By Sikivu Hutchinson
After
the four-year barrage of homophobic and transphobic policy rollbacks by the
Trump administration, the Biden-Harris administration’s pledge to push
queer-affirming civil rights policies offers a ray of hope. Before the
pandemic, queer BIPOC communities were already besieged by rampant
unemployment, homelessness, and educational disparities. Since the pandemic was declared in
March, 38% of LGBTQI+ workers have had their hours
reduced (while 34% of the overall population have) and 22% have become
unemployed. Biden has prioritized “corrective action” such as reversing Trump’s
ban on transgender military personnel and aggressively advocating for the
passage of the stalled Equality Act, which would amend the federal Civil
Rights act to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals in
employment, housing, public education, and public accommodations. Currently, 29
states do not have LGBTQI+ civil rights protections. Building on campaign
promises to lift up transgender issues, the administration would also increase
violence protection funding for the trans community and seek an end to the
harmful practice of conversion therapy.
The
pandemic has brutally exposed the nexus between health access and economic
inequality for queer communities of color. LGBTQI+ youth of color have borne
the brunt of this fallout. While health care access is abysmal for communities
of color overall, LGBTQI+ communities of color are least likely to receive
culturally competent, quality health care. Practitioner ignorance of and
disrespect for transgender and nonbinary patients are contributing factors, as
health care training and medical protocols are still designed to meet the needs
of cis-straight patients. School closures and the downsizing of other support
facilities have taken an especially large toll on Black and Latinx LGBTQI+
youth who are more likely to experience family rejection and separation. As one
advocate noted, “Many LGBTQ students rely on student
health insurance for mental health services and other healthcare needs,
including hormone replacement therapy. All students are struggling with social
connectedness and belonging, but isolation may be especially detrimental for
LGBTQ students, particularly those who lack loving familial relationships.”
This viewpoint is amplified by the pre-pandemic Gay Lesbian Student
Education Network (GLSEN) and National Black Justice Institute (NBJI) report “Erasure and Resilience: Black LGBTQ
Youth in Schools”. Published earlier this year, the report concluded that the
intersectional trauma that Black LGBTQI+ students routinely experienced with
racism, homophobia, and transphobia was amplified by disconnection from health
and social safety net resources. While in school, Black queer and trans
students disproportionately rely on supports provided by counselors, health
practitioners, ally teachers, and queer-affirming organizations like the Gender
and Sexuality Alliance Network (GSA). A majority of students who participated
in the GLSEN/NBJI survey consistently heard anti-queer statements at their
schools. As a result, “Black LGBTQ students who experienced higher levels of
victimization based on race/ethnicity (as well as sexuality and gender) at
school were more than twice as likely to skip school because they felt unsafe.”
These students also experienced lower levels of “school belonging” and greater
levels of depression.
For
Black queer students, not having access to therapy can potentially lead to a
vicious cycle of invisibility and erasure. In the GLSEN/NBJI report, over 90%
of Black queer students heard the word “gay” used negatively. It was also the
norm for students to hear negative comments about gender expression, as well as
comments about not acting “masculine” or “feminine” enough. Women’s Leadership
Project (WLP) South L.A. students who surveyed students at their school
reported similar experiences, expressing dismay about transphobia among peers
they believed would be accepting. As one Black GSA-WLP youth said, “Youth of
color who were born in the colors of the rainbow flow to heaven’s gates four
times faster than anybody else because we lack emotional and mental support.”
The
cumulative effect of these experiences can lead to trauma and long term
depression. Due to systemic mental health barriers and faith-based stigmas
(e.g., messaging that emphasizes prayer and trusting god/Jesus as magic bullets
for dealing with trauma), only 39% of Black queer youth have sought help from
mental health professionals. By contrast, nearly 47% of non-black LGBTQI+ youth
have. In addition, Black LGBTQI+ students who attended majority Black schools
were less likely to have GSAs than those in majority white schools. Having a
GSA at their school increased Black students’ feelings of school belonging and
helped stave off leaving school.
These
stressors reverberate throughout life. A recent study by UCLA’s Williams Institute concluded
that anti-LGBTQI+ attitudes in families and the workplace were major
contributors to high LGBTQI+ poverty rates. In addition, the absence of
childhood support for LGBTQI+ folks who did not grow up poor
is one of the biggest determinants of adult poverty later in life. And for both
older and younger LGBTQI+ folks grappling with HIV, COVID “has disrupted the
health system, making it much more challenging for people living with chronic conditions
like HIV to see their healthcare providers in person or feel safe going to a
pharmacy to obtain their medications.”
Going
forward, public policy and legislation changes under the Biden-Harris
administration, and a potentially Democratic-controlled Senate, will be
critical. But in the midst of pandemic surges that weigh most heavily on BIPOC
communities, schools and families must act immediately to ensure that Black
LGBTQI+ youth are provided with the social and academic supports they need to
thrive.
Youth
serving BIPOC LGBTQI+ community resources in the L.A. area and beyond:
· GSA support for LGBTQI+ students is
available virtually in partnership with school advisers and mentors
·
The Standing4BlackGirls coalition and WLP will
launch a 2021 wellness fund and task force focused on providing counseling and
therapy for Black queer and cis/straight female-identified youth and biannual
LGBTQI Youth of Color Institutes
· Brave Trails LGBTQ
camp offers year-round virtual programming for middle school, high school and
college age youth
· Colors LGBTQ counseling
service provides free therapy for youth in the Los Angeles area.
· Mirror
Memoirs is a “national storytelling and organizing project
uplifting the narratives, healing and leadership of LGBTQI+ Black and
indigenous people and other people of color who survived child sexual abuse, as
a strategy to end rape culture and other forms of oppression and injustice”.
Twitter @Sikivuhutch
