Is There a Trade Off Between BAME and LGBT Diversity?

On the back of a few recent events (e.g. homophobic school protests, backlash over the BAME Pride flag) there is an increasing debate in society around whether there is a trade off between BAME and LGBT diversity.

As an LGBT person of colour, this is a topic I’m really interested in understanding more about and helping address. Whilst there is no black or white answer to this topic, I have put together some ideas around this topic, backed by research, in my latest LinkedIn article.

Does anyone have more information and/ any solutions to this topic? 

Context

Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia in the BAME Community

1. Cultural Attitudes: In the UK, among some racial groups, there is an assumption that being gay is a phenomenon limited to white people (Cahill, 2003). In 2010, the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British Home Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) noted a 65% increase in forced marriages among primarily British Asian men. Many in the British Asian community who contacted the FMU were put into forced marriages because their families suspected they were gay or bisexual (Hill, 2010). Some people have regarded anti-homophobia efforts aimed at the BAME community as racist, which makes many social critics reluctant to criticise homophobia in the BAME community (Tatchell, 2004). Patrick McAleenan (2014) has written in the The Telegraph that the ‘opposition to a gay lifestyle is still strong amongst the British Asian community’. In 2010, acceptance levels of homosexuality among the general Black and Asian population in the UK stood at 42%, as compared to 88% acceptance among white respondents (Stonewall, 2010). 
2. Anti-LGBT education: Research by Stevens et al (2007) show that: 'In the highly culturally diverse schools in our study most students held positive attitudes to ethnic diversity, but much more negative attitudes towards smaller minority groups within the schools, like gay students’. More recently, parents of pupils at Parkfield community school in Saltley staged weekly protests over the relationship lessons, which they claimed promoted gay and transgender lifestyles. In March, hundreds of mainly Muslim children, aged between four and 11, were withdrawn from the school for the day. Just before Easter, the school announced the ‘No outsiders’ lessons, which teach tolerance of diverse groups, including those of different races, genders and sexual orientations, would not take place until a resolution had been reached (Guardian, 2019).
3. Homophobic, Biphobic and Transophibic (HBT) Abuse: Some people claim that there are tensions between some aspects of religion and the LGBT community depending on how religious text is interpreted and the personality of the reader. In the most extreme cases this can lead to HBT violence. For example, in 2016, a muslim gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing at least 49 people and injuring dozens before being shot dead by police. Officials named the shooter as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old from Fort Pierce. His father, Seddique Mateen, said his son became ‘very angry’ after seeing two men kissing in Miami (BBC, 2016). 
4. Facing HBT as a BAME person: Many LGBT ethnic minority persons rely on members of their ethnic group for support on racial matters. Within these communities, HBT often exist within the context of norms on gender and sexual orientation. Stonewall has released research which shows just over half of all black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people (51 per cent) report experiencing discrimination or poor treatment within their local LGBT network because of their ethnicity. This number rises to three in five black LGBT people (61 per cent). 

Racism in the LGBT Community

1. BAME Pride Flag: In the LGBT community there is the notion that increased focus on BAME inclusion Is rocking the boat for white LGBT people. For example, The CEO of Manchester Pride, Mark Fletcher, made the decision to adopt the stripes on their official Pride flag for 2019. The use of these colours on the rainbow was a response by the charity to concerning levels of racism and exclusion experienced by BAME LGBT people in LGBT spaces and communities in Greater Manchester. But the change has had a mixed reaction. A fierce debate raged between people who believe the move is inclusive and those who feel it is unnecessary. The criticism seems to have mainly comes from cis-white gay men who feel it unnecessarily creating barriers (Guardian, 2019). 
2. BAME Erasure: Sometimes there is a tendency for BAME LGBT people to be written out of LGBT history. For example, leaders like Marsha P Johnson, Stormé DeLarverie, Miss Major and several other Black transgender and queer people were on the front line for those six nights in the summer of 1969. However the Roland Emmerlich’s 2015 movie ‘Stonewall’ shamelessly downplayed the role Black queer people played in leading the riots — going so far as having a white gay man throw the first brick, instead of Marsha P. Johnson (Johnson, 2019). 
3. Anti-Muslim Prejudice: Some perceive the far-right movements growing in the western world and argue that they are consciously trying to co-opt the LGBT rights campaign for their own agenda. For example, that they try and portray Muslims as an existential threat to gay people, particularly after the Orlando attack. There are those who only talk about LGBT rights if it is to bash Muslims or migrants as a whole. For example, In the Netherlands, the anti-immigrant right was led by a gay man, Pim Fortuyn, until his assassination. In France, reportedly a third of married gay couples support the far-right National Front (Jones, 2016).
4. Facing racism as an LGBT person: Ethnic minority LGBT individuals may find themselves in a double minority, in which they are neither fully accepted nor understood by mainly white LGBT communities, nor are they fully accepted by their own ethnic group. Many people experience racism in the dominant LGBT community in which racial stereotypes merge with gender stereotypes; for example, Asian-American LGBT people are often stereotyped by Westerners as more passive and feminine, while African-American LGBT people are stereotyped as more aggressive (Cheng, 2011). Some argue that whilst, Black queer people are still fighting for survival, white queer people were fighting for marriage equality. This is not to say that marriage equality isn’t important, but it is certainly not the only fight (Johnson, 2019).

