In the United States, gender, sexual orientation, class and race or ethnicity (G,SO,C,R,E) are strong identity markers and are also axes of inequality. Which of these aspects of your identity is strongest? How would you describe it and why do you think it is “strongest” or most salient?
Regarding the identity markers of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and class, I would like to say my strongest identity marker is my sexual orientation. I discussed some of this in last weeks writings, but I wear my sexuality on my sleeve. I am gay and I love being gay, so this aspect is often reflected in how I dress, act, and speak. This is why I think my sexual orientation is my strongest identity marker, because it’s the identity marker that I embrace the most and the most proud of. To this point, when strangers see me in public, I believe this aspect is the first thing they notice about me. This isn’t a bad thing to me, because I love being gay, however, it’s the reality.
I know people see my sexuality first because I often get stares from older generations, or, younger generations tend to hype me up. To be honest, the stares I get from older generations don’t affect me whatsoever, because to be frank, I don’t care when they think. These older people’s opinion’s dont’ matter to me, so their stares don’t affect me. I will say, so far, I’ve never been treated differently because of my sexual orientation. Like I said, I’ve recieved stares from strangers, but when I’ve interacted with an individual, they’ve never treated me different because of the way I present. I honestly think this is one of the reasons why I’m unaffected by others, because I’ve never experienced being treated differently, so I never change myself to adapt to the social norms.
Given 20 years ago, I would most definitely be afraid going into public and even applying to jobs, with the fear that I would be turned away because I was gay. However, today, I don’t possess this fear which I am very fortunate for. Being a white gay man from an upper-middle-class family, I am aware of the privilege that I have and how the intersectionality of my identity markers helps me. I don’t know the exact statistic, but gay people of color are at more risk of hate crimes, and beyond that, black trans women are the most in danger of hate crimes, with many black trans women losing their lives simply based on hate. This is why I think it’s important to acknowledge my privilege of being gay and white because there is an aspect of me that fits into the social norms of society, a society made for white people.
