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He believes that as well as looking at internalised homophobia in the queer community, there needs to be more talk of internalised racism. “Being subjected to racial discrimination does not only affect one emotionally, but it further has a crippling effect on the productivity, sense of accomplishment and self-image of a person,” says Thomas. Many of the participants of the study are now reluctant to ‘deal’ with Cork’s ‘white’ GBTQ+ spaces, instead seeking solitude, or the company of other people of colour. The act of applying a ‘race’ onto another person is a form of ‘racism’.” The same people who would not apologise for referring to Africans as ‘jungle people’, and who were eager to teach me about which of my characteristics, behaviours and features were inherently African and which were inherently European. “I have let go of acquaintances and friends who insisted they could ascribe behaviours intrinsically and biologically to Middle Eastern people simply because of what they observed on television.
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“I feel exasperated when I have to reiterate that the idea of ‘races’ is invented by us, and does not reflect reality at all,” says Thomas. It is within these settings that participants of the study found themselves vulnerable to toxic stereotypes and racist comments, such as: ‘You are too black to be Irish,’ ‘Did you fall asleep on the tanning bed?’ and ‘Oh, so you’re looking for a visa?’ “There are other outlets, including the UCC LGBT Society, UP Cork LGBT Youth Project, gay cruise & fetish club The Loft, and some places that can be described as gay-friendly,” adds Thomas. The study highlights four contexts in which the LGBTQ+ community in Cork interact –the gay bar, the Gay Project, lesbian and bisexual resource centre LinC, and online dating apps, such as Grindr and Tinder.
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If you’re white, Irish, and you have certain physical traits, for instance, and you can accommodate, you will be higher up in the hierarchy versus if you are Brazilian or of colour and have just moved to the city - then you are lowest in the hierarchy.” “In the male Queer scene, there would be a hierarchy. And so whatever discrimination you will feel in the Cork scene, you will also feel in the Queer scene. “I think this discrimination stems largely from wider society. “But it does because even though we feel as if we’re a sub-society of general Cork society, we are also a part of Cork society. A lot of people would not necessarily know this exists, and they’d be surprised to hear it takes place,” says Thomas. “It’s interesting when you have ‘othering’ with a marginalised group within a marginalised group. In this case, the nine members of the study often found themselves ‘othered’ within the GBTQ+ community due to the colour of their skin, and perceived background. The “individual is treated or referred to as abnormal and therefore excluded or discriminated against in different aspects,” explains Thomas.Ī person can be ‘othered’ for their gender, colour of skin, sexuality, disability, age – the list goes on. ‘Othering’ is the word used to describe treating people with perceived differences as generally inferior to the group you belong to. “Being a queer person of colour, I would have experienced forms of ‘othering’, not directly discrimination, but when I heard what some participants had faced, I was really, really taken aback by it.” “One thing that really struck me was the level of discrimination based on appearance,” adds Thomas, who has been living in Cork for the past four years. “Interestingly, every participant who had experienced racialisation and marginalisation based on their heritage and appearance had not been subjected to the same degree of queerphobia or homophobia,” says Thomas. Iris Aghedo, researcher Thomas Heising, Leo O’Mahony, and Ailsa Spindler, Gay Project Co-ordinator, at the launch of the Crossroads Report. It looks at the double discrimination of being both a person of colour and GBTQ+. He also noted that ‘some participants expressed difficulty relating to the drinking culture in Cork’s GBTQ+ nightlife.’Ĭrossroads offers us a contemporary look at the lived experiences of, and attitudes towards, racialisation and discrimination of GBTQ+ people of colour living in Cork.