LGBT Ethnography 1

Identifying the sub-culture of

The LGBT Community

Kristalyn Hatch

SLCC

May 2nd, 2019

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Abstract

The LGBT community is a community that identifies their sexuality differently than

the regular heterosexual relationships. LGBT community stands for Lesbian, gay,

bisexual and transgender. Each of these groups creates a culture that used to be

hidden and ashamed of and in some parts of the world this still happens today. The

acceptance of the LGBT community beginning to be more accepted as individuals

have the courage and support to be themselves and express their feelings to the

world.
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Many interviews have been conducted and one of them is how Internet

affects the gay teens with the larger community. The study was done taking two

teens at differ time periods. One named Stephanie grew up during the eighties

where there was little internet interaction and Emily who grew up as a teen with

today’s technology. Both gay teens and grew up in a small town named Sulphur in

Louisiana. While interviewing the two different teens Stephanie now older stated

that she often felt alone in her small town. She didn’t have any groups or others that

were like her so essentially she didn’t have the support group she needed. Stephanie

felt like she didn’t fit the mold of being gay in her community when she went to

college she met more people like her in which she was able to be more open. As well

as the internet was now available in which she has a support group. Emily explains

because of the internet she has never felt alone. She was able to communicate with

their like her. With the technology and support groups online Emily felt like she has

never had a problem expressing herself. Sites like gay.com are available for support

and relate to others that are going through the same trials and know how to relate.

With the advance in technology being apart of the LGBT community is not easy but

easier.

I selected this group because this culture is one that is now more expressed

and I wanted to know more about it. When I was younger I had a neighbor that

expressed herself as lesbian and I always wanted to learn more about the culture.

How is really different from mine? I always was interested about the details of the

LGBT community and how others affect their culture. My expectations of the LGBT

community were very similar to what I found out through observation and research.
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One of the culture shocks I had while studying this group was how mistreated they

can be fore their sexuality representation. Also how many people transform their

body to be unlike how they are born. The transgender community often feels as if

they were born a different sex than they feel. Comparing to my culture it was very

interesting to analyze how sometimes the body that a person was born with is not

who they really feel they are.

All the personal research was done with a personal interview with a

individual who identifies as a Lesbian in my local community. Also I personally

observation the cultural group at Two locations in Salt lake city, Utah. Other

information was researched in order to get an overview of culture in a much larger

scale. While researching on a larger scale identification of acceptance varied based

on the location of the group.

Observation 2/20/2019, 2:30 was located at the college school library

on the Salt lakecity campus. The location is a common area for college students to

get together and study as well as individual study. While I was studying I observed

the surround community waiting to see if there were any individuals that might be a

part of the LGBT community. I was there for about thirty minutes before I identified

a group of two males that were a couple. While analyzing them as they came into

the library many people just ignored them as if they were just another couple

walking into the library. When analyzing them as a couple they used a lot of non-

verbal communication skills. They held hands and smiled often while sitting

together. When one of them went to leave for class they kissed goodbye and I noticed

that as he left the other male was checking in out. Which is very similar to
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heterosexual individuals. As I observed the society around them it seemed pretty

accepting accept for the older generation. The older students seemed to watch them

and felt uncomfortable with them kissing and holding hands. I visited this location

multiple times and didn’t see another obvious interaction that identified individuals

as part of the LGBT community.

Observation 4/6/19, 10:00-12:00 at the sun trap gay bar in Salt Lake city.

With this being a primary spot for people of the LGBT community gather it was a

prominent point to analyze their actions and interactions. While observing the LGBT

community I notice that the energy in the room was very positive and everyone

seemed happy. While I was there by myself I notice that I didn’t feel uncomfortable

like I thought I would. I noticed that the lesbians that attended this bar most that

were couple had a more feminine and the other masculine appearance. With the gay

men couples both seemed to be very well dressed and acted more feminine while

speaking to each other. Although it is considered a gay bar many heterosexual

couples were mixed in with the cultural group of the LGBT community. It was very

amusing to see the two cultures accept each other.

Interview 4/30, 3:30 with Krista from my local community in my home town.

While interviewing Krista many of her answers were something that I have noticed

while studying the LGBT community. When asking direct questions about how she

feels society views her culture she answered that in some situations being gay is still

not accepted but as she has gotten older it has been more accepted into society. She

did mention that because she has a family many people judge her and her wife and

think they are doing something wrong. When I asked her about when she decided to
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come out how old she was it seems to be a very common answer in which most

individuals wait until they are out of high school because they don’t want to be

bullied or judged. In her situation she had a very supporting family, which made it

easier for her to be herself.

