Dual income, no kids…the societal motto most people use to refer to members of the LGBTQ community. This implying that all LGBTQ people, especially those older and in relationships have a lot of disposable income due to having no kids, but money coming in from two revenue streams. However, that is not true, “LGBT people are born into all types of families, including those who are poor. LGBT people face the same socio-economic challenges that other people face. But they also face unique obstacles because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. These include a higher risk of being homeless when they are young, harassment and discrimination at school and at the workplace” (Sears and Badgett). The LGBTQ community has one of the most “significant poverty disparities” (Harris and Anderson) compared to other communities. This is important to note because most of the leaders of the LGBTQ movement are wealthy individuals who spend most if not all of their resources on issues that affect them or LGBTQ youth.

One thing the LGBTQ community does in its fight for LGBTQ equality is to protect and support LGBTQ youth, however, once a person becomes an adult, the support and access to resources almost nationally drop off and they have no to little opportunities to dig themselves out of the whole they are in. This coupled with the fact that 28 states do not have any employment nondiscrimination laws that make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation (Movement Advancement Project). However, widescale the LGBTQ community is not focusing on this issue, instead, they are focusing on youths in school and other LGBTQ youths. While it is important to work on youths, the support cannot end when they turn 18, because then they become low-income LGBTQ adults, where there are little to no support for them.

Another issue facing low-income LGBTQ individuals besides employment is the lack of housing and public accommodations protections and support. In 28 states there are no housing nondiscrimination protections and in 29 states there are no public accommodations nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals. (Movement Advancement Project). This means that an individual can get evicted from their living place due to their sexuality and be refused services from groups and resources due to their sexuality. Again, as a whole, the LGBTQ community is not fighting for these issues, instead, they are ignoring them.

So while the LGBTQ community looks out for low-income LGBTQ youth, the support stops when the LGBTQ youth becomes an adult, furthering the cycle of low-income LGBTQ individuals.

Work Cited:

Harris, Angelique and Katherine Anderson. 2016. Issues in LGBT Communities in the United States: Post Marriage. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University’s Center for Gender and Sexualities Studies.

“Movement Advancement Project | Non-Discrimination Laws.” Movement Advancement Project, Movement Advancement Project, 2018, www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws.

Sears, Brad, and Lee Badgett. “Beyond Stereotypes: Poverty in the LGBT Community.”Williams Institute, TIDES, 3 July 2012, williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/williams-in-the-news/beyond-stereotypes-poverty-in-the-lgbt-community/.