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    • Sunday, June 12, 2011

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    Assignment 1: Theoretical Exploration of Oppression - LGBT Oppression in Canada



    The people in the LGBT community have long since been oppressed by our society and still continue to experience societal heterosexism to this day. If this continues to occur it could have a lasting effect on the gay community, especially the youth currently exploring their sexual identification and if we do not start making changes it could result in more gay teen suicides.

    Canada is considered to be one of the most advanced societies in the Western hemisphere with respect to the gay rights movement (Hopkins, 2008), allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry in all provinces across Canada since 2005 and also awards the same rights and freedoms to gay couples in regard to marital disputes, divorce, child support, Canada Pension Plan and employee benefits as heterosexual couples would be entitled to. It is true that if contrasted against the rather sparse and unrepresented LGBT faction in the United States as a whole, Canada shines like no other, but some would argue that the idea of rights for the LGBT community looks nice on paper but the fact of the matter is years of oppression, marginalization and living in a heterosexist world have left the gay community fighting to keep gay youth safe both mentally and physically. With the rash of recent suicides committed by gay teenagers across North America it is clear to see that the oppression this community faces is becoming an unavoidable issue and must be addressed.

    Oppression

    According to the book Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice (Burns, D. 2007 p. 2) “Oppression takes place when a person acts or a policy is enacted unjustly against an individual or group because of their affiliation to a specific group. This includes depriving people of a way to make a fair living, to participate in all aspects of social life or to experience basic freedoms and human rights. It also includes imposing belief systems, values laws and ways of life on other groups through peaceful or violent means. Oppression can be external, as in the examples above, or internal, when groups start to believe and act as if the dominant belief system, values and life way is the best and exclusive reality. Internal oppression often involves self-hate, self-censorship, shame and disowning individual and cultural realities.”

    The depth to which the LGBTTTIQQ community has been oppressed cannot be merely documented in a few short paragraphs. In Canada alone, before the 1980’s being gay was actually a chargeable offence resulting in death or life in prison and was also deemed to be a “mental illness” by the DSM-II up until 1973 (Spitzer, 1981).

    In recent times the gay community has been rocked by violence, hatred and extreme oppression in the form of many unsolved murder investigations totaling 6 unsolved gay men murders in Toronto alone since 2001, the most recent happening in March 2011. (Mills, 2011). Safety of the gay community is absolutely paramount and by feeling they are in danger some find themselves afraid to venture out after dark, or alone, which is limiting them from enjoying the lives that others take for granted.

    The fight to keep Gay Straight Alliances out of schools has also become a cause for concern as well noting that the Catholic District School Boards in Ontario are refusing gay teens the outlet of expression through GSA clubs. The light beyond the tunnel though is that some Catholic school boards in the region are recanting their refusal to allow GSA clubs, but in the form of SIDES an acronym for safety, inclusivity, diversity and equity in place of GSAs simply because they do not like the word “Gay” (Houston, 2011). In refusing the word “Gay” they are again limiting the rights of the gay community by simply not allowing them to identify themselves as who they are. The crossroads between Freedom of Religion and your basic human right to be gay is a very messy and touchy subject. You cannot make everyone happy because in one time or another someone’s toes are going to be stepped on, so is the contradiction of the human rights code.

    It is the act of oppression that makes the youth in the gay community feel ostracized, marginalized and inadequate. They sometimes feel that they do not add up and that they never will. This kind of thinking leads to thoughts of suicide and sometimes attempted and successful suicide. At least 16 studies using convenience samples have reported rates of suicide attempts ranging from 20% to 53% (McDaniel et al., 2001; R. C. Savin-Williams, 2001)

    Despite differences in rates, convenience-sample studies have found higher rates of suicide attempts among LGBT youth compared to heterosexual youth participants, especially among males (Goldsmith & Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Pathophysiology & Prevention of Adolescent & Adult Suicide., 2002; McDaniel et al., 2001; R.C. Savin-Williams, 2001).

    Marginalization

    According to the book Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice (Burns, D. 2007 p. 73) “Marginalization refers to the context in which those who experience inequality, injustice and exploitation because of their social location live their lives. It includes not just experiences of discrimination and lack of access to resources but also everyday experiences of being seen and treated as “less than”.

    I have experienced the ups and downs of a close friend struggling with her sexual identity and living her life as openly gay. I can recall a simple shopping mall stroll with my husband, my friend and her partner, each couple holding hands and sharing conversation in the most normal way possible. But I could not help but notice the stares and vicious conversations going on as we passed the food court. There were people shaking their heads and furrowing their brows in disgust. It was at that moment I wondered if they were staring at me, if I was somehow distastefully dressed or impeding their lunch break. I later pieced together what was really happening, my friend and her partner being ostracized, quietly, but ostracized nonetheless.

    My friend also told me of the woes within her community dealing with marginalization and ostracizing their own. She recounted the many stories she had heard from her other openly gay male friends, about a man’s distaste with another gay male and his effeminate nature (Roberts, 2011).

    The LGBT community as a whole has been marginalized for many decades but within the community no other group receives more marginalization than gay men, particularly effeminate gay men. Not only do effeminate gay men experience marginalization on a societal level, they are also affected within their peer group as many other gay men will marginalize effeminate gay men most likely because they experienced stigmatization and marginalizing themselves earlier in life stemming from their own effeminacy (Taywaditep, 2001).

