I thought tonight’s discussion was really interesting. Everybody brought so much to the discussion. Thank you all. Below is an entry for a lit review I did recently which concerns the concept of intersectionality and how it impacts the homophobic bullying experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender “GLBT” youth. As you will read, researchers are finding that intersectionality is providing a useful framework for studying inequality in the GLBT community, which in this different context also buttresses our conclusions about inequality, gender performance, and situating knowledge in the individual rather than attempting to universalize the personal experience.
Traversing the Margins: Intersectionalities in the
Bullying of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth
By Andrea Daley, Steven Solomon, Peter A. Newman, & Faye Mishna
Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services 2007 19 (3/4) pp. 9-29
These researchers, working at the University of Toronto, address the problems of homophobic bullying, critical of the single (sex orientation) identity analytical lens; and argue for the theoretical framework of intersectionality in viewing homophobic bullying. They contend that there is no one size fits all set of descriptors in assessing the bullying experiences of sex orientation minorities. They write:
“ An intersectional approach to understanding the experiences of bullying among diverse
LGBT youth focuses attention on the interactive relationships between systems of sex
orientation, gender, race/ethnicity, and newcomer/ citizenship status, among other
systems of social identity and social location (12).
Further, they argue that the intersectionality analysis avoids oversimplifications of meanings and the homogenization of story. Pointing out the “dearth” of research on intersectionality in the literature of homophobic bullying of LGBT youth, the authors relied upon a research orientation that used key informants, the perspectives and experiences of persons working as service providers with LGBT youth (13). [Previous research had found that LGBT youth are more likely to be victimized by bullies (11).]
The results found, not surprisingly, that the tyranny of prescribed gender performance is a critical factor determining whether LGBT youth experience bullying. When youth went beyond the acceptable gender performance, their behavior was considered stereotypically gay, and they had crossed into a zone where bullying was more likely to occur. The female youth were permitted more leeway in dress and demeanor and the more butch appearing females could expect more bullying. Transgender youth were subjected to the most risk of violence and transgender males were beat up more than transgender females.
When the intersections of race and ethnicity are assessed in the bullying experiences of LGBT youth, they report that often they don’t know if it was race/ ethnicity or sex orientation which was the trigger of a particular bullying incident (20). Further, internalized homophobia may lead to describe an experience as racist in motivation, when it may not have been. Institutional interventions should have to address the various intersections of identities and anti-oppression training for social workers, social service workers, and educators is suggested by the authors. They conclude:
“ Through the lens of intersectionality, solutions to the bullying of queer youth clearly
lie outside of the individual and beyond mere anti-homophobic education and tolerance
increasing strategies. Rather, effective responses should include structural
interventions that work towards dismantling multiple systems of power.” (26)
Intersectionality is a key concept when dealing with bullying and homophobia. Many educators stress that an accurate picture of a person, and an accurate depiction of social identity cannot be had by merely describing LGBT&Q youth as sex orientation minority. Multiple social, ethnic, and racial factors may intersect in an individual LGBT&Q identity making discriminatory animus very complex.
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