How discrimination affects LGBTQ+ families
ALTHOUGH ACTIVISTS have fought for and won many rights over the years, Rainbow families continue to face discrimination, harassment and bullying rooted in homophobia and discriminatory religious beliefs. Hundreds of cruel and harmful bills are filed each year in state legislatures across the country, and hate crimes have risen in the U.S. and around the globe. This resurgence of anti-LGBTQ+ hate may threaten the health and well-being of Rainbow families. As an early childhood educator, you have a responsibility to try to understand how discrimination harms the families in your community and do what you can to help.
What do you need to know about the impact of discrimination?
- LGBTQ+ people collectively share a history of fighting for rights that others take for granted, such as the right to be legally recognized as parents or guardians, the right to adopt, and the right to maintain parental rights across geographic lines and life circumstances. These battles continue today.
- Discrimination and prejudice may be adversely affecting the LGBTQ+ families you work with right now.
- When LGBTQ+ parents or caregivers access early childhood programs and services, they may feel exposed and vulnerable—especially if this is the first time that they have come out publicly since they became parents.
- An LGBTQ+ family’s interactions with (and expectations of) early childhood professionals may be influenced by their prior experiences with physicians, hospital staff, adoption agencies, and other professional providers.
How are the rights of LGBTQ+ parents being threatened right now?
- Some states are attempting to pass laws that would allow employers and businesses to fire or turn away people simply because they are LGBTQ+. Even worse, some legislators have proposed bills that would allow hospitals and healthcare providers to refuse to treat LGBTQ+ people.
- Bills that erase or censor LGBTQ+ people from public life, school curricula, libraries, etc. have already been passed in some states. In those states, even mentioning that you are LGBTQ+ is considered a fireable offense. These attacks can cause serious family stress.
- Although LGBTQ+ couples won the fight for marriage equality with the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, this right is under attack as attempts to strip marriage and parental rights from LGBTQ+ people continue.
- Any attack on the LGBTQ+ community typically affects trans children and adults most severely. Legislators continue to introduce bills that, where passed, restrict trans rights and prevent trans people from accessing necessary medical care. The harm caused by these attacks is incalculable. Trans children and adults feel unsafe and, in some cases, fear for their lives. These individuals may be teachers you know or trans adults and children in your early childhood community.