Reconciling BAME and LGBT Diversity

1. Intersectional Communities: There are communities where BAME and LGBT can come together and support one another. In these cases the strength of their network actually comes from the mixing of these 2 demographics. For example, UK Black Pride is a safe space to celebrate diverse sexualities, gender identities, cultures, gender expressions and backgrounds and they foster, represent and celebrate BAME LGBT culture through education, the arts, cultural events and advocacy. UK Black Pride promotes unity and cooperation among LGBT people of diasporic communities in the UK, as well as their friends and families (Uk Black Pride). Founder Lady Phyll said: “The LGBT community is not exempt from being bigots, just because we're of a marginalised group. Everyone should use the privilege they have with their platforms, especially when you have access to something we don't.” (Forbes, 2020). In addition, Imaan is a charity that supports LGBT Muslims. Founded in London in 1999, they campaign to ensure that no LGBT Muslim person in Britain feels excluded from their family, their faith or their communities. They aim to represent the breadth of the Islamic faith and the range of identities and narratives of the LGBTQ community and their allies (Imaan).
2. Business Innovation: Research shows that diverse teams bring more innovative ideas. It’s worth considering when we talk about is there a trade off between LGBT and BAME inclusion, who are we talking about who miss out? Research would suggest that on the whole, business innovation and growth, and consequently society, benefits when LGBT and BAME employees come together and contribute their ideas and experiences when making products and services for society. Richard Florida’s ‘creative class’ argues that visibility and tolerance of LGBT people in a country send a signal to the world’s creative and skilled people (not just those who are LGBT) to think about immigrating to places that welcome new ideas and a diverse population (Badgett, 2020). In a study of the US, Florida and Gary Gates found that high tech employment appeared to follow increasing visibility of same sex couples. And the 2016 study by Huasheng Gao and Wei Zhang found a similar link between the passage of state wide sexual orientation non-discrimination laws and the movement of talented investors into the state (Badgett, 2020). McKinsey (2015) found companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians. 
3. Development Opportunity: People who have experience working with different demographics can better understand different communities and work with them better becoming better leaders. For example, Derek Black is a former American white supremacist. One of his main beliefs was that he respected rights of all races but felt that they would be better off in their own homelands, not living together. Once his beliefs – and ongoing participation in promoting them – became public knowledge at college, he was ostracized by most of the community. In May 2013, Derek Black started to befriend several Jewish people on campus, and gradually realized that his beliefs were wrong after attending multiple Friday night dinners with Jewish friends. In 2013, Derek wrote a public statement to the Southern Poverty Law Center, publicly renouncing his views. (Syed, 2020). Today Black is outspoken about his new world view. He says, “I’m continually learning how to contribute to positive change…while trying my best not to do damage." And he keeps his experience in perspective. "Outreach and discourse won't magically solve the problem of hate…but without those private conversations with people I cared about, I might not have seen the weaknesses in my arguments. And without the campus outrage, I might never have engaged in those conversations in the first place. The stuff that white nationalists believe—it's factually incorrect. But you can't throw facts at somebody and change their mind. It matters who's saying it and whether there's mutual respect." (New York Times, 2017)
4. Allyship: People who experience being a minority for one reason (e.g. being an ethnic minority or being LGBT) have the opportunity to use this minority status and increased empathy to help other minority demographics, by realising that whilst the reason for they minority experience may be different, they still know what it’s like to be different and the consequences of this. For example, Tim Cook said that being gay gave him a lens into how other people think and feel. He said, “I’m not saying that I understand the trials and tribulations of every minority group, because I don’t.. But I do understand for one of the groups. And to the degree that it helps give you a lens on how other people may feel, I think that's a gift in and of itself" (Business Insider, 2019). 

References

• Cahill, 2003, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229092360_Partnering_parenting_and_policy_Family_issues_affecting_Black_lesbian_gay_bisexual_and_transgender_LGBT_people
• Tatchell, 2004, https://web.archive.org/web/20140203131543/https://www.petertatchell.net/international/jamaica/blackhomophobia.htm
• McAleenan, 2014, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11290475/Homophobia-taints-the-British-Asian-community.html
• Hill, 2010, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jul/01/gay-men-forced-marriage
• Stonewall, 2010, https://www.stonewall.org.uk/cy/node/79901
• Stevens et al, 2007, https://www.academia.edu/21244039/The_Development_and_Impact_of_Young_People_s_Social_Capital_in_Secondary_Schools_Wider_Benefits_of_Learning_Research_Report_No_24_?email_work_card=title
• Guardian, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/03/birmingham-primary-school-to-resume-modified-lgbt-lessons
• BBC, 2016, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36511778
• Stonewall, https://www.stonewall.org.uk/lgbt-britain-home-and-communities
• Guardian, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/21/inclusive-pride-flag-confronting-racism-lgbt
• Johnson, 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/white-gay-privilege-exists-all-year-it-particularly-hurtful-during-ncna1024961
• Jones, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/24/no-asians-no-blacks-gay-people-racism
• Cheng, 2011, https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA276460899&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00111953&p=AONE&sw=w
• UK Black Pride, https://www.ukblackpride.org.uk/
• Forbes, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/08/30/uk-black-pride-doesnt-need-to-justify-itself-anymore-its-vital-lady-phyll-opoku-gyimah-lgbtq-pride/?sh=24473f97c569
• Imaan, https://imaanlondon.wordpress.com/
• M. V. Lee Badgett, 2020, The Economic Case for LGBT Inclusion
• McKinsey, 2015, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
• Syed, 2020, Rebel Ideas 
• New York Times, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/podcasts/the-daily/former-white-nationalist-derek-black.html
• Business Insider, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-motivated-to-come-out-publicly-by-kids-letters-2019-10?r=US&IR=T