ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an excerpt from the panel Deadly Denial: Queer Poverty, in which the panelists debunk the myth of gay affluence and situate the problem of LGBTQ poverty in the history of neoliberal capitalism, White supremacy and settler colonialism. The panelists also remind of us of the intersectional nature of poverty and highlight that any solutions to poverty must account for the history and the function of capitalism alongside its intersections with global White supremacy. We must also link queer poverty to global migration and immigration. Moreover, under capitalism people are taught to be ashamed if they are poor and to internalize guilt and self-blame—this shaming of poverty means that respectability politics comes to shape how we articulate queer agendas. White, gay, middle class respectability politics has made the widespread and pernicious problem of poverty invisible. Finally, the panelists point to the ways that poor queer folks engage in survival economies and create social networks to survive, and while these amazing queer communities often keep queer and trans people alive, they cannot be the only long-term solutions. The panelists raise important questions about solutions to queer poverty by seeking larger structural transformation around economic justice and anti-racism and discuss solutions such as reparations. Any future queer agendas must be attentive to economic justice and its intersections with race, and be crafted by the most vulnerable people in queer communities.
