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Sean Philpott-Jones: (Golden) Global Change And LGBT Rights

I make it a tradition to watch televised awards shows like the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys. This is not because I particularly care about the entertainment industry, but primarily because I enjoy providing a running commentary of snarky comments about the various nominee's clothes, styling and speeches on Facebook and other social media outlets.

Obviously, then, I watched the Golden Globe awards ceremony this past Sunday. Awarded annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes honor excellence in both television and film, and are often seen as a precursor to (and predictor of) the Emmys and the Oscars.

I usually don't pay much attention to the actual awards themselves, but I was pleasantly surprised when this year's ceremony became (in part) a celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. For example, the television drama The Normal Heart, adapted from the Larry Kramer play of the same name, received three nominations, including a nod for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Openly gay actor Matt Bomer won for his supporting role in that film, which depicts the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City.

More importantly, the television series TransParent, which follows the lives of a Los Angeles family after the patriarch comes out a transgendered, won Best TV Comedy. Jeffrey Tambor also won Best Actor for his role as Maura Pfefferman, a retired professor of political science who begins to transition from male to female.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Tambor dedicated his remarks to the transgender community, saying: “Thank you for your courage, thank you for your inspiration, thank you for your patience and thank you for letting us be a part of the change.” This was quite an improvement from last year's ceremony, when both Michael Douglas and Jared Leto managed to offend the entire LGBT community with speeches that mocked the very characters they were honored for playing: a gay man and a transgender woman, respectively.

Given this, I can't really blame the Hollywood press for crowing that this year's Golden Globes were "a watershed moment" for LGBT rights. In fact, it has been a 2014 has been a watershed year for the LGBT community.

With the recent federal court rulings in Florida and South Dakota, for example, the number of states in which same-sex couples are able to marry has more than doubled. Over 70% of Americans now live in a marriage equality state. New state laws and local ordinances have also been passed that recognize the rights and dignity of LGBT people, including legislation that makes it easier for transgender people born in New York City to correct their birth certificates.

But it far too early, as many in the press have done, to suggest that the fight for LGBT equality is complete.  Golden Globe  co-host Tina Fey joked that the movie Selma, nominated for Best Motion Picture, is "about the civil rights movement, which totally worked and now everything’s fine." She could have made the same joke about TransParent, The Normal Heart, and LGBT rights.

Anti-LGBT organizations like the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and the National Organization for Marriage are continuing their efforts to prevent or repeal legislation that protect all people regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. They are often successful in their efforts, as seen by the recent vote by the residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas, to repeal an anti-discrimination ordinance.

Various state representatives and federal legislators are also supporting so-called 'religious liberty' bills, which would allow public businesses to refuse goods and services to LGBT individuals. Republicans in the US House of Representatives continue to block a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employers from discriinating against workers on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Pervasive stigmatization and marginalization of the LGBT community continues, even in Hollywood. The cable network TLC, once known as The Learning Channel but now home to highbrow shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, recently debuted a series called My Husband's Not Gay. This reality series follows the lives of several men who admit they are sexually attracted to other men but who refuse to identify as gay or bisexual. Most of these men are married to women, despite their sexual orientation, presenting the idea that suppressing same-sex attraction is somehow healthy or achievable. Such shows do little but support outdated stereotypes that sexual orientation or gender identity is a choice, and the LGBT individuals can be "cured" through reparative therapy.

Small wonder then that hate crimes and violence against LGBT individuals is still common. In fact, it is on the rise. It should comes as no surprise that a significant percentage of LGBT individuals attempt to take their own lives. Many are successful in this attempt, including LeelahAlcorn, a transgendered Ohio teenager who threw herself in front of a tractor-trailer last week. In her suicide note she wrote, "Please don't be sad, it's for the better. The life I would've lived isn't worth living in ... because I'm transgender." But Leelah was wrong. Her life was worth living in.

Despite increasing visibility and recent accolades, there is still a long way to go before the LGBT community achieves equality, despite what recent headlines in the Hollywood press might lead you to believe. We owe it to Leelah and others like her.

A public health researcher and ethicist by training, Dr. Sean Philpott-Jones is Director of the Bioethics Program at Union Graduate College-Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Schenectady, New York. He is also Director of Union Graduate College's Center for Bioethics and Clinical Leadership, and Project Director of its two NIH-funded research ethics training programs in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Caribbean Basin.

 

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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