The LGBTQ Movement (Blog #8)

This week we had Shane Whalley speak to our Social Justice class, and I found it very enriching. Shane Whalley is the Education Coordinator of the Gender and Sexuality Center in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (...wow!). She talked to us about the LGBTQ movement, the language and its relationship with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. 

Interestingly enough, an individual’s sexual orientation and the way they identify themselves isn’t always visible. This got me thinking about having to work in communities and organizations; what is the best way to address someone when you’re unsure of their identity? It varies with every person, it depends on your relationship with them, and their level of comfort. Asking for the individual’s pronouns is something that can be appreciated; Shane gave us a great example at how her personal trainer asked for her pronouns when they first met. Her trainer's efforts in having an open-minded perspective was one that gained appreciation. Our society is socialized to avoid these situations, but many times it is just visibility that is needed--getting noticed and being accepted.

For me, one of the biggest take aways was Whalley’s usage of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in relation to the LGBTQ movement. As a class, we listed factors that impede or negatively affect the LGBTQ movement. Some of these included media, religion, transgender military, the news, sexual exploitation, homelessness, employment, and violence, among others. We then began to categorize them in the levels we thought they belonged to. Marriage was categorized in the third level, Love and Belonging. As a nation, we have seen a social movement advocating for same-sex marriage rights the most. Nevertheless, this categorized above the many issues in the physiological and security levels. The main issue now is that people funding this movement are on level 3, leaving levels 1 and 2 behind and unaddressed. The point was that we shouldn’t be following the money, we should be following the crisis of need. This allowed me to see the big picture and I noticed this is an issue that affects acceptance in society. While this was solely on the LGBTQ movement, I understand that an important factor in working in a macro level community is addressing every level starting with the physiological needs, then a sense of security, following belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. This can be a reason for setbacks, and ineffective teamwork in communities or organizations. Analyzing what people need and ensuring that they are getting those needs is vital to a successful macro-level organization.

Observation: We were doing a planks' competition, and it consisted of four different groups. I noticed a guy tell his group that they better not lose because there were three girls in the other group.