LGBT/Heteronormativity Lecture - Suggestions?

[Freeney]

Hey! A friend and I are preparing to deliver a lecture on heteronormativity and the common assumptions and oversights faced by the lgbt community around the world. The presentation is taking shape, but we could do with some suggestions of content, if there are any issues or points that immediately spring to mind. What do you think are the most damaging assumptions? What do the general public most need to be made aware of?

Many thanks in advance

[Asta Kask]

It is entirely possible that I'll say something completely unacceptable, so do not accept what I've written until someone knowledgeable has commented on it.

That they are people, same as us. That what they do and think neither picks our pockets or breaks our legs. That they may choose to be ignorant savages afraid of everything that is different, or they may be better than that.

[Jaycemonde]

Make sure you don't use sex and gender interchangeably and make sure you don't ignore nonbinary and intersex people. That's all I have to say.

Edit: This is really better suited to the Q&A thread.

[Eldest]

If you want to talk about it, I'd start from the most obvious (say, gay/lesbian erasure) then move inward (bi/ace/pan, trans people, intersex, genderqueer), and bring up some statistics. For example, the percentage of LGBTQ people in the population is higher than the percentage of redheads (~5% to ~2% if I remember right).

[Asta Kask]

If you want to talk about it, I'd start from the most obvious (say, gay/lesbian erasure) then move inward (bi/ace/pan, trans people, intersex, genderqueer), and bring up some statistics. For example, the percentage of LGBTQ people in the population is higher than the percentage of redheads (~5% to ~2% if I remember right).

Way higher, right? I think that - depending on how you define bisexuals - the "B" part make up at least 15-20%.

[Eldest]

Way higher, right? I think that - depending on how you define bisexuals - the "B" part make up at least 15-20%.

5% is the number I've heard most often and the least scary as a sudden number. That does not, however, mean it is the correct number. :smalltongue:

[Asta Kask]

*checks Wikipedia*

Seems I was wrong. 3-5 percent it is.

[golentan]

*checks Wikipedia*

Seems I was wrong. 3-5 percent it is.

It's much higher if you count number of people who have had at least one same sex experience voluntarily.

[Icewraith]

It's much higher if you count number of people who have had at least one same sex experience voluntarily.

Number of people who have tried an experience does not necessarily equal the number of people who enjoyed the experience or would actively seek it out again. Depending on the definition, there's probably some portion of the "tried it" population that could go to increasing the 3-5% number, but lumping all of it in there is definitely not accurate.

[Asta Kask]

Anyway, probably one in each class, or more. Most of them will be LGB (that's still accurate, right)? And since you can't really tell from the outside (unless they've made it public), you can never tell if and who will be hurt by a thoughtless or malicious remark. Much better to just let those remarks go unsaid.

[Coidzor]

Well, it's on the outs, but from what I recall, the assumption that homosexual men must all be effeminate and swishy or they're not being properly gay and homosexual women must be butch is still around and one of the more prominent examples of wrong-headedness.

Bisexual erasure and various forms of biphobia are pretty bad to the point where even gay men and lesbians assume they're automatically promiscuous/unfaithful or are undecided and will eventually choose to be either heterosexual or homosexual rather ahn just being bi.

Some people still need it explained to them that in a same-sex relationship, there's no mapping to hetero relationships where one is the "boy" and one is the "girl" in the relationship

That's all pretty basic stuff you'd likely be including by default for having decided to do this sort of thing in the first place though.