In the past few years there have been momentous wins for LGBTQ people in the United States. From full marriage equality for the Queer community to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, there have been many positive milestones for working class LGBTQ people. These accomplishments have garnered much attention both from queer and straight people alike– but now there is an epidemic in the queer community that is not receiving the attention it deserves.
According to research published this month by The Williams Institute, one in four LGBTQ people is struggling with food insecurity in contrast to one in six straight people. Further, concomitant identities, such as being female or trans, or a person of color as well as queer, is related to more severe hunger and food insecurity. This epidemic comes at a time when elderly queer people who have worked their entire lives, doing their part by paying into the social security system, are seeing that very same system under attack by politicians, leaving many elders barely able to feed themselves. Often times elderly LGBTQ people have no other option but to depend on food pantries and other services, contingent upon these programs having enough donations.
The system of capitalism does not put people’s needs first, nor does it put them second or third. Profit is always first and this is demonstrated time and time again as the state and its politicians coordinate attacks against working people’s benefits and strategically plan to undo the gains labor has won, including Social Security and food stamps which yet again have been slashed.
Many LGBTQ people, especially those over 30, often times do not have the same support network as their straight counterparts due to familial rejection and social exclusion. This requires queer people to depend on one another and find mutual systems of support but that is not always so easy. As queer people grow older without a family to support them, and their friends begin to pass away, it can leave them alone with no one to which to turn.
Socialists and progressives must demand programs to combat food insecurity in all communities. However, we should remain vigilant in remembering that we cannot defeat epidemics such as LGBTQ food insecurity under capitalism because as long as a system motivated by profit is in place everything else will be will at risk.
