Running Head: LGBT A-Z Community Safe Space
LGBT A-Z Community Safe Space
Alex Westerlund
California State University Monterey Bay
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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LGBT A-Z Community Safe Space
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Safe Space vs. Safe Zone
When discussing safety for the LGBT A-Z Community, the notions of “Safe
Space” and “Safe Zone” get brought up, rightfully so. A safe zone is a public or private
space that is meant to help the gay community feel accepted. It is usually a location
where they can go to receive different services (counseling, suicide prevention, coming
out tips, etc.) This is usually a room or designated place where this community can feel
relaxed while expressing themselves. Safe space refers to general public spaces. This is
anywhere that both queer and straight communities have access to. Safe zone is a place
where the LGBT A-Z Community knows they are welcomed and will not usually be
forced out of their comfort zone. I will be discussing Safe space throughout the rest of
this paper. Being that a public space welcomes all opinions, Safe space may or may not
be a place that has contradictory ideas than that of the LGBT A-Z Community.
University Safe Space
The majority of students tend to assume they are safe while on a university
campus, making universities a generally safe space. However, “more than one-third
(36%) of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender undergraduate students have
experienced harassment” (Rankin, 2003). LGBT A-Z identified students do not have the
luxury of making the assumption that university public space is safe space. “In a recent
study, more than 42 percent of students who identified as being LGBT reported being
forced to have sex against their will, more than double the rate of heterosexual students”
(NSVRC, 2012). Not only are they more likely to be sexually assaulted, they are also
least likely to report it out of fear of being discriminated against or outed.
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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In March of 2013, President Obama signed a reauthorization of the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) and was originally signed by President Clinton in 1994. It
took 20 years for this act to also protect members of the LGBT A-Z Community.
Perspectives
“Because of your dyke card you faggot,” these were the words I heard from a
fellow classmate at the age of 12 after her, her sister, and friends took turns punching,
kicking, and hitting me. This was in response to a Valentine’s Day card I wrote that read,
“Can we be friends, XOX Alex.” This was the first time I felt unsafe in a public space
because of my sexual orientation. This experience is the reason why I question my safety
in any public space. The LGBT A-Z Community, a term used to encompass a range of
expressions, identities, and orientations within the greater gay community, has fallen
victim to many unsafe experiences within a public space.
In today’s society we like to think that “gay issues” are a thing of the past. Society
seems to believe that because there have been improvements toward making equality
something obtainable, that there is no longer a need for a movement. However, recently
in June of 2013, the Russian government passed a law that banned “homosexual
propaganda.” This vague term was used to encompass anything pertaining to the greater
queer community. In July, a law was passed banning the adoption of Russian born
children to gay couples. With this government approved discrimination being allowed, all
public space has become dangerous to the LGBT A-Z Community within Russia.
Respondents to a survey in India “said they would be ashamed to have a gay son,
and 89% of them said that being around homosexual men makes them uncomfortable”
(The World Bank Group). With homophobia so prominent in India, being an “out”
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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member of the LGBT A-Z Community can mean risking your life. There are 82 countries
that have anti-homosexuality laws; eighty-two countries where being part of the LGBT
A-Z Community can mean jeopardizing your safety.
People like to think that something this discriminatory could not be happening
close to home. Being that I am a self-identified bisexual female college student, I was
curious to see how the LGBT A-Z Community felt on the California State University
Monterey Bay Campus. I conducted a survey for another course, SBS 366 Research
Methods, which sought to answer the question how safe does the LGBT A-Z Community
feel on the CSUMB Campus. In response to the question, “have you heard a derogatory
statement in regards to your Sexual Orientation,” one participant said the following: “Not
mine, but I hear people say that is gay all the time. One time I saw three people surround
one person by the back of the library screaming mean things like you’re a fag so you
don’t count as a person.” Another said they have heard “you can’t be gay you’re too
normal and pretty.” “One person was saying how gays are termites and should just
disappear.” The same open-ended question was asked in regards to their Gender Identity.
Some of the responses were: “not really anything out of the normal sexist comments,”
and “I’ve been told I dress too much like a boy and I should dress more like a girl by a
fellow student.” I believe that some people have become so accustomed to hearing,
seeing, and experiencing inequalities that they have come to view it as normal. So, maybe
they feel safe because they believe there is no harm in the “normal sexist comments” they
hear on campus.
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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Literature Review
The concept of “safe space” may mean something different to each individual or
group. To some it mainly encompasses the feeling of being comfortable (Stengel and
Weems2010; Fox and Ore 2010; Oswin 2008). Others are able to separate the meaning
of safe from comfort and see it to be more about openness (Holley and Steiner 2005; Cole
and Lee 2011; Sanschagrin 2011). However, both understandings of this concept of “safe
space” take into consideration physical and psychological space. I will be drawing from
both sides; Lynn Holley’s understanding of “safe space” is as follows:
“Safe space does not necessarily refer to an environment without discomfort,
struggle, or pain. Being safe is not the same as being comfortable. To grow and
learn, students often must confront issues that make them uncomfortable and
force them to struggle with who they are and what they believe” (Holley &
Steiner, 2005)
While I agree with the above statement Fox et al. 2010 found that, “Overwhelmingly, all
students equated safety with feeling comfortable to ‘be who I am,” I cannot disregard
what multiple people have come to define safe space as. I will be using a combination of
both; understanding that the ultimate goal of safe space may be to have all feel
comfortable, but the road there may not, and does not have to be comfortable.
