Understanding our intersectionalities: embracing multiple identities within the LGBT+ community
June 03, 2019
The LGBT+ community is intersectional, diverse, and ever-evolving, encompassing members with a wide range of other identities, from race and ethnicity to religion and age. For example, a disabled lesbian Muslim woman will belong to multiple cultural groups and may identify with a variety of traditions. She will benefit from all of those different connections and their sense of community, while also potentially facing ableism, homophobia, Islamophobia, racism and sexism.
Often, attention is paid only to someone’s most visible or easily categorized traits. Having an intersectional identity can exacerbate discrimination and the feeling of “otherness.” The unique combinations and representations of identities in the LGBT+ community are as varied as the people themselves. It’s important to acknowledge, encourage, give voice to and embrace these differences. It is only by working together that all LGBT+ people will be accepted without exception.
As Bloomberg celebrates Pride Month and considers the contributions and challenges facing the LGBT+ community, we are exploring the spectrum of identity through a deconstruction of the classic rainbow flag. By blending the colors and lines found in the original flag to create a new spectrum, it’s possible to bring awareness to the non-linear identities that we all have, while breaking down boundaries that deter true inclusion.
As Isabel Sierra Gomez de Leon, a Creative Director and member of the LGBT & Ally Community at Bloomberg explains, the campaign concept “responds to a wider conversation that demonstrates how people in the world are thinking about the matter of identity and inclusion. In recent history, labels helped people explain their diversity dimension because, in a hetero-normative world, there was a lot to explain. If you did not fit within a normative cis label, you needed to explain why – and give others a pretty defined idea of how they should be thinking of you.”
“Thankfully, that conversation has evolved greatly in the last few years,” she says. “Many people coming into the workplace champion the idea of inclusion, in all its forms and shapes. This concept of inclusion at an intersection has allowed me to think of my own identity not as a label for others, but as a demonstration of how I want to live my life and what kind of impact I want to have in the world.”
Although society has grown more accepting, I often find that coming out is assumed to be a single event, rather than a continuous, life-long process. A simple social interaction can often result in yet another micro coming out, as someone assumes that my wedding band translates to having a wife. It’s exhausting!
Daniel Cini-O’Dwyer
Portfolio Orchestration, London
My pronouns are She/Her/Hers, but, as a masculine-presenting female, people misgender me all the time. People make mistakes and I understand that, but it’s important to apologize and move on and ask someone their pronouns if you’re confused. It’s not difficult and the person you’re speaking with will be more than happy to clarify.
We can perpetuate this kind of mindfulness and inclusion through education and a focus on community. And the corporate world has a role to play in this — businesses should be providing time and resources to help communities, while being at the forefront in supporting equality laws that need to be changed.
Melissa Costa
Field Service Support, San Francisco
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