I recently gave a talk at my college entitled, "The Importance of Coming Out Early: Lessons from a Hartnell Instructor." There were about 200 students and faculty in attendance, and it was largely well-received.
Immediately after the talk, and also via email, I was contacted by members representing the L, B and T in "LGBT".
The lesbians felt I should have talked more about the challenges of lesbians.
The bisexuals felt I should have talked more about the challenges of bisexuals.
The transgendered felt I should have talked more about the challenges of being transgendered.
At first, I felt bad. I didn't do a good job of representing the LGBT community in a public forum. I listened very attentively to the concerns presented to me and initially felt sympathy.
However, in hindsight, I am now reconsidering those negative feelings. I am a gay man. I am not a lesbian. I am not bisexual. I am not transgendered.
My experience, and therefore my most valuable knowledge to pass to others, is that from the gay experience. It has led me to what could be a controversial claim:
It is time for the individual letters of LGBT to stand on their own.
The needs and concerns of the gay community are uniquely gay. The needs and concerns of lesbiana are uniquely lesbian. Bisexuals are bisexuals and transgendered are transgendered.
I completely understand the history of these four coming together. In many ways, these four were like the Island of Misfit Toys. The only way the four individually had a voice and influence was to join together.
However, that time has come and gone. With laws and society changing, LGBT does not need to stay huddled together as if the four have a lot in common.
Quite frankly, we don't any longer. This shift is very subtle but obvious. Many LGBT activists, writers and researchers have been referencing a "plateau" as of late...that the once dynamic momentum of the LGBT community may be cooling.
I would suggest the reason for this is that it has become convoluted to try and discuss and persuade from a combined LGBT perspective. As a gay man in the gay community, I want to start working towards efforts to promote gay concerns without the extra burden of lesbian, bisexual and transgendered considerations.
Furthermore, whereas as gays and lesbians have be successful in promoting societal awareness and acceptance of their labels, bisexuals and transgendered have not had similar success. I believe this is largely because bisexuals and transgendered have been lumped with and therefore upstaged by gay and lesbian promotion.
It is time for each letter of LGBT to stand on its own, claiming its own identity, and remembering fondly the initial collaboration which brought us out of the shadows. The way forward is for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered to walk their own path in the sun.
