It 's almost comedic that of all the places I, a gender-fluid queer feminist, could be born It turned out to be the rural town of Norwalk, Ohio. With literal cornfields surrounding my house and more churches than pizza places, Norwalk is about as conservative as you can get. With an Ethiopian father, Italian mother, biracial adopted sister, Latino foster brother, and LGBT family members it was obvious to me from a young age that differences originating from race, religion, sexuality, or gender should be celebrated and not squandered. As I entered middle school and eventually high school I came to the realization that my family 's compassion for minorities was not a popular mindset. With feminist principles by my side and Joan Jett in my heart, I spoke out against the bigoted behavior that I saw from my peers and even staff alike. When a …show more content…
When a teacher made transphobic comments during class I had an immediate meeting with my principal regarding how those comments would harm trans students and though I am a respected student my concerns were dismissed. It was clear the topic was not up for discussion. I hosted a meeting at my home inviting students to write our state and local representatives as well as have discussions about bigotry in our town. In January, I marched with my family and close friend in the 2017 Women 's March in Cleveland, Ohio and I call my senators so often that they are higher on the recent area of my contact list than my own mother. I also attended a vigil and march in front of my town 's courthouse to bring awareness to the seriousness of domestic violence. My family and I drove to Ann Arbor to experience and support the 2017 March for Science in April. Using my art and writing as an outlet, I express myself and my beliefs hoping that others who are the same will feel less alone. I 'm excited for my future college life and want to educate myself and learn more about the world outside of Norwalk to the best of my
“She wanted the wait staff to be middle aged black men, wearing white coats and black bow ties”. My jaw dropped. I could not believe what I was hearing. I instantly had such dislike and anger towards this woman. Upon doing research for this week’s discussion I learned the law suit that was brought against her for sexual harassment and discrimination were thrown out.
Without brave women activists like these, awareness of racial and sexual identities may not have the powerful presence it does today. The Collective’s Statement served as a fervent mission to demolishing all oppressive practices and helped to forge movements within our current society. Today’s
Often times when thinking of the south and southerners what comes to mind is the image of a white man who’s a manual laborer maybe with a stay-at-home wife and some kids. While this may be the typical image of a southerner it is far from the reality of many southerners. This stereotypical image of a southerner is present in those both inside and outside of the south which is why other types of southerners are overlooked when talking about the south. The LGBT+ community is one such type of southern community that is often not discussed and gets buried under the rest of southern culture and community. Although, there are some works and discussions that include LGBT+ southerners either outright or subtlety behind the scenes.
Walking through the hallways at school you have the opportunity to see all different kinds of diversity. People of all different races, genders, and religions surround you everyday. Being a part of the community and being a good citizen means including and accepting the people around you. And not treating them any differently than you would want to be treated yourself. Loretta Lynch’s speech, “Address Announcing Complaint Against North Carolina et al re Transgender Law” uses pathos and ethos to advocate for the transgender community to allow them to use the gendered bathroom they are comfortable in.
The feminist movement and the gay rights movement are two communities that have been fighting for their rights for a long time and are similar in many ways, yet different in many others. While they are both social movements, the feminist movement’s main focus is on women’s rights, while the gay rights movement’s main focus is on gay rights. Similar to each other or not, the two movements could (and do) benefit from each other. Both women and gay people have faced discrimination due to being seen as lesser in the eyes of society. However, the reasons for this discrimination they face/have faced are very different.
‘ "I thank God," wrote a 68-year-old lesbian, "I have lived long enough to see my kind emerge from the shadows and join the human race." ‘ (Time Magazine). This excerpt from an issue of Time Magazine honoring Harvey Milk included this snippet from a letter written by a member of the LGBT+ community. Milk’s perseverance provided him with the key to success when running for the Board of Supervisors, but it also gave hope to LGBT+ members across the nation that they would no longer have to be afraid of who they
Therefore, candidates have to take this issue seriously when campaigning in hoping of winning an election. Despite feminism rightfully on the rise, this event at Columbia University has stemmed a fiery crusade against sexual violence and domestic violence on college campuses around the world, especially in the United
Women would usually attribute discrimination to personnel or particular departments but did not view it as an institutional and systemic issue. Rose (2005) states, “ It is important to note that the emergence of political efforts to end sex discrimination emanated not from a large and organized women’s movement but from a small cadre of elites who had firsthand experiences with sex discrimination,” (p. 161). With several testimonies and investigations of sex discrimination in education initiated by this small cadre of elites, political and public awareness of the issue became more prominent. With the passage of Title IX, girls and women were treated not just more equally in higher education, but in other areas as such as athletics, STEM, and pregnancy and
The late mother of my father, Dorothy, marched in her hometown of Selma, Alabama with Dr. Martin Luther King in order to create a more positive and greater disparity for the African American citizens. Dorothy, while pregnant with my father and so close to her due date, felt it necessary to march with Dr. King. The symbolism of the walk for equality meant the world to her; it was the
Our country is by no means perfect and, therefore, in no way devoid of fault. Occasionally the country regresses, and it seems that, for a time, we go against the overwhelming public opinion that unites us as citizens. Most recently, the relapse in our values against the preservation of LGBT+ rights has led me to question my hope for the future of this country. The call for a transgender military ban by President Trump and the United States’ refusal to denounce the death penalty against gay sex in the recent UN vote calling for its condemnation serve as decisions contrary to our country’s quest for equality. Despite these regressions, I know that, in the end, progress will prevail.
The cultural war between majority and minority has been an ongoing struggle in America because we believe in Democracy. A government ruled by the people and for the people is tested when minorities and majorities butt heads on social issues. Many times the majority has the political power to influence legislation to the detriment of the minority leaving members of the minority group to seek justice through the court system. This was the case for the LGBT community when they fought against Colorado’s 2nd Amendment which they felt limited their protections as a minority class. Colorado, in 1992, was one of the first states to experience a rising cultural conflict between the LGBT community and religious groups.
As the bus pulled into the campground for the first time, I was worrisome about what was ahead for the next five days. But when I left, my mind was filled with endless knowledge and my heart was completed. Those five days, although very short, allowed me to grow beautifully into the person that I am now. The experience that was gained gave me the idea of the open-minded person that I intend to be.
Within the club I worked hard to solve problems faced by LGBTQ youth in my community. I helped form the school's first pride event, organized a fundraiser for LGBTQ youth homelessness, taught my peers about LGBTQ identities and orientations, and proposed and helped lead a campaign to get gender neutral bathrooms on my school’s current and future campuses. While not a end all solution, this work
Factors that contribute to privilege, power, and oppression include who has power, how is that power being used, and what social groups are being affected. This year I began working in Target’s return department where employees are supposed to, what feels like stereotyping, call out shady and weird-acting people who are most often appearing to be houseless or on drugs. Because of certain types of individuals that frequent our story in Janzen Beach, we do not return certain products without proof of purchase. However, one day we made an exception for on customer and did not for another by a manager. Later in the day I confronted the manager and expressed my frustrations that our personal biases were getting in the way of helping our customers equally and expressed that certain people or groups are less likely to express their frustrations or ask for a manager when they are denied a return in comparison to others.
People once used to enslaved people and abused people who simply had different skin tones; they were not conceived as human under the law. Now as history has shown us, that wasn’t justice. In every civil rights conflict we are only able to recognize the just point of view years after the fact and when the next conflict comes along we are blind once again. (Amanda) As I’m writing down this paper we are repeating history once in for all. LGBT communities are just HUMANS who are