LGBT vs ‘DSG’ – A new acronym for a new era
By: Archer Magazine
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STARTOUT AUSTRALIA IS a new organisation to support gay, bisexual, trans and queer youth – a group that StartOut calls DSG (Diverse Sexuality and Gender). Archer speaks to Brendan White, one half of the duo behind StartOut, about sexuality, mental health, and the need for a new acronym.
Q: What was the idea behind StartOut? How did it come about?
I think it started with a café conversation between the two of us in Fitzroy, about how there seemed to be far too many people we knew that had been through, or were going through, very difficult times for no obvious reason.
It was probably after we both had read the book The Velvet Rage by Dr Alan Downs that things started to fall into place. The book describes feelings of shame that many DSG people inherently have as they grow up feeling out of place surrounded by mostly heterosexual role models, and how this too often leads to a cycle of low self-esteem, anxiety and depression.
While many parts of the world are now much more accepting of difference, the research shows that as a DSG person in Australia there is still an 80% chance you will experience intense anxiety in a given year, and worse, you are still six times more likely to attempt suicide than your heterosexual counterparts. We think it shouldn’t be this way and StartOut Australia exists to prevent this from happening.
Q: Can you explain the DSG acronym to us – why the need for a new term? And what does the term encompass for you?
On the surface we think DSG (Diverse Sexuality and Gender) is a more inclusive and all-encompassing term than LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer). It’s also a lot less complicated.
Digging a bit deeper, though, we think it might be a step in the direction of not needing a label at all. The term has an interesting way of breaking down labels within the DSG community in a way that implies that people are just people, and being different is ok.
Sexuality for some people is considered fluid and many don’t comfortably identify with a specific ‘letter’. Depending on gender identity, sexuality can be further complicated – the use of terms like “same-sex attracted” has the potential to exclude people who are transgender and attracted to opposite-sex people. In respect of gender alone, there are at least 56 possible combinations of terms used by people around the world to define their gender identity.
Q: What are the biggest issues facing DSG communities in Australia at the moment?
DSG people, particularly young people, still experience a range of challenges in greater proportions than their heterosexual peers. Research shows that these challenges include:
• Stereotypes and negative images
• Trauma from lack of physical safety or perception of a lack of physical safety
• Social exclusion
• Internalised homophobia
• Reduced self-esteem and confidence
• Loss and lack of support or perceived lack of support from family
• Living as a minority within a minority (i.e. other lifestyle aspects like religion or ethnicity)
A review of academic literature in Australia over the last decade provides an insight into the mental health of young DSG people. Similar themes exist in the adult community, much of which stems from growing up DSG:
• Over 25% of DSG people are diagnosed with anxiety
• 61% young DSG people report having experienced verbal abuse
• 18% of young DSG people report having experienced physical abuse
• 80% of DSG people in schools have experience verbal or physical abuse
• 69% of DSG people reported other forms of homophobia such as exclusion and rumors
• Experiencing abuse leads to higher frequency of drug use, self-harm and suicidal ideation
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirms this and shows homosexual and bisexual people have far higher levels of anxiety disorders than their heterosexual counterparts and more than triple the rate of depression and related disorders.
Q: How do we move towards solving these?
The key determinants of positive mental health (VicHealth 1999, World Health Organisation 2004) are social inclusion, freedom from discrimination, and economic participation, and we think this is key in designing psychosocial programs.
We do not think it will be in treating depression and suicidality, there are excellent organisations that exist already to address these issues. Our focus will be on building capacity to address the issues that lead to the symptoms and building and supporting the social and emotional wellbeing of DSG people in positive and innovative ways, including digital platforms.
Q: How has Australia’s treatment of DSG individuals changed while you’ve been alive?
While mainstream acceptance of DSG people seems to continue to grow exponentially, there are still many cultures, beliefs and attitudes in Australia that haven’t come as far in the last 30 years; there are still many stories of families breaking down, and young people becoming homeless as a result of their sexuality.
Many legal protections are also now in place that weren’t before, but there seems to be a long way to go before DSG people can truly feel as though they aren’t being treated any differently.
We hope by challenging stereotypes, and approaching things a little differently, we can be a part of positive change in this country and help DSG people reach their potential.
Find out more about StartOut Australia
Image: StartOut Australia
Upon first thought, the proposal of changing LGBTIQ+ to DSG (or GSD as also accepted) seemed to me as a good idea. It is a term which is;
– all inclusive (bar intersex, but this is rectified by using DSSG—Diverse Sexuality, Sex, and Gender)
– better for PR
– effective in removing the rude connotation of “alphabet soup” and the notion that labels and political correctness have infiltrated society far too much
However, upon reflection, it appears that DSG is another term like “Queer” which attempts to act as an umbrella term for a group of people. This is bad in that it;
– removes a persons ability to specifically identify with a group of other people
– further attempt to assimilate people to an extent which results in a loss of individualism and identity
I would like to consider firstly, why we shouldn’t have labels, and secondly why we need labels.
