This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated May 21, 2021
Monday, May 17 was International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The day commemorates the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s decision to remove homosexuality from their international classification of diseases. The year in which the WHO did that, was 1990.
It is almost incomprehensible that it was just over 31 years ago that the United Nation’s agency responsible for public health was classifying homosexuality as a disease. Up until 1973, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental disorder.
Our society has certainly made progress with respect to how members of the LGBTQIA community are treated, but there is still much work to be done, especially when it comes to our kids. According to the CDC, when compared to heterosexual youth, LGB youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate, are almost five times more likely to have attempted suicide, and one in six of those in high school have seriously considered suicide in the past year.
The statistics are even more stark for trans people. Four in ten transgender adults say they have attempted suicide, with 92% of those having done so before the age of 25. There is no doubt that being an LGBTQIA kid in America is difficult for most, but family support makes a huge difference. Youth from highly rejecting families are more than eight times as likely to attempt suicide than kids from more supportive families.
A Gallup poll from February estimated that 5.6 percent of Americans identify as LGBTQ, which was an increase from their last such a poll in 2017, which found that the number was 4.5 percent. In 2012, it was 3.5 percent.
You will find more infographics at Statista
The polling results showed a definite generational difference. Of young adults, ages 18 to 23, 16 percent consider themselves something other than heterosexual, while only 2 percent of those 56 and older responded the same way. This does not mean that the rate of non-hetero Americans is eight times higher among Generation Z, compared to Baby Boomers. It means that younger generations are more willing to be open about their identity.
One indicator of how society has changed drastically over the past few decades is by looking at support for same-sex marriage. Today, two-thirds of Americans support it. Twenty-five years ago, more than two-thirds opposed it. Much progress has been made, but unfortunately, a human rights issue that should not be political, seems to divide along those lines still today. While five out of six Democrats support same-sex marriage, less than half of Republicans do.
As polling has shown, many people’s views have evolved and younger generations are much more accepting of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Given how difficult life can be for non-heterosexual and/or non-gender-conforming kids, everyone just needs to accept everyone else for who they are.
Last year, on June 14, 15,000 people marched in Brooklyn, in support of black trans lives. Transgender people of color are disproportionately the victims of bias attacks and murder, as well as police brutality. As we near the beginning of Pride Month, it is worth noting that the impetus for the first Pride March – the Stonewall Riots of 1969 – were touched off by police actions, conducted by their Public Morals Squad, that were not only homophobic, but particularly transphobic.
Three months ago, New York State repealed the Walking While Trans law, which had led to countless people being arrested over the past 45 years simply for being in public while trans. Trans people of color had been disproportionately targeted.
Just a few years ago, most of Southern Brooklyn was represented in the State Senate and Assembly by conservative elected officials who had voted against marriage equality, propagated transphobic narratives about public restrooms, supported barring transgender student-athletes from participating in sports, and even shared a homophobic joke on social media.
Having elected legislators from the left to represent our values in Albany, bills like the Walking While Trans repeal, GENDA (Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act), and the statewide ban on gay conversion therapy of minors have been made law. We all need to support our LGBTQIA community, as well as the elected officials who support treating everyone with respect and equality under the law.
