of what we should be doing. There are people who agree with him, and there always will be. There are also a lot of people who disagree with him, and there always will be. Rep. Frank comes from a generation where being openly gay, lesbian or transsexual was, honestly, not something that was expected, and it was quite dangerous. Mr. Frank is not openly gay by his own choice. He was forced out of the closet due to a scandal back in the 1980’s. He is unlike Representatives Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis who were elected after coming out. I know, it is hard to imagine that a person from a time when one stayed silent about ones sexuality or gender identity would be excited about the rally on Sunday.

To a certain extent, Representative Frank is right in that a rally like Sunday’s does little to lobby Congress, but there are things that it does that are more important than that. For all our disagreements, and all our lack of unity, what it shows is that we are not singular. We stand as a group. The LGBT Community is, quite honestly, not a community. There are precious few neighborhoods where you can walk in and see someone just like yourself mowing the lawn or walking down the street. We are not like the African-American Community, the Latino Community, the Asian Community with a ready made structure of community. We have always been, at best, a collection of small groups and individuals. We do not have a unified set of cultural icons, and we do not have a unified history in the same manner as other minorities. The idea of a hundred and fifty thousand gays, lesbians and transpeople with their allies standing together calling for equality will have some impact. It means that we are visible.

There are divisions in the LGBT Community. Gays, lesbians, and transpeople do not always get along as internal groups within the larger Community. Racial minorities within the LGBT Community often do not get the same kind of representation as whites do. We are an imperfect group, but we are a group seeking to gain respect and a right to live our lives as we see fit. We are not some stereotype.

The showmanship, the Madonna-esque nature of some of the performances, as Mr. Bernstein said, are not out of place in a massive rally like this. This is not the floor of the Congress, but rather a rally where, quite bluntly, people expect red meat (except for our vegan friends) speeches designed to lift the spirit and provide a unifying sense of who we are.

What is more, there is a reason that Mr. Bernstein overlooked as to why we, as a Community, are not fully behind Healthcare reform because of HIV/AIDS, and it has to do with the reality. It is hardly a unifying or even unique experience. The percentage of gay men with HIV/AIDS is higher than the numbers among lesbians, and the overall number of heterosexuals with HIV/AIDS outnumbers both. It is not our issue, it is everyone’s issue, and the sooner people, especially politicians, realize that the better. It concerns us, yes, and it should concern everyone, but it does not define us.

And, to Meghan McCain, no, we as a community have not given President Obama a free pass on his promises. By saying as much, Ms McCain, you put yourself into the same category as the other Obama naysayers such as Rush Limbaugh and the cast of FOX News. Some of us are here every day pushing President Obama and Congress to repeal discriminatory laws or to pass those that grant us greater protections. Some of us have greater patience than others, but very few of us are giving him or Pelosi and Reid a free pass on any of these issues. I certainly am not. While I am more patient than most and more understanding of the process than is typical, I am not going to sit here and not voice my belief that we need to get our rights. I am not going to say to our President, sir you can walk all over me if you want, so please, Ms McCain, do not think that we are. It is rather insulting to those of us who fight this every day that you who have been a great supporter of our rights would pull this kind of crap. Just because one group (who were not fully unified behind him either) applauded him and let him speak at their dinner does not qualify as rewarding him.

Ms McCain, do not expect that you will get a free pass either.

The LGBT Community is not a unified group, nor should it be. We should not all be expected to walk lock step behind every single person who ‘leads’ us. Even those of us who adore President Obama grow impatient with the delays, and we want action. We want to know that we are not forgotten, or ignored.

This is not the fight of that occupied much of the middle of the last century. This is about civil rights, not political rights, and it will take little to end the de facto (legalized) homophobia and transphobia of the government so that the du jour (informal) homophobia and transphobia can begin to be addressed.

picture of Meghan McCain via Wikipedia