Quinnipiac University has made various efforts to bring diversity to campus by hosting cultural events, but is it enough? Intersectionality between the Latino and the LGBTQ community is a forgotten topic among students due to lack of awareness.

In honor of Latino and Hispanic Heritage month, Luz Burgos-Lopez, assistant dean of students at the University of Connecticut and the co-founder of Colectivo Bambula, and her colleague, Sergio Gonzalez, a doctoral candidate teaching at Claremont University discussed the challenges within the Latino community, the struggles of identifying as queer and how allies can support the queer Latino students in higher education.

“I also have the awareness and the understanding to recognize that being a white Puerto Rican cis woman makes me more acceptable and provides me the ability to challenge anti-Blackness and whiteness in ways that my Black peers can’t,” Burgos-Lopez said.

Burgos-Lopez and Gonzalez engaged the audience by analyzing terms and definitions individuals may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with. For example, cisgender is a term commonly used to describe people whose gender identity corresponds with the sex they were assigned at birth.

“Being cisgender or passing (cisgender) is considered a privilege,” Gonzalez said. “Of course, those of us who are cis don’t understand what it’s like to be trans or non-binary, but if someone says something problematic, correct them and have a conversation on why it’s wrong.”

Another term that stood out was jotería. This is a term that derives from the derogatory colloquial Spanish-language term joto, meaning sissy, typically used to degrade men. To be queer and bullied into a stereotype of femininity is unfair because everyone has their own individuality that makes them unique. Identifying as queer is not someone’s entire personality. However, jotería has been reclaimed as a word of empowerment meaning, fun, laughter and associated with radical queer love.

There are ways to help these communities overcome oppression, homophobia and transphobia like spreading the word and sticking up for friends. Burgos-Lopez mentioned most people consider themselves an ally, but if you have

to think about the last time your friend has asked you for help, are you really an ally?

Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement said in an interview with Jeseina Santana, program officer of Novo Foundation in June 2016, “The thing I don’t like about the word ally is that it is so wrought with guilt and shame and grief that it prevents people from doing what they ought to do.”