White gay man

Gay Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Sims said his experience as a gay white cisgender man — and the discrimination he has faced on account of his sexual orientation — has made him more sympathetic to the plight of members of the community who are more disenfranchised than he is. We have seen a white gay man named Ed Buck escape accountability for the deaths of two Black gay men found in his home — a jarring reality that shows us just how much power white queers wield.

Gay white men were born gay, but they were also raised and socialized as white men — the social group vested with the most privilege in America. But here's the brutal truth: The social. In mainstream gay media, the phrase almost always refers to a fairly specific subset of the LGBTQ "community" largely made up of white gay cis men — even though many of the battles won.

White, cis, gay men must examine and dismantle our own prejudices, including transphobia, racism and fatphobia. The work of equity and inclusion must start within our community itself. No, not all white cis gay males are selfish. Yes, the way I have opened the article is deliberately provocative because it seems to draw on a certain stereotype. There has been a shift in the last ten to fifteen years, and it worries me.

Gay men have changed, and not for the better. Anyone confused by the reference should google Trainspotting. Nevertheless, as with any such legal and social gains, either real or perceived, it is men who invariably rise to the top. Or rather, the main beneficiaries have become more comfortable, and those who have gained the most are those at the top of the privilege totem; the white cis gay men.

Denying the fact that gay men have a position of privilege within the community is nothing more than crass ignorance. Privilege in itself is not as much of a problem if people are aware of it and are proactive in trying to break it down, or using their privileged position to redress the balance between themselves and others. Unfortunately, so many white cis gay men fall into two camps no pun intended : those who are blissfully ignorant of their position; or, more worryingly, those who consciously enjoy their privilege too much to care about others.

Those who have gained the most are those at the top of the privilege totem; the white cis gay men. Gay men care less about the rest of the community and, in a wider sense, they care less about society as a whole. Race is pretty good starting point. This begs the question, where on earth is the sense of shared struggle that you would expect from white gay men?

The answer would appear to be no. Whilst it is not my intention to simply rehash evidence presented elsewhere, there is another aspect of the FS study into racism that is deserving of attention, and that is use of language by white gay men. Therefore it was saddening, but unsurprising, to hear that BME men were the subject of racist comments and taunts on dating apps, but what was more staggering was the sheer number of racist comments delivered face-to-face or in general social settings, such as bars and clubs.

Yet again, it would seem that white gay men happily feel empowered enough to express their racial prejudices quite openly. So what if POC face prejudice elsewhere? The irony is that white gay men would likely have identified more with their BME counterparts twenty years ago because they would have felt more of a sense of shared struggle.

White cis gay men have always struggled to do better in terms of trans issues. I cast my mind back 15 years to one particular bar I was fond of attending, which was popular with a great number of trans women; they would sit on one particular side of the bar where, invariably, they would face open verbal mockery or, at the very least, receive withering looks from the rest of the overwhelmingly white cis gay customers.

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Fast forward to and things are scarcely much better. Indeed, the social media explosion heralded by sites such as Facebook and Twitter has shown an awful that a huge amount of crass ignorance and transphobic rhetoric is still prevalent amongst the gay community. This is, on the surface, offset by admiration for high-profile trans figures such as Paris Lees, Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner.

Just as with issues of race, there seems to be a disconnection in the heads of many white cis gay males between the history of their own struggle and the current struggle faced by other members of their community. This is a very inconvenient truth for the average gay man who wants to join the party in Israel, as it so inconveniently gets in the way of all the fabulous fun that could be had in Tel Aviv. Who cares about the plight of the Palestinian people, or violations of international law, just as long as the gays get their party?

Yet again, it is testament to the fact that there is little to no identification with or empathy towards a group of people engaged in their own struggle. There seems to be a disconnection in the heads of many white cis gay males between the history of their own struggle and the current struggle faced by other members of their community.

When you can actually engage such gay men in debate, as opposed to being cold shouldered by them, you quickly come to realise that it is more important to them to assert their right to vote for whom they want and express outrage at you challenging them for this choice, than it is for them to consider members of their own community who are adversely affected by the party they champion.

White cis gay males have been able to close the privilege gap between themselves and their cisgender heterosexual counterparts, and many of them like it so much that they are willing to let those less fortunate than themselves, in their community and in the wider world, go to the dogs.