A plan to deal with

[gaspee]

All this calling us (members of the GLBTQ community at DU) racists that seems to happen on a daily basis around these parts lately... the latest round is particularly disturbing to me.

Immediately cease all mentions of the fight for racial equality and the struggles pertaining to that fight.

(and yes, I'm trying to be funny to try to lighten the mood a little in this very annoying period here at the DU. Whether I am being funny or not is debatable, but I am trying.)

I would rather equate our struggle to the women's movement anyway, with its long and varied history and still very much a struggle to this day. We can't have us gays using the imagery and same WORDS - WORDS I tell you, that other struggles have used. It would just be icky. But as a card-carrying feminazi, I welcome everyone to the fight against fuckwadery. The more fighting for the equality for all, the better, I like to think.

There is plenty of imagery, metaphor and allegory we can share with the fight for freedom for women. Plenty of great slogans, too!

Some heroic efforts I would like to call your attention to:

The right for women to be recognized as persons in their own right, and not as chattel belonging to their father, then husband
The right for women to own property
To be educated
To sign contracts
To receive loans without a male cosigner
THE RIGHT TO VOTE
The right to be recognized as human (since the default of human is still male - oops, still working on that one.)

Since the roots of misogyny and homophobia, IMO, are the same (women are less than men, men who supposedly act like "women" are worse still) I think it's a nice fit. And I welcome my gay brothers to the struggle. I have no problem sharing these heroes for the rights of ALL HUMANS with you.

Jane Adams
Margaret Fuller
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony
Ida B Wells
Julia Ward Howe
Alice Paul
Margaret Sanger
Sojourner Truth (probably one of my heroes of all time)

I could make a really long list, but I won't - I'm sure you have your own.

My favorite movie of all time is Iron Jawed Angels - if you haven't seen it, you really must - it will get you in the mood to fight for our rights - and fighting is what it's going to take, make no mistake about it. Not one group of oppressors in HISTORY has ever just handed over equality to those they see as their lessors. Even if they are formerly oppressed. (How many of the anti-immigrant movement are actually descendants of Irish Laborer immigrants? Too many to be ironic - it's just pitiful. Especially the ones in my own family. Sigh.)

[NMMNG]

1. K&R

And some helpful links:

http://atheism.about.com/b/2005/05/30/homophobia-misogyny.htm
http://erudito.livejournal.com/593766.html
http://www.whosoever.org/v10i1/mommies.shtml

[sui generis]

2. we don't need to piggy back on anyone else. We're Americans.

It is that simple.

[omega minimo]

3. The gender issues of women and gender issues of GLBT are directly related.

Saying so on DU hasn't gotten very far, but this is another good try. Very good points.

In discussing the history of discrimination against gays, it's clear that women and GLBT have been dominated and compared to males, where males are the authorities, gods, masters, as well as the "norm" or standard against which all others are judged.

Gay males who are considered not "man enough," ridiculed for being "sissies," i.e effeminate, like women.

Everyone's familiar with the concept. Why isn't the connection recognized and used to work together for women's rights, GLBT rights and gender equality?

The rigid gender roles that support and perpetuate the dominant power structure are what is oppressing women and gays. When will that be part of the push for GLBT rights?

I've read here that religion is seen as the main cause of bigotry and opposition. IMHO, it's not the faith that's the entire problem. The church is merely a mechanism to transmit those rigid gender roles. Even the fundies, the most vociferous, are following orders from the supreme leader, the patriarch of the church.

Maybe out of all the conflict, a new way of looking at this could arise?