Marriage Should Not Determine Equality Why Assimilation Equals Death

Marriage Should Not Determine Equality Why Assimilation Equals Death image via http://www.ctv.ca So, whenever the sector of the queer population that is more palatable to straight society is held up as the model and the ultimate goal, minorities within the queer community suffer greatly. With shows such as The New Normal and Modern Family that present white, cisgender males as the over-reaching image of gayness and queerness, queer POCs and many others are disenfranchised. Homonormativity in the media maintains classist, racist systems in which only married males can enjoy acceptance and rights in society,  and the rest have to scrape by in order to live decent lives without the support of the state. People such as pansexuals, trans* individuals, bisexuals and non-normative queers are left out of representation and out of the face of our community. An issue that goes unaddressed and that is far more important than the quest for quasi-heterosexuality in the predominantly white, middle class gay section of the community is queer youth homelessness. No, they dont have time to think about weddings or whether they will one day have a family because they are too concerned with drug addiction and surviving on the streets. The fact is that 58 percent of homeless queer and transgender youth have been sexually assaulted compared to 38  percent of heterosexual homeless youth. Forty four percent  have been stopped on the street and been asked to exchange sex for money, drugs, shelter or clothes. Homeless queer youth are essentially invisible, as federal programs fail to protect them. Out of the federal governments $4.2 billion budget allocated for homeless-assistance programs, only $195 million goes toward homeless youth programs. image via http://fortytonone.org We arent asking for much. We are only asking that all are included within those words that are supposed to make us a community. We only ask that rights are given to all, and that all of our issues and struggles are prioritized by the federal government, and by the governments of other countries, but mainly by ours, as this is the place we call home. image via https://decolonizechris.wordpress.com It is the reason why anti-assimilationist groups who actively oppose the setting up of such a hierarchy with white gays at the top are so upsetbecause equality is much more than being allowed into their systems of oppression and allowing them to determine the full array of queer relationships and unions through state sanctions. The change that is being striven for isnt a change that many queers wish to be a part of. It is a change in which many of them are still disenfranchised. Why strive for an equality in a system that denies their very existence and their very rights? Why settle for marriage and being able to serve in the army and fight for the patriarchal, capitalistic values of the oppressors? image via http://www.columbia.edu What happened to our Stonewall? What happened to our spirit? What happened when we just grabbed life and our rights by the horns? Why has anarch-queer become such a foul word? Why do we forget that it was trans-women that fought for us, and queer POCs? The truth is that focus on one of our problems is killing countless of us. We need our stories told. We need our role models that represent us and that show the world that there is more to us than they would like to recognize. We need more people like Janet Mock and our Laverne Cox. We need more films that show all bodies and all identities and all orientations, not just the ones that the public and our community has been mass-fed and deemed palatable enough to digest and invite to Christmas dinner. image via http://colorlines.com Our purpose shouldnt be about convincing non-queers that we are deserving of human rights, whether married or not. We have to convince them just how non-threatening we are, and just how much we appreciate whatever meager representation we can get, and whatever they throw at us. This is simply not okay, and this is not acceptable. We should not have to settle for this. We should not settle for becoming cute accessories or a single Pride event. We should engage in politics, and remind the heterosexual majority that we are here to stay in all of our glory whether they want it or not. People didnt get their rights by sitting still and waiting for them. image https://queersingularity.wordpress.com Assimilation equals death. Marriage should not determine equality. We are a rainbow. We are here to stay.