Is Racism Like Homophobia?

It's generally considered quite inflammatory to compare racism to homophobia, at least in the United States. The reason for this simply that it's incredibly insulting, as a black person, to hear your gay, white neighbor say, without any research, that they "get what black people went through," when they 99.99% aren't aware of the history of racism.

While gay people have suffered grievously, including discrimination, corrective rape, and violent death, black folks have suffered violence and discrimination on a grander scale. And it was official state policy. And there was slavery.

What the white gay person also fails to understand is that by making this comparison and pissing off the conservative elements of the black community, he's making things all that much worse for black gay people out there, who are, because of our arrogance, unable to have a conversation with other black folks about sexism and homophobia, because those are seen as "white issues."

 

Honestly, this last section is the most important factor in all of this.

LGBTQ people of color are criticized and discriminated against inside the LGBTQ and outside. There is not a simply isn't a demographic in which either their race or identity wouldn't give them a disadvantage. This is not the case for those who are only gender or sexuality minorities.

All LGBTQ receive hate and experience discrimination; that much is true. Though the amount of which we actually struggle depends heavily on the other social groups that we fall in and where they rank within society.

 

And Pret Allez gave hers, so you should have no problem if that's your intention.

 

Kinda

 

I hope you realize I did not assert you were comparing the two.

 

Well im both black and gay...

I can say that yes they're both different but very similar. In both cases there is discrimination based on something you can't change (race or sexulity) and also both parties have had major historical events to take place over the years (civil rights movement and stonewall riots)

Speaking as someone from the black community and the lgbt community
i can say that there is racism everywhere even sadly in the lgbt community sometimes. But i'd like to add there are a lot of people from both communities that stand side by side with each other in the fight against discrimination of any kind

 

Same gun, different bullet.

Hatred is hatred, but the form it takes, now, that's the mystery.

 

I'd say they're different heads on the same beast's body.

 

Interesting. While race is something you're "born into", LGBT people risk losing their jobs, families, and homes by coming out. And while passing privilege exists for both groups, I'd say race is a lot harder to hide than sexual orientation or gender, at least for the majority of us.

Anyway, no, a white gay person cannot compare their struggle to that of a black person's, because you'd have to be black to understand exactly what black people go through! Even as another racial minority, I won't pretend to understand, even if I might have a better grasp on the situation than other groups.

And Gen brought up a very good point: racial minorities suffer both within and outside of the LGBT community. They're two very different subsets of the population, but a cis gay white male is going to have a lot more power and visibility than a trans woman of color, for example.

 

Yes, either way it is discrimination.

 

They're both forms of hatred and discrimination, but I feel like they come from very different places and have very different histories, so they're really only similar on the surface. White gay people won't understand what black people (or really any other race) have been through because even though both face discrimination, they have very different experiences.

 

I'd say they're similar in many aspects, but different in a few. One important difference imo is that if you're non-white, you can't hide your skin color. If you're gay, you can hide it if you feel you may be unwelcome if you show you are gay. One important similarity is the fact that people may treat you differently (often negative) based on something out of your control. Gay people as well as black people face discrimination. In many places, I'd say it's more unacceptable to be gay than black.

I feel some "people of color" don't want to be compared to gay people because they are homophobic themselves.

Also, if Whoopie is not gay, how can she say any more than "Rosie" that they are different? According to Whoopie, Rosie has never been black, thus cannot understand racism. However, Whoopie has never been gay (I presume, idk her sexuality), thus she cannot understand homophobia.

Sorry, but that's just my worthless opinion from a privileged white male! :rolleyes:

 

Something else I find silly about this comparison...

People will spend so much energy and time debating who has it worse, what is and isn't allowed to be similar, when they totally overlook the one thing they're agreeing on -- that it's hatred/fear/ignorance they're, both, speaking out against.

Maybe I'm not right in the head, but I think it's more important to unite against the common enemy, remedy that; and then, if you really want your petty argument time, have at one another while the rest of us toast to equality.

This is why I'd never make it in politics.

 

They have similarities and can be compared. Honestly it's self evident.

 

THIS! Exactly. I've heard so many gay people saying that it's harder to be gay than black, and I've heard so many black people saying that it's harder to be black than gay. I've seen heated arguments over this. But you know what? At the end of the day, both groups have a lot of shit to deal with, and arguing over who has it worse isn't going to help the situation any. Rather than worrying about who has it worse, why not help each other out so that in the end, both groups will have the rights and freedoms they deserve?

 

There are a lot of analogies/disanalogies between various forms of bigotry. However, one should keep the differences in mind (in both kind and degree) and be careful not to send the message that "I know what you go through because I'm just as oppressed as you." Chances are you don't understand what that person goes through because it's usually very hard for someone who's not part of an oppressed minority to understand what that minority goes through.

Although I think it's best to avoid comparing racism and homophobia, there is one occasion in which I think it's usually a good idea to bring up race in a discussion relating to homophobia: When someone uses an argument against gay rights that can just as easily be used to support racist policies. For instance, many arguments against same-sex marriage used today were used against interracial marriage. I think this form of a reductio ad absurdum argument, if formulated properly, can be appropriate and effective because most people realize that opposing interracial marriage is wrong (and hence any argument that can be used to support banning it is fallacious).