Purpose of This Blog

Like I said in my first post, part of the purpose is to provide myself a soapbox to talk about queer issues in pop culture, politics, or just conversations that I have with friends and family. I’ve been out of the closet for almost five years now, and I have never actually talked about how policies and the treatment of the LGBT community affect me (and that’s slightly ironic, given how active I am in politics around campus).

Many of the posts will deal with gender issues and how they relate to the LGBT community, because many stereotypes about LGBT involve gender nonconformity. The belief that LGBT people automatically don’t conform to the gender roles associated with their biological sex is used to justify discrimination against us.

I also want to tackle issues of diversity within the queer community, with a focus on class, race, and religion (later on I also want to cover queer people with disabilities, but only after reading more about that subject).

Finally, I want to address the suppression of queer voices in education. In the state I plan on teaching in, it is illegal for teachers below high school to mention LGBT people in the curriculum. There still are no anti-bullying policies to protect LGBT students. LGBT teachers can still be fired if they’re out.

I want to fight for my rights, but I don’t know how and I’m kind of scared. This blog gives me the chance to fight without the know how and the risks.