Trans bathroom rights: Transgender people deserve the right to comfortably go to the bathroom that aligns with their gender. There have been no accounts of a transgender person attacking somebody in the bathroom.
People refusing service to LGBT+ people: Just recently, the Supreme Court sided with a baker that refused to service a gay couple. How come the Supreme Court can rule in favor of gay marriage, but not letting them have a cake? Refusing services to a gay person because of your religious beliefs is not right. If a religion excludes a certain group of people, how is that truly religious? Religion should be used to find and spread happiness and peace, not to discriminate.
It is still common for companies to either reject or fire LGBT+ employees if they come out.
Violence against LGBT+ is still prevalent, seen in cases of “corrective rape”, murder, youth kicked out of their homes, bullying, or people being driven to suicide.
Slurs
Many people practice “tolerance” of the LGBT+ community instead of acceptance.
Treating trans people as jokes, such as: crossdressing jokes, portraying them as ugly, portraying them as either delusional or extremely masculine/feminine as part of the joke, or being demeaning to drag queens.
Telling gay/lesbian people that they just need to “try being with the opposite sex” to really know if they’re gay/lesbian.
Stigma and history around HIV/AIDS and being portrayed as perverted and overtly sexual.
Trans people being denied the right to express their true gender identity, or people not considering them their true gender unless they get transition surgery.
Homosexuality is outlawed in 72 countries, and still punishable by death in some areas.
The many stereotypes of LGBT+ people (flamboyant white gay, man-hating lesbian, etc.)
Treating LGBT+ PDA as “inappropriate” or a “bad influence” to children and as something that needs to be censored.
Intersex people (those born with genitals that aren’t entirely a vagina or penis) being treated as something that needs to be corrected, especially by the medical field, even if it isn’t necessary.
People With Disabilities
Difficulty in finding employment.
Many places still aren’t accessible for people with disabilities, especially around the world.
Being seen as “less than”, and being babied for their disability.
Not being able to be fully independent in some cases.
Insults such as “cripple” or “retard”.
People and organizations wanting to “cure” certain disabilities like autism instead of focusing on accepting and understanding people with that condition.
Violence (hateful/physical, bullying, sexual violence)
Affordable healthcare
The stereotype that people with mental health issues are more likely to be shooters/terrorists
Police brutality
Access to quality education
Women
Not being taken seriously, being seen as bossy
The gender pay gap: to each white man’s dollar, white women earn 80¢, black women earn 62.5¢, and latina women earn 54.4¢.
Sexual harassment/abuse/rape, and the fear of being a victim of these things.
Not being taken seriously when speaking out against sexual harassment/abuse/rape, and people thinking victim is lying and doubting them. Though, we are making progress with the #MeToo and #Time’sUp movements!
Victim shaming
Slutshaming, while men are often celebrated for having sex.
Reproductive rights
Stigma around menstruation for those with vaginas (ex: periods being seen as “gross”, men not being educated on periods, PMS jokes)
Stereotypes against women, esp. women of color (ex: loud sassy black woman, fiesty curvy latina, docile asian woman)
Gender disparity in STEM jobs
Treating skinny/overweight/obese women without respect
Expecting women to always look “good” (ex: always having shaved legs)
Teaching girls how to cook and clean (“feminine” things) but not “masculine” things - then insulting them for not being good at “masculine” things
Parental leave is an issue for men and women - although women are always expected to take maternal leave, while this isn’t expected of the father
Maltreatment of female prisoners
Human trafficking/sex slavery
Being stalked by men, in some cases
Fear of rejecting a man’s advances because he may react violently
Transgender women are often excluded from women’s rights movements, when they are not recognized as women or are surrounded by messages such as “pussy power” and “stay out of my uterus”. These kinds of messages were everywhere in the Women’s March on Washington, and while they aren’t inherently harmful, there is a lot of focus on them, which can make some transgender women feel excluded.
People of Color
Indigenous
Mass incarceration and policing → In the criminal justice system Native Americans are overrepresented. Alaskan Natives are 15% of the total population, but 38% of the prison population. The reason for this is overlapping jurisdiction and unsolved conflicts between tribal, state, and federal authorities.
High rates of poverty and unemployment
Federal government is still taking away sacred land from Native Americans → For example, in 2015, the San Carlos Apache Nation in Arizona were fighting to prevent the sale of their sacred Oak Flat for foreign mining. They use it for women’s coming of age ceremonies.
Exploitation of natural resources
Violence against women and children in Native communities→ The violence they face often occurs outside their community. According to the Huffington Post, “22% of Native American children suffer from PTSD”. Although, tribes won the right to prosecute non-Native men who committed crimes of domestic violence or any type of violence against Native American women on reservations.
The education system is failing Native American students→ According to the Huffington Post, “Only 51% of Native American students graduated high school in 2010.”
Native families living in overcrowded/poor-quality housing
Inadequate healthcare
Native languages are dying
Many of Native American communities’ rights are not noticed/recognized by the federal government
Black People
Racial Achievement gap → Not only African-Americans, but other minorities often avoid taking rigorous courses since they are already looked down upon from the school because of their background, and they lose confidence in themselves to enroll in AP courses.
