Oh, To Free The Pride Flag Hung Upon Gender Inequality

The flashing of cameras lit up the pavement across Christopher Park during the summer of 1969. The street was teeming with people, being ravaged just a few hours earlier. Only remnants of the Stonewall Inn glowed golden under the sun that day. The cops retracted their weaponry allowing the light to make it past the front door for the very first time. Though the gay and trans activists of the Stonewall Riots began fueling the fight for equality, this fight is yet to be won.

Many in opposition claim LGBTQ+ individuals are “unnatural” since a vast majority of gay and transgender people are incapable of reproduction. Several right-wing organizations like the Family Research Council believe that, “same-sex marriage will lead to human extinction because it does not serve the propagation of the species” (Rohy). Former Vice President, Mike Pence, makes it clear that on behalf of the United States, the government would “oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal legal status with heterosexual marriage,” (Lopez). Trump and his campaign feel as if conversion therapy, a concentration camp for those who identify as gay or transgender, is the most ethical decision.

But according to Dr, Pragya Agarwal, an award-winning behavioural scientist, their claims on reproduction are not just queerphobic, but sexist as well. You can identify as the sex you were born as and be soley attracted to the opposite while lacking the ability to reproduce. Ergo, infertility is not restricted to the queer community. Cisgender women face a “motherhood penalty” the moment they’re born, but are faced with hostility the moment they’re actually pregnant. A clear case of this took place in 2018 where Texas Representative, Henry Cuellar, was caught firing his acting chief of staff directly after her pregnancy announcement that October (Freedman). But on the other face of the coin, infertility is stigmatized because it breaks the feminine stereotype of producing offspring. There are 68,000 fertility treatment cycles a year on average, meaning 1 out of 6 families — 3.5 million people — are affected (Agarwal). Cisgender women not being able to have children is treated as a niche when really, infertility is 25% more common than type two diabetes (Agarwal). The main takeaway is that if LGBTQ+ couples are shunned for not having the ability to conceive, the same could be said for many straight and cisgender couples as well, ferreting out the hypocrisy in this blatant act of queerphobia.

The sun is setting quick as candy wrappers hit the floor. Little girls grin in poofy pink dresses and so do their brothers in heavy silver armor. Alas, it’s Halloween! Many stories that inspire these costumes have the hero, a strong male figure who time and time again, save a pretty princess, nourishing the hero’s self-fulfillment. This ancient stereotype in disguise as a harmless male saviour narrative puts a spotlight on gender in children’s storybooks; the exact foundation for unhealthy parenting. To avoid drowning in pools of oblivion, children need to be taught that a woman's problems don’t melt away simply because of a man’s presence and vice versa. Sam, a gay man, was forced to move back in with his parents after the coronavirus outbreak. His mom prayed every day that he’d be “delivered from sin,” and as a result, he would rather live untrue to himself than with remorse for his entire existence. Nicky, having been kicked out of the house before her 19th birthday, was too sent back to her family during quarantine. Her parents barely acknowledge her as a breathing human being and only refer to her when calling her homosexuality a disease (Hunte). Like Nicky and Sam, 1.6 million LGBTQ+ teens are otherwise homeless (Seaton) disregarding the virus just because their families don’t accept them for who they are. An incredibly large number of people are robbed of their fundamental human rights. More and more households become unsafe environments and embracing a queer identity, yet alone telling anyone, becomes nearabout impossible. We are raised with the delusion of a binary understanding of sex and gender, therefore, the fact that there are cons is the only con.

Pride flags are selling out! Films finally have canonically trans characters! As of this year, more people are coming out and revealing their gender and/or sexual identities at an earlier age. Representation in media is slowly but surely encouraging many to come out and normalizing LGBTQ+ visibility and pride (Rebecca). But while lifting a strenuous burden, coming out can pressure others to do so at unsafe times. If you direct your attention back to the thousands of treacherous and unaccepting households, you’d realize that coming out must be approached with caution. Yet to truly understand, we have to recognize why coming out even exists. You don’t see very many kids mulling over telling their parents they identify as a cisgender heterosexual practically since there is no societal bigotry against them. The fact that gay and trans people need to take that extra step to feel validated is a primary example of oppression. Because of modern-day sexism, same-sex relationships and gender multifariousness is automatically distinct from the standards set up to “build and unite” commonwealth. The entire concept of coming out is predicated on superannuated gender norms that result in devastating repercussions. 37 cases of the murders of transgender or gender nonconforming people have been recorded just this year, being the most deaths on an annual basis according to the Human Rights Campaign totalling 202 cases since 2013 (Heyward). We’ve proved as a nation to make iniquitous decisions based off of sexist social stigmas deeply rooted in our civilization and have consequently wronged the LGBTQ+ community.

