This is an eraser:
It is a useful tool. If you make a mistake when you're writing (do people still use pencils?) using one of these makes it as though it never happened. I had a teacher who had a huge eraser that she used to store thumbtacks. No more needlessly poking yourself to fish one out of the pack. You can find a number of creative uses for an eraser. It's really up to your ingenuity. However, for every place it is useful, there is a place it is not. You wouldn't use one to try and erase pen (unless it is one of those weird pens that you can erase. Those are cool.) or remove paint. It has its place. You can't use one on people although it hasn't stopped people from trying.
Usually I talk about issues that plague the LGBTQ+ community from the outside: Laws, religious intolerance and good old-fashioned bigotry. But what about the inside? When a body is sick you can put it in the safest, most sterile environment, but if you don't deal with what is on the inside the body will still be sick. So this time I want to talk about something that affects us from the inside: Erasure.
Erasure is probably one of the BIGGEST problems in the LGBTQ+ community today (arguably THE BIGGEST). It boggles my mind that we can fight so many battles on so many fronts and then have something like this as a problem on the inside.
We represent ourselves with the rainbow. A spectrum of colors that symbolize and celebrate the diversity of our community. Why then, do we feel the need to attack that. I'll give you a timeless example:
PERSON A: Hi I'm gay. What do you identify as?
PERSON B: Oh hello. I'm Bisexual.
PERSON A: Oh. So you're just not sure yet.
PERSON B: Yes. I'm Bi.
PERSON A: No. You just haven't figured out whether you like boys or girls yet.
PERSON B: I'm Bi. I like both.
PERSON A: Pick a team.
Yes, this is simplistic example, but a real one as well. Bisexuals face erasure from all sides everyday. People who are L or G tell them that being Bi isn't a real thing, just a cop out so that they can "act straight" when it is convenient for them. They struggle constantly with trying to verify and validate themselves not only to outside opposition, but within their own community! It's mind boggling. What's more, I know of plenty bisexual people who look at this as a form of privilege for them (it is and the fact that they acknowledge it is amazing!) that they honestly wish they didn't have. They'd rather lose the privilege than constantly have to validate themselves to everyone.
Another great example (and one that I am sad to say I was guilty of) is the idea that Gender Identity and its issues are not a part of our community. You may recall a movement not to long ago that wanted to get the T dropped from LGBT. Their reasoning was that while LGB are sexuality, T is gender and not related to the issues and struggles of sexuality. Many reasoned that we would not face such an uphill climb with our rights if we didn't have to also defend the "trannys." (Just thinking back to these days makes me feel very disgusted with myself.) Erase them for the "greater good." What good comes from a marginalized group attacking another marginalized group? Does it make you feel less oppressed? Sexuality and Gender are part of a SPECTRUM!! (May I direct your attention back to the rainbow metaphor?) Identity itself is a spectrum. You aren't just gay, or Asian, or blonde, or an introvert. The many different pieces make up the whole. Such is the same with being LGBTQ+. Even the acronym reflects that. That we would want to erase a part of that spectrum is to erase a part of ourselves. We're all human. Isn't it bad enough that the governor-who-shall-not-be-named tried to justify the atrocity that is HB2 by saying that intersex people don't actually exist? We don't need to do the same to our own.
Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Ageism, Slut-Shaming, Body Shaming, Internalized Homophobia, PEOPLE WHO WEAR SOCKS WITH SANDALS!!! Don't we honestly have enough problems to deal with without adding to the pile? Many of them could be solved so easily as they are in part a product of erasure. It's not something we can fix overnight, I know, but we can choose to take the steps in the right direction. Having an open mind and heart. Having the courage to do what it takes to affect change. Yes. It is like pulling out a splinter: it may hurt, but you'll feel better and be better off in the end. It just takes one small first step. I recommend starting with the mirror. It's working (ever so slowly) for me.
