MBLGTACC Conference Paper

“The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Asexual/Aromantic and Ally/Advocate (LGBTQA+) Resource Center advances the mission of UNL by working collaboratively to provide education, resources, outreach and advocacy to help build and sustain a socially just campus community that is welcoming and inclusive of all people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expression.

LGBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender. It is intended to highlight a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. Historically, LGBT people have had to deal with being brutalised and misunderstood because of the misconception that being gay is different and deserves different treatment. However, there are efforts being made daily by the community in order to educate people and ease their fears. The purpose of the following analysis is to deconstruct how people who fought back while growing up realizing they are apart of community help shaped and/or will shape them to become strong roles for LGBT people around the world.

Largely, individual variables within the LGBTQ community can consists of race, ability, gender identification, age, or in this case, age. The cultural competency trainings are based on a “Cultural Humility” meaning change occurs as a lifelong process of learning, this includes self-examination and refinement of one’s own awareness, knowledge, behavior and attitudes on the interplay of power, privilege and social contexts (Joo, Margolies, & McDavid,

The purpose of the Commission is to improve the climate for diversity within Penn State by specifically addressing issues affecting the welfare of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) members of the University community. The Commission serves to improve the climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members of the Penn State community through examination of current policies and practices and through the initiation and promotion of programs which will result in a more equitable and supportive environment. This is accomplished through current standing committees and through the initiation of ad hoc committees for special

LGBTQA Student Services faculty and student activist leaders informed the 160 student attendees about the

Oppression of minorities has had a detrimental aspect in the associated individual’s lives. History has demonstrated that as a western society, we devalue minorities’ rights and values through legislation and societal views. Today, this remains to be an issue for many individuals of many stigmatized groups. Although efforts to reach a more unified community have been taken, many minorities still fight oppression. Through activism, social and political movements, the LGBTQIA community have progressed immensely throughout the past few decades. History has demonstrated a slow, yet vast amount of success in this marginalized group. Activists endured a long journey toward gaining rights for the community which lead to a modern day civil rights movement for the LGBTQIA community. Although there has been a great amount of successes, non-heterosexual individuals still do not have full equal rights as their heterosexual counterparts. There are still adversities that are being faced in this population that hinder these individuals from thriving. The issue is even greater when the individual has an additional identity that is also marginalized. Specifically, individuals who identify as people of color (POC) and LGBTQIA still encounter prejudice from society.

The LGBTQ community has struggled for decades to receive equal treatment but despite many advancements, this group of people is still not treated justly. The prevalent discrimination and prejudice enacted against the LGBTQ community can be witnessed on accounts of the Stonewall Riots and laws that affect the community such as not allowing gay men to donate blood, sexual orientation in connection to the military, et cetera. The gay rights movement has united to eradicate these issues through support of the LBGTQ community and to help people understand the process, timing, advantages, dangers, and pitfalls of coming out, as well as recent local and international rulings of the Supreme Court on same-sex marriage and the methods, laws, and attitudes of having children.

There is arguably no group that has faced more discrimination in modern society than queer people of color. Although often pushed together into a single minority category, these individuals actually embrace multiple racial and sexual identities. However, they suffer from oppression for being a part of both the ethnic minority and queer communities. As a result, members are abused, harassed, and deprived of equal civil rights in social and economic conditions (Gossett). In response to the multiple levels of discrimination they face in today’s society, queer people of color have turned to the establishment and active participation of support organizations, resources, and policies to advocate

Setting the proper context gives due diligence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, (LGBT) community. It shows the great effort put forth in fighting for equality. Setting the proper context requires research of historical and statistical data, which are limited. A majority of the population wishes to suppress the efforts in achieving LGBT equality. Illustrating a historical overview creates a timeline of the major events leading up to the role colleges and universities have in the United States in bringing awareness to the social awakening concerning LGBT issues. By changing curricula, higher education raises awareness of its faculty and students. This provides a safer environment for LGBT students, and helps prepare heterosexual and cisgender students for the diverse world they will encounter after leaving their college/university.

Within this paper, the umbrella term “queer” will be used to encompass many different sexual identities mentioned. While once used as a derogatory term, it has been rebranded and revitalized as a term of unification for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. In order to prevent erasure of the narrative of subsets of members within the larger queer community, their identities will be included. When discussing the larger implications of the development of sexual minority identification, queer will be employed.

During this study I have had the privilege of looking into a student's life on the University of Northern Colorado campus and their overall reaction to the political climate on campus and the social interactions with the Gender and Sexuality Center that is located on campus. One of the main people that I have focused on is named Sergio Munoz who identifies as Gay in the spectrum of sexuality and also as a student of color. His experiences is a fresh breath of air that can be too much to take, along side with him is his friend Michelle Jackson who in this journey gives an interesting point of view when it comes to being straight, but interacting solely inside

The struggle for equality has been intense, and still continues to this day. With this being said, much progress has been made in establishing respect and external acceptance for all individuals sense of identity. For example, in 2015 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same Sex Marriages, marking a pivotal point in the civil rights movement for the LGBTQ community. For many, this act helped to support their sense of self, a right that been denied for so long. The United States effectively validated the LGBTQ community, giving this group all rights granted to all other citizen’s, However, the creation and acceptance of this community has not had positive benefits for all members. The Gender Binary has been changed, but many distinctions

On September 22nd, a workshop was held in the Centennial Center, discussing about gender, and sexuality. First, we ranked actions which related to sex from the least intimate to the most intimate. Also we played a game that let every one to throw their balls into the box while students had different numbers of balls, and various distance toward the box. It showed us a direct feeling of being minority. After the game, we brainstormed for getting difference between sex and gender. To add, dissimilarity between femininity and muscularity, and between cisgender and transgender were mentioned in the workshop. They stimulated a condition that if your roommate was homosexual whom did not come out to you, and they asked what will you do.

The LGTBQ+ community are faced with homophobia, discrimination, and increased victimization; social movements have led to the adaptation of Canadian legislation and the creation of specialized police units in order to recognize and accommodate the unique needs of the queer community.

While working on the teen summit, throughout these months I also worked on creating a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club at my high school, Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA). I felt our school needed a safe-place for everyone to talk about their sexual health as well as sexual discrimination to create a more wholesome community at school. I teamed up with a sophomore English teacher who was excited about this idea, and we made GSA at CSA