SergioA.Valora.

Ms.Barnett
AcceleratedCompositionEnglish
(SWA)1Discoursecommunityusageguide
09/02/16
TheLatinoLGBTQCommunity.
Itwas3:30a.m.onJune12whenamancalled911inapanic.Hewasbeggingthepolice
tocomeandsavehisexgirlfriendthatwastrappedinthebathroomofthenowwellknownPulse
nightclub.(Tziperman,2016.)Itremainsunclearifthegunmanwastargetingacommunityin
specific,butsomethingimportanttomentionis thatmorethan90%ofthe49victimswere
Latinos.Thisisarealitythatatleastinmycountry,Mexico,nobodywantedtoface.Iwasmore
thandisappointedthatnotevenmyteachers,ormyclassmatesdiscussedwhathappenedat3:30
aminOrlando,theyjustdidnot.Thisismydiscoursecommunity,theLatinoLGBTQ.
ThefirstLGBTgroupsinMexicowereformedintheearly1970inthemaincitiesofthe
country,GuadalajaraandCiudaddeMexico. Bythe1970stheHomosexualLiberationFront
wasformed,unfortunatelyyearslaterwereoppressedbyfederalforces.Ittookaroundnineyears
fortheHomosexualLiberationFronttoshowagaininfavorofhomosexualequalrights,and
freedomofsexualexpression,unfortunately,assameasthefirstoccasionitwasrepressedbythe
police.Sincethen,anLGBTmarchhasbeencelebratedannuallyonJune28.Itisalsoimportant
torecallthe1990sprotestsindefenseofmurdersofHomosexuals,andtodefendtherespect
forsexualdiversity.(GonzalezPerez,n.d)ThissameyearthefirstLatinoLGBTorganization
calledElclosetdeSorJuanawas abletoreceiveaUnitedNations accreditation.(Cariaga
Perez,2004)
Thisisacommunitythatforseveralyearswashiddenintheshadowsofliberalism,inthe
politicianssaying"equalopportunitiesforall",andinthepeople'ssayings"Nooneispersecuted
nowadays."ThisisacommunityinwhichallmembersneedtodealwiththeLatino"Macho"
culture,andneedtochoosebetweentheirfamilyandsexualorientation.(MachoCultureisa
source of pride for males and men must prove their manliness by upholding their sexual
dominance.Inthisway,reputationisoneofthedrivingforcesbehindmachismo.) "Slightly
morethanhalfofLGBTLatinoyouthareouttotheirimmediatefamily,andnearly6in10say
their family is accepting of LGBT people. Still, about onethird report a lack of family
acceptance."(LGBTLatinoYouthReport,2012)Therequirements:Beingbornorraisedina
LatinoCommunity,andIDENTIFYINGyourselfaspartoftheLGBTQIcommunity.("Allies"
canbepartaswell,butIwillexplainthemlateronmyreferencesheet.)
The values of my community go beyond love and inclusion; equality is what we are
mainlyrecognizedfor.Notonlybecausewewantthesocietytoseeusanequalbeings,butwe
seeeachsingleoneofourmembersthesame.Nomatterhowtheyidentifythemselves,onwhat
theybelieve,theireconomicalandpoliticalvalues,eachoneofushasthesameopportunitiesand

voiceinourgroup.Theunionmakesusstrong,andasawholewewanttobreakandcreatenew
perceptions.Nomatterwhatyoursexualorientationis,youcandowhateveryouwant,andiffor
somereasonyouaredeniedtotakeoneopportunitybasedonwhatyouare,thatiswhatweare
herefor.Nooneshouldbemeasuredonwhattheylikeordislike.Whatyouaredoesnotmake
youless ormore infrontofsociety.Itis impressive the times thatIas aGayLatino have
experiencedprejudicesfromteachers,friends,andevensomefamilymembersjustbecauseI
lovepeopleinadifferentway.Beinggayinhighschoolisdangerous,that'swhatmymomtold
mewhenIfirstcameoutofthecloset,whichgetstohappenatthebeginningofthissemester.
EventhoughIdidnottakemymom'sadviceliterally,Ididhavemyissues.Iamblessed,Igota
bunch of friends that helped me to get through this, friends that saw my qualities, values,
intelligence,andabilities,ratherthanlookingaftermysexualpreferences.Ineedtoconfessthat
I'veneverfeltdifferentsinceItoldmyclass,andthatfeelingoflike"nothinghappened"was
somethingIwantedtocreateinthewholeHarknesscommunity,butthequestionwas"how?".I
rememberIwasonFacebookandIsawastudythathomophobiaisbuiltonalackofinformation
andmisinterpretations.Whichledmetothinkthatinformedpeoplecouldreduceprejudices
towardstheLGBTIcommunity.Sowhatarethoseprejudices?Allthosenastystereotypesthat
we,includingme,areusedtoassumerathertogoforalittleresearch.
Afterthisrevelation,IwasmorethansurethatIwantedtodevelopsortofaworkshop,in
whichan"expert"inthetopiccouldcomeandgothroughthebasicterms,stereotypes,anda
questionanswersession.Iwasveryluckytofindsomeelsewiththesameinterest,andmost
importantly,withthesamegoal,makeschoolsafe.[whatanamazinggoaltoworktowards!]we
startedfromscratch,welookedforanorganization,whichthepresidentkindlyofferedhimselfto
participate as our guest. After having our lesson plan, our guest, and our teacher/advisor
approval,wewereonlymissingonething,theschool'sapproval.
HereiswhereSantiagoandIfacedourfirstobstacle.Bothofusknewthattalkingabout
thesetopicstoaveryconservativeschoolwouldnotbewellreceived,andsoitwaswiththe
principal. Ourfirst "No"was alreadyinfront ofus,maybebecauseapparentlytherewas a
misinterpretationaboutrunningadiversityworkshopcouldmakeHarknessstudentsgay.Even
thoughwefacedatremendously"NO"ourhopeswerenotgone,wewenttoproposeittothe
school's owner, but now with an under review condition. The next day our proposal was
accepted,withthesoleconditionofnothavinganyguests.
Whatdoesnotkillyoumakesyoustronger.Ourcommunityiscommittedtoadvocatefor
thosewhoneeded,forthosewhoareleftandpersecutedjustforthewaytheydecidetolove.
BecauseattheendofthestoryLovehasnolabels,andweasacommunitystandtogetherto
protectthatright.