Prior to attending this event I thought that it was going to give me a lot of information on the struggles being faced with the fight for same-sex marriage. Although I don't know much about this topic, I do know that it i a fight that has been going on for a while.
The information was presented in a way that focused more on what people should already know about this topic. Although I did hear some facts that I hadn't known before, I felt like I was a bit out of place having not much background information.
One thing that I had never heard before was the comparison of poverty in homosexual versus heterosexual families. Urvashi said that there is more poverty in homosexual families but I don't think that this is a fair comparison. She didn't mention the number of families that were compared. This is important to take into account especially when the divorce rate is so high. I don't understand how she can compare these 2 relationships when most heterosexual families are single parent raised families.
Urvashi Vaid is an authority on this topic as she is has spent most of her life researching and working with the homosexual community and issues that they face.
I have to be honest and say that I didn't take much away from this presentation. Although Urvashi is a great presenter, I feel her forceful approach was hard to follow and she had made a lot of assumptions about her audience. She is very knowledgeable about the topic but that doesn't mean that her audience is on the same level. Like I said earlier, I felt a bit out of place.
There was a question asked by one of our classmates but I was unable to clearly hear the question but it had something to do with Urvashi's concern with heterosexuals. Since I couldn't hear the question, I can't say whether she responded well or not. But she did give it a shot and the student seemed to be satisfied with the answer.
About Me
- To Be Well-Diversified
- I'm 31 years old and have been married for 2 1/2 years. I was born in MN but call NJ home since I spent most of my life there. I like to think that I am a diversified individual but I'm thinking this blog may change some of my views.
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post on the Urvashi Vaid presentation.
One thing that I noticed during Urvashi Vaid's presentation is that she talked very fast. As I was born and raised in New York just like Urvashi, I know that many of us talk quite fast and it is a bad habit.
With that said, I will say that Urvashi Vaid had received her information about the poverty levels of gay/lesbian families from US Census data.
You are right when you say that she did not mention the number of families compared. Keep in mind that, due to the fact that many states do not recognize same-sex commitments, and the fact that some people might not want to divulge much about their relationship status to the federal government, it is possible that some people will identify as "single", or will identify a household with a certain number of adults in it, but might not identify the adults as being in a consenting relationship.
From the people who did identify as same-sex couples for the Census, however, the percentage that live in poverty may be greater than the percentage of heterosexual people who live in poverty. As LGBT people in many parts of the country still suffer from employment discrimination, as well as rejection from family and community, the likelihood of them attaining the same level of financial independence as heterosexuals is smaller. If they are LGBT people of color, the probability that they do not earn as much as heterosexual or LGBT whites is even greater.
This is why Urvashi Vaid said that the LGBT civil rights movement should do more to address economic equity and support for all people.
Please let me know if you have any questions...
Sincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum