LGBT Students of Color
- Are there any special concerns for LGBT students of color?
-
When a student is both a person of color and an LGBT person, he/she
may feel that only one part of his/her identity can be primary.
Often, LGBT people of color feel pulled by each of their cultures
to primarily identify with one culture. Because the LGBT identity
is often invisible, it is easy to deny or ignore that aspect of the
self. For many it is difficult to strike a balance that allows them
to be empowered and liberated in both (or all of) their identities.
Multiple oppression affects their lives because:
• They feel they do not know who they are.
• They do not know which part of them is most important to
embrace.
• They do not know how to deal with one part of their
identity oppressing another
part of their identity.
• They may not have anyone to talk to about the split they
feel in their person.
• They feel misunderstood by each group as they consider both
parts
equally important.
The experience of each racial/ethnic group is different depending
on cultural values and beliefs about LGBT people. Each person
should be considered individually for the effects on his or her
life of having multiple identities.
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of
their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.