Numerous people would argue that being cisgender and heterosexual is more “right” than the queer community whom impose gender. In actuality, the general LGBTQ+ population ignores toxic gender norms, and if not, reverses them by removing the incentive for people to impose gender at all. The LGBTQ+ community finally getting proper representation shows that love and gender are indeed mutually exclusive and respect is a criterion regardless of gender. The only people who see things through gender are those who learn to. Violence against discussions on feminism and LGBTQ+ rights skyrocketed during 2018, 2019 (Shevchenko), and especially 2020 with the presidential election. A great majority of those marginalized are attacked because of other’s stances on equality and gender. Russia’s “homosexualism” propaganda law parallels Ukraine’s from 2012 in which those who identify as gay or transgender are penalized. Punishments range from fines to death penalties (Shevchenko), hence putting an end to people in these countries protesting and fighting for equal rights. A decline in support only magnifies the reproductive expectation of heterosexuality and if anything, builds momentum for additional gender norms. If homophobes believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman rather than regardless of gender, they’d be the ones imposing gender. If transphobes believe that one’s gender is destined to be the sex they were born as, they’re restraining people by their genitalia. Their argument in and of itself presents equality when really, it’s a facade for the opposite.

Prejudice against the queer community doesn’t stray far from the obsolete sexism that continues to linger in society. Though we bleed the same blood, illiberality manages to push its way through the crowd we call the LGBTQ+ movement. We need to stop dreading how many names we don’t know of and instead take genuine action. By fortifying the very gender norms we should be trying to spirit away, half of us close doors the other half opens.

We can not risk taking one step back for the slim chance of two forwards.

Works Cited

Rohy, Valerie. “On Homosexual Reproduction.” ResearchGate, Mar. 2012, www.researchgate.net/publicati... Abstract

Lopez, German. “Mike Pence Said Gay People Shouldn't Be Protected from Discrimination in 2000.” Vox, Vox, 1 Apr. 2015, www.vox.com/2015/4/1/8326141/mike-pence-wants-it-to-be-legal-to-discriminate-against-gay-people.

Freedman, Jeffrey. “7 Cases of Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace.” Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys PLLC, 14 Aug. 2019, www.jeffreyfreedman.com/pregnancy-discrimination-in-the-workplace/.

Agarwal, Dr. Pragya. “Infertility In The Workplace: Women Are Still Suffering In Silence.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Mar. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2020/03/08/infertility-in-the-workplace-women-are-still-suffering-in-silence/?sh=33fa33ae2c30.

Hunte, Ben. “Coronavirus: 'I'm Stuck in Isolation with My Homophobic Parents'.” BBC News, BBC, 26 Mar. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/uk-52039832.

Seaton, Jaimie. “Homeless Rates for LGBT Teens Are Alarming, but Parents Can Make a Difference.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2018, www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-homeless-lgbt-teens-parents-20170329-story.html.

Rebecca. “National Coming Out Day: Pros and Cons.” National Coming Out Day: Pros and Cons | Blog | Students | The University of Aberdeen, Published by Students, University of Aberdeen, 11 Oct. 2020, www.abdn.ac.uk/students/student-channel/blog/national-coming-out-day-pros-and-cons/.

Heyward, Giulia, and Douglas S. Wood. “A Record Number of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People Have Been Killed This Year.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Nov. 2020, edition.cnn.com/2020/11/20/us/transgender-deaths-2020-trnd/index.html.

Shevchenko, Olena. “LGBT and Feminism: Why Does Gender Equality Bother Conservatives?: Heinrich Böll Stiftung: Kyiv - Ukraine.” Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, 25 Dec. 2019, ua.boell.org/en/2019/12/25/lgbt-and-feminism-why-does-gender-equality-bother-conservatives.