Evangelical Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination & Influence
- My research question: In what ways do the LGBTQ community face religious based discrimination (with a larger focus on far-right Christian evangelical institutions & organizations)? How powerful are these evangelical groups?
Artist statement:
The gay, lesbian, bisexual, & trans community face a lot of cultural oppression, and it seems to only be increasing. There are various buzzwords and "boogeyman" statements thrown around about the LGBTQ community (especially the trans community as of late) which falsely paints them in a negative light. Just a few months ago, there was a fight that broke out outside of a schoolboard meeting in California where anti-LGBTQ protesters had gathered to "defend their children" from what they perceived explicit, sexual content implemented by the LGBTQ community. They were, and still are, called groomers, pedophiles, you name it. This discrimination does not stop with the educational sphere of our country. In fact, a lot of the hatred towards these groups and reasons for that hatred stem from religious beliefs.
All too often, anti-LGBTQ protesters will attempt to justify their unfounded, unreliable generalizations about the LGBTQ community by stating it's simply their religious beliefs, or that their religion explicitly condemns anything remotely related to homosexuality. The problem with this (besides the clear homophobic/transphobic rhetoric) is that a notable portion of the country, although mostly on the far right, supports this discriminatory line of thinking as the justification of "religious values" has enabled them to continue down this path with little to no repercussions.
I've also heard false equivalencies made such as statements to the effect of "Since they [LGBTQ members] demand that we respect them, their values, and their way of life, why can't they respect our beliefs about them?" The problem with a statement like this is the LGBTQ community is demanding that they are allowed to exist freely and be true to who they are without hatred/bigotry, while those who cling to anti-LGBTQ religious values are demanding for the right to openly be against the LGBTQ community simply for being gay, trans, etc. Long story short, this is a topic that I've been interested in for quite some time, and it seems as though it's a topic that continues to be relevant as time progresses.