- Jan 2017
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www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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but many of her friends thought she had been murdered.
She fought against such immense discrimination, could the verdict of suicide be wrong? Could this have been some kind of erasure?
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Like many transgender activists, Rivera was ruthlessly excluded by feminists.
Even marginalized groups can erase each other.
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that it was drag queens and trans people who began the whole sea change in the legitimising of gay identity
This is often overlooked when discussing gay rights. When gay marriage was legalized in the US, many believed that we were done, however we still need to fight for transgender rights. The battled often have more than one fight to win.
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Forty-nine queer people dead, many of them Latinx, queer people of colour, their sexuality and race erased in an instant.
Reason this article was written, and of course why I am now reading it.
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We can’t see you, therefore you don’t exist.
Repetition of the main support for her argument. Wonderful.
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this beautiful, helpful emerging language for articulating the experience of not fitting within the binaries of man and woman, gay and straight
This is why media exposure is important. Although Kaitlin Jenner doesn't have the best track record after coming out, she changed the way media erased queer transgender people. By giving transgender people a voice in the media, we can reach others who are confused and scared, and help them find their way.
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the choking sense of needing to speak and hide at the same time.
Our human instinctis to protect those we care for, so wanting to defend their mother and their lives is only natural. However, the sense of self-preservation is also a strong human trait and in many instances this instinct also works with the protecting instinct and we choose to stay silent. Allowing those who discriminate to say their piece while we bite our tongues.
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Get back in the closet: that’s the feeling. We can’t see you, therefore you don’t exist.
We see this with problems in other minorities. This mentality is a privilege, because those who believe this have never had to justify their lives. By tying this directly to the "closet" that queer people must hide in, the author does not erase the problems of other discriminated people. This is an amazing start to this article.
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