Maldonado 1

Leonard Maldonado

Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

21 October 2019

Space is a very important detail, influencing the way many people act towards their

identity. The LGBTQIA community has become a prominent group in American culture, going

against the US legislature to fight for their rights. California seems to be the state that accepts

this community most, having pride parades in San Francisco, and a very diverse population.

Although the LGBTQIA community seems to be more accepted, the community themselves still

feel threatened by the American community, either by violence, or the lack of acceptance. People

of the LGBTQIA community choose to hide their sexual orientation from co-workers. violence

against the group, and the mental effects on teens within this group, although one thing is for

sure, these people are forced to hide.

Moreover, teenagers are often joked about being weakly minded within today's society,

by depending more on technology, and satisfaction on social media. This shows that teenagers

care about their identity, especially when it comes to how other people see them as a person.

Being discriminated against can be very damaging to a person and being part of a group that is

more discriminated against than others will harm a person’s psyche. In the article “LGBT

adolescents in America: Depression, discrimination and suicide” by Ahuja from the Los Angeles

LGBT Center, The LGBTQIA community is at a higher risk of deteriorating mental health.

Bullying and discrimination are the main causes of this issue, and both together can be

dangerous. As reported by Abuja,” This combination has led to 4-5 times higher rates of
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attempted suicide by LGBT adolescents.” (Ahuja) These statistics make America be a very

dangerous place for the youth of the LGBTQIA community. The level of danger that this group is

facing is threatening their identity and becoming a threat to themselves. But how do I feel about

the community.

I have seen the LGBTQIA community to be full of very creative individuals, the most

artistic in my school we’re LGBT. Seeing the many make-up tutorials that males do in YouTube

shows that creativity is one of their main focuses. I myself do not associate with the community,

but being around them showed me their expression, and bold nature. Due to the issues against the

LGBT community, boldness is a necessity. We have covered how the workplace is not a

comfortable space for this community, the world of adolescents is harmful as well, but the open

world is most dangerous to this community.

Clearly, discriminatory violence is not a new topic, being well known for the aggression,

lack of cause, and how impactful these crimes are. The LGBTQIA community is a minority

group, therefore people within are susceptible. Along with the community, many of the people in

this community are of ethnic minority groups, and women are more heavily discriminated

against due to all the groups that they fit within. In the article by Doug Meyer, “An Intersectional

Analysis of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People’s Evaluations of Anti-

Queer Violence”. The author explains the discriminatory issues begin to stack up, hence feminist

intersectionality, different types of LGBTQIA people experience different forms of

discrimination based on what they fit. Something surprising is the fact that this group is also

discriminatory within itself, white middle-class LGBT people marginalize the low-class colored

LGBTQIA community, showing race plays a big role. Myer explains that,” LGBT people of

color regularly interpreted their violent experiences as attempts to punish them for not
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appropriately representing their racial communities.”(Myer) This displays that the community is

endangered by their own ethnic groups as well, this shows how widely discriminated the group

can be. As Meyer demonstrates in another point, “a male stranger telling [The Victim] to “take

that white shit home” and realize that her girlfriend “just needed a dick.” The man became

physically violent—punching Latoya’s arm—when she told him that “no woman would touch”

him, since he was “disgusting.”(Meyer) Homosexuality and the ideals of the LGBTQIA

community are generally looked down upon, this quote shows to what extent this can be. The

community is focused on the freedom of self-expression, but it seems that they need to hide.

Indeed, hiding is what some members of the community resort to, in order to not face the

modern reality of being a member. Personally, I have had friends who varied their expression of

homosexuality, one friend was very exorbitant, wearing makeup, and telling others that he was

gay. Another friend was known to be gay expressing himself mildly, the only expression of his

sexuality was when he was in the gay-straight alliance when he could talk about it. Another

friend was very quiet about it, only discussing it in the gay-straight alliance, as it felt safer, and

was closed off other students. If you wonder how I got this information, I just happened to be

practicing for a performance in the same classroom as this event. In the article by Doug Meyer,

“LGBT people of color frequently confront a “politics of respectability,” whereby they are

discouraged from presenting themselves in a negative way and, therefore, confront pressures to

hide their sexuality or gender identity.” (Meyer) It should be noted that White LGBTQIA

members do not hide for this reason, showing that the group is presented with pressure from

another culture.

The workplace is a space that has evolved greatly since the past decades, going from

cubicle style offices, to relaxed open zones. The prioritized idea behind this evolution Is about
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making the workers comfortable, letting the creativity come to them. Tech companies such as

valve and google employ these tactics, as they are heavily reliant on the creative output of their

workforce to create successful products. The ability to have a worker to be able to think is very

important to the modern workplace, but to minority groups, such as the LGBTQIA, this is a

challenge. In an article by USA Today, “Workers still hiding sexual orientation”. Although

improvements have been made to reduce discrimination, the Community does not feel

comfortable or safe. Most of these people are afraid of the negative consequences that will occur

if they reveal their sexual orientation. USA Today states that, “negative workplace climate that

affects productivity, retention, and professional relationships. At least once in the past year, 42%

of LGBT employees report lying about their personal lives.” (USA Today) This shows that the

LGBTQIA are sensitive to the environment they work at, and this can cause many issues to

workflow, and a variety of ideas. These workplace issues may be caused by some people not

being educated on the problems that the community is facing, and what is offensive to them.

USA Today shows that “A total of 58% of LGBT workers say someone at work makes a joke or

derogatory comment about LGBT people at least once in a while.”(USA Today) This proves that

the modern workplace is still an unwelcoming environment for this group, and improvements are

yet to be made. Although this group does not feel safe, the younger people within this group are

more vulnerable.

All things considered, The LGBTQIA community is part of the groups that are

discriminated against for who they are. This group cannot perform to its fullest potential in the

workforce as they are treated as a joke. With the threat of homosexuality being very bad, many

people are afraid to expose their true feeling, or the ways they want to live. The culture that

surrounds this group makes adolescents that fit within the group to become conflicted with their
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identity and develop serious thoughts that can push them over the edge. Although violence itself

is very common within all groups that are discriminated against, it inflicts the community with a

feeling that they will be in danger of violence if they stay members. All these issues combined

show why the LGBTQIA community is heavily affected by the space where they are. Because of

this, some members are forced to hide, keeping their true sexuality a secret. This can change,

educating people that many people have different ideas and values.

Work’s Cited

Ahuja, A. "LGBT Adolescents in America: Depression, Discrimination and Suicide."

European Psychiatry 33 (2016): S70-S70. Web. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.

Meyer, Doug. "An Intersectional Analysis of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

(LGBT) People’s Evaluations of Anti-Queer Violence." Gender & Society 26.6

(2012): 849-73. Web. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.

"Workers still hiding sexual orientation." USA Today, Nov. 2009, p. 6. Gale Academic

OneFile Select, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A213855400/EAIM?

u=csunorthridge&sid=EAIM&xid=ddd88390. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.