LGBQT People
The oppression of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, and transgender[1]* (LGBQT) people is vicious and deadly. Examples of it include
- the recent murders of Gay activists in Chechnya and Bangladesh, to name just a couple of countries;
- the massacre of LGBQT people and their allies last summer in Orlando, Florida, USA;
- the steady stream of murders of transgender people in the United States.
The fight for LGBQT rights continues to be a leading-edge civil rights battle. It is important both symbolically, as in no one deserves to be oppressed, and in real-life terms, given the daily dangers LGBQT people face.
There is an “appearance of progress” through Gay rights legislation—such as for marriage equality and protection against employment discrimination—in a few, mostly wealthy, countries. However, we cannot legislate behavior change. Anti-Gay attitudes persist, as do anti-Gay legislation and open and deadly oppression in many parts of the world. The effects of this oppression continue to show in LGBQT people’s lives—with higher rates of suicide, isolation, alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, and so on.
You don’t have to agree with someone’s identity or sexuality to agree that it makes sense to stand up against their oppression, wherever and whenever it occurs.
IN THE RC COMMUNITIES
The key issue in the RC Communities is challenging liberalism and figuring out how to hold two apparently contradictory things in one’s mind at the same time:
- We LGBQT people are to be deeply respected and loved just as we are.
- Our allies in the Communities must realize and remember that we are operating on top of substantial early hurts and isolation, as well as the effects of LGBQT oppression, and are not in better shape than they are.
We LGBQT people deserve access to and have made contributions to the resources of Co-Counseling.
The distresses sitting beneath LGBQT as well as heterosexual identities need to be challenged, as all distresses do. When given the right space, LGBQT people pursue re-emergence, whatever that looks like for them.
IN THE WORLD
The liberation of LGBQT people depends on the undoing of sexism and male domination, and LGBQT oppression “enforces” both of these oppressions. Young people are correctly challenging rigidities in terms of gender roles and Gay oppression, but we must remain clear on the need to address sexism and male domination in order to end LGBQT oppression.
Confusions and fascinations about sex continue to abound in the wide world, and undoing all the distresses connected to sex and closeness continues to be a critical piece of liberation work for all people.
In this era, the pseudo-reality is getting bigger. We are being asked to believe things in the wide world that don’t make sense from an RC standpoint. It is critical that we hold on to our own minds. In the face of things that appear incorrect, we must maintain a default position of respect. We have little hope of reaching people without first treating them with respect.
The communication of important information depends on building good relationships. This is particularly true when our viewpoint differs from that of the wide world. To be heard requires connection. Without it, communicating disagreement will easily function as oppression.
Closeness is important for all humans. Gay oppression and homophobia—defined as the fear of same-sex closeness—continue to interfere with this for everyone. Thus they interfere with the achievement of liberation for all humans.
THE PROGRAM FOR LGBTQ LIBERATION
The program for LGBQT liberation in RC is and has been
- Respect for all,
- Ending Gay oppression,
- Ending homophobia,
- Re-emergence for all LGBQT people, and
- Complete transformation of the planet.
* In the wide world, transgender refers to an analysis of sex and gender identity that is different than the perspective we have in RC. We respect people’s perspectives on these issues but see things differently because of our understanding of both how early hurts can lay in recordings about sex and gender identity, and how closely these recordings are related to oppressive messages laid in by sexism. People’s feelings do not alter reality. Our perspective is that DNA defines male, female, and intersex but not how we live or what we do in life. Our DNA does not determine our habits, choices, preferences, and so on.