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Not since the days of segregation has a ­ whole community faced constitutional amendments branding them as non-­ citizens. . . . ​ Even before the latest offensive on our rights, LGBT people ­ were not citizens in this country. Citizens, by definition, have equal legal rights with others. Not just with respect to marry, but in employment, housing and public accommodations, and increasingly, adoptions, access to medical care and anything ­ else the religious right can dream up, we are not citizens. Robin Tyler and Andy Thayer, The “Gay Marriage” Struggle: What’s at Stake and How Can We Win? As of July 24, 2011, New York State, where I now live, began recognizing same-­ sex marriages. Desiring to be the beneficiaries of rights and tax exemptions made available to heterosexual couples, my partner and I married in August 2011. While I am delighted that the state now finally acknowledges our ­ union, I am all too aware of the tenuousness of this status. What if we move to one of the other thirty-­ three states that do not recognize our marriage most of which have constitutional provisions or statutes limiting marriage to a ­ union between a man and a woman? What kinds of rights will we have if we are traveling and some calamity befalls us in one of those states or abroad? We still need other legal documents to protect us in those instances such as a durable power of attorney and a medical directive that protects us and our assets should one of us fall ill or pass away. To be safe, all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) couples will have to continue doing so until all the states legalize same-­ sex marriage. The complications are threefold if children are part of the equation and queer couples raising kids must draw up legal protections for their children that the law confers heterosexual married couples immediately. Chapter five Robin Tyler Still “Working the Crowd” 138  All Joking Aside Protecting ourselves as a lesbian couple is costly—­ in time, money, and energy—­ and the extra work and hassle are a tacit reminder that this would all be a lot easier if we ­ were just normal, “straight” like everyone ­ else. After all, if we ­ were not different, then we would not feel like second-­ class citizens in the first place. While some citizens may be citizens in the legal sense, not all legal citizens feel incorporated into the national imagination and on some level understand that compared to their privileged brothers and sisters, they function as second-­ class citizens. Appeals for queer equality are predicated on two claims. First, the American claim to and promise of freedom and second, a claim to equality as queer, with queerness intact (e.g., essentialist arguments have been very effective because they line up with the US ideology that people have a right to be who they are, that is, queer is not a choice).1 Main strategies employed by any cultural outsiders seeking to become a part of the body politic are cultural visibility and assimilation. Boosting cultural visibility is essential and empowering, but there is always the concern of who is visible or who becomes representative of the queer community. Furthermore, history indicates that cultural visibility strategies alone cannot and will not result in equal civil liberties and rights for the queer community. When it comes to the strategy of cultural visibility, questions are raised as to whether this strategy aimed at heightening the visibility of LGBTQ persons does anything to actually change their real material existence or legal rights. Gay is the new cool in pop­ u­ lar culture, but this does not change lack of access to federal rights or mean that queers cannot be fired for being “out” on the job. Indeed, cultural visibility of LGBTQ persons has increased and we enjoy greater visibility in pop­ u­ lar visual culture. After all, Ellen DeGeneres hosts a daytime talk show and there are openly gay celebrities like Lance Bass, Patrick Neil Harris, Wanda Sykes, Jodie Foster, Clay Aiken, Ellen Page, and RavenSymon é. There is now an LGBTQ-­ focused tele­ vi­ sion network—­ LOGO, pop­ u­ lar tele­ vi­ sion shows with lead LGBTQ characters on broadcast tele­ vi­ sion like Will and Grace, Glee, Dawson’s Creek, The Office, and Modern Family, and a number of films have achieved popularity among the queer and straight alike: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Kissing Jessica Stein, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, But I’m...

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