As many Americans celebrate June as Pride Month, a new index points to a growing divide between states that support LGBTQ people and states that do not.
For the past six years, the advocacy group Out Leadership has produced an index measuring the business climate for gay and transgender people. The index looks at where LGBTQ people can live and work with the least discrimination and hardship.
Brandon Robinson, an associate professor in the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at the University of California, Riverside, said backlash against LGBTQ people should not stop Pride Month observances.
“We should be really celebrating it,” Robinson said. “We should be saying we’re here, we matter, we’re important, we have value. It’s needed more now than it has been lately.”
The index shows rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment and state legislation restricting gay rights, including so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bills in Florida, Indiana, Kansas and North Carolina.
Still, a poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute in March found 72% of Americans support nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people, and 65% support same-sex marriage.
For several years, GOP lawmakers have introduced anti-LGBTQ legislation in Republican-dominated states, particularly bills targeting transgender people. They include measures related to pronoun use, bathroom access, gender-affirming care and sports participation.
Robinson, who authored "Trans Pleasure: On Gender Liberation and Sexual Freedom," said he worries the rise in anti-transgender rhetoric could lead to broader discrimination.
“Once they come for the T, they’re going to come for the rest of the alphabet,” Robinson said. “Let’s not play ourselves. It’s kind of their Trojan horse to get back to installing the heterosexual nuclear family as the norm.”
Robinson studies how LGBTQ youth are affected when housing becomes an issue. His research shows that aunts often play a vital role in providing housing, emotional safety and gender-affirming support, especially when parents are less accepting of their child’s sexual orientation.
Source: Public News Service
