Diversity is one of the most evident and fundamental aspects of the human experience. In spite of this, there have been many attempts to erase these divisions, trying to instate a pretended normality by force. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer movement arises from this attempt to erase the differences within people, yet it sometimes encounters a privilege inherent in this group as well: people of color have routinely been left out of the LGBTQ conversations. It is important for this movement to be intersectional, as the experience of non-whites is routinely different than those of the normative race.
It is a problem to not take the lives of people of color into consideration, as it tends to forget them, homogenizing it into a white group. This exclusion can be seen, for example, in the retellings of the civil rights movements for different sexual orientations and identities in the middle of the twentieth century. Furthermore, as one can see in Hawaii, the cultures that were not yet colonized by white men could be more accepting than the contemporary, colonial ones. This has made it very important for non-whites within the community to constantly fight to make their voices heard. It is very important to take the voices of colored people within the LGBTQ community into account, as it represents the recognition of the minority in a minority seeking recognition.
There is a very short leap from heterosexual privilege to white privilege. Both of these characteristics are at the master end of the structure, giving them a similar, supposedly superior, place. “Another element of this privilege is the ability to see white people as normal and all others as different-from-normal. In describing heterosexuals’ privilege, Allan G. Johnson also identifies a white privilege” (Kendall 8). Nevertheless, the LGBTQ community is obviously not made up solely of white people, reason why it is important to speak out for the colored subgroups within this important minority group.
White people are seen as the norm for sexuality, with that of colored people typically being relegated to lower spheres. This may be seen in Orange is the New Black, a show that is praise for its diversity, yet in which “fat Black women and femmes are constantly denied sexual agency or romantic relationships within the show/media” (Shackelford). There is a cultural norm with respect to sexuality, and this usually implies both heterosexuality and whiteness; while the former is usually fought against in the LGBTQ community, the latter is often disregarded, something that is very dangerous.
This understating of the diverse community to only be made up of white people completely ignores the important contributions that blacks and Latinos have made for the community. A notorious of this was the depiction of the beginning of the civil rights movement for the sexually diverse in the middle of the twentieth century, which depicted a heterosexual white young man as the igniter of the riots. In “Whitewashing History”, the anonymous author writes, “just like how they are often relegated to the sidelines of the movement they helped start, in the new movie Stonewall, Trans Women and Drag queens and persons of color are being all but written out of history” (Anonymous). As one can see, if their voices are not made to be heard, they will be left out of the narrative.
This would come into stark contrast with reality, as non-white people of the LGBTQ community have constantly fought to have their voices heard. “Specifically, the two people noted for beginning these riots that culminated in greater human rights for all were Marsha P. Johnson and Silvia Rivera; both of them were trans, the former acting as a drag queen and the latter being of Puerto Rican descent” (“Whitewashing History”). These people have done a lot to make themselves heard, going to such lengths as being the ones to actually spark the revolution that led to better civil rights treatment for all.
Their actions did not stop there; they kept going and kept raising their agenda to higher levels. “Following the protests, Marsha took a pioneering role in the movement. She demonstrated on Wall Street in the 1980s against the extreme prices of AIDS drugs and was a mother figure to many LGBTI youths to come her way” (“Whitewashing History”). As one can see, race does not matter when giving help and being able to solve problems. There were many transgender women of color “Sylvia was a founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activists Alliance, as well as co-founding the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries with her close friend Marsha P. Johnson. She dedicated her life to helping homeless young drag queens and trans women” (“Whitewashing History”). Both women kept working for these human rights, both for the community as a whole, and for specific spheres within it. By not considering non-whites in the discussion of the LGBTQ community, they are shunning people who may do a great service for this subgroup as a whole.
The importance of other cultures has also been seen as important in accepting and tolerating the LGBTQ lifestyle. In particular, there is a lament within the Hawaiian community that, before the colonization by the United States of America, LGBTQ people were seen with better eyes. “We need to bring that back so that we are being more loving, more understanding, embracing each other, so that we don’t have these divisions and we don’t have the tensions and the conflicts” (Kathrynxian). The testimonies see the introduction of the white model as a change from the traditional culture that accepted these lifestyles more freely.
As a whole, giving non-whites a voice is a way of undoing the imperialist power structures that segregate the LGBTQ community in the first place. “Trying to undo homophobia is also a way of trying to undo the colonialist mapping of desire and sexuality and that is one of the hardest things to do because it’s very scary. What is there when you don’t have what you’ve always known” (Kathrynxian). One of the most difficult parts of changing these prejudices is knowing what comes afterwards, as it is the established norm. The colored community can help with this, as they have traditionally subsisted without these
In conclusion, it is very important for the experience of colored people to be taken into account in discussions of the LGBTQ community, as their exclusion could lead to the same colonialist normativity that they are fighting against. White privilege is very similar to heterosexual hegemony, and is something that should be fought against. The role of non-whites in the historical civil rights struggle is being constantly diminished in favor of whites, something that also happens in the everyday life of these people in the community. Furthermore, the tolerance that other, less colonialist races have towards the LGBTQ community is also something that should be positively valued and taken into account. This is why it is important for these people to give their testimony and atone for the normative element present in white privilege, with the internet being an important tool for this. As it is a society built on diversity, it is very important for the LGBTQ community to make an effort to take into consideration all the sub-groups that conform it in order to not be led by the current of normativity within its own borders.
Works Cited
Anonymous. “Whitewashing History: Stonewall Movie Leaves Out Trans Women and Black Drag Queens Who Started The Movement.” Aazah. 05 Aug 2015. Web. 4 Jul. 2016.
Kathrynxian. “Ke Kulana He Mahu: Remembering a Sense of Place PROMO.” Online video clip. You Tube. YouTube, 14 May 2009. Web. 4 Jul. 2016.
Kendall, Frances. (2001). “Understanding White Privilege”. 1-12. PDF.
Shackelford, Ashleigh. “Orange is the New Black is Trauma Porn Written for White People [spoilers].” Wear your voice. 20 Jun. 2016. Web. 4 Jul. 2016.
