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Lizeth Ruiz

Jennifer Rodrick

Queer Studies 115

October 24,, 2017

Space and the Queer Community

Society has become one of our biggest fears because we either fit it or we dont with the

standards it has implemented. Being queer is something that society is still learning to accept.

Although society should have no say in accepting who we are, we still allow it to control how we

dress, how we act, and how we behave around others. Queer individuals have to fight the daily

battle of being accepted because who they are is not seen as normal. Societys influence also

depends on the person it affects. There are people who genuinely do not care for societys

opinion and will not allow it to shape their identity. However, those people do not speak for the

entire queer community because others are more vulnerable to criticism. Society has shaped

queer identities to the extent of people having to hide their true selves in order to satisfy the

space around them but it has also shaped others by making them stronger and not allowing

society to tell them who to be.

Homosexuality is still a sensitive topic in todays society. Although there has been an

improvement in acceptance in the past decades, there is still a large percentage of people who are

not open to the idea of seeing a couple of the same sex together. A gay couple cannot walk in

public holding hands without fear of someone giving them a dirty look or go up to them and say

something homophobic. To avoid conflict, they change their identity and try not to show
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affection in public where they can be seen. We live in a place where traditional people still exist.

The disapproval towards queer individuals that exists today in certain places makes people want

to hide. They hide their feelings, they hide who they are, and paint the ideal picture society

wants to see. Hiding their identity prevents bullying from happening. Bullying and cyberbullying

are still huge problems today. According to the article LGBT Bullying Statistics, 42% of

LGBT youth have experienced cyber bullying and 35% receive online threats. It is sad to

think there is people out there who only want to cause terror and harm to those who do not even

deserve it. Bullying can lead to mental and emotional trauma. Sometimes it can lead to suicide.

The article also states that One-third of the suicide attempts that actually result in death are due

to a crisis in sexual identity (LGBT Bullying Statistics). Society has created a toxic

environment where it has input the idea that being gay or queer is not normal therefore it should

be tolerable to judge someone or attack them for it.

Religion is another big reason why queer individuals prefer to keep quiet about their

sexuality. As I mentioned before, there is still conservative people who are still traditional and

believe love should be between a man and a woman. In a survey conducted by the Pew Research

Center for the general public, one-third of Americans believe homosexuality should be not be

allowed. When they were confronted for it, their response, given by 52% is that

homosexuality conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs. (Drake). I understand where they

are coming from but I do not understand why they think homosexuality should be discouraged. If

they do not accept it, its not a problem because we should respect everyones opinions. It

becomes a problem once they take action to discriminate and physically or emotionally hurt

those who they are against. As you can see on the chart to your left, the percentages of the
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general public in each group (religion) that says

homosexuality should be discouraged are not

as highs as the accepted percentages but those

are still pretty big numbers (Drake). So, religion

still plays a huge role in society therefore

shaping queer identities. The short story titled

My Diary: Documented. Done. by L. Canale,

talks about a young lesbian woman who has an

ongoing dispute with her religious father. When

he found out she was lesbian, he made her go to

church, made her read a book written by the pope to try and convert her back to becoming

straight because being gay is a sin. Our sexuality is not a choice. People cannot change who

they are by going to church or reading a religious book. Because the father realizes his daughter

is not trying hard enough to change her sexuaity, he threatens her with a knife and disowns her. I

do not know if family members would go as far as threatening a loved one, but rejection is real.

Being rejected by your own family must be painful. In cases like this, running away is the only

solution to someones problems. Facing your family members after they have rejected you must

feel like being stabbed in the heart so leaving would seem like the best idea. The space around

the becomes too toxic and finding self happiness and self acceptance should be a priority.

Society has created stereotypes which unfortunately are used everyday to classify every

queer individual. Stereotypes such as gay men are feminine or lesbian women are butch

which are completely false because a man can be into sports and be gay or a woman can be into
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fashion and be lesbian. But certain individuals will not let those stereotypes define them which

makes them stronger rather than weak. It is as if they are claiming that who they are is okay and

will not allow society to tell them otherwise. The way that the space around us is can also affect

the way we are. For example, sometimes the space around us can be kind and loving so there is

really no reason to act a different way if we are already being accepted. But often times, people

are around a toxic where the only thing they can do is hide their true selves.

Another way queer individuals reject societys standards is by uniting with the rest of the

queer community. Pride Parades like the

picture on your left for example, have

been bringing LGBQTI members

together to celebrate their identities

(Lewis). The words WE WILL NOT

LIVE IN FEAR shows that queer

individuals will no longer live by

society's rules and that there is no need to hide in the shadows because they are not afraid to

show who they are. Because acceptance has increased among younger generations, people are

more open about their sexuality (depending of course on the space around them). In a recent

study, Alexandra Samuels, from The University of Texas at Austin, claims that a new survey

finds that Millennials see homosexuality as more morally acceptable than casual sex. Samuels

is basically saying that we see homosexuality as normal without questioning. Britny Eubank,

senior journalism and radio-television-film major at The University of Texas at Austin, claims

that social media and technology play a big role as to why younger generations are more
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accepting of the LGBTQI community (Samuels). Eubank states, We have the Internet, and baby

boomers didnt, which allows us to see more representations of queer people, know their stories,

empathize and question. This is true without a doubt. Older generations did not have social

media so they were not as informed as we are now which might possibly be a reason as to why

older generations still hesitate to accept same sex couples.

There is no doubt that society has shaped queer identities in many ways. From making

people hide their sexuality to making them realize that there is no need to hide because who they

are should be something that should be celebrated. Everyone deals with different situations.

Everyone has a different kind of space/environment that influences them to respond a certain

way. In some cases, queer individuals have no other choice but to hide who they are because

they are scared of what others will say but in other cases, people do not need the approval of

others to be who they want to be. The acceptance of younger generations has definitely changed

the way society shapes queer identities. It has gone from making them hiding in the shadows to

encouraging them to celebrate in broad daylight. Although society has come a long way,

ignorance is still present and for that we must spread the message Love is Love so that a future

with only love and peace is guaranteed.

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Work Cited

Canale, L. My Diary: Documented. Done. The Full Spectrum. Levithan, David and Billy

Merrell, editors. Ember. May 2006. Accessed 17 October 2017.

Drake, Bruce. Generic Public Attitudes Toward Homosexuality by Religion . 1 May 2013.

Accessed 23 October 2017.

Drake, Bruce. How LGBT adults see society and how the public sees them. Pew Research

Center, 25 June 2013,

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/06/25/how-lgbt-adults-see-society-and-how-t

he-public-sees-them/ Accessed 17 October 2017.

Lewis, Danny, and Stephen Rex Brown. Hillary Clinton marches in NYC Pride Parade. New

York Daily News, 26 June 2016,

www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hillary-clinton-marches-nyc-pride-parade-article-1.268

8763. Accessed 23 October 2017.

LGBT Bullying Statistics. NoBullying.com, 7 Nov. 2016,

https://nobullying.com/lgbt-bullying-statistics/ Accessed 17 October 2017.

Samuels, Alexandra. Study: Millennials more accepting of homosexuality than casual sex.

USA TODAY COLLEGE, 3 Apr. 2015,

college.usatoday.com/2015/04/03/study-millennials-more-accepting-of-homosexuality-th

an-casual-sex/. Accessed 23 October 2017.