GL vs BT: Why We Aren't A Real LGBT Movement Yet
Filed By Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | December 05, 2011 12:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/12/gl_vs_bt_why_we_arent_a_real_lgbt_movement_yet.phpSeveral years ago, I wrote an article entitled "GL versus BT: The Archaeology of Biphobia and Transphobia Within the U.S. Gay and Lesbian Community" for the Journal of Bisexuality's special 2003 issue called InterSEXions Of The Others. I was pleased to receive a call from the Journal noting that the article was one of the top downloads cited from their site, and requesting a HRC: Equal or Less Than?reflective paper on how subsequent events have impacted the issues I discussed.
The original paper made the point that heterosexism against bisexuals and transgenders exists not only in the straight community but in the gay and lesbian community as well. Are 'biphobia' and 'transphobia' examples of 'phobias'--irrational fears? No, such heterosexist attitudes are all too rational, mirroring social tensions, which only appear to be an ahistorical psychological phenomenon. Rather, as the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) community developed, power relations arose which resulted in the four different groups (G/L/B/T), assigning them different social locations. Prejudice in gay and lesbian communities against bisexuals and transgenders is heterosexism because it is, among other things, an accommodationist attempt to discover these more 'radical' forms of sexuality.
