Queer (LGBTQ) Community as a Social Problem in Canada

Queer (LGBTQ) Community as a Social Problem in Canada

Introduction

Over the past few years, there has been an emergence of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people into the public limelight of policy and politics in Canada and elsewhere around the world. ‘Gay rights’ have dominated international and national discourses whenever debates on tolerance and diversity are carried out. This is partly attributed to the level of discrimination that members of this community face on a daily basis (Brennan et al., 2020). As compared to their heterosexual counterparts, Canadian queer persons are more likely to be victims of violent crime. The Canadian government has shown interest in LGBTQ matters in recent years. This paper will provide an in-depth analysis of the story of two newspaper readings and the provided song lyrics and poems based on the sociological theories of conflict, queer, and postmodern perspectives.

Other than the “Same Love” song lyrics by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and Glitter in my Wound poem by CA Conrad, two articles in Canada’s leading newspapers have highlighted LGBTQ discrimination as a social problem. Both the Toronto Star and the Toronto Sun have recently detailed how discrimination against this group is systematically conducted in schools. These materials demonstrate the sociological theories of queer, conflict, and postmodern perspectives. The story in the Toronto Star decries the manner in which school board trustees use homophobic and racial comments against gay children under their care in schools. On the other hand, the Toronto Sun reports carry a story that celebrates the calls to end the ban on asking Canadian blood donors about their sexual orientation before being allowed to donate blood (Woolf and Osman 2021). These stories take different perspectives on the LGBT community in Canada.

The sociological perspective of conflict is demonstrated in the Toronto Star story, where the author exposes her readers to the depth of homophobic and racist behaviors committed by school board trustees against gay children. She reports that these trustees lack sufficient codes of conduct and, as such, are not fit to hold their positions (Rushowy 2021). The paper quotes lines in a letter written by a Chief Commissioner to the Ministry of Education that calls for the removal of the trustees from office and terms their actions as a violation of human rights. From this article, readers get to learn that the Toronto Catholic District Board was the main target of the condemnation after one of its trustees compared LGBT rights to pedophilia and bestiality. The tone of this article is testimony to the hatred that Canadian activists have against LGBT rights violators.

The story that appears in the Toronto Sun is an exemplification of a postmodern perspective where actions are revised to reflect the changing times. It is a celebration of a ban imposed on Canadian blood donors to declare their sexual orientations before being allowed to donate blood. At the moment, blood donors are asked about their sexuality and gender on assumptions that male sexual partners are prone to high-risk sexual behaviors, which exposes them to HIV/AIDs. However, according to the new proposal, sexual transmission of HIV is attributed to one’s sexual behavior rather than his or her sexual orientation. The authors assert that “…potential donors could be asked if they have had multiple sexual partners, and about their sexual behavior instead of their sexuality and gender” (Woolf and Osman 2021). This is a clear illustration that the process of screening for blood donation in Canada is one of the ways in which the rights of the LGBTQ are being violated.

Evidently, laws alone cannot change people’s perceptions of gays and homosexuality. Prejudices and stereotyping toward gays are systematic and appear to be implanted into kids in school. The article expresses concern that young people are discriminated against and marginalized in schools through prejudicial treatments such as misgendering and misnaming. Pro-gay activists feel that school children are subjected to acrimonious debates that serve to question their innate identities (Brennan et al., 2020). From these two articles, together with the provided poem and song lyrics, it is not lost on readers that discrimination against the gay community is still rife in many societies despite the various efforts that have been made to reduce them.

Another story written in the first person and published in CBC reflects the emotional condition of transgender people and shows the issue regarding self-esteem. As one of the trans activists from Vancouver, Makayla Cadger, mentioned in the CBC news report, before deciding to become an activist, he/she was