Category — Queer Youth

            By Melanie Driscoll

           The recent suicides within the GLBT community have received attention and media coverage nationwide. The coverage has gone as far as celebrities participating in public service announcements. It seems that suddenly Hollywood is concerned about bullying and the dire effects it has. Yet, for years Hollywood has only added to the stigma that nontraditional sexual orientation is a bad thing. In movies gays are stereotyped, shamed, killed, raped or kill themselves. No one has stopped to question how influential films can be, nor how hypocritical it is for certain celebrities to participate in these public service announcements.

             Films subject people to gender normative and teach that men always like sports, women and power. The women are portrayed as humble servants who marry the right man according to society’s standards. The man is usually the provider while the woman stays home and care for the children and home. For centuries this image has been branded into the minds of adults, teens and children. Even cartoons are guilty. Cinderella marries Prince Charming, the perfect man who has power. Ariel also  abandons who she really is so she can marry the prince. She gives up her voice in order to win him. This sends messages to children of every gender that love can only be found with the opposite sex, and  that you must suffer in some way to achieve it. Only the Princess wears the beautiful, flowing gown. The Prince wears a suit and together they hold hands and walk off into the land of happily ever after. These images stick with children as they grow into teens.

            Of course once children become teens, their taste in films change. Most teens lose interest in the cartoons they watch religiously as a child. Naturally their interests mature and so they move on to films with real people in them. Since these films feature real actors, these films seem more realistic and have a potent effect on the way teens view the world. Teens are impressionable and look to culture to find some scapegoat from the confusion and angst they feel, as well as a “proper” identity. However, what happens when part of the confusion a teen has is about their gender or sexual orientation? What happens when they look around and see their peers applauding and glorifying fictional character’s like Tony Stark, the Iron Man; a well known womanizer, with power, money and a lavish lifestyle. I understand this movie in particular is based on a comic book, but what about the female main characters in movies? How do you think a confused teenage girl feels when she watches two men fight over the main female character Bella from The Twilight Series? When teen girls see the two boys fighting over Bella, they associate Bella with significant beauty and power. This influences teen girls to strive to be wanted by only men as much as Bella is. Much like when a teen boy watches the prominence Tony Starks has, they too want that attention. Both characters mentioned are fictional ones from books, but when they are featured in popular films, they tend to have more of an impact on the culture. People in general are more apt to watch a film than read a book, especially teens. When the normative is featured in blockbuster hits, sexually confused teens may be inspired to copycat the straight characters.

            Now lets look at the opposite spectrum of films. Instead of displaying gender normative in films, queers and trans are stereotyped. You have the “sissy” gay man who loves fashion and always wants to look fabulous. They are always giving fashion advice and tend to have “fag hags” surrounding them. An example of this would be Nathan Hale’s character in The Bird Cage. These stereotypes were created when films were first produced to make people laugh. They still do make people laugh and to a teen the laughter could be misconstrued as making fun of how “gay” the person is. You also have the stereotype of the man with a six pack, short shorts, bleached hair, and is known to be promiscuous. To openly gay male teens this is an image that perhaps it is how they should act, because it seems the majority of queers in movies look and act this way. This can have a dire effect on a teen’s individuality. Promiscuity is frowned upon in our narrow minded culture. If you add homosexuality into it, it can most certainly scare a teen into keeping their sexuality to themselves because they do not want to be labeled.

Then you have the popular female stereotypes of lesbians. They wear men clothing, have short hair cuts, or a bald head, or have that infamous mullet. They wear combat boots and walk like “a man.” They are called “Butches.” Some people may feel comfortable enough to call themselves this, but in films and images, Butches are not attractive. They don’t shave or wear dresses. There is also the “Lipstick” lesbian. The lesbian who wears dresses, shaves, wears pretty jewelry and only sips from martini glasses. These are the stereotypes that films have featured.  The latter is not criticized as much as the former. In reality the latter is often mistaken as a straight female. To a queer female teen this sends a message that they must look either way because they are queer. Most teens either want to blend in or stand out. If they are openly gay, they want to make a statement. The stereotypes I mention above are commonly known, therefore teens tend to copy the styles to draw attention to themselves. Every teen wants attention and most are rebellious. A woman dressed as a man is not the normative, which would draw attention from their peers. As for the “Lipstick” lesbian, openly gay teens may misconstrue this as true beauty. It also draws attention from both males and females, which in turn gives them a false sense of self esteem. They are wanted by men, but have no interest in them, giving them the power to turn down men and tell them they are gay. They may also think that lesbians want a physically beautiful lover. Society pigeonholes women with images of what they must look like regardless of sexual orientation. For a teen lesbian they may look up to someone like Portia de Rossi, an openly gay lesbian who fulfills the stereotype of a “Lipstick” lesbian. Teens rarely have a clue whom they really are and look to our culture for an idol. Some cannot grasp the concept that they can look however they want and be openly gay. There is also closeted teen lesbians whom decide to look like the “Lipstick” lesbian, so that they are not picked out of a crowd and bullied, because they look like a “normal” girl.

Bisexuals are often stereotyped. I don’t think I need to point out films that feature bisexual women as being a straight man’s wet dream, and by being represented as such, bisexuals and women are objectified. On the opposite side of that, bisexual men are looked at as disgusting and wrong. This is a double standard bisexuals of all genders have endured through out the decades. Trans of any kind are portrayed in films as having a mental problem.

Even in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which personally I love, Dr. Frank-n-Furter appears to be a sadistic, crazed person. However, this film has an aspect that many films do not have. Dr. Frank-n-Furter is a proud Transsexual. That isn’t always the case in films though. Cross dressing was first featured in silent films as another form of comedy. Most teens probably haven’t watched any older movies, so let’s fast forward to films made in the last 20 years featuring Trans. In the movie Dressed To Kill Michael Cane portrays a Transgender murderer. Once again, proving my theory that Trans featured in films are often portrayed as sick individuals. Let us not forget about Silence of The Lambs. This features a murderer who skins women, and is also a cross dresser.

             There is too much violence that films have demonstrated against the GLBT community. In the movie The Children’s Hour, a 1961 film based on a play of the same name, Audrey Hepburn, and Shirley MacLaine are lovers. When a young girl starts to notice the “abnormal” relationship the two women have, she tells her grandmother and the story starts to circulate. In the end Shirley MacLaine’s character cannot harbor the shame she feels. She hangs herself and Audrey Hepburn finds her dangling from the ceiling. This message is sent to teens in the early 60’s and adults as well, that a person should feel ashamed to love someone of the same sex. This stigma that has influenced future generations.

Then there are the films based on tragic reality. Boys Don’t Cry for example was about Brandon Lee. A female by birth, but a male in his heart. He was raped, beaten and killed by Trans-phobics when he was found out not to be a cis-man. Most know the story of Matthew Shepard. An openly gay man who was tied to a fence, beaten and left to die. His story has been turned into a powerful play and also a movie adaption of the play called The Laramie Project. Then we have the movie Philadelphia. A story inspired by the real life events of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who was fired after his partners found out he had AIDS and was a homosexual. He won his case, but died before the jury came to their conclusion. Lastly we have the film Milk, a story about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected into California’s public office. He was an activist within the GLBT community and pushed and won for propositions that protected gays. He was assassinated by Dan White, who was angry that his seat in The San Francisco Board of Supervisors was going to be replaced by someone who was more in line with the diversity of White’s district and The Board’s liberalism. He blamed Milk for the change and shot him five times. Films feature these stories to make people aware of the violence and hate. However, the adaptation of a queer’s and Tran’s tragic ending just turns them into the hapless hero. This sends a message to teens that violence in the real world just happens. They become scared and fearful for their lives.

            Celebrities shouldn’t only speak out when media has pushed issues, nor should they make public service announcements telling queers “It Gets Better.” What they should be doing is taking a closer look at the business they are in, and speak out against Hollywood’s adaptation of the GLBT community. Not all celebrities are guilty of this. Some have come out as being gay, bisexual and queer allies. Some have been featured in documentaries against Hollywood’s endeavors. Some have given speeches during World Wide or National televised events. Others have made musicals against the inequality we face. For these celebrities, I am grateful.

There is appearing in the press recently the story about a 17-year-old trans girl who was physically attacked by other residents and verbally abused by staff every day for almost a year and a half [click here to view one of the many pieces].  Sadly this is a story that repeats itself day in and day out, be it in Philly, NYC, Connecticut or wherever ~ be it a homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter, transitional living and so on.  Ct TransAdvocacy and others have done significant work in Connecticut educating and promoting the need for safe shelters (homeless, DV, transitional) for trans and gender non-conforming folks.  Though sadly this is an ongoing struggle due to staff and case worker turnover; and so there is an ongoing need for awareness, training, advocacy, activism and policy creation within our diverse system of shelters.

