Respectably Queer: Diversity Culture in LGBT Activist Organizations

4. Celebrating Queer Diversity: The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

76 Chapter 4 Celebrating Queer Diversity: The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center The words “diversity” and “inclusion” have been so overused in the language of lesbian and gay politics that one might expect the “queer community” to shine as an exemplar in multicultural representation, effortlessly integrating communities of color and their causes and concerns into the larger liberation struggle. Unfortunately, the politically correct rhetoric differs greatly from the incorrect reality. —Keith Boykin, past executive director of the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum1 When you have a diverse workforce that reflects your clients, you are better able to serve your clients. And coming from the corporate environment, that is the feeling there. . . . You could have all the reasons to do good that you want, and in reality, you have a better product, you provide a better service, if you better understand your customer. So I think one of the reasons [the Gay & Lesbian Center] started Diversity Day was so that we can really look . . . at some of the ways that we are all alike and some of the ways that we may be different. Only through attempting to do that can you better your communications and your ability to work together towards your goal. —Robin, a white director at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center As Keith Boykin’s quote suggests above, queer activists aren’t simply interested in diversity; rather, diversity is often the very centerpiece of queer political discourse. In part, the focus on diversity in queer politics is the result of long and hard-fought struggles for inclusion and visibility waged by Celebrating Queer Diversity 77 working-class queers, queer people of color, and white lesbians. As sociolo­ gist Elizabeth Armstrong has pointed out, white leaders of the 1970s gay liberation movement responded to these challenges by defining gay politics as a “politics of difference”—but only as long as race, class, and gender differences took a backseat to the work of building a unified gay identity.2 Accounts of more recent forms of queer organizing suggest that, after two decades of intersectional theorizing by feminists of color, queer activists (and activists generally) are becoming increasingly conscious of the intersectional nature of oppression and in response have developed new multi-issue political strategies.3 Yet, as explained in the second quote, queer activists have other, more instrumental reasons to be focused on diversity—reasons that are distinct from “doing good.” As Robin learned from her previous experience in the corporate sector, understanding and celebrating multiple forms of difference also makes good business sense, even for queer organizations. This chapter illustrates that efforts to transcend the confines of single-issue gay politics aren’t simply motivated by the expanded social justice commitments of queer activists. By emphasizing diversity, the leaders of queer organizations understand that they can also increase employee loyalty and productivity, broaden their range of supporters and funders, help repair a previously negative public image, and compete with other queer organizations already attuned to the value of the diversity. But these practical gains don’t come without structural change. Achieving these outcomes requires more than simply “talking” about diversity; it often requires new levels of race, class, and gender inclusion, the development or expansion of multiissue programs, and deliberate efforts to diversify organizational leadership . The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center—the organization that is the subject of this chapter—has undertaken each of these efforts to diversify and restructure. Most critics of diversity projects have focused on their failure to accomplish more than cultural appreciation or their failure to result in “real” inclusion and the redistribution of power. By such accounts, true diversity is measured by structural change, wherein organizations move beyond tokenism and are transformed by the inclusion of people of color, white women, queers, and the poor and working class. But structural change is not the end of the story about diversity. Even some forms of structural change are undertaken largely for instrumental reasons, and, as such, these forms of change may not have sustainable effects. What happens to inclusion and diversity efforts when they are no longer profitable or otherwise institutionally 78 Respectably Queer advantageous? If diversity benchmarks are met, does it also matter how or why diversity projects are undertaken? The previous chapter illustrated how middle-class queer activists used the concept of diversity to assert their professional expertise and activist qualifications. In this chapter, I focus on the...