State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11790-0651 Marc Gunning 25-Feb-1992 01:59pm EST FROM: MGUNNING TO: Lesbigay Netters ( _gaynet@athena.mit.edu ) SUBJECT: While cleaning out my files... I found this essay I wrote for the the publication "OUT on Campus". It's long, but maybe it'll spark some discussion in the interim of my being able to get back onto the Net. "OUT on Campus" is published by the American College Personnel Associations Standing Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Awareness. It's edited by John Mueller here at U.S.B., and he's often looking for submissions to be included in new editions. (John also receives GayNet, so you can contact him through the Net.) Beyond the Pecking Order "As a black woman, a lesbian, a feminist and an activist, I can see how the different forms of oppression interconnect if for no other reason than their meshings so often affect my life." - Barbara Smith Is racism worse than sexism? Is heterosexism less important than either of those? I ask this question because there seems to be a pecking order being placed on these forms of oppression that pits marginalized groups against each other and invalidates the intermingling that occurs within all classes of people. The end result is a general weakening of the ties and bonds that need to be strengthened between all groups of people. Racism, sexism and heterosexism are different forms of oppression running on parallel tracks that interconnect at various points. Research has shown, for example, that people who maintain racist attitudes also tend to maintain sexist and homophobic attitudes. Yet homophobia exists among some people of color, racism exist in the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities, sexism and misogyny exists in the gay male communities. The validity of the call for tolerance and acceptance of lesbigay people is weakened when it is made by people who are intolerant of others. I took the "politically correct" way out when I wrote that last sentence. I wanted to write: "The validity of OUR call for tolerance and acceptance of lesbigay people is weakened when we are intolerant of others." Of course, we aren't the problem. We are open minded. We don't discriminate or oppress others. At least that's the comfortable way of looking at things, although it's not always truthful. When I speak on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues, I sometimes anger people when I talk about "pseudo-liberals". Pseudo-liberals are fence sitters. They are the people who often talk about how bad racism/sexism/homophobia is, yet they rarely do something about it. They like to profess how open minded they are, yet rarely engage in soul searching about where their values truly lie. They may speak about acceptance and tolerance but rarely, if ever, about admiration, respect, appreciation or support. They are often vehement in their denial that they may be prejudiced. And they often get angry and defensive when they hear themselves being described. I can handle an open bigot because at least I know up front where he or she is coming from. I can use logic and rational arguments to defuse the impact that they can have on myself and others. A pseudo-liberal, however, can inflict much more damage. Since they are only willing to go so far, the sudden withdrawal of support and assistance can be devastating to someone in need. It's like having a dentist drill out the decay in a cavity and then not fill it. We need to fully understand the impact that the racism, sexism, and heterosexism in our society has on us. For example, as a male of European descent, I must accept the fact that I have received at least two points of privilege by an accident of birth. I must also accept the fact that these two points of privilege come at the expense of someone else's equal status in this society. When I drive the long island Expressway (an oxymoron, of course) in a fancy car, I rarely get pulled over by the police. My friends of African descent don't enjoy that privilege. A young Black man in a fancy car is suspect in our society and pays a heavy price for that prejudice. One needs only to look at history to see how each of these issues affect us all. Ethnocentricity and racism, for example, may be one of the root causes of homophobia and heterosexism. The Eurocentric tradition of conquer, colonize and exploit has had devastating effects on many world cultures. Cases in point include the near genocide of Native Americans; the enslavement of many Africans; the British occupation of India and subsequent massacres of many of its people and the Apartheid system in South Africa. These traditions included the belief that Judeo- Christian ethics were superior to all other beliefs and practices. As a result for many centuries, inhuman acts against lesbian, gay and bisexual people and people who practiced other religions were often rationalized in the name of God. Additionally, sexism and misogyny may very well be tied into the origins of homophobia and heterosexism. Our society devalues women and the roles that they play in it. There are many indicates of this: the bias crimes of rape and domestic violence; the under-representation of women in our executive work force; the exploitation of women as objects of sexual desire in advertising practices; etc. Indeed, the very value of a woman in this society is often gauged by her availability for sexually satisfying men. Lesbian women are devalued because of their gender and because they do not make themselves available to men. Recent reports about the high incidence of men raping lesbian women seem to bear this out. Gay men are often perceived as having given up their male privilege and as acting like women. Again, reports about the rape of gay men by non-gay men lend evidence to this. (Read Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism by Suzanne Pharr (1988) for a more