I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I just learned about my state’s ENDA, seeing as how I’m a student of Gender and Media studies, and I work in human resources for a fairly progressive organization, and I’m queer.
You can read more about Colorado’s Employment Non-Discrimination Act here.
In short, this law prohibits discrimination in employment based on “a person’s orientation toward heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, or transgender status.”
From a queer theory standpoint, it is important to address how ENDA legally identifies heterosexuality as a sexual orientation. Not, mind you, that I believe hetero-discrimination is rampant, or even statistically significant enough to receive more than a token mention. Rather, identifying heterosexuality as a sexual orientation which should receive legal protection calls attention to the prevalence of heteronormativity.
I realize that your average Jill or Jim won’t necessarily practice an in-depth semantic analysis of ENDA. Neverhteless, the wording of this bill tacitly points out that straight people have a sexual orientation, just as white people have a race, and men have a gender, fill-in-the-blank ad naueseum. In order to engage in social justice work, activists must also consider the unearned advantages we receive.
I was also pleased to learn that Colorado’s ENDA is trans-inclusive. Many of the prominent liberal gay rights organizations in the U.S. actively practice transphobia, the HRC being a prime example. Although the LGBTQSS community as a whole must tackle a vast array of issues, valuing legal protections for some of us over legal protections for all of us is a divisive and ineffectual strategy for creating radical change. Furthermore, liberal activist strategies erode the gorgeous complexities of our lives by effectively silencing anyone who doesn’t fit neatly into some essentialist model of sexuality. Placing the rights of LGB people before the rights of “T” people neatly negates the existence of queer-identified transpeople.
I’m not advocating minimizing differences within the queer movement, but if we waste too much time leveraging our differences against each other, I don’t think we have much of a movement.
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