The cancellation of in-person PRIDE Month events has led to some UTA gay, lesbian and non-binary conforming students being in danger of social isolation and susceptible to depression, a leading Social Work professor says.
“This, I would say, drastically impacts who can and who cannot participate in Pride events.”
Further, Fantus says, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with its school closures, social service agency slowdowns and job layoffs has forced some of these students to return to their parent’s homes - locales that, too often, are not just unwelcoming, but unsafe.
“This has led many to ‘go back in the closet’ as it is colloquially said,” Fantus said. “This…intensifies the health and mental health disparities of LGBT-identified youth that are already disproportionately higher than their non-LGBT counterparts.”
Fantus is among several LGBTQ advocates who will speak Tuesday during a virtual panel discussion called “Celebrate Pride: A discussion on the intersections of Race, Social Justice LGBTQ+ Identities in the Time of CoVID-19.”
The panel discussion will be broadcast live from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the School of Social Work’s Facebook page and on the web meeting platform ZOOM. Attendance is free, but requires viewers to register. To join the discussion, click on the following link: xxxxxxx
Tuesday’s discussion is jointly hosted by the UTA School of Social Work, the college student group Pride Peers and the university’s LGBTQ+ Program.
The discussion comes during PRIDE Month, which is held in June of each year. Pride commemorates the June 28, 1969 Stonewall Uprising in which New York City police raided a gay bar by the same name, roughly handling patrons. Those who regularly gathered there, including Marsha P. Johnson, an African American transgender woman, responded by throwing bricks, bottles and incendiary devices at the officers, effectively beginning the modern-day gay rights movement.
This year, PRIDE commemoration parades, marches, parties and social gatherings were canceled in many large cities throughout the world, including in Houston, San Francisco and Chicago.
Dallas PRIDE, a huge outdoor celebration held annually at Fair Park, was canceled and, instead, will be broadcast on digital platforms, organizers have said.
“Transitioning Pride events to online has also affected older adult populations, those who may not have the same digital literacy and flexibility to Zoom or Facebook,” Fantus said. “LGBTQ+ older adults face higher rates of health and mental health disparities, including isolation, depression and loneliness, than their non-LGBT counterparts and having to cancel in-person events makes it increasingly challenging to build appropriate support groups and to check-in on these individuals.”
Jessica Sanchez, assistant director of the university’s LGBTQ+ Program said Tuesday’s event s important because it will “inform and educate individuals on what the LGBTQ+ community is experiencing.”
“Often times, this community is unheard and/or silenced” she said.
“Furthermore, we must not ignore what Black trans women are experiencing and continue to experience daily. When we say #BlackLivesMatter, it must mean #AllBlackLivesMatter,” Sanchez said.
“We cannot ignore the hate towards trans individuals and we most definitely cannot ignore the hate towards Black trans women.”
Aside from Fantus and Sanchez, Tuesday’s panel will feature several UTA students, an older LGBT adult and a Dallas transgender woman.