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In America, being homosexual often means being a part of a population of people that are disenfranchised regularly for simply being themselves. Every day, members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community are affected by laws and social biases that bar them from active civic participants, thus excluding them on social and legal fronts. These measures contribute to the deadly "tyrannies of silence" Audrey Lorde, a member of the gay community, warns will ruin the frameworks of society in her "Transformation into Language and Action".
Through our country's prejudice and unfair social measures, the voice of the LGBT community has been and continues to be muted. This contributes in large part to the gay community's sub-par status in American society.
Though the American public has made efforts to enfranchise the gay community through items such as the Marriage Equality Act, minds of prejudiced people still continue to keep gay Americans silent by subjugating them socially. County Clerk Kim Davis is a prime example of how personal bias can still affect the legal rights of others.
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The state employee was held in contempt of court for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky. However, later, her charges were lifted in a district court. Davis' actions remind us that the battle for the voices of the gay community is not yet over, even though executives actions has mandated that their rights be expanded.
Gay rights in the United States are often characterized by a constant struggle for the gay community to maintain an identity in the face of a society that does not accept them.
Currently there is no federal law that protects LGBT employment discrimination, which is a great hindrance for gay and transgender people in regards to entering the workforce. For example, recently in Missouri, LGBT member James Pittman sued his job, the Cook Paper Recycling Corporations for discriminating against him for being gay. Though the harassment was thoroughly documented and explained in the case, the court could not honor Pittman's wishes and offered no relief because the Human Rights Act did not prevent discrimination based on one's sexual orientation. Discrimination against gay and transgender people in the workplace causes socioeconomic inequalities.
In large, this results to job instability, leading to higher unemployment rates for gay and transgender people, as well as a wage gap between LBGT and straight workers. Furthermore, most gay and transgender individuals who don't experience discrimination or harassment in their workplace, have chosen to keep their sexuality a secret. Many young gay professionals entering the workforce choose to keep their sexual orientation to themselves to protect their career aspirations as many organizations lack the inclusion of the LGBT community in the workplace. Also, many hide in fear of being harassed or fired by co- workers and employers.
According to a report from the the HRC, only 7% of LGBT employees ranging from 18 to 24 years old are open about their sexuality at work. Consequently, as organizations and companies refrain from addressing and including LGBT issues in the workplace, they fail to attain prime performance and productivity from their minorities. When a LGBT employee devotes much of their energy to hiding their identity, their performance suffers due to their inability to express themselves freely.
In line with the prejudiced views many hold toward the LGBT community, members of the community are at a high risk of being victims of a hate-crime as the rate of hate-crime homicides and assaults against LGBT people are on the rise. A hate crime is a crime motivated by racial, ethnic, religious, gender, or sexual orientation, and many hate crimes against LGBT occur due to the criminal being homophobic. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2014, of 5,462 single-bias crimes 18.6% are motivated by sexual orientation, following behind racially motivated crimes. Nevertheless, hate crimes are underreported due to many victims who don't report the crimes.
However, many victims who do report homophobic crimes, avoid clarifying it as a hate crime due to the fear of consequences from the police. According to a report from the NCAVP, of members of the LGBT, non-transgender survivors are 3.7 times more likely to experience police violence compared to non-transgender survivors who are 7 times more likely to experience physical violence when cooperating with the police. To protect LGBT victims in hate-crimes, there is a Federal hate-crime law including crimes motivated by victim's gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity called the Matthew Shepard Act in 2009.
However, this law does not aid much in stopping or alleviating the violence. Instead it further exposes and expands the corrupt criminal justice system as the rate of homophobic crimes continues to remain prevalent and on the rise in the LGBT community.
In America, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community are constantly silenced in society. Author Audrey Lorde uses her words to encourage action in the "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action", thus reminding the American public to remain aware of the other communities that are not granted the privilege of having a voice. "What is most important to me must be made verbal and shared, even at the rick of having it bruised or misunderstood,” she writes, highlighting the importance of voice in any movement despite outside detractors. Her words can be applied to any mass effort, including the Civil Rights and Black Lives Matter movements. Her efforts, in conjugation with those of the gay community teach us that making one's voice heard is the first step to achieving real societal change.
Marriage Equality Act & Homosexual Goals in America. (2022, Dec 23). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/an-overview-of-the-marriage-equality-act-and-the-goal-of-the-homosexuals-in-the-american-society-essay
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