The Language and the communication of the LGBT community is different

than the traditional proverbs of he and she. Through research and observation many

individuals don’t like to be identified as he or she. They prefer to be referred to as

they unless specified otherwise. Many members of the LGBT community like gender

neutral language because many people identify differently than they appear. The

communication within the LGBT community use different slang words. Which

describe people to a reference. For example the word cruising to my culture would

literally mean moving. When referencing in the LGBT community to cruising means

seeking a casual gay sex encounter. When analyzing in person the LGBT community

many of the individuals show gestures in body posture and motions to express their

sexuality. Many gay men make feminine gestures in which often you can understand

they are expressing their sexuality. Often times non-verbal communication is used in

the LGBT community. Individuals often dress to represent who they are in make up

and

Marriage is practiced in the LGBT community. It is very common to see two

males or two females together in a monogamy relationship. It is very common to see

same sex marriages be criticized and often a taboo. Exogamy is very common when

someone is a member of the LGBT community unlike heterosexual individuals often

times members of the LGBT community must reach out further than their local
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community. In the United states roughly four percent of the populations identifies

themselves as part of the LGBTQ which requires and individual to reach out of their

community to find someone that is interested in the same sexual presentation as

them. In the united states many of the LGBT community follow the same customs

that the surrounding culture uses for their weddings. They often have a wedding

that is traditional with walking down the isle. Also rings are also used to represent

their marriage. When comparing the LGBT community to the dominate culture that

surrounds them many times they are custom to their rituals and tend to follow the

marriage age..

Families are organized differently in the LGBT community the traditional

way. In Often times, adoption artificial insemination or even sergeant mothers create

families. Because members of the LGBT community are often of the same sex many

of them are not able to have children on their own. In same sex marriages there are

about one million children that are being raised. Which is a huge change in society

many gay couples didn’t used to qualify for adoption for children and were often

judged for wanting children.

Gender in the LGBT community can very on what they prefer not who they

were born as. Many males often will display a more feminine look rather than

masculine. Jeffery Stars is an example of a male that often dresses in feminine ways.

Although he is gay and identifies as gay he often speaks in feminine ways. He also

has a make up line that once was only used for women and now many members of

the LGBT community use make up to express themselves. Transgender is becoming

more accepting in our society and because of tv shows and education the LGBT
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community displays themselves as who they want to be identified as. While

observing different same sex relationships in some couples there is a clear

distinction of a masculine and a feminine figure while others are equal. Many

females in same sex relationships often times the one that is more masculine wears

baggy clothes and has short hair while the other one is more feminine look. Many

times you will see someone born a male change to a female vise versa. Drag queens

are an expression in which gay men or transgender dress up as women to preform.

First started in a play produced by Mae west in the 1900’s. Today, individuals still

dress up and preform. With identification many times individuals part of the

Transgender society often have issues with things like restrooms. Some bathrooms

are identified as trans bathrooms because heterosexual women and men had issues

with trans using the restroom that they didn’t think truly identified them. Trans

restrooms were designed to create a safe environment for transgender men and

women. The bathroom is a statement of whom that person identifies and lives by on

a daily basis.

Politics, power, war and peace in the LGBT community differs on the location.

Politics and religion often play a huge role in the LGBT community rights. Religion

often controls the social norm as many cultures evolve around religion. In Utah for

example the LGBT community is not fully protected. In Utah members of the LGBT

community can be denied medical care, can be denied service, and be kicked out of

businesses and restaurants just because of their representation. The combination of

church and state in Utah creates laws and regulations that do not support the LGBT

community. There are only twenty states that fully accept the LGBT community and
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their culture and have no restrictions based off of gender roles. Discrimination

because of the power of the dominant culture often can make individuals not

express their sexuality. In the Maldives being homosexual is punished by death as

well as other countries. Discrimination of the LGBT community often leads to

protest for equal rights in societies.

Conclusion

The study of the LGBT community helped me realize that the culture still is

discriminated against. Although, we have come a long way on acceptance of same

sex marriages and Transgender there is a long way to go. If I were to do another

evaluation on the LGBT community I would interview more people. I would try and

reach individuals outside of Utah to better understand the culture outside of Utah.

Comparing the LGBT community to my own I have learned that the dominate culture

often takes over the smaller one such as the LGBT. Often times smaller cultures are

overran by the more powerful culture. Ethnocentrism is seen very well in the

community of Utah. The religion is very powerful in the culture of Utah, which leads

to political views being lead by religion. Many people believe that their cultural

views are more superior and should control small cultures like the LGBGT

community.
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Reference:

82 Interesting Facts about LGBT. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.factretriever.com/lgbt-facts

Henn, S. (2014, February 13). Through The Internet, Gay Teens Connected To Larger
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http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/02/13/276176612/through-
the- `internet-gay-teens-connected-to-larger-community

LGBT. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youth.gov/youth-topics/lgbtq-youth

Mirza, S. A., & Rooney, C. (2018, January 18). Discrimination Prevents LGBTQ People
from Accessing Health Care. Retrieved from
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2018/01/18/445130/discrimin
ation-prevents-lgbtq-people-accessing-health-care/

Gay culture [Personal interview]. (2019, April 30).

Religion-Based Discrimination Against LGBT People. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.aclu.org/issues/religious-liberty/using-religion-discriminate/religion-
based-discrimination-against-lgbt

Utah. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://beyondido.org/states/utah/