Culture is defined in the course module as a people’s whole way of life”, and includes “ideas, objects, and ways of doing things created by the group…culture includes arts, beliefs, customs, inventions, language, technology, traditions [and] learned ways of acting, feeling and thinking…[and] includes three important characteristics: culture is acquired by people; a person acquires culture as a member of society; culture is a complex whole.” (“Module 1:Presentation”, 2017, slides 1-3) This paper will examine the culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people (henceforth “LGBTQ”). Being a member of this community influences all aspects of one’s life from relationships, family, employment, leisure, and beliefs and values. LGBTQ individuals have their own traditions, terminology, shared history, and common ways of being. There exists a range of LGBTQ influences in the art, theater and music. Many members of this culture share common characteristics and recognize that they are part of a larger community with similar backgrounds, experiences, and values. While homosexuality and gender identity may have biological roots, LGBTQ culture is learned and acquired. One can be queer and not identify as a member of the culture. Naturally, the most basic defining characteristic of LGBTQ culture is having some degree of same-sex attraction or sexual fluidity, whether acted upon or not. For many in this culture, there is also a rejection of traditionally prescribed gender roles and gender expression; however, LGBTQ subgroups often do have their own set of labels and stereotyped roles. For example, many lesbians self-identify as “butch”, “femme”, “lipstick”, “stud”, etcetera, as ways to describe their own and others’ gender expression, relationship role, and cultural identity. Similarly, gay men may use terms like “queen”, “bear”, “leather daddy”, etcetera. An important characteristic of such terms is that they are reserved for community members; use of these terms by nonmembers is usually viewed as pejorative or threatening. Like many cultures, the appropriation of derogatory labels historically used by outsiders as a means of oppression becomes a source of empowerment and ownership. Another defining characteristic of LGBTQ culture is the shared experience of “othering” (being viewed as outside of society, treated as though one were part of some nebulous group of “others” rather than equal members of the surrounding community). Such experiences have shaped the culture’s views and norms about family. Unfortunately, homosexuality continues to be a major source of contention in families all around the world. It is not uncommon for individuals to be disowned by their biological family, sometimes being kicked out of the family home as teenagers. This has led many queer people to seek a chosen family in friends and members of the LGBTQ community. Of course, many families are accepting of their loved ones, whether they are heterosexual or queer. However, the cultural tradition of choosing one’s “family” persists even for those who have not been rejected by their family of origin. Often the complexities of familial relationships arise from a universal LGBTQ rite of passage: “coming out”. Nearly all gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals spend some part of their life “closeted” (i.e. hiding their sexuality or true gender identity). At some point in their lives, it becomes necessary to “come out” of the proverbial closet, which involves a process of telling family and friends about one’s identity and then gradually being “out” publicly. Many people come out in their teens, but it is also not unheard of for this process to take place well into adulthood or even into the geriatric years. Some queer folks never come out. Because of the social stigma that has historically been ascribed to homosexuality, many closeted LGBTQ people may live as heterosexual for many years or even their whole lives. They may marry opposite-sex partners, have children, and live the “traditional” life, all while hiding their identity. Some may not even recognize or acknowledge their own queerness. This is my own personal experience and connection to the LGBTQ culture. I spent my entire adult life in a heterosexual marriage. I denied my own sexual orientation for fear of being outcast. I did not come out of the closet until my late thirties, after 14 years of marriage and two children. While my personal journey has not been without struggle or loss, I can now say I feel free. I strongly embrace my culture and no longer feel marginalized or fearful. I am happily engaged to a woman and finally at peace being my true self. I participate in all the activities of my culture, including pride events and activism. Since the beginning of history, LGBTQ people have existed, often in the dark margins of society. Morris (n.d.) notes, “Most historians agree that there is evidence of homosexual activity and same-sex love, whether such relationships were accepted or persecuted, in every documented culture.” (para. 1). Considered immoral and taboo throughout most of time, little history of homosexuality has been recorded prior to the 19th century (Morris, n.d., paragraph 2). Most LGBTQ historical timelines, particularly