The very term LGBTIQ+ itself is segratory; it does not allow for heterosexual people to identify with the group (of course, Allies is an exception, but that again, breaks down the heterosexual group into two factions; those accepting and those not accepting). Consequently, we are still segregating. We use labels so we can identify, and this in short, is wrong. It leads to exclusion and segregation, leading to mental illness such as depression, etcetera. In a perfect society we wouldn’t even have LGBTIQ+ groups at universities, etcetera, for they are segregating people into different factions.
Contrawise, to remove all labels is both impossible and self destructive. If we are to remove all labels, then we cannot clarify who we want to be with, what we are attracted to, and what we want to be. For sake of satire, it is like removing the label of two bottles of liquid; how can one distinguish between what is inside the non-translucent bottles? There is no way to decifer what is inside easily without a label. Removing the label would result in much confusion, thus being destructive. The labels allow us to better understand people and the world, like wanting to be with certain archetypal individuals.
And so after all this discussion, the only conclusion I can personally come to is: let’s stop being so picky. There is clearly no ultimately correct answer. Everyone has their own understanding of how it should be, and the extremes of either a label-less society, or an all labeled society, are both impossible and destructive.
We need to compromise between the two extremes, and create labels that are not destructive, but rather constructive. Don’t label for the sake of anything but pride and expression of equality, and I think that LGBTIQ+ achieves this effectively enough.
Laudable intentions Brendan and co – and I think DSG could have some use. Much like CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) is useful when speaking of broad aims and objectives. However, just like CALD doesn’t speak for people of Spanish, Vietnamese or African background neither does DSG speak for lesbian, transgender or gay experience. “People are just people” is an admirable sentiment but very easily obscures and erases identity – identity that may be hard won and very important in providing a buffer against homophobic slurs and attacks
DSG does not visibly represent the Intersex community. There is no ‘one’ acronym or term that all people who are diverse (according to heteronormative/binary) agree on. Awareness is the key here, and for me DSG or even DSSG has even less meaning than LGBTI or LGBTIQ+…
IC, that once upon a time when it was assumed that the term “gay” was adequate to cover the experience of all non-hetero sexuality, was also the time when the only non-hetero voice heard was gay men! I initially quite liked the idea of DSG but having thought about it, now release the importance of recognising the difference within non-hetero experience. I’ll stick with LGBTIQ
Given that GSD (Gender and Sexually Diverse) is already in popular use, why the need to switch the letters around?
Once upon a time, just a few decades ago, the term “gay” covered all non-hetero sexualities. Then separation started, gay was assumed to be homosexual males, and the alphabet soup became an absurd attempt at inclusion.
LGBTI has a history and enough hetero folk have enough trouble understanding that, but when explained even the much older generations Get it.
Why do we have to further confuse and in the end hide the LGBTI people who have fought for the rights we now enjoy.
My gender nor my sexuality is “diverse”, and it would exclude many other same sex attracted people.
Be good if acceptance of all sexuality and gender occurred, but “splitting” will not achieve anything, lets not have internal fights or confusion.
I understand the wish for more and more inclusive terms. However, I do believe that we are making a huge mistake by attributing normalcy to cisgendered heteros by adopting a ‘diverse’ position rather than a positive identification. Some people may experience that these identities feel uncomfortable or too static, however not everyone feels that way. If you want to use another term to describe yourself that’s great and not something that I’m one to judge, just don’t think it includes me, thanks.
Absolutely ridiculous! A read through of the website makes it so obvious what their real agenda is – assimilation.
Really Gina? I’m genderfluid and attracted to women no matter which gender I am at any point, so falling under “same sex attracted” doesn’t fit me at all. After reading this, DSG fits far, far better than LGBTIQYAJDOFE.
I prefer DSSG which includes both sexuality and sex (to account for intersex) diversity. Having used DSSG for at least 5 years, it ‘s worked quite well for promoting awareness of the independent variability across all three (gender, sex, sexuality) spectrums.
Lesbian, gay, bi, trans* and queer all have pretty strong cultural connotations and mean different things to different people. DSSG removes this confusion.
This is a foolish position statement. DSG invisibilises everyone LGBTI visibilises. It has a history of appropriation and is used by those seeking to disguise their homophobic/transphobic unconfortableness with words like Gay Lasbian , Transgender and Intersex.
Disgraceful .