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The persecution of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals is the practice of attacking a person, usually physically, because they are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay or transgender. This persecution can occur either at the hands of individuals or groups, or as part of governmental enforcement of laws targeting people who are seen to violate heteronormative rules.
In some circumstances, this is referred to as "gay-bashing", but this is somewhat of a misnomer — all Queer groups, including gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people — can be targeted. The term "gay-bashing" is rarely modified into dyke-bashing, trans-bashing, queer-bashing, or simply bashing.
"Bashing" can include threats, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, rape, torture, attempted murder, or murder. In some U.S. judicial districts bashing may be legally classified as a hate crime, with a set of attendant penalties distinct from other forms of harassment or assault. Bashing also includes attacks on gay people who may have flirted with their attackers, believing them to be gay, with the justification that a disproportionate response was elicited by a perceived threat to the attacker. The term is often used in a metaphoric or hyperbolic sense to describe criticism or denigration of gay people. See also: homophobia, gay panic defense, and hate speech.
Instances
 The knight von Hohenberg and his squire, being burned at the stake for sodomy, Zurich 1482 (Zurich Central Library) Some notable victims of hate-related assaults include:
Pre-modern period
- Giovanni di Giovanni (1350 – 1365?), Florentine boy, castrated and "burned between the thighs with a red-hot iron" by court order.
- von Hohenberg d. 1482, burned at the stake together with his lover, his young squire.
- Jacques Chausson (1618 – 1661), French minor writer, burned alive for attempting to seduce the son of a nobleman.
Recent events
One notorious incident of gay-bashing occurred on September 22, 2000. Ronald Gay entered a gay bar in Roanoke, Virginia and opened fire on the patrons, killing Danny Overstreet and injuring six others. Ronald said he was angry over what his name now meant, and deeply upset that three of his sons had changed their surname. He claimed that he had been told by God to find and kill lesbians and gay men, describing himself as a "Christian Soldier working for my Lord". [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/942255.stm)
Tennessee Williams was the victim of a gay-bashing in January 1979 in Key West, being beaten by five teenage boys, but he was not seriously injured. The episode was part of a spate of anti-gay violence inspired by an an anti-gay newspaper ad run by a local Baptist minister. Some of his literary critics spoke ill of the "excesses" present in his work, but these were, for the most part, merely attacks on Williams' sexuality.
Gay-bashing is occasionally committed against heterosexuals who are merely perceived to be gay. Prominent incidents include:
There are also urban myths and unconfirmed stories told about gay-bashing, often devised to make a point. For instance:
- A man was shot to death in an Iowa bar because he was standing quietly in a corner holding a purse. He was perceived as an unwelcome gay man; in actuality, he was holding the purse for his wife, who was in the restroom.
See also: Transphobia, Homophobia
External links
- Remembering our Dead (http://www.rememberingourdead.org), a site which memorializes transgender victims of violence.
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