Gender Inequality in the LGBTQ Community: A Review of Literature

Blanca Urcuyo
University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract
This paper explores the topic of gender issues that have affected the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transsexual, and Queer) community and the issues that they are facing right now. The
research is based off four questions and they are as follows: Are these individuals actually being
treated fairly? Is the American community violating this groups human rights? How is the
inequality affecting these individuals lives? And what kind of action has been taken to help these
individuals out. Through the investigation on finding the answers to these questions there were
multiple findings and very scattered opinions upon the research and interviews conducted. The
findings demonstrated that many people dont care about these individuals rights and the need to
do something about this is huge.

2
Gender Inequality in the LGBTQ Community: A Review of Literature

Gender issues go as far back as the nineteenth century starting with the womans rights
movement. Throughout world history, there has been evidence of individuals with attraction
towards the same sex instead of the opposite. Many individuals opposed these ideas and even
persecuted people that thought this way in order to force them into mental institutions to cure
them from this supposed illness. To this day even though the millennials have been more open to
this idea and we see the opinions of social groups speaking up and supporting each other even by
famous actors and musicians the LGBTQ group has been fighting for rights that they havent
been granted due to the outdated ideas of individuals involved in the government and citizens of
America that are not open to this new generation of individuals that are fighting to be treated
equally without being seen as outsiders or unwanted freaks. The purpose of this paper is to
demonstrate and explore issues the LGBTQ community faces today and what are the opposing
forces that are denying the equality of this group. The questions that help structure this research
are as follows.
Are the individuals from the LGBTQ community being treated fairly?
Is the American public violating this groups human rights?
How does inequality affect the lives of members of the LBGTQ community?
What kind of action has been taken/can be taken to help these individuals out?

Thesis Statement: We can change the lives of people by choosing to stop ignoring unfair
treatment of individuals just because they are different from us and by doing so America can

3
grow to be an example of acceptance of unique individuality instead of a country that chooses to
not move forward due to outdated ideals.

Are the individuals from the LGBTQ community being treated fairly?
Just this past summer of 2016 a man opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida
murdering 49 people and injuring about fifty individuals. This horrible tragedy could be
identified as not being a hate crime towards gay individuals since later on in the investigation it
was revealed that the shooter, Omar Mateen made a call to 9-1-1 before the shooting to report
that he claimed loyalty to the Islamic State (ISIS). Although from other reports issued, Mateens
father claimed that his son would get angered by the sight of two men kissing therefore truly
connecting this shooting to be judged as a hate crime. According to the National Coalition of
Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) current data suggests that 20-25% of lesbian and gay people
experience hate crimes within their lifetimes. That is a shockingly high amount compared to
hate crimes towards women in general. As you can see on figure 1A, 8 out of 10 homosexuals,
lesbians and transgender individuals that I interviewed confirmed that they had in some point in
their lives been targeted by hate crimes due to their chosen sexual orientation. As well as two out
of the 10 felt that they were denied a job as well. These individuals are not being treated fairly by
American citizens but have are being treated fairly by the law in some way, such as in 2015 the
Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all fifty states.

Is the American public violating this groups human rights?

The American public has mixed emotions towards gender issues regarding the LGBTQ
community. On figure 2A you can see that the results of a survey based on a questions where
participants were told to only identify their sex and age and answer the following question: Do
you think the U.S. violates the LGBTQ human rights, if so by how much? Based on the options
of not at all, somewhat, and a lot. The result of the survey were all over the place making it a
more alarming issue that people are so confused about how to deal with treating these people
fairly. Many people most likely dont know that they are being hurtful or mean to members of
this group. It is up to us as a community to make changes in the education of future generations
to understand that there are many people that make their own decisions and should not be judged
by them. Although some people might argue that these issues are not present or dont exist the
evidence is present through the history of the crimes that have affected this group.

How does inequality affect the lives of members of the LBGTQ community?
The lives of LGBTQ members are affected directly to their self-esteem, insecurities, and their
lifestyle. Tobias* mentioned to me that he realized he was homosexual since he was a little boy
but due to the way he was treated in elementary school he was forced to hide his true self and
watch very carefully how he acts around people. I also asked him if the new laws being issued
helping protect LGBTQ people and how it now has been acceptable by many people as we can
see on TV, Movies and even in songs he feels safer to demonstrate who he is. He replied by
saying that yeah all these changes are great, but there still be that one person that denies and
ignores the kind of accepting country America is changing to be. Although government agencies
are claiming to be doing changes to support these communities there still hasn't been a great
decline in hate crimes towards this group.

What kind of action has been taken/can be taken to help these individuals out?
There are many help groups across many platforms that vary from social media, the Internet,
community centers and even school programs that help people with dealing with these issues.

6
These programs are funded by many organizations from all over the world. US Foundations
alone provide over $120 million in support of LGBTQ issues worldwide, according to Robin
Toal on the funds for NGOS website. There are also many free services that help this community.
For example the Happy Hippie Foundation relays young people to fight injustice and help
homeless LGBT youth. This community is helped and sponsored by many individuals and even
though the many projects they have going for support there is still people out there facing
difficulties that are to scared to refer to these resources and choose to stay how they are and be
scared. Its up to us as a community to help and support the individuals we see struggling to find
themselves or their courage to live the lives they truly want to live.

Conclusion/Synthesis
The issues that the LGBTQ community faces today are many and still ever growing but through
the education of new generations about the differences between these groups and the most
important lesson to teach of acceptance leads not only to the equality of this group being treated
better but of a generation ready for change and acceptance of individuality and to respect the
opinions and decisions of others even if they are different from their own beliefs. Although many
people dont see or accept that the world is changing in many ways its important to keep an
open mind full of the ideas of acceptance and encouragement for people to feel free in their own
skin and about their own personalities as well.

*Name changed do to interviewee's request

References
1. 1000s who died in anti-gay, anti-trans attacks (updates). (2016, November 20). Retrieve,
November 24, 2016, from https://76crimes.com/100s-die-in-homophobic-anti-gay-attacksstatistics-updates

2. Toal, R. (2014, May 15). 20 Foundations and Trust that Fund LGBT Programs. Retrieved
November 15, 2016, from https://www.fundsforngos.org/foundation-funds-for-ngos/20foundations-trusts-fund-lgbt-programs

3. Wile, R. (June 12, 2016 8:49 p.m.). It's still dangerous to be gay in America. Here are the
statistics that prove it. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from
https://www.google.com/amp/fusion.net/story/313047/lgbt-violence-statistics/amp/?client=msandroid-boost-us