Thinking outside the rainbow: women of color redefining queer politics and identity

Abstract

This research explores the numerous ways queer Latinas and Asian/Pacific Islander women are marginalized in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement and their racial/ethnic communities in regards to their intersecting, subordinate identities. Through in-depth interviews with 25 queer identified women and ethnographic observation at Gay Pride events, this research examines how the women interviewed make sense of their overlapping oppressions as they affect and frame their experiences and shape their identities. By integrating Collins' notion of the outsider-within along with Sandoval's concept of differential oppositional consciousness, I assert that queer Latinas and Asian/ Pacific Islander women experience marginality within the mainstream LGBT movement primarily as a function of invisibility that serves simultaneously as a source of alienation and empowerment, ultimately serving to challenge hegemonic notions of queer identity and politics.

Queer Farmers: Sexuality and the Transition to Sustainable Agriculture

“…Tiffany reflected on the newly achieved rights, “the fact that the gay rights movement has been about marriage … feels like we are just becoming part of … the status quo as usual, instead of trying to push boundaries… . [T]he state associates various benefits with marriage and there are so many relationships that are not recognized.” Some queer people do not embrace the mainstream LGBT movement's focus on marriage equality, which they see as less important than other queer issues (Alimahomed ; Boykin ; Egan and Sherrill ). Instead of adopting the heteronormative model of marriage, others, like Tiffany, would rather see wider acceptance of alternative queer family and relationship models, which are not necessarily based on a home life of a long‐term, monogamous relationship.…”

An Ecological Framework for Sexual Minority Women’s Health: Factors Associated With Greater Body Mass

“…Disabled women and older lesbians often feel excluded from broader lesbian communities and social networks (Wadle & O'Toole, 2010;Knochel & Quam, 2010) because of issues of accessibility and interests (i.e., dances or social events cater to younger generations). SMW of color may also feel less involved in lesbian communities based on lesbian separatist principles, which developed out of White, middle-class women's value systems and experiences (Alimahomed, 2010;Lyle, Jones, & Drakes, 1999). For White bisexual women, queer women of color, and older and disabled lesbians, invisibility in lesbian communities may lead to feeling like an outsider on the margins of many communities.…”

Sexual Disclosure among College Students in the American Deep South: Toward a “Sexuality as Structure” Approach

“…We summed these items to get a rough count of the number of gay men and lesbians known by the student. Contact with the gay community was determined by asking if the student had ever participated in any of eleven different items: going to a gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender (GLBT) 6 bar; attending a gay pride event; belonging to a GLBT organization (Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG, etc. ); purchasing a GLBT publication (books, magazines, etc.…”

“…An exploratory principal components factor analysis of the 15 items (excluding the "none/no one" response) yielded a two factor solution (KMO msa=0.797); the varimax rotated solution identified a "disclosure to family" factor (eigen value=3.40) and a "disclosure to friends" factor (eigen value=3.56). Using this 6 In this article we focus on the disclosure of gay, lesbian and bisexual students, not transgender students; we acknowledge that the disclosure experiences of transgender people may differ from gay students, from lesbian students and from bisexual students (just as each of these groups may differ from the others). However, in the section of the questionnaire assessing students' contact with the gay community, we included gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the verbiage.…”

“…This hegemonic gay identity presumes a white and middle class position, often from urban male spaces. Thus, many gay and lesbian stories--often due to age, racial, sex, religious, and geographic differences--have been excluded by the assumptions of post-closet theory [6][7][8][9]. The recognition of these varied and often marginalized GLB experiences is necessary in order to better understand and In this article we seek a better understanding of sexual disclosure among college students in the American Deep South.…”