LGBT Motors

by Cammy Corrigan

Published: October 11th, 2010

TTKN News reports that General Motors has been awarded a top rating of 100 percent in the 2011 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a survey which is carried out by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). This scoring of 100 percent represents the fifth consecutive year that GM scored 100 percent in this survey. They didn’t get that top spot for their stance on Tibet. As a company that is entirely dependent on two governments (U.S. and Chinese) GM wisely kept their nose clean on THAT.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation also named GM in their list of “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality”. Now in case you’ve been under a rock or in a monastery, “LGBT” doesn’t stand for “Large GM Built Truck.” It stands for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender.” If you subscribe to any of that, GM supposedly is one of the best places on earth to work for. “General Motors is proud to receive this recognition for the fifth consecutive year,” said Mary T. Barra, vice president of global human resources for GM, “It reflects our ongoing efforts to provide an environment that recognizes and embraces the diverse needs of our employees and our marketing initiatives to the LGBT community.”

Other car companies on the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” are Chrysler, Ford, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen. The funny thing is, the top honors for GM are not entirely returned by the target groups. Cars by Chrysler, Ford, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen are on the Top 10 Top Lesbian Cars list. GM? Nada. Gay men at least rank the 2010 Chevy Camaro as the “Top Retro Flagship” in the #3 position – the rest of their choices are, well, diverse. But gays share the Subaru Outback affliction of their butch sisters. Sorry, no listing for Top 10 bisexual cars. They have their hands full driving men AND women crazy. But whoa, there is a list for Top 10 transgender cars! (You know, the people who have certain engine and body modifications.) Who’s the top here? The Chevy Suburban. See, the title is not entirely undeserved.

#CammyCorrigan #GM #LGBT

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4 of 23 comments

50merc on Oct 11, 2010

I wish we all could get along. The reason this topic provocative for many social conservatives is they tend to see the Human Rights Campaign and similar efforts as transitioning from asking acceptance to demanding endorsement. If you read the questionnaire (forty or so items) you'll see it asks employers about such things as forming GLBT advocacy groups within the workforce, funding GLBT events and pushing for GLBT-favored legislation. The questions regarding conducting employee surveys of sexual orientation and gender identity strike me as over the top. And again, I must point out that "teabagging" refers to a sexual practice, not to expressing concern about our country's future.

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M 1 on Oct 12, 2010

Homosexuals don't bother me, although I don't think they deserve any special treatment. I can even force myself to deal with cross-dressers with a straight face, but again, they shouldn't expect special treatment in the workplace. But I'll cross that line and state categorically that transgender people have psychological issues. And sometimes psychological issues are simply incompatible with normal employment. Like the sex you're born with, it's a fact of life. No amount of wishing or surgery is going to change your gender, and a business should not be legally forced to participate in those people's fantasies.

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- Psarhjinian on Oct 12, 2010
  Homosexuals don’t bother me, although I don’t think they deserve any special treatment. I can even force myself to deal with cross-dressers with a straight face, but again, they shouldn’t expect special treatment in the workplace Which, generally, is what they're asking for. Special treatment goes both ways: they'd like the same benefits available to hetero couples, and they'd like not be harassed like their hetero co-workers are (or rather, are not). Since some group insurance companies only do that for marriage, there's really two solutions: allow gay marriage, or force insurance companies to grant spousal benefits to common-law. I wonder what's harder? Arm-twisting social conservatives, or squeezing a dime out of insurers?
  
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- Darkwing on Oct 12, 2010
  I wonder what’s harder? Arm-twisting social conservatives, or squeezing a dime out of insurers? Both pale in comparison to getting "progressives" to stop forcing their emotions on the rest of us.
  
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