in the United States, begin around the 1920s, with many major milestones occurring in the 1950s and ‘60s, continuing through present day. From the time that gay, lesbian and other queer-identifying individuals first began to come out of the shadows they have been met with fierce resistance from mainstream-- particularly religious-society. Recurring themes throughout our history include the ongoing fight for civil rights, the drive towards social acceptance and normalization of same-sex relationships, the destigmatization of gay/queer culture, and the breaking down of harmful stereotypes and prescribed gender roles. The “Living Memory GLBT History Timeline” highlights numerous key events in the evolution of LGBT culture, beginning with the first use of the word “gay” in publication in the year 1920 (Cook-Daniels, 2008, p.1). Other major milestones that shaped this culture include: the burning of the Institute of Sexual Science library in 1933; the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the U.S. military in 1943; The American Psychiatric Association’s addition of homosexuality to its list of “mental disorders” in 1952 (and subsequent removal from the list some twenty years later); the infamous Stonewall Inn Riots in 1969; Harvey Milk’s murder in 1978; the U.S. military’s implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (which essentially prohibited individuals from being openly gay while serving in the armed forces) in 1993 and repeal in 2010; Matthew Sheppard’s murder in 1998; and so many other critical events all the way through Marriage Equality in 2015 (Cook-Daniels, 2008, p.1). The history of LGBTQ people is one wrought with struggle, hardship, and violence. In LGBTQ culture, one of the ways group membership is affirmed is through participation in the ongoing fight to secure the most basic of human and civil rights in the face of relentless marginalization. Participation in the struggle for equality can manifest in many ways. Some may simply hold beliefs and values that align with those of the community (such as that all people deserve the same basic rights, that same-sex couples should be treated equally in the eyes of the law, that LGBTQ individuals are human beings not unlike their heterosexual counterparts and thus deserving of acceptance and respect). Others may take it a step further and speak out publicly against inequity or, even get involved in activism and social justice movements. It may strike some as ironic that a common trait of queer culture is to seek, on some level, acceptance by the larger mainstream culture; however, cultures often form out of shared struggles. One only needs to look to other ostracized groups such as African Americans, Native Americans, the disabled and immigrants to recognize the major role that adversity plays in cultural genesis. It is important to note that while acceptance and equality are crucial cultural movements in the LGBTQ community, there is by no means a desire for total assimilation. Many people take great pride in their queerness, in being different and on the fringes of “polite” society. No custom better captures the duality of LGBTQ acceptance in mainstream society and retention of cultural identity than Pride parades and events (collectively referred to as simply “Pride”). Beginning with the infamous Stonewall Inn riots in 1969, gay and lesbian people finally decided to take a stand and refuse to be hidden from public view any longer. At the time, New York law prohibited homosexuality in public. Gay establishments were routinely raided and shut down. When police raided the Stonewall Inn (a popular Greenwich Village gay bar), people took to the streets in protest (The Leadership Conference, 2009, para. 3-4). This spurred the cultural tradition of Pride, with the first parade being held in multiple major cities on the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Pride is a way for LGBTQ individuals to celebrate our heritage, proclaim our refusal to be ignored and pushed to the margins, to honor our long history of struggle and those queer pioneers who sometimes laid down their lives for the cause, and to be surrounded my members of our community in solidarity and love. The queer community continues to face oppression and violence in the present day. The struggle is especially pronounced in other countries around the world where homosexuality is reviled and considered a direct affront to religious teachings or local customs. Although we have seen great strides towards equality in the United States in recent years, there are still many places globally where LGBTQ people are imprisoned or killed for embracing their cultural identity. Even within this country, discrimination is still rampant in some regions. On an almost daily basis, queer rights are called to question by organizations looking to repeal legal protections or implement legislation such as “Religious Freedom” acts, which grant legal authority for businesses and government to refuse service to gay people. While same-sex marriage is finally law of the land, thanks to a 2015 Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, there are still states which refuse to allow same-sex couples to adopt children and thus enjoy truly equal rights to a family experience on par with the unhindered rights of heterosexual families. