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Jonathan Vera

Professor Rodrick

Queer Studies 115

12/06/17

Why the Queer Identity is Hindered

The LGBT community seen itself gone through many changes throughout history. It wasnt

too commonly known over the world and now you have all these parades and events going on

along with all these celebrations. However, there are still a lot of people out there who view this

whole queer movement as the joke on the century. People discriminate the queer community all

over social media by calling them names and making inappropriate slurs. The queer community

has been frowned upon by many individuals and it continues to be a problem today; not only

here in the U.S, but also all over the world. Some people view the LGBTQ community as

monsters and frown upon what they believe in because it isnt normal. Social media has

hindered the queer identity due to the fact that many individuals do not approve of what the

LGBTQ stands for and what it actually means to be queer.

One of the issues the community faces is discrimination by others on social media such as

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. In an article by University Wire titled, Student Athlete

Tweets Anti-LGBTQ Remarks, a student from Saint Josephs University is in heat for tweeting

offensive remarks on Twitter. Not only is the student held accountable for this situation, but so is

the university and the university athletic department. The universitys athletic department had

recently had issues with students making such remarks and were monitored due to their behavior,

however it wasnt enforced. The student tweeted Never will understand how dyke women get

off during sex, he also commented about finding out his friend was gay, just found out that my
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childhood friend is a gip smh what is this world coming to. When comments like that are made

it can make a lot of people uncomfortable and feel like there is something wrong with them.

There are individuals that have had enough of holding it in and when people like this guy make

comments such as this, it forces other people to hold it in even longer. Once that happens it can

lead to problems mentally, physically and emotionally. The LGBT community isnt accepted

widely by everyone and people will always have something to say about it. However, there is

that percentage that stand up for them such as the athletics department of the university and their

zero tolerance for discrimination. We are very open and encourage people to let us know if

[student athletes] step out of bounds, to use that analogywe'll get a couple reports a year on

social media. Some things are gray and some that are clearly across the line and [we] speak

with them about it." People try their best to make sure that others get the message because

the school is looking after its reputation and making sure that none of their students or others

feel discriminated by such a hate messages.

Events that occur worldwide affect LGBTQ individuals from expressing their feelings and

beliefs. There are places in the world where if youre gay, you can be killed or jailed for life. The

sad thing is that even here in the U.S, being who you truly are can sometimes hold you back

from doing something as serving your country. President Donald Trump had recently issued a

ban on not allowing transgender people serve the military. This ban caused controversy all over

social media and caused a stir within the community. The daughter of Secretary Ryan Zinke took

action to social media and ranted stating that Donald Trump doesnt know what hes doing.

This man is a disgrace. I've tried to keep politics out of my social media feed as much as

possible, but this is inexcusable. She herself is a veteran and is angry at the fact that a ban like

this has displaced transgender soldiers from being in the military. She, along with others, believe
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that anyone should serve regardless of their background. Her page is dedicated to fighting this

ban and hoping that one day Trump sees just how much transgender people can contribute to the

military. Trump made this ban because he would rather have the expenses fund another project

rather than transgender people. In it, he directs the military not to recruit transgender people, to

stop paying for medical treatment regimens of transgender people already serving in the military,

and to evaluate existing transgender soldiers and their impact on the military for effectiveness

and lethality, unitary cohesion, budgetary constraints, applicable law, and all factors that may be

relevant. This ban ruined the lives of many that may have had the only job they can get. To be

unemployed just for being themselves is truly unacceptable. The worst part is that Donald Trump

and Vice President Mike Pence are against all these LGBTQ laws and could one day ban

everything involving that particular group. Such actions could impact the community in a way

where no one will ever be able to express themselves anymore just so they dont lose their job.
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The internet is a place where almost everything can be seen as a joke. There are memes

dealing with the situation with North Korea. There are even videos of someone dying or being

killed and all people say is, aye same. The jokes seen the most though would have to be the

ones involving the LGBTQ community. There are people that see this more than two genders,

thing as a joke. People want to be identified as transformer non-binary female, or some

whacky gender and everyone gets all mad and upset about it. They dont let them be because the