Police brutality→ Even though the media doesn’t talk much about police brutality anymore, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. According to the Washington Post, “212 people had been shot and killed by American police officers so far this year”.
Many news reporters and companies have done investigations as to what happens when bad police officers are fired, and they found that they are often let back on the job.
Racial Discrimination (in workforce and schools) → Chart/Graph
Black Lives Matter → This movement began on July 13, 2013, although this movement still continues to this very day. Their mission is to build local power and to stop/intervene in violence that have been inflicted on the black community.
Discrimination of black students in college admission → There have been cases where an African-American student and a white student with very similar test scores or college applications will apply, but the African-American student is rejected while the white student is accepted.
Poverty in cities run by democratic officials that have made little to no progression with helping African-Americans move forward -- cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore
Colorism → This issue affects many people, not only those who are dark skinned.There is a social experiment called the doll test, where there are two dolls (one white and one black doll) and a child chooses which doll they would rather play with. The majority of the children who participated in this experiment ended up picking the white doll, and this shows how colorism can affect people from a young age.
According to The Economist, the wage gap today between white people and black people is as wide as it was in the 1950s.
Mass incarceration targets black people, and they are often given longer sentences for the same crime as a white man
Latinxs
Racial discrimination→ Most Latinos face discrimination when it comes to equal pay, job promotions, or when going to the doctor. According to NPR, about 17% of Latinos avoid calling the police when needed because they are concerned that they will be discriminated against by the police.
Stereotypes → Many people assume that latinos are only good at specific jobs like: maids, busboy, or gardening
That all latinas are feisty or ill-tempered, and also sexualizing latina women in that we all have olive skin and curvy bodies.
Using the term “illegal immigrant” to offend lantinxs. Not every latinx is an immigrant. Many of them are born in the US, and implying that they are illegal is very rude and disrespectful.
Not all latinx people are Mexican → Many latinxs are from Central America, like Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. There is also South America -> Ecuador, Peru, Colombia
Not all latinxs speak spanish, some latinxs speak little to no spanish.
Latinxs are not all rapists or criminals.
They are underrepresented in AP classes and college courses→ many latinx students and other minorities don’t take rigorous courses in high school because the majority of them are often told that they will not be successful, both in direct and indirect ways. Constantly limiting their success and confidence will deeply affect their education.
Family separation -- latinx children are being separated from their families and are placed in detention facilities due to the “Zero Tolerance” policy. There is no system in structure on reuniting the children with their parents.
Criminal justice -- aggressive police practices, latinos are overrepresented when it comes to traffic searches and unnecessary searches. According to the PBS, “ [Latinos] make up 17.6% of the US population, but represent 23% of all searches and nearly 30% of arrests”.
Port of entry policy → This allows border police officers to purposely delay anyone at the border to enter into the US, even if they have proper documentation.
Assimilation
According to the website “Hip Latina” and “national partnership.org”, they state that “latinas who work in the US are paid an average of 55 cents for every dollar paid to a white non hispanic men”. The states with the highest wage gap for latinas are Florida and Ohio, with 60-61 cents to the dollar.
Asians
While Asian Americans are often characterized as the "model minority", many have serious psychological and emotional concerns which are not being addressed
A researcher found higher levels of distress from peer discrimination (being threatened, called racially insulting names, and excluded from activities) in Chinese and Korean students than in African-Americans, Hispanics, and whites.
Educational stereotypes identify Asian-Americans: "geniuses," "overachievers," "nerdy," "great in math or science," "competitive," "uninterested in fun," and "4.0 GPAs"
Personality and behavior stereotypes assert that Asians are: "submissive," "humble," "passive," "quiet," "compliant," "obedient," "stoic," "devious," "sneaky," "sly," "tend to hang out in groups," "stay with their own race," "condescend to other races," and are "racist," "not willing to mesh with American culture," "try to be like Americans," "want to be Caucasian," and "act F.O.B. [fresh off the boat]"
Physical appearance and mannerism stereotypes: "short," "slanted eyes," "eyeglass wearing," "poor or non-English speaking," and "poor communicators"
Stereotypes related to the socioeconomic status of Asian Americans and their attitudes about money identify them: "stingy," "greedy," "rich," "poor," "grocery store owners," "dry cleaners," "restaurant owners," and "chefs"
It had been more than 20 years since a show featuring a predominantly Asian-American cast (Fresh Off the Boat) had aired on television. ABC’s previous offering, the 1994 Margaret Cho vehicle “All-American Girl,” was canceled after one season.
The issue of has crystallized in a word — “whitewashing” — that calls out Hollywood for taking Asian roles and stories and filling them with white actors.
The model minority is a cultural expectation placed on Asian Americans as a group that each individual encompasses:
Smart (naturally good at math, science, and technology)
Wealthy
Hard-working, self-reliant
(For women) Docile and submissive, obedient and uncomplaining
