By Sally Jane Black
There is a rich history of LGBTQ resistance in New Orleans. The Gay Liberation Front first held a “gay in” in City Park in 1971. The funeral-goers at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church refused to sneak away from the press after the Upstairs Lounge arson attack, inspiring people worldwide with their defiance. LGBTQ groups here have fought for decades, from the AIDS epidemic up through recent episodes of violence.
However, the spotlight has fallen on an organization—New Orleans Pride—that has strayed from its militant roots. At N.O. Pride, a select few pay to march and celebrate their own exploitation. They pander to corporate interests, the U.S. and city governments, and business owners. It is a tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, discrimination prevents queer and trans people from getting jobs, finding housing or receiving medical care. LGBTQ youth (especially black, brown, and indigenous people) are bullied in school and harassed by police. Trans people, especially black trans women, are murdered at a rate far higher than non-trans women. Queer people still face homophobic violence. The suicide rate for trans people is more than double the national average. Trans and queer prisoners (including immigrants) face abuse in for-profit prisons. Worldwide, LGBTQ people are violently oppressed by U.S. imperialism.
THEY WANT TO CONTROL OUR BODIES
Oppression of LGBTQ people is part of the capitalist drive for disposable and cheap labor. Capitalism relies on a low-wage workforce, ensured by millions of people remaining unemployed. It relies on gender roles that draw free labor in the form of childcare, housekeeping, emotional support, etc. Capitalists profit by defining “family” strictly as non-transgender man and woman plus children. Hence, they attack reproductive rights, marriage rights and benefits, and attempt to make transgender healthcare inaccessible.
DIVIDING THE WORKING CLASS–WE MUST BE UNITED
LGBTQ oppression benefits capitalists by dividing the working class. By couching these attacks in terms of “religious freedom” or “family values,” they pit working class people against each other. They divide LGBT people by turning events like Pride into corporate events promoting the police, military, and other oppressive institutions. Pride becomes another celebration of homophobia and transphobia, by excluding most LGBTQ people who do not feel safe surrounded by police, do not feel represented by corporate logos and do not want to be tourist attractions.
In the U.S., homosexuality was legalized in 2003. Without those laws, police evolved their tactics. E.g., under NOPD Chief Warren Riley, LGBTQ people (especially black trans women) were profiled as sex workers, no matter what they were doing. Despite being “legal”, we still do not have full protection of the law. The same-sex marriage victory in 2015 brought millions of LGBTQ Americans access to spousal benefits. The current administration is rolling back that victory by allowing employers to deny benefits to same-sex couples. They continue to keep medical care and jobs out of reach for us through insurance policies and right-to-work laws. The end result is the same: a limited definition of family is reinforced and unemployment remains high. Their profits are safe.
Full LGBTQ liberation will not be possible under capitalism. Until the white supremacist, anti-queer, anti-trans billionaires who fund every initiative to roll back our rights, who literally write the laws that exclude (and kill) us, who wish to see a divided working class, remain in control, every victory will be temporary. The only way forward is to unite against them, to stand in solidarity with all working class and oppressed people, and to fight against every attack on LGBTQ people all over the world. Our liberation depends on the liberation of all.