“…we can’t fully eradicate homophobia without eradicating transphobia, as well.”
The above quote comes from an incredibly intelligent op-ed by Laverne Cox in The Huffington Post that analyzes how homophobia, sexism, transphobia and its accompanying discrimination are related issues:
Speaking at last week’s “Now What” panel, I was reminded that we do ourselves a disservice when we think of fighting for our civil rights piecemeal. In a patriarchal culture, we can’t really fully talk about eradicating sexism without talking about eradicating homophobia, as well. So much systemic male domination has occurred because the patriarch doesn’t want to appear “soft,” which in the homophobic, sexist imagination means “gay,” which, within that oppressive logic, also means “like a woman.” Historically, many patriarchal men have oppressed women so as to not seem “gay,” which, for the patriarch, means, in part, having his masculinity called into question. The patriarch has also oppressed gay folks for the same reason. Based on this oppressive logic, the patriarch has to not only embrace but enforce very rigid gender constructs regarding what it means to be a man or a woman. We can see the links between sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, and at the heart of it all gender oppression.
