‘Social distancing’ is how LGBT people have always had to live

 | 
04/06/2020

As news reports with dire predictions about Covid-19 began to multiply exponentially, I quickly realized that the inevitable physical distancing required and resulting social isolation was not as big a deal for me as I suspect it is for many other people. Investigating my own sense of calm, I wondered if I was missing something, some quality that allowed me to be untroubled with the idea of quarantining. Then I saw a Facebook post from a young gay Jamaican friend that provided an epiphany: for decades, Jamaica has been “preparing” LGBTQ+ citizens, like myself, for this pandemic of social distance and isolation. In my friend’s words, which I’m paraphrasing only slightly, “We speak now about social distancing, but it’s something I’ve been doing for a long time because of homophobia.” You see, as queer Jamaicans – and queer global citizens, really – we’ve been forced to engage in social distancing as a matter of survival for so long that it is now part of our daily existence.

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 12/02/2023
12/1/2023
A tight-knit community in San Francisco has suddenly found itself divided over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leaving some feeling cut off from the …
Added on: 12/02/2023
12/1/2023
If you’ve followed the debate over treating gender-distressed youth, then you know that evidence-based policy changes, along with general public understanding, often lag the …
Added on: 12/02/2023
12/1/2023
With a painted white face and head, wearing an all-white ensemble save for long black gloves and gigantic black platform stiletto boots, Gena Marvin …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Added on: 12/02/2023
A tight-knit community in San Francisco has suddenly found itself divided over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, leaving some feeling cut off from the …
Added on: 11/26/2023
A museum in Britain identified Roman emperor Elagabalus this week as a transgender woman, saying it would start using she/her pronouns in written materials …
Added on: 11/16/2023
(Geneva) – The Uzbekistan government should urgently act on recommendations made on November 8, 2023, during its fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of its human …