Sexplorations: Gay Pride Further Defines Itself

According to a recent Gallup poll, one in six people, or 16% of those in Generation Z (born between 1997-2002), identify themselves as something other than heterosexual. Among the 18-23-year-old Z’s, 72% of them identified as bisexual. Among millennials—24-40-year-olds born between 1981-1996—9.1% identify as LGBT, with half saying they are bisexual. Gen X and Baby Boomers are less so, with the study of 15,000 people finding that 5.6% of Americans identify as LGBT. Looks like the kids are saying “We’re here, we’re queer, get over it.” Now that everyone is non-binary, non-gender conforming, gay, bi, queer, trans, and asexual, what are the proper names to call them? One finding from the Gallup poll was that “3.3% of respondents prefer another non-heterosexual preference or term to describe their sexual orientation, such as queer, or 'same-gender-loving.'"  In the late 1990’s, I used to go to nightclubs in New York City with my gay club kid friends who called me a “fag hag,” which was considered a term of affection back then. Now the term would be considered offensive on a number of political levels. I also would go to the Pyramid Club in the East Village, where there were performers who proudly referred to themselves as “Fierce Trannies.” It was a fun place for alternative performance art, including drag, and where I first saw Nirvana play, and watched Ru Paul’s early drag act. The more politically correct terms now are trans, male to female/MTF, female to male/FTM. Or T-girls, as in the Gender X title Watching My Husband Bang a TS. I asked FTM porn star Buck Angel what he calls himself and he told me he is a “man with a vagina.” I like the word “Mangina,” but it hasn't been established yet if the word is offensive.  TRANS BILLBOARD GRACES ROAD NEAR MAR-A-LAGO Folxhealth.com, a medical site devoted to queer and trans health, erected a huge billboard on Florida’s I-95, conveniently located right in front of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago country club. The sign reads TRANS LIVES MATTER. Folx features online M.D.’s who dispense prescriptions such as PreP, testosterone, and estrogen. Rocco Kayiatos, VP of marketing at FOLX, says, “As a man of transgender experience who began my transition more than two decades ago, I never imagined a future, because I could not see one. I would not have believed that I would make it to a time in my life, where I would be working for a company that would allow me to run a billboard with this messaging. Let alone that I would be working for a healthcare company dedicated to serving LGBTQIA+ people and prioritizing trans people first. “For trans people, visibility is about changing, affirming and saving our lives. More than just seeing other trans people’s images, the value of seeing a message—from your car while driving on a freeway in Florida—that your life is precious is just… I honestly would likely drop my jaw, start to cry and careen off the road.“ THE HISTORY OF THE BEST EXPRESSION EVER The chant “We’re here, we’re queer, get over it” originated in New York City in 1990 by HIV/AIDS activists from ACT UP, a political group that formed to end the AIDS pandemic of the 1980’s. The founders reacted to the escalation of anti-gay violence on the streets and in the media, and wanted to increase LGBT visibility. They tried to end homophobia with protest marches and events, such as showing up at Macy’s during Olympic swimmer Greg Louganis’ swimsuit line promotion to protest the maker of Wheaties, who refused to put Louganis on the box because he was gay.  The group used the word “queer,” which was shocking at first, but has been proudly re-claimed and the meaning reversed to the positive, much like the word “gay” that once replaced the once disparaging word queer. Christina Capatides, producer of the CBS documentary The Space Between, says, “Sexuality is who you go to bed with, and gender is who you go to bed as.”   The Gallup poll brought up the question of whether there are more LGBT people among Gen Z or if it’s just as Gallup says “merely reflects a greater willingness of younger people to identify” as not being totally hetero. Either way, older Baby Boomer and Gen X gay, queer, lesbians and ahead-of-their-time trans people paved the way for younger people to express their sexuality without shame or fear.