Image: ADoseofShipBoy Over the weekend many of those who are against same sex marriage have no doubt found their nightmare come true. They've had to explain that when two people love each other and want to spend their lives together and make it incredibly complicated and expensive to break up they can now get married. Even if they are two boys or two girls. Ew! Sounds horrifying right? The kids will never understand! That's going to take, like, a whole sentence to explain. On the other side of the coin many LGBTQ campaigners have the difficult task of explaining that this is not the end. This is a small triumph for those who want to marry, but it’s not quite the tip of the equal rights iceberg. Cis, straight and gay people we urge you not to wipe your hands and say done and done triumphantly. Those fighting for equality still have more work to do and those suffering from inequality are still suffering.
It seems odd that the articles by those who still oppose equal marriage (sorry, I mean the change in definition of marriage) haven't set off alarm bells for more of those who have celebrated the change in law. And you can't just dismiss it with a high school style 'are those people still talking?’' Because yes, they are and now they're claiming victim. Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail called for tolerance of those opposing the freedom to marry loved one: "The gay community has fought all along for tolerance, and rightly so. But surely it should extend both ways." Deep, Amanda.
So there's some straight bashing (AKA disagreeing) going on apparently. Meanwhile a survey, Youth Chances, found in January this year that of 7000 17-24 year olds 42% had sought medical help for anxiety or depression. 52% reported self harm and 44% had contemplated suicide. Of the 7000 respondents to the survey 6,514 were LGBT or questioning, 956 were trans and 612 heterosexual and cis.
In 2009 the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network published Harsh Realities - The Experience of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools. They found that: "Two-thirds of transgender students felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation (69%) and how they expressed their gender (65%). Transgender students were more likely to feel unsafe in school because of a personal characteristic than were non-transgender students (82% of transgender students compared to 67% of female students, 68% of male students, and 73% of students with other gender identities)".
So there's some straight bashing (AKA disagreeing) going on apparently. Meanwhile a survey, Youth Chances, found in January this year that of 7000 17-24 year olds 42% had sought medical help for anxiety or depression. 52% reported self harm and 44% had contemplated suicide. Of the 7000 respondents to the survey 6,514 were LGBT or questioning, 956 were trans and 612 heterosexual and cis.
In 2009 the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network published Harsh Realities - The Experience of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools. They found that: "Two-thirds of transgender students felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation (69%) and how they expressed their gender (65%). Transgender students were more likely to feel unsafe in school because of a personal characteristic than were non-transgender students (82% of transgender students compared to 67% of female students, 68% of male students, and 73% of students with other gender identities)".
| The site for the National Coalition for the Homeless published statistics on homeless LGBT youth in 2009, they found that 20% of homeless youth were LGBT. In 2009 10% of the general youth population identified as LGBT. | We need to remember that victimisation goes beyond a failure to recognise a partnership being worthy of marriage. |
It is sadly and expectedly typical to find that homeless youth have experienced severe family conflict - a factor in their homeless status. The LGBT youth among these numbers are twice as likely to have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 12. It's not a pity competition by any means, but we must be aware that it’s hard enough to know where to go when your sexuality matches up with the accepted norm.
The NCH found that homeless LGBT youth were around 25% more likely to be "sexually victimised" than heterosexual homeless youth. Homeless LGBT youth have a higher risk of victimisation, mental health problems and unsafe sexual practices. They are 7.4 times more likely to experience sexual violence and suicide rates among homeless LGBT youth are 33% higher than heterosexual homeless youth.
We need to remember that victimisation goes beyond a failure to recognise a partnership being worthy of marriage. We must not forget in a swirl of confetti and legitimate joy that people are still dying, in Uganda, in America, in the UK, pick a country any country because of their sexuality and wish to live as the person they truly are. We must not back down. We must not forget.
If you want to focus on marriage - which is a step towards proper recognition of different sexualities - however how about you think about this. In Scotland the Same Sex Marriage bill will allow for gender neutral wedding vows. Equal marriage? We're not done yet.
Squeamish Kate
The NCH found that homeless LGBT youth were around 25% more likely to be "sexually victimised" than heterosexual homeless youth. Homeless LGBT youth have a higher risk of victimisation, mental health problems and unsafe sexual practices. They are 7.4 times more likely to experience sexual violence and suicide rates among homeless LGBT youth are 33% higher than heterosexual homeless youth.
We need to remember that victimisation goes beyond a failure to recognise a partnership being worthy of marriage. We must not forget in a swirl of confetti and legitimate joy that people are still dying, in Uganda, in America, in the UK, pick a country any country because of their sexuality and wish to live as the person they truly are. We must not back down. We must not forget.
If you want to focus on marriage - which is a step towards proper recognition of different sexualities - however how about you think about this. In Scotland the Same Sex Marriage bill will allow for gender neutral wedding vows. Equal marriage? We're not done yet.
Squeamish Kate
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