New photo project addresses all the LGBTQ issues we’re ignoring

A new project created by Harvard students and Kyle McFadden hopes to shine a light on LGBT challenges unrelated to marriage equality. This venture, titled, “In the Making,” is a photo-based campaign to raise awareness of issues like health care, employment discrimination, societal rejection, and other LGBT issues. Lahaie and McFadden believe these topics have been ignored at the expense of what seems to be the LGBT movement’s paramount undertaking: marriage equality.

“It is time to debunk the myth that marriage equality means full equality for the LGBTQ community,” reads a statement on the project’s website. “With nationwide marriage equality on the horizon, our attention needs to shift to the more invisible issues facing the community. Right now, the LGBTQ Movement is a work in progress. It’s in the making.”

A 2013 Pew Research poll found that 39 percent of LGBT individuals have been rejected by close friends or family members as a result of their gender identity or sexual orientation, 30 percent reported being threatened with or the victim of physical assault, and 29 percent say they feel unwelcome in religious settings. Additionally, 58 percent of individuals reported having been the target of anti-LGBT jokes, and nearly a quarter noted that they had been discriminated against at work.

Lahaie and McFadden have partnered with the Harvard College Queer Students & Allies to create the powerful images featuring students and alums holding signs voicing such personal concerns. But the project has a wider reach than just the Ivy League —it’s open to individuals worldwide through the hashtag #inthemaking. Take a look at some of the statement-making images:

Lahaie and McFadden have also created a sponsorship program where people can financially support issues beyond marriage equality. The project’s Indiegogo page states that contributions will be donated to non-profit groups like the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the National LGBTQ Task Force, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

More images can be found at inthemakingproject.com.
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