The Real LGBTQ Community 1

What the LGBTQ Community Can Really Be Like

Neida Cervantes

Glendale Community College

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I. Inro

1) Attention Grabber: When someone hears the term “coming out” people automatically

assume these people coming out are either gay or lesbian, but bisexuality and other identities are

probably the last thing anyone thinks of.

2) Background Info: Talking about stereotype and how most times people making them are

wrong.

3) Thesis Statement: [look at thesis paper]

II. Stereotype

- Defining stereotype and giving examples of bisexual stereotypes, what leads people to

stereotype, and why/how it affects people in the long run.

III. Written Text

- Summarize the article

- Use 2 quotes about logos and pathos

- EXPLAIN

IV. Cartoon Text

- What’s in the picture; the creator

- Meaning of each aspect

- Why it’s place there

V-VI. Similarities & Differences

- Many similarities and differences

- Explain them in my words

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- Almost the same

VII-VIII. Why bisexuals stereotype affect them and others, the problem is bigger than what it

seems, and why it should be noticed.

IX. Conclusion

- Why the reader should care about stereotypes on bisexuals, place refer in an example ask

how they would feel?

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What the LGBTQ Community Can Really Be Like

When someone hears the term “coming out” people automatically assume these people

coming out are either gay or lesbian, but bisexual and other identities are probably the last thing

anyone thinks of. In the LGBTQ community and the many eyes of others on the outside look at it

as a phase, as if they are going to transition into this awesome lesbian or gay. That is just one

way as people see it from the outside in, but there are plenty of more assumptions and

stereotypes made. As many know, stereotypes are like assumptions and usually these

assumptions are almost always wrong. In the article “Bisexuality Faces Erroneous Opposition

and Toxic Perception in LGBTQ Community” used pathos in a way that can relate to bisexuals

and logos to justify what the author is saying is true, on the other hand there was a cartoon that

heavily relied on pathos.

Stereotyping is taught and learned from a very young age, whether it be from your

parents, friends, or the media. Many of us are aware that stereotyping can be negative and can

potentially offend people. There are people that make stereotype comments without even

knowing because they think these comments are just positive affirmations. For example, “All

Asians are good at math.” Although it might seem as a compliment, to them it might be offensive

because you are generalizing them into one category. As for people that identify themselves as

bisexual, they struggle with different types of stereotypes all the time, and because of these

stereotypes people within the LGBTQ community make, people outside of the community start

believing them and eventually becomes a problem.

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Throughout the article “Bisexuality Faces Erroneous Opposition and Toxic Perception in

LGBTQ Community” the assistant news editor of Daily Titan, Breanna Belken writes about the

struggles bisexual people face within the LGBTQ community and outside the community.

Within the community, people assume that labeling yourself as a bisexual is another way to say

“you’re not ready” or that you are “confused.” In this article, the writing consisted of logos, for

example, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) conducted a study that showed that

bisexuals are less likely to identify themselves as so because they are silenced consistently within

the LGBTQ community. (Belken, 2017) The stereotypes that are made towards bisexuals have

affected theme so much to the point that they do not want to identify themselves as such.

Breanna Belken uses the studies by the Movement Advancement Project to justify that

stereotypes can affect people. The author also used various studies from the MAP to build up her

credibility, in other words, ethos. Lastly, the author wrapped up the writing with the use of

pathos. Belken calls out those who stereotype and make it complicated for bisexual people by

stating, “…but if everyone could start practicing what they preach, that love is love, then the

world would be a much nicer place to live in.” (Belken, 2017) The purpose to end with pathos

was to leave the reader with a thought and reconsideration.

Further on, the identity of a bisexual is valid and the identity is real. In other words, stop

questioning the identity. In the unnamed cartoon by Hannah Miller, a CSUF lifestyle editor, had

a very interesting cartoon with plenty of pathos. The cartoon contains two young looking cartoon

men, both with different colors. One young man is colored the way the LGBTQ flag is, casually

representing that exactly. The other young man to the left is colored to represent a bisexual. The
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cartoon has a simple conversation where the bisexual man says, “I exist.” And the man with the

LGBTQ colors says, “No you don’t.” This cartoon appeals to those who feel left out of the

LGBTQ community, it is a cartoon that will hit the soft part for an audience of readers and can

almost be relatable. The colorful man has a face of disgust while the other smiles mysteriously,

almost as if what others say doesn’t faze him anymore. The overall message of the cartoon was

to make the reader aware of the discrimination of bisexuals within the LGBTQ community, to

make them aware it just doesn’t happen in the heterosexual world.

When comparing the article by Brenna Belken and the cartoon by Hannah Miller, there

were similarities and differences. For example, both of these rhetorical texts focused on

stereotypes made within the LGBTQ community. Both of the texts take into consideration that

not only do negative stereotypes can come from their own friends or family members, but as well

as a community they are a part of. One of the differences between these two rhetorical texts is

the presentation of the situation on stereotyping. Throughout the written article the author mainly

focused on the negative effects on bisexuals and how much of struggle this community goes

through while the cartoon is opposite of that in some aspects. As I have mentioned before, the

man colored in pink, purple, and blue represented the bisexual community. Even though the man

colored in the way the LGBTQ flag is, makes a snarky remark and telling him he “doesn’t exist”

the man representing bisexuality has a smirk on his face. In this perspective we can see that the

author intentionally designed him that way to show that people can overcome and be unbothered

by the different types of remark.

All in all, stereotypes can lead to many things, especially leading to negative outcomes.

In whatever shape or form someone is being stereotyped, they will tend to feel as if they were
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boxed into a label; by doing that we are holding them back to blossom into their true potential or

identity in some cases. In this case with bisexuals it is the same outcomes when we stereotype.

By making assumptions like “they are just experimenting” or “it is a phase” bisexual people will

start questioning themselves and ultimately feel like what they feel isn’t valid. These stereotypes

limit them to feel what they truly feel, limit their experiences, and ultimately limiting what they

know about themselves. These stereotypes can be limited starting from a very young age,

especially with parents, kids are like sponges, they soke up everything and anything. Parents

should teach their kids what the meaning of stereotype and the affects of stereotyping.

Overall, some things can be easy to change and fix such as stereotyping. If we all take

into consideration into what we say, things in the world could be less problematic. Especially for

younger generations, some of us one day will grow up to have children and every parent wants

the best for their children. If every parent taught their children about stereotyping there would be

a little less of hate and a lot more of assurance of the worth of every individual person. With the

teachings, we teach the children to be more respective and aware that there are different and

unique individuals in this world such as bisexuals, but in the end they are just people like you

and I.
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References

Belken, Breanna (2017). Daily Titan: Bisexuality Faces Erroneous Opposition and Toxic

Perception in LGBTQ Community. Retrieved from

https://dailytitan.com/2017/10/bisexuality-and-toxic-perceptions/

Miller, Hannah (2017). Daily Titan Retrieved from

https://dailytitan.com/2017/10/bisexuality-and-toxic-perceptions/