“The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World” Lecture by Andrew Reynolds (Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
By Simone Schneider
Knowledge about LGBTQ politicians
Prior to Reynolds’ research, little data was available regarding out LGBTQ politicians, and only scarce evidence of the early days existed. Therefore, Reynolds traveled around the world and examined the former and current state of openly out LGBTQ members of parliament. Between the years 1976 and 2018 a total of 372 LGBTQ politicians in 48 nation states were elected in various countries worldwide. Furthermore, Reynolds identified changes in the political allegiance of those politicians over time. Whereas in the early days LGBTQ parliamentarians were situated for the most part on the political left, nowadays more and more LGBTQ politicians can also be found in conservative and right-wing parties.
Social change through LGBTQ politicians
Reynolds argued that the first openly gay members of parliament opened up space for the following LGBTQ politicians as well as for larger LGBTQ communities. Those political leaders thus played a crucial role in societal transformations through sharing their individual stories and experiences, turning the history of LGBTQ parliamentarians into a powerful story of social change. LGBTQ politicians are decisive agents in moving a social agenda forward and in enhancing positive attitudes towards LGBTQ minorities. According to Reynolds, LGBTQ politicians enable social change through their high visibility in public spaces and are thus an important driver regarding the world-wide acceptance of LGBTQ communities.
Mechanisms of social change
LGBTQ parliamentarians are located in a field in which substantial political decisions are being made and therefore possess various possibilities to support and empower LGBTQ minorities. Amongst others, LGBTQ politicians can set the political agenda for specific needs of LGBTQ communities and function as a door opener for LGBTQ lobbying and NGO groups. In addition, LGBTQ politicians foster the psychological empowerment and group validation of LGBTQ minorities through their public visibility. Furthermore, the visibility of LGBTQ politicians serves as a means to counter existing stereotypes of and prejudices against minority groups. Reynolds emphasized that the perception of public LGBTQ members of parliament gives hope to younger people and conveys the message that all individuals are allowed to be the way they are in the spaces they occupy. Out LGBTQ members of parliament can, moreover, influence elected colleagues and their voting behavior through personal communication and spatial proximity. Direct and continuous contact with an LGBTQ politician can encourage empathy for that person’s needs and can consequently increase understanding and support for LGBTQ communities.
Models for future change
Reynolds stressed that many stereotypes of and legal situations for LGBTQ minorities have changed tremendously in many countries in the last decades. This can be explained in part by the courage and engagement of strategic LGBTQ members of parliament who placed themselves in visible spaces and transformed former values and attitudes through their commitment. Nevertheless, many people are currently located in countries in which LGBTQ identities are still classified as illegal and persecuted by law. Furthermore, Reynolds indicated that individuals who identify themselves as transgender are still highly invisible in large parts of society. Moreover, those individuals are only represented by a very small number of transgender politicians, which means that little awareness is raised regarding the needs and problems of transgender communities. Because of those circumstances, Reynolds argued that further social change is needed to strengthen the worldwide acceptance of LGBTQ minorities in the future. The described processes of social change through the presence of former and current LGBTQ politicians demonstrates one way in which such developments can take place. Reynolds thereby demonstrated the applicability and fertility of the analyzed transformation processes for other countries in which such social change has not yet taken place.
The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World. Andrew Reynolds (Oxford University Press).