Glenn Magpantay, Executive Director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) and the Chair of AABANY’s LGBT Committee, answered some important questions on the intersectionality of being both queer and a minority on NBC’s Comcast Newsmakers on August 3, 2015. It’s an exciting time in history for LGBT rights, but as Glenn so poignantly put it, “Yes, we can get married, but who’s going to come to the wedding?”
It often feels for an Asian American individuals that they can be neither accepted in the LGBT community as ethnic minorities nor the Asian community due to their sexuality or gender identities. Glenn speaks of NQAPIA’s work to develop resources and role models of Asian American families that are fully supportive of their LGBT children. NQAPIA works with community leaders, actors, and real families to try to spread the message of love and acceptance, as difficult as it may seem. As Glenn puts it, “Asian Americans are that often-overlooked minority… All the LGBT leaders are white. All the Asians are straight. Where do I belong?” In their efforts to answer that question and bring inclusion to both the LGBT community and the Asian community, NQAPIA offers messages in over twenty different languages. To learn more, visit their website.
For more thoughts on how we can diversify the LGBT movement, watch Glenn’s thoughts above.
