As a suspect is charged with murder and murder as a hate crime in the killing of O’Shae Sibley, it doesn’t mean that homophobic and transphobic views are being brought to justice. With more and more anti-LGBTQ+ politicians continuing to spread their hateful rhetoric, justice remains impossible. But these folks are supposed to be our fearless leaders, right? Let’s look to them on how we can avoid homophobia and transphobia in our everyday lives. Here are five tips to avoid bigotry, according to the bigots.
Don’t vogue or show joy of any kind.
Darian Aaron, GLAAD Director of Local News, U.S. South, said in a statement, “There are reports that Sibley was vogueing to a track from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album, music from the biggest pop star in the world celebrating Black queer people. O’Shae Sibley had the audacity to live without the restraints of patriarchy and toxic masculinity, embracing freedom and joy. He should still be alive to celebrate all that made him great and inspired others to live their truth.”
Obviously, living without these restraints was a hard no for his alleged attacker. LGBTQ+ people can’t be their authentic selves without worries about being attacked.
Don’t talk about your significant other.
Do you have a framed photo of you and your spouse from your wedding day? That’s cool, but you better not have it on your desk at work. After all, there are still states where you can be fired for being LGBTQ+. This includes Pennsylvania, which won’t officially have LGBTQ+ protections until Aug. 16 thanks to an update to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. However, this is still only a regulation, making the Fairness Act still necessary to achieve nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people.
Don’t worry about educating or supporting youth.
Fla. Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis has been going out of his way to ensure that students up through grade 12 cannot learn about sexual orientation or gender identity. Furthermore, he also made it so parents can’t support their trans children, by providing them with gender-affirming care.
Also, even if you try to educate or help a young person, you’ll be accused of grooming.
Don’t be trans…at all.
Drag bans, bathroom laws and so much more are just the tip of the iceberg for discriminating against the trans community. Also, don’t even think about using pronouns unless they align with the incorrect gender you were assigned at birth.
Basically, just pretend that you don’t exist.
This is what the GOP and bigots want from us at the end of the day. Rather than providing coded language such as “religious freedom” or “protecting children,” they should make their language plain and simple. These words may be a dog whistle for people who are easily swayed to their side but for us, it’s a loud and thunderous roar.