Public Attitudes

Today I was at the NBC Health and Wellness Festival that a local TV station puts on. There were probably close to a thousand people attended. I was at the table all alone all day for the organization where I am internong and it was an interesting study in public attitudes towards LGBT people. Hundreds and hundreds of people stopped by the booth and almost all of them had no idea what was the organization that I was representing.

The first dozen or so people I told them that it was a LGBT youth and family service organization, I got a blank stare and people asked me what was “LGBT?” Lesson number one most people had no idea what it stood for even though we use it all the time. Therefore, I started to say, “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth and family service organization.” That was when I learned lesson number two; most people had a positive reaction. When I went on to said that we worked to find foster homes with the DCF for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth (Lesson 1B, over half of the people had no idea what DCF stood for) and that we had a mentoring program, I then went into detail what we did and most people thought it was wonderful.

I got comments like…
“Oh that is wonderful that there are organizations like yours!”
“You’re awesome! A lifesaver!”
A mother and daughter stop by the table… Daughter, “They were at our school.” Mother, “We need an organization like yours, especially after what has been happening recently.”
A man said, “I’m straight, but you have a fantastic organization, how can I help?” he didn’t want to sign up for the email list, but he took the contact information.

And these comments were from straight people who never heard of us before.

However, not all the comments were positive, a few were negative…
After I said, “We are a lesbian, ga….” A man said, “Like you?” and backs away frowning.
Or I get a stare and a shake of the head and they walk off.

That bring me to Observation number 1, most people who had a reaction were male. Women, either hide their reaction better and were more polite or they didn’t have a reaction. You also have to consider that they were probably meeting the first trans-person that they ever met.

The only downside was when I went over to the food court for lunch. The women at the counter started to giggle and they must have called out the cook from the back because the four of them stared at me giggle and saying something in Spanish.