Reflection 8

LGBTQ Community and Pronouns

LGBTQ stands for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Community. People's pronouns can be referred to calling someone by he, she, they, or them. Judith Butler explains the difference between sex and gender. Sex is what you are born with whether male or female based on a person's chromosomes. However, gender is ongoing and changing due to outside world influences like family, friends, social media, culture, etc. Gender is what people have a say on. Language is also evolving to change. For instance, they for many has been known as a plural pronoun to refer to a group of people and is gender nuetral. However, a trans person may wish to have their pronoun be they for sake of respect and identity. They can idenitfy as a male or female, or be gender fluid, nonbinary meaning they do not identify with a gender, or are agender meaning they have no gender. When getting to know someone it is best to ask them what pronouns they prefer and how to address them rather than assuming their gender based on what they look like.

HIV/AIDS epidemic

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection. Therefore, this makes a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases. AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection. It occurs when the body's immune system is badly damaged because of the virus. However, most victims of this virus do not reach this stage because they treat their HIV with treatment and medicine.

HIV is spread by contact with another person who has HIV. It is most commonly spread via unprotected sex. Alhough it can also be transmitted by sharing needles, syringes, or other drug equipment. People with HIV can still live long healthy lives and not transmit the virus to their partners. To prevent HIV it is best to limit sexual partners, and have protective sex.

When AIDS appeared in the early 1980s, most of its victims were gay men. The reason gay men get HIV is because more men carry the virus than women. Also it is easier to transmit the virus during anal sex rather than vaginal sex because the skin is thinner there. Because of this there is a fear of stigma and discrimination for men to seek out healthcare professional testing and treatment. The more people who go untreated, the further the virus will spread. Break the stigma and get treated!

Matthew Shepard

At the end of the 1990s, the concept of LGBT communities was not new, but the level of acceptance was still very low. Marriage equality was a debatable issue and not accepted at the time. Pride parades were common, but often in more metropolitan and/or coastal regions. Mainstream had not covered the gay community, so their was a lot of ignorance on these people.

Matthew Shepard was robbed and beaten to death. On October 12, 1998, Matthew Shepard died. It has been over 20 years since the event. He was tied to a fence and he was hit in the head twenty times with a pistol. He never regained consciousness. The death of Matthew Shepard was a hate crime against LGBT people. This hate crime dominated the media. People say enough is enough and continue to be activates against LGBTQ hate. May Matthew Shepard rest in peace.

Grade

I give myself an A. I provided good content and research. I gave a thorough analysis on each three concept- pronouns, HIV, and Matthew Shepard. I broke each one down to make sense of each topic with clear and consise paragraphs. I also divided each one with pictures and titles.

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