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people have fought long and hard to enjoy the same rights, privileges and acceptance as other in society. Out of necessity and shared struggle, we have formed a rich culture which allows us to belong to a community of others with whom we share both our difficult history and the joys of our progresses. Just as most cultures offer individuals a place to belong, so does the LGBTQ community. Through our common values, experiences and traditions we stand together in solidarity to continue advancing our culture and ensuring those traditional pushed to the margins have a place to call home. References ASL3514 Module 1 (2017). Module 1: presentation. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from https://usflearn.instructure.com/courses/1188948/pages/module-1presentation?module_item_id=10410874 Cook-Daniels, L. (2008). Living memory GLBT history timeline: current elders would have been this old when these events happened. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 4(4), 485-497. doi:10.1080/15504280802191731 Morris, B. J. (n.d.). History of lesbian, gay, & bisexual social movements. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx PBS. (n.d.). Timeline: milestones in the American gay rights movement. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/stonewall/ The Leadership Conference. (n.d.). Stonewall riots: the beginning of the LGBT movement. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from http://www.civilrights.org/archives/2009/06/449stonewall.html Timeline of LGBT history. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history The father of cultural anthropology, Edward B Tylor, defined culture as a “…Complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man, as a member of society (Tylor, 2006).” The culture of American college falls into this definition by creating a community of people that are like minded, have similar habits, and are subjected to life through the same experiences. The culture of college is a culture that has grown in the past few years. The number of college students has increased dramatically within the last 30 years due to the sudden increase in the population. There are currently more than 20 million people enrolled in a community college or university within the United States today as compared to the 11 million people who were enrolled in 1975 (Number of college students in the U.S. 1965-2025, 2014). This jump in attendance can also be contributed to the growing emphasis within the American work force to obtain a higher education degree before entering the job market. So how did this culture begin? In 1636, the Massachusetts General Court founded Harvard University, the first University on American soil (About Harvard, 2017). This school was founded for many reasons. One was the amount of British colonists who were previously a part of a culture that put great emphasis on the importance of higher level learning. This mindset and belief was brought over to the United States with them and has since remained. Another reason for the founding of this institute was the desire for educated clergy and leadership within the early American Puritan church. As freedom of religion grew with in the US and more churches of different denominations arose, so did the amount of small colleges around the country. And so began the higher education system in the United States. For many years, only Caucasian Christian men were allowed to attend these institutions. In 1890, the government passed an act that funded the building of universities and places of education for African American men. Later, in the early 1900’s, women’s colleges began to gain popularity as the idea that women could bring additional income to families grew more and more attractive and obtainable. It wasn’t until the 1950’s, following the Brown versus Board of Education federal lawsuit, that the Supreme Court of the United States decided to abolish segregated schooling and fully integrate both men and women, white and black into the same institutions (Berger & Calkins, 2000). Perhaps one of the most defining aspect and issue of this group is the lack of sufficient finances. From the creation the university system, the image of those attending university has always been that of prestige and so has unintentionally attracted a wealthier demographic and shunned the less fortunate. This has undoubtedly contributed to the reason pricing of attending a university has always been so high in the United States. Just in the past 40 years, the cost of college has increased more than $8,000. In addition to this, the average cost to attend a private non-profit university surpassed the average income of women in 1994 (Median Incomes v. Average College Tuition Rates, 2012). Meanwhile, the job market continues to become less and less available to those without a college degree. All these factors combined have caused the culture of college to be one of poverty. Many students struggle to pay rent, buy food, and even buy gasoline. Recently, my roommate informed me of her success in obtaining a “nice” set of shelves from our apartment complex’s trash