indepth examination of this theory.) Additionally, it is important for us to realize how the forms of oppression interconnect through examining the implementation of systematic oppression. I believe that there are five very basic systematic ways in which oppression is instituted. I outlined these five ways at last year's ACPA conference in Atlanta in a presentation called "Intervention Strategies for Assisting Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Persons." The first method is to accentuate differences between the oppressors and the oppressed. Members of the oppressing group often take an ethnocentric, egocentric view towards the group members of the oppressed group. Any similarities that may exist between the groups are often invalidated and ignored, while differences are exaggerated. "Our" ways becomes better than "their" ways. Some specific examples in history include: the darker skin tone of people of African descent was often used as "evidence" of inferiority by persons of European descent; the cross gender role behavior exhibited by some gay and lesbian people was often cited as evidence of poor social adjustment, emotional distress or retarded psychosexual development. The second method was to dehumanize and demonize the oppressed group. The oppressors devalues the role that the oppressed group has had in its society and its history. Labels and names that dehumanize the oppressed group are used with greater frequency, and members of the oppressed group are often treated as less than human. Some specific examples in history include buying and selling enslaved people as if they were livestock; the incarceration of physically and otherwise challenged people in institutions and denying them fundamental treatment and care; the myths about Jewish people having tales and horns; the World War II propaganda movies depicting the Japanese as a sadistic, twisted people. The third method is to "establish" that the members of the oppressed group are a threat to the well being of the society. The utilization of this method include the proliferation of propaganda and distortions to accentuate fears about the group to oppressed. Institutional support (educational, medical, civil, etc.) is often garnered to be used against the oppressed group. The oppressed group is purported to be a threat to the values, economy, religious beliefs, morals, or overall well being of the society. An especially insidious, yet highly effective, use of this method includes portraying the oppressed group as a threat to children. Some examples in history include: immediately prior to the Holocaust, the Nazis spread rumors that Jews cooked and ate little German children; up until very recently, many women were routinely prescribed addictive such as Valium for problems that did not warrant such medicines; during the 1970's Anita Bryant and John Briggs sought to portray lesbian, gay and bisexual people as a threat to children and "traditional" family values. The fourth method is to remove equal protection and rights. Institutional systems are used to ensure that the oppressed group does not receive financial, legal, or civil protection. Often laws that discriminate are passed because the oppressed group has little power to stop them from being enacted. Specific examples include: at the start of the Holocaust, Jews were denied access to public transportation systems, forbidden from participating in the theater, and were forced out of positions of authority and/or power; the United States military is permitted to discriminate against lesbigay people despite overwhelming evidence that its reasons for doing so are invalid; "Jim Crow" laws were passed in many states that allowed for separate public utilities for "blacks" and "whites". The final step is to resort to violence. Opposition to oppression is often met with brutal violence from the oppressors. Verbal and physical harassment, bias related crimes, and violations of civil rights are common and often encouraged by some members of the oppressing group. Some of the specific examples of this include: from about 1850 to 1950, approximately five thousand men and boys of African descent were lynched, burned, beaten or shot to death in the United States; in the 1930's, Ghandhi's famous salt marches and other nonviolent demonstrations were often met with violent opposition from colonial British troops; bias related violence against lesbian, gay and bisexual people is the fastest growing hate crime in the United States. By taking a global view of the differing forms of oppression we can begin to see how interwoven they become. Our responsibility, once realizing this, is to take ownership for each form of oppression as if it directly affected us. Since there is an intermingling of marginalized people within all our communities, we strengthen our communities by recognizing the unique needs and experiences of underrepresented lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Additionally, we gain the opportunity to build coalitions and support among marginalized group rather than continuing the self defeating fight to maintain a pecking order. Our communities are a source of strength, support, and enrichment. In order to maintain these qualities, we need to continue to make our communities open, accessible and welcoming to our members and our allies. In order to truly end oppression, we must build bridges that span the schisms that exist between groups of marginalized people and forge coalitions. In order to establish the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people we must ensure that they do not come at the expense of another's rights. By making the true commitment to stand united against all forms of oppression and bigotry, we form a patchwork majority of substance and power. We then can fully realize the meaning of Martin Luther King, Jr's words, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."_