The focus of this portion will be on safe space within the LGBT A-Z Community.
The need for LGBT safe spaces is clear as high rates of violence, suicides, and substance
abuse, and overall alienation continue to affect the lives of LGBT people (Fox and Ore
2010; Kallitsis 2014; Sanschagrin 2011). When it comes to defining safe space for the
LGBT A-Z Community safe is once again synonymous with comfort (Fox and Ore 2010;
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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Sanschagrin 2011). Sanschagrin uses the analysis found through feminist research
through an intersectional lens on safe space and applies it to LGBT safe space. She states,
“women’s fear in public spaces links directly to their equality.” The more identities a
person has stacked in away of being more favorable the safer they feel in public space.
This is to compare a white, heterosexual, upper class woman to black, lesbian, lower
class woman; one will feel more comfortable in most public spaces. The more equality
or equity a person has, the safer they feel in public. Kallitsis points out that the LGBT AZ Community are not equal they are “being deprived from the right to have an identity,”
while in some unsafe public spaces. Fox et al. found that the LGBT A-Z Community
wants a safe space to be an area where they can “just be gay,” where they can be free to
be who they are.
Comfort vs. Discomfort
Most people believe safe is to be comfortable. However, a safe space that
encompasses the LGBT A-Z Community will have to be one that is open to hearing
opposing ideas. This may make some uncomfortable. The idea of safety being
comfortable is one where people want to be able to express their own opinions and
identities. There may be clashing opinions in a safe (public) space that includes the
LGBT A-Z Community. So with this being said it is obvious that safe space will have to
be uncomfortable at times. Disagreement should not mean that either side is unsafe, but
should mean they are in a safe environment where their voices are heard. A safe space
such as this will have to have a range of positions available, expressing all sides of
conflicting interests, including those for, against and questioning the greater LGBT A-Z
Community.
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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Everyone in the safe space that has a disagreement with the LGBT identities,
orientations, and expressions is either coming from a place of ignorance, hatred, or lack
of being exposed to this particular community. This is where we as a whole need to make
it safe for both communities. We need to understand that it is okay to be uncomfortable
with something we are not used to, but we also need to try and reach an agreement.
In order to help others grow to be more accepting, we need to move away from
the notion that safe doesn’t always mean comfortable. Now, I understand that there is a
line between having a disagreement and fearing for your life. While in public space it is
difficult to tell when someone is trying to gain a better understanding or is trying to
purposefully attack someone within the LGBT A-Z Community. What happened to me in
6th grade was not a demonstration of someone trying to understand my bisexual identity.
Nevertheless, they were coming from a place of ignorance. Their understanding of the
LGBT A-Z Community comes from what was told to them. When she read my card, she
was frightened that she would be seen as deviant and had to ensure that she was seen as
heterosexual and against “homosexuality.”
Favorable Identities
As mentioned earlier, equality is directly linked to how safe a person may feel in
public spaces. Considering our society tends to rank some identities higher than other,
this can mean not only are the “lesser” identities discriminated against, but they are also
more likely to feel less safe in public spaces. An intersectional approach can show that
the more favorable identities a person has, is correlated to how safe one would feel when
accessing public spaces. Parent, DeBlaere, and Moradi found that, “gender intersects with
other social identities and categories, including but not limited to ability status, age,
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, and social class. Gender has been viewed as a critical
means by which societal structures of power, privilege, and oppression are shaped”
(2013).
There is hardly ever a disagreement when it comes to gender being a way of
justification for oppression. This is because we can clearly see this being demonstrated
through our defined gender roles, lack of equity in the work place, and lack of women in
politics. A part of gender that does not get discussed is the “other” section, usually
comprised of “deviant” gender identities. This group is often seen below the female
gender because they go against societal norms, and they experience even more inequality.
Conclusion
Safe spaces need to exist not so that people can “come-out” and express to
everyone that they are part of the LGBT A-Z Community, but instead offer a place where
these identities and orientations are not seen to be different. Being in a public space
should not mean that you are not able to express who you are or what you believe, but
should mean you are safe regardless of your identities. A Mexican-American bisexual
female should feel just as safe in any public space as a white straight, male, but both of
their opinions matter and should be able to be expressed. Identities become so
intersectional that it becomes difficult to separate one from the other, and this should not
be a measure of how much equality a person is shown. Safety at its core is not only a
matter of being comfortable but also includes, being understood, being seen as an equal
and being free to express oneself.
This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.
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This paper was written for Dr. Kathryn Poethig’s Spring 2014 GS 350 Gender Violence Course.