only genders they see are male and female. They dont know what its like be queer and how it

affects ones life, they only care for themselves. It doesnt matter what gender people prefer, we

should accept them for who they are, it is their choice. Sure, the whole gender thing is a little odd

but it doesnt mean they arent human. Its just odd when a country such as Brazil labels

homosexuality as an illness and that it can be cured through therapy. Homosexuality isnt an

illness, it cant be contracted in any way, shape or form. Theres someone out there who has

taken great offense to this and is now afraid of coming out to the world because theyll be seen

as sick or a walking disease. Things like these prevent people from opening up, it creates fear

and the feeling of loneliness. The image above shows a LGBTQ page on Instagram that is upset

with what Brazil identifies homosexuality as. Its things like these that have to change or the

community wont see much of a difference at all.

In most societies, religion has zero tolerance for anything dealing with the queer community.

You see it all the time. GOD HATES FAGS, that message alone angers the LGBTQ

community in a way where they fight against it. LGBTQ members took it upon themselves to get

people to see that any god/religion accepts them. There was a case where LGBTQ members from

Jerusalem were marching in the Jerusalem Pride Parade waving their rainbow flag with a Magen

David. The flag represented that the entire Jew community accepted them for who they are. Now
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thats a strong message to send especially when not everyone truly accepts them for being queer.

One particular person didnt like this and began stabbing those involved in the parade which

resulted in a person being killed and multiple injuries. May Peleg was the woman who was killed

and she kept her identity hidden for so long and she wanted everyone to see she could prove her

masculinity by joining the army and leading this LGBT group to march on. Her actions

influenced individuals form the LGBT community, The case was, at its heart, a battle over the

feisty activist's memory and touched on the broader struggle of transgender people to define

themselves on their own terms, even after death. It also brought to light the life of a singular

advocate who left Orthodox Judaism to become a leader in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and

transgender community. The terrorist who stabbed her hated the message they were sending,

because same sex love is an abomination in Jewish culture. There are people out there that see

the stabbings as a good thing because it was their religion being desecrated by these people in the

parade. Terrorist acts against the LGBTQ community have been in the news lately, the most

horrific one being the Pulse Nightclub Shooting. 49 people were killed and 58 were injured, the

terrorist group called ISIS had claimed that they were responsible for the mass shooting. It shows

just how much people take their religion serious and that there are people out there who will hurt

others just because of their beliefs. The involvement of religion and same-sex love can cause a

stir worldwide, so its best to leave it out and not cause any trouble.

The queer identity needs to see a big change, because if it doesnt change eventually it will

die off and its existence will not be around for much longer. There are still people who have still

not taken a liking to the queer identity and that is a problem. Yes, the LGBTQ community has

done so much to get its message addressed, but there is still much more work needed to make a

global change. The internet is home to many queer individuals who are proud to express who
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they are and make it loud and clear to everyone. Yet, there is still a large percentage that lurks in

the shadows, afraid that the things they might say or do will have severe consequences on their

lives. The queer identity means so much to these people and it is unfortunate that many people

misinterpret the true meaning of being queer. It is more than just being gay, lesbian, or bi, its a

way of life that shouldnt be broken or judged. The only thing holding it together are the

individuals affiliated with the LGBTQ and the supporters. There are high hopes that one day the

queer identity will rise up from oppression and it can be seen as something normal. Social media

has done so much for the community and they wont stop. Taking action and sticking together is

the most important thing for the queer community, or the queer community will get nowhere.
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Work Cited

Zeveloff, Naomi. The Transgender Activist Who Fought On, Even in Death. Forward,
Apr. 2015, pp. 1012.

Student Athlete Tweets Anti-LGBTQ Remarks. University Wire, 2015, pp. University
Wire, Mar 31, 2015.

Barbershop: Taking Stock Of Orlando With Members Of The LGBTQ Community.

Weekend All Things Considered, 2016, pp. Weekend All Things Considered, Jun 18,
2016.

Fraser, Jayme. Zinkes Veteran Daughter Excoriates Trump in Response to Transgender

Military Ban. Missoulian, 2017, pp. Missoulian, Aug 25, 2017.