chute. This is an example of the frugal mindsets some students possess. I, too, have struggled in the area of finances as my cost of living and attending university increases faster than my income. These difficulties have been reflected within the college community on many social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, as the community relates to each other while poking fun at the lack of finances and the urgency to conserve money. Unfortunately, this is not so easily push aside for some and the stress of finances and academic expectation has led to a spike in mental illness and suicides. However, this hardship has also caused the community to come together by the pooling of resources such as food and money. This may be one reason that the community places high value on being social. One may be seen as an outsider if they do not reach out and join a social circle. Many people view the college community as hard partiers due to the fact that many members may stay out late and sometimes engage in unhealthy or unlawful activities. However, there is more to the social aspect of this community than late nights. With the knowledge of the stresses that come along with obtaining a higher educational degree, the community has come to realize that this feat is better done with friends around than in isolation. This realization has led to the creation of sororities, fraternities, and other clubs within the various universities of the United States. These clubs give college students the opportunity to meet other members of the community that are like minded and may expand their social circles. While spending time together, members of the community may share a meal, study for classes, attend events held at the university, or enjoy time outside of the college campus by attending events or places of business in the greater community. Although the social aspect of the college community carries great importance, it is also communally understood if one does not always have the time to attend such gatherings. Time within this culture is rigidly scheduled so as to balance the work load of academics, employment, and the expectation to be social. Many students use their time together to achieve a task such as buying food or walking to a class. It is not typically perceived as rude if interactions are cut short because of the communal understanding that time is precious and should be spent accomplishing a task. In addition to the highly structured timing of this culture, many students participate in poor sleep schedules. A student is revered as a hardworking if he or she has stayed up early into the morning, or even neglected to sleep at all. Overall, while myself and others included in this culture face many challenges, we have found many unique and resourceful way to obtain success. These coping mechanisms have culminated together to create the traits and norms that make up the culture of college. Works Cited About Harvard. (2017). Retrieved from Harvard University: http://www.harvard.edu/ Berger, B. J., & Calkins, M. V. (2000). Higher Education in the United States. Retrieved from StateUniversity.com: http://education.stateuniversity.com/ Holcomb, T. k., Langholtz, D., & Mindess, A. (2006). Reading Between the Signs. In T. k. Holcomb, D. Langholtz, & A. Mindess, Reading Between the Signs (p. 64). 64: Intercultural Press. Median Incomes v. Average College Tuition Rates. (2012). Retrieved from ProCon.org: http://college-education.procon.org/ Number of college students in the U.S. 1965-2025. (2014). Retrieved from Statista.com: https://www.statista.com Among many other labels, I identify as American with Colombian descent. This is why the culture this paper will be exploring is not the Colombian culture in its purity, nor solely the American culture, but the partially assimilated Colombian-American culture I was raised in. To achieve this, I will be addressing Colombia’s history, contemporary issues, and aspects of its culture in relation to my personal connection. Throughout, I will also be making clarifications in order to address the American part of my Colombian-American culture. Colombia is a strong example of a colony of Spain. It was conquered by the Spanish in 1525. Because of this, most citizens of Colombian are “mestizo,” or of mixed European and Native descent. The French Invasion of Spain in the early 1800s spurred on Colombia’s desire for independence. Before 1810, Colombia’s government was ruled by the military and after 1810, Colombia became a Republic. In the 1930s, Colombia suffered economic effects of the Great Depression, but lack of imports allowed for rapid industrial development. In more recent history, President Valencia in the 1960s caused extreme inflation and high rates of unemployment. This gave rise to the infamous guerilla groups. The rebellion continued through the 1970s and 1980s when drug trafficking took off. Drug trafficking was at times an economic asset, but in the 1980s, legal reforms were taking place to combat trafficking. This resulted in more violent rebellion by drug traffickers in the form of kidnappings and murders of prominent political figures. Peace agreements between the government and drug traffickers have since been proposed but none have been