9781422275238

Introduction There are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community living all over the world. LGBTQ people come from every background imaginable, take part in countless careers and callings, and are active and celebrated members of communities. There are many different identities that are covered under the LGBTQ umbrella. It is possible that this book is your first introduction to the LGBTQ community. Perhaps you have a friend or family member who is part of the LGBTQ community, or you identify as LGBTQ yourself. This book is meant to offer everyone a guide to the double challenge faced by LGBTQ people who embody more than one minority identity that is marginalized. Many of the ideas that help us understand the multiple challenges that LGBTQ people with intersectional identities must overcome are based on important philosophical and sociological works. One of the influential philosophers who contributed to our understanding of identity politics was a gay man named Michel Foucault. He argued that societal norms perpetuate themselves by forcing people to conform to expected roles to avoid negative social consequences from their peers. People eventually begin to internalize the judgment of others, and they begin to police themselves in a never-ending attempt to match the normative ideal. Due to these pressures, members of the LGBTQ community sometimes find themselves facing additional challenges. In some instances, these challenges come from discrimination that occurs when a person decides to treat another person in a specific manner because they perceive that person to be a member of the LGBTQ community. In other words, the person becomes the target of discrimination because they were perceived to be LGBTQ. Not only can this treatment be extremely painful in the moment, but it can also cause long-lasting damage to a person’s well-being. However, every person embodies multiple identities. An LGBTQ person’s identity comprises more elements than being a member of the LGBTQ community. The nature of each person’s identity is a unique combination of variables and singular experiences. This idea was

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Double Challenge • Being LGBTQ and a Minority