After years of being pushed to the fringes of society, LGBTTQ+ art is finally getting more exposure and recognition.
The Bank Street Business Improvement Area will complete the Village Legacy Project on Oct. 28. This undertaking aims to create a physical representation of Ottawa’s LGBTTQ+ community through media such as murals and banners
The artwork will be integrated into the streetscape of the traditional LGBTTQ+ commercial hub in the area of Bank and Somerset streets.
Although this project is a step in the right direction, it’s important to continue the crusade for more creations that accurately depict the LGBTTQ+ community to appear in front of the public’s eye. The wider exposure of non-stereotypical representations of sexual minorities matters – regardless of the artistic platform or creative outlet in which they appear.
While pushing LGBTTQ+ art into the shadows may seem harmless, it can deeply affect how people from sexual minority groups see themselves. Art is a tool that society uses to represent its culture and identity. It can help people from the LGBTTQ+ community make sense of and contextualize parts of their own identity.
In a recent article for the Huffington Post, travel blogger Mikah Meyer explained how the relative invisibility of outdoorsy gay people in mainstream media had him convinced homosexuals weren’t part of the outdoors community. This false impression led him to hide his sexual orientation out of fear that companies wouldn’t sponsor his three-year trip to all 410 U.S. national parks.
“Even with the core reason for embarking on this trip being that I want to live the retirement my road trip-loving father never got due to passing away at age 58, I worried my entire story would get eclipsed by one word: ‘gay,’” Meyer wrote. “All I could think was, ‘They won’t want a gay person representing their brand. Customers would revolt.’”
Meyer’s story is a reminder of the need to keep encouraging a wide range of representations of LGBTTQ+ identity.
Visual representation can also influence how the broader society perceives the LGBTTQ+ community. A more accurate portrayal would go a long way towards counteracting often-erroneous stereotypes, such as the flamboyant male fashionista who obsesses over style.
With more LGBTTQ+ art being produced, mainstream society could see individuals from sexual minority groups as athletes, business people, politicians, parents and, generally, people who live lives a lot like everyone else.
This would be a significant improvement from the current situation in which sexual minorities are presented as having common characteristics, experiences and desires motivated largely by their sexual orientation.
These broad stereotypes assume a high degree of uniformity among members of the LGBTTQ+ community when it is, in fact, highly diverse.
The Village Legacy Project could be a source of inspiration to build on and push for more change.
Further representation that captures the diversity that thrives within the LGBTTQ+ community is crucial.