While class protection for queer people is sorely needed, it will not always protect us in daily homophobia and heterosexism. Much like laws protect African-Americans, racism is still very much an issue. The legal protections, however, do offer some respite. So how is it (overall discrimination and recrimination) fixed? Education. It really comes down to educating people about the issues which face queer people and understanding the complexities of the community as a whole. It comes down to making sure that when the topic is GLBT protection and inclusion, it doesn't get side-tracked or hijacked by other issues, thereby watering down or even ignoring issues which we face.
Homophobia is something many seem to understand, at least up to a point; however, it is heterosexism which is needing a greater focus now. Most people, at least on the liberal side, though as witnessed here sometimes, not always, understand and are repelled by homophobia. Heterosexism, though, still seems to mystify people. They understand "white privilege" and "male privilege" but can't seem to wrap their minds around the concept of "straight privilege" and "cis privilege", and it is this area where many queer people find themselves at odds with people who are allegedly on our side. Education is again the answer, but many of us feel we are stopped in our tracks when we try to educate people on the topic of heterosexism.
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