Shared by many of my friends, this is a sad, but important, articulation of the ways that oppressive forces intersect in individuals who have more than one marginalized identity.
While over half of children who identify as LGBT have experienced homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying, this drastically increases among disabled LGBT people.
A survey found that two thirds (66%) of children with disabilities or SEN had experienced homophobic bullying, compared to 55% of the general population.
Concerns were also raised about the lack of sex and relationship education – which does not adequately address LGBT issues, nor sex and disability.
One student observed: “Sex education for disabled young people… There is none.”
Lauren Seager-Smith, National Coordinator of the Anti-Bullying Alliance said: “We are very concerned by reports of dual discrimination, bullying and marginalisation experienced by disabled young people that identify as LGBT+.
As I often say, this is the real lesson of intersectionality. Intersectionality has become a way to celebrate multiple aspects of our identity, which is lovely, but the term was constructed in order to reveal how black women struggled with both racism and sexism. Hence, intersectional feminism couldn’t just fight against the latter.
The disabled community is filled with discrimination and silencing of its LGBT+ members. The LGBT+ community is filled with discrimination and silencing of its disabled members. Society as a whole considers disabled people asexual (or deviant).
To paraphrase the oft- and aptly-quoted Flavia Dzodan, our movements must be intersectional or they will be bullshit. Alas, intersectionality is hard. It’s not how our brains are trained.