A common sentiment held by the general public is “but look how much we have changed.” This is in regards to all sorts of discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. While there has been less alienating sentiments in extremes, discrimination is still very prominent in society. Believing that there has already been so much change impacts how much work is being done for and by queer people. This sense of progress halts any continued efforts to preserve and push for more progress in an anti-discrimination society. This view of progress also allows people to hide under the veil of allyship without making efforts to not be transphobic and homophobic.
There has been plenty of legislation in the works and passed that present as progress, though are still harmful.
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- “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy prohibits the military from discriminating against closeted gay members and applicants but bars openly queer persons from military service. This policy was in effect from 1993 to 2011 when it was repealed. Don’t ask, don’t tell was pushed as a right to privacy but this view is very harmful to queer people because it says that queer people do not have a place here unless they keep their identity to themselves.
- Obergefell v. Hodges 2015 is the ruling that same-sex marriage should be protected by the constitution. This ruling is important however the language of same-sex marriage still enforces this gender binary.
These policies and laws reinforce heteronormativity despite the push for progress. Language used to make these cases still support heteronormativity because don’t ask don’t tell means people are expected to hide their identity in order to exist in society. Being forced to hide a person’s identity is not protecting them from prejudice and discrimination.
Only acknowledging progress also ignores the pressing issues that still exist.
One article writes about gender affirming care being the reason for the recent Club Q Massacre. “Jaimee Michell spoke to Tucker Carlson and suggested that shootings like the one at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., would continue until the “evil agenda” of gender-affirming health care was put to an end” (Cooper, 2022). Michell is the founder of Gays Against Groomers, a organization of gays against the sexualization, indoctrination, and medicalization of children. This once again shows the misconceptions of queerness, even from other gay people. This language is harmful because it is misrepresenting what it means to be transgender and receiving gender affirming care. This group amongst others describe gender affirming care as mutilation and sterilization being done to minors, spreading misinformation about gender affirming care and transitioning. The most common form of gender affirming care for children is puberty blockers which does not mutilate or sterilize the child.
By positioning this shooting as a fault of gender affirming care, Carlson, Michell, and others are intentionally creating misinformation about what being transgender is. This language is intentionally discriminatory and is intended to create more misconceptions about queerness.
In addition to this, there is growing anti-trans legislation such as Florida’s attempt to exclude gender affirming care from healthcare. There is now a federal lawsuit against Florida’s Medicaid program to exclude this from healthcare.
Violence against transgender people is on the rise, but this belief in progress is turning a blind eye to this widespread issue. Recently there was the Club Q massacre in which 5 people died, 2 of which were transgender. Another example of this is when a group of neo-Nazis being anti-transgender during an event of a transgender woman reading a story to children in Boston. There were concerns of these people getting violent with the woman and the children and their parents, therefore further events were canceled. Transgender people are being targeted which is an issue because there is no safe environment for them to exist in. These spaces are becoming unsafe for anyone on the basis of violence significantly impacts how people are able to openly be themselves safely. This violence should not be ignored because it is impacting the safety of everyone.