    Ms. Roberts also told me on occasion that it is the marginalization that makes her feel less than adequate in society and that she feels the reason gay youth resort to suicide is because they feel inadequate within themselves, their community and their families. (Roberts, 2011).

    Societal Heterosexism

    Heterosexism is a term that describes an ideological system that denies, denigrates, and stigmatizes any non-heterosexual form of behavior, identity, relationship, or community (Herek, 1990). Using the term heterosexism highlights the similarities between antigay opinion and other forms of prejudice, such as racism and sexism.

    In our society we have been taught that the world runs as both male and female together. Extension cords have both male and female parts, marriage is for male and female couples only, pink or blue, and finally Adam and Eve only.

    Gay youth are coming out in a world where they are destined not to fit in. They go against “nature” according to society. They are sexually born into this world with adversity and unconformity at their backs and without community support and family support the likelihood of them succeeding and being healthy and productive is not high. The LGBT community when brought together can be a strong and accepting society, where you can feel appreciated and safe. Victimhood is not meant to come from this paper, as the old saying goes “strength in numbers” such is the fact that children that are supported are much more likely to succeed ( A Place of Our Own: Social & Emotional Development). The gay community is strong and essentially a community within a hostile community, but they need to know they can walk through a busy shopping mall with their partner hand in hand without being disrespected, or apply for survivor benefits when their partner dies without being met with malice and disrespect, all things heterosexuals take for granted.

    Unintentional heterosexism happens everywhere. Even in the school classroom. A teacher may assume each of her students will bring a guest of the opposite sex to the school dance, unintentionally making the child that does not identify that way feel different and out casted. Even in daily life, when meeting someone new you may ask a new female friend if she has a boyfriend or husband, assuming she is of heterosexual nature, meaning no harm or judgment, but coming across as you do. This is because we are living in a society which is heterosexual in nature. As a society we need to realize that not everyone fits the “typical norm”, the ideal of the society we have been raised in and are shaped by.

    In conclusion, LGBT youth need to have a strong support structure both at home and at school. In an ideal world we would be accepting of others differences and embrace each other the way that man was meant to do, but this society we live in does not always meet the needs of everyone. A bigger presence on television, the internet and in schools is a great way to get the ball rolling on eradicating homophobia for good and to help our LGBT youth come to terms with the society they live in and to provide them with the tools to fight back and to take a stand against heterosexism and oppression.

    References
    A Place of Our Own: Social & Emotional Development. (n.d.). Homepage. Retrieved June 1, 2011, from http://aplaceofourown.org/topic.php?id=4
    Baines, D. (2007). Introduction--Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice: Fighting for Space, Fighting for Change. Doing anti-oppressive practice: building transformative, politicized social work (p. 2, 73). Halifax, N.S.: Fernwood.
    Goldsmith, S. K., & Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Pathophysiology & Prevention of Adolescent & Adult Suicide.(2002). Reducing suicide: a national imperative. Washington,
    D.C.: National Academies Press.
    Herek, G. M. (2000). The psychology of sexual prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 19-22.
    Historical Background of Homosexuality. (n.d.). CSQ. Retrieved June 2, 2011, from www.csq.qc.net/sites/1676/documents/english/rappel_historique_ang.pdf
    Hopkins, L. (2008, November 29). Top 10 Gay Friendly Places to Live: Countries Where Gays and Lesbians Have Equal Rights. Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Retrieved May 20, 2011, from http://www.suite101.com/content/top-10-gay-friendly-places-to-live-a81257
    Houston, A. (2011, January 19). GSA ban lifted by Halton Catholic school board. Xtra. Retrieved June 1, 2011, from http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/GSA_ban_lifted_by_Halton_Catholic_school_board-9661.aspx
    Kaufman, G. (2010, September 30). Tyler Clementi Suicide Puts Bullying In Spotlight - Music, Celebrity, Artist News
    MTV . New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories
    MTV. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649057/tyler-clementi-suicide-puts-bullying-spotlight.jhtml
    Makarenko, J. (2007, January 1). Same-Sex Marriage in Canada
    . Mapleleafweb.com
    Canada's Premier Political Education Website!. Retrieved May 28, 2011, from http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/same-sex-marriage-canada
    Mills, M. (2011, March 6). Gay man murdered in Toronto. Xtra . Retrieved June 4, 2011, from http://www.xtra.ca/blog/national/post/2011/03/06/Gay-man-murdered-in-Toronto.aspx
    Roberts, Nicole. Personal interview. 21 May 2011.

    Savin-Williams, R. C. (2001). Suicide attempts among sexual-minority youths: Population and measurement issues. J Consult Clin Psychol, 69, 983-991
    Spitzer, R. (n.d.). The diagnostic status of homosexuality in DSM-III: a reformulation of the issues -- Spitzer 138 (2): 210 -- Am J Psychiatry. The American Journal of Psychiatry. Retrieved June 1, 2011, from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/2/210

    Taywaditep, K. J. (2001). Marginalization among the marginalized: Gay men's anti-effeminacy attitudes. . Journal of Homosexuality, 42(1), 1-28.

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    By Kala Bennett-Alexander

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