I recently came back from the CSAC conference in Detroit and one of the workshops was about housing and how the anarchist community can work within this venue.  As folks talked about the issues around home ownership, foreclosures, etc, I injected into the dialogue the fundamental issues around sheltering for queer youth and adults.  I was rather disappointed the dialogue did not get the traction I had hoped, though the queer presence at that workshop seemed small.  From the days when the Atlanta Shelters put out signs “No Transgenders Allowed” to stories like that in Philly, we as queer activists and anarchists must be on the front lines of this sheltering issue and constantly working to create safe shelters for all.

Included here are links to the NYC Trans Shelter policy, Boston Trans Shelter Policy and the NGLTF Transitioning Our Shelters report. Hopefully one day soon we will have similar policies here in Connecticut.  Till then it is a daily struggle to keep aware of those shelters that are queer friendly and affirming.

**** PUBLIC SCHOOLS CLOSING, CHARTERS OPENING ****

“Without education, you are not going anywhere in this world.” — Malcolm X

>: JOIN THE CIPHER! :<

WHO: Youth 13 - 24
DATE: Thursday Aug 20, 2009
TIME: 5 - 7 PM
There will be refreshments!

St. Katherine Drexel Parrish
175 Ruggles St
Roxbury, MA.

>: Do you know the difference between Boston Public Schools and Charter Schools?
>: Why is Corporate America so invested in public education?
>: Do you feel like your voice is being heard?
>: Do you think there is a connection between the drop out rate and youth violence?
>: Do you know about the School to Prison or the Military Pipeline?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions …. [Read more →]

Contact:
Cindi Creager
Director of National News
(646) 871-8019
creager@glaad.org <mailto:creager@glaad.org>
Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org <mailto:ferraro@glaad.org>
June 2, 2009— In a lengthy May 28 tirade on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5 FM and Reno, Nevada on KDOT 104.5 FM, hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States verbally attacked transgender children. While discussing a recent story about a transgender child in Omaha, Nebraska and her parents’ decision to support her transition, the two hosts spent more than 30 minutes explicitly promoting child abuse of and making cruel, dehumanizing and defamatory comments toward transgender children. [Read more →]

Written by Dykonoclast

At 9AM on Tuesday April 28th, somewhere between 50-70 people came to the iconic Park Street Church across from Boston Common to attend an Exodus Ministries training.  Attendees watched a video wherein ‘former homosexuals’ and ‘former lesbians’ spoke of the power of god to heal ’sexual brokenness’ and restore heterosexual desires to the most fallen of souls.  During the ‘male homosexuality’ portion of the training, ‘former homosexual’ Jeff Buchanan shared his experience of having turned from his homosexual past, as well as the causes of male homosexuality, which include resentment of male authority and lack of bonding with fathers.  [Read more →]

By 365gay Newscenter Staff

A study of LGBT students in the nation’s schools has found that students of color are the most vulnerable.

The study - Shared Differences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students of Color in Our Nation’s Schools - was prepared by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

It documents the experiences of over 2,000 LGBT middle and high school students of color who were African American, Latino, Asian, Native American, and multiracial. [Read more →]

Got ya!  betcha you thought this was another piece on Marriage! Well it ain’t! To get a pulse of what are the critical issues facing urban Queer Youth (and there are many), check out the website and amazing organization FIERCE ~ a collective of queer youth of color in NYC.  The work and passions of this organization are well known and respected by many of us, and so it would be instructive to bring the readers of QWB to the attention of their work for “equality” and hopefully support of this movement.  And the ancestral roots of FIERCE go back to Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P Johnson and STAR (Street Transvestite Activist Revolutionaries) House which provided shelter for homeless NYC youth street queens. Below is an excerpt and clip from their video Fenced Out!  Perhaps this could be on the movie list for a QWB Dinner, Movie and Speak Out. And let us not forget the work Sister Regina, is doing and has done, in support of our Hartford Queer Youth of Color through her work as founder of FACE (Featuring All Colors and Ethnicities), the LGBT Issues Commission and so many other urban youth initiatives she has undertaken.  And these [Read more →]