agreed upon (Garavito 2016). Many of the issues Colombians face are a result of Colombia’s past. Due to Colombia’s history, there is very unequal distribution of wealth. Most of the population falls within the “marginal” class which has high rates of unemployment. Although the situation has improved since the 1980s, remaining guerilla groups and pervasive drug trafficking make certain areas of Colombia unsafe (Garavito 2016). These conditions are part of the driving force for many Colombians’ emigration. My main sources for Colombian culture, my parents, left Colombia in the mid-1980s in pursuit of a better future. My parents and most of my extended family immigrated to the United States. This is where I derive my connection to Colombian-American culture. Colombian culture has its own characteristics, traits, norms and traditions, many of which I was and am exposed to. I share some of these traits and traditions and some of them I do not, due to my acculturation in American culture. Colombia is seen as the strongest Roman Catholic country in South America (Garavito 2016). This is an example of an invisible cultural trait that is so deeply ingrained into Colombian culture, that it becomes a visible one. All public schools in Colombia teach Catholicism. My parents brought this strong religious background with them to the United States. Through acculturation, my parents were exposed to Christianity in the form of the Baptist religion and converted when I was a child. The strong importance placed on religion remained and was carried onto me, but because of my upbringing in the United States where religion is not as heavily emphasized and where freedom of religion is promoted, my beliefs took on their own shape. Most Colombian traditions are founded on religion. For example, Christmas is celebrated by mostly all Colombians with the story that Baby Jesus delivers gifts to children at midnight on Christmas Eve. Colombia’s visible cultural trait of celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve is a tradition I still partake in, and probably will continue to take part in for the foreseeable future. In addition to the Christmas custom, some visible traits of Colombians that I have embraced include expressive speech, regional Antioqueño slang and accent, salsa and merengue dances, typical regional “Paisa” foods, exposure to the paintings of Fernando Botero, and two facial gestures that stand alone as phrases. There are some invisible Colombian traits that overlap with American traits. These include strong work ethic, professionalism, and the expectation to make a family. Still, there are many others which are opposite of American traits. In addition to having a strong religious code, some invisible traits of Colombian culture include a polychronic society, anti-abortion views, anti-gay views (although this is starting to change in recent years), high significance of status, and significantly personal social etiquette. In Colombian culture, status holds more influence than in the United States. For example, in Colombia, patients will always defer to the doctor’s recommended treatment option instead of wanting to veer from the doctor’s recommendation into other treatment options, as often seen in the states. An invisible trait that I have adopted from my parents can be known as Hispanic Standard Time due to our polychronic culture. I make a genuine effort to make it to school, work, and other responsibilities on time but due to other priorities, it does not always work out. My friends are now accustomed to the clock that I run on. My parents are the same way; when it comes to responsibilities they are punctual, but when it comes to a family dinner, a start time of 5:00pm really means 7:00pm or later. Another invisible cultural trait that caused my parents to have misunderstandings when they first came to the U.S. was their own social etiquette. When my parents first came to the U.S., they found Americans to be apathetic, cold, and distant. They interpreted them this way because Colombians tend to have a friendly demeanor and not hesitate to share personal information with people they meet. Being exposed to both cultures, especially to their respective social etiquettes, has allowed me not only to straddle both cultures, but also to adapt to similar cultures (i.e. Deaf culture) with more ease and familiarity. The “in-between” Colombian-American culture is made up of characteristics, traits, norms, and traditions learned and acquired by a large number of people spanning the hemispheres. “Culture…is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by a man in society…” (Mindess 2006). The “complex” part of culture as noted in that statement is made apparent by my inability to isolate a single culture for analysis in this paper. I could not analyze solely Colombian culture nor solely American culture for this paper because while I am both, I am not one without the other. References Garavito, C., & Kline, H. F. (2016, November 09). Colombia. Retrieved January 14, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Colombia Mindess, A. (2006). Reading Between the Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Intercultural Press.
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