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Stuff Gay People Like: Nonprofits

Stuff Gay People Like: Nonprofits

Every ambitious, academically-oriented young gay man has a list of nonprofit organizations he dreams of founding after he graduates from college; creating activist networks and outreach sites is the gay world’s version of entrepreneurship. Like all other liberals, progressive gays love the idea of doing a job that takes 10 years to pay what the college degree it required cost, or for fighting for the people’s rights through unpaid internships and employers that regularly violate labor ethics. That is all to help them get into graduate school, while their parents pay for their groceries until they’re 30.

A gay person’s interaction with nonprofit organizations starts in school, with a high school or college Gay-Straight Alliance and a local youth center. It continues through coming-out groups like PFLAG, political advocacy organizations and charities. Since a Pride parade would be boring with just four floats, nonspecific LGBT organizations are accompanied by associations for the gay-and-something-else, for everything from school teachers to queer Republicans. There are gay dog-lovers clubs, gay fraternities, a gay rodeo association, and the capstone of any PrideFest: the powerful Dykes on Bikes, whose mighty approaching rumble in the distance makes hearts flutter in wonderment.

There are lots of good reasons for often-ignored minority groups to organize for better visibility and safe spaces. The way it works is usually like this: think of the most highly-marginalized and unrepresented sub-group of the gay community that you can. Okay, there’s probably not going to be an organization for that! But there is an association for gay lawyers, a chamber for gay business owners, and a network for gay millionaires looking for pre-screened dating prospects, because sifting through the riffraff when you want to hook up is oppressive. (It’s not fair since straight millionaires don’t have to go through “ordinary people” for dates – they can just fall in love in Maui, or in a country club.) Basically, the wealthier or more mainstream the people are, the more nonprofit groups they are going to found, to make sure the next generation of gay accountants’ or gay stock brokers’ lives are just a little bit better.

The gay community would be scattered without its organizations: for example, gay men and lesbians would probably not even talk to each other if it weren’t for fundraisers or the catch-all focus of activist groups – they’d stick to their segregated bars and chatrooms. And without queer organizations we’d fail at language, too – there would be no consensus as to whether it’s GLBT, LGBT, LGBTQ or R-E-S-P-E-C-T.


Stuff Gay People Like (SGPL) is a satirical/cultural column featured in Out Front Colorado. Visit the Facebook Page or view the whole list.

@StuffGayPplLike/#SGPL on Twitter.

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