Fighting Homophobia

There were a lot of issues in 2019 that impacted the people around us mentally, emotionally, and physically. While the stories listed below in this article did not make it to major news sites, for the LGBTQ+ community, they were important. These stories range from Transgender murders and suicides to dangerous people believing they belong in the community.

The murder rate of Transgender women is increasing. Not that long ago, on June 5th of 2019, a Transgender teen by the name of Nikki Kuhnhausen was reported missing after going out to meet with a man named David Bogdanov. Later it was found that Nikki had been strangled with her own hair extensions by David. When asked about the ‘ hook up ‘ and his reaction to finding out Nikki was Trans female he replied,  “I found it insulting to my religion”. This has not been the first time actions of hatred have been shown towards Transgender individuals due to Religion, Society, and personal views. When interviewing Debra Porta, Executive Director of Portland-based Pride Northwest, on the subject of Trans murders and suicides she says, “Excuse my language, but it sucks. I don’t think that we have done enough as a Community or as People to really bring awareness to Trans murders and suicides, let alone stop it from happening.”  

Some individuals believe that Transgender individuals should not use the bathroom they identify with if they don’t pass fully as the gender they say they are.  Clackamas student Tasia Hardy says that “When people bring up the ‘safety issues’, are they talking about their own safety or the Trans person’s safety? I don’t think a Trans person using the bathroom for a quick 3 minutes to do what they have to do and then go, is going to affect anyone else in that bathroom, especially since no one really interacts with each other in the bathrooms to begin with. Now if we’re talking about the safety of the Trans person I’m gonna say it’s up to them to decide if they feel safe or not.”  

On the topic of safety, is anyone safe when Pedophilia is being fought for needing to belong within the LGBTQ+ community? Yes, you read right, in June of 2018 there was a ‘movement’ called the MAPs (Minor attracted person) movement. It was a movement that was “supposed” to clear the name of all Pedophiles but ended up doing the opposite, The movement was mostly lead by MAPs and people supporting their claim that “Some Adults couldn’t help that they are romantically/sexually attracted to Minors.” Clackamas student Emily Cruz did not hesitate to hold back her opinion. Letting us know that she believes, “It has been scientifically proven that Gay people, as well as other LGBTQ+ people, are born the way they are and that in a sense shows that they have no control over their sexual orientation or gender identity. And because people are starting to understand that, Pedophiles or ‘MAPs’ as they call themselves are trying to use that as an excuse for their sick and not normal attraction towards Minors (People who are underage). It has not been scientifically proven that this is something you are born with, and even if it was I still personally wouldn’t normalize it and it doesn’t seem like the thing that needs to be considered normal.”