Ritchie- Where Do We Go From Here?

            In Ritchie’s “Over the Rainbow: Where Do We Go From Here?”, Ritchie argues that resistance to violence from law enforcement erases queer folks that are not gay men. She explains that gay men’s sexuality is often the center of fights for resistance and other queer folks’ issues take a backseat (146).

            I find Ritchie’s point very relevant and important to conversations surrounding violence against LGBT folk. I often hear stories about injustice towards gay men and violence towards gay men, but there is rarely other queer folks at the forefront of the conversations. When I do hear about incidents of violence towards other queer folks, it is often in very specific settings from people who are more well versed in LGBT problems. The mainstream conversations about violence towards LGBT folks tends to focus on gay men’s experiences.

            Ritchie was trying to bring to light that other LGBT folks who experience violence because of their queerness are not given the same spotlight as gay men. Furthermore, folks who are both queer and nonwhite are further cast into the shadows and their stories are erased.

            I was particularly interested in this part of Ritchie’s discussions because I have increasingly been aware of the violence against transgender women of color in particular. Just this year in there have already been four transgender women killed. Three of these women were women of color. https://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2018 

In 2017 there were at least 28 transgender people fatally killed. There is an epidemic of violence against transgender people, but it is rarely covered on mainstream news and media.

            How can we increase awareness of violence against other non-cisgender queerfolks? Do you think gay men have a certain privilege other queer folks don’t have?