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Letter from the Editors Caila Nickerson MSW ‘08 and Kevin Tucker W ‘10 Q&U. From QBall to the Pride Games there is something for everyone. But for those of you who aren’t so keen on coming to an event such as the Kinky Carnival we hope the supplement will serve as your own quiet QPenn event. One that will allow you to experience the various aspects of the LGBT community but in the privacy of your own room. Whether you’re questioning, out and proud, or simply a curious hetero, this year’s supplement will be sure to satisfy your needs. We have tried to highlight the very best achievements of the LGBT community at Penn and across the world. Great strives have been made but we hope and know many more are to come. With no further ado, we would like to present you with the 2008 QPenn Supplement, the Q&U. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Penn’s LGBT Center, twenty five years of LGBT awareness weeks such as QPenn, and twenty five coinciding supplements in the Daily Pennsylvanian. The Center and all related LGBT groups, events, and publications have developed and grown over the years, but the underlying sentiments remain. The aim of this publication, QPenn, and the LGBT Center are to promote awareness and acceptance of sexual and gender minorities at Penn. We aim to celebrate the challenges the LGBT community has overcome here at Penn and in general. We also aim to promote LGBT rights and the need for further progress to occur here at Penn and in general. This year’s QPenn has a variety of events that are sure to please anyone interested in the Table of Contents Letter from the Editors...................2 Message from the Co-Chairs............2 QPenn Events Calendar......................3 Reflections....................................................4 A Queer Day in the Life.......................5 Activism..................................................6 More than a Pantomime....................7 The Q in Numbers........................................7 The Other Side of the Moat.........................8 If You’re Looking for Gay Transgression, this isn’t for you................................................10 You Said You Loved Him..........................11 What is Heterosexism?.......................11 Caila Nickerson Kevin Tucker Message from the Co-Chairs QPenn is finally here! Our committee has been working relentlessly to plan an exciting and inclusive calendar. This week, you can expect events that showcase LGBT people and ideas in religion, entertainment, literature, law, and activism. We have continued the effort of garnering widespread involvement within the Penn community, and as a result, QPenn 2008 has several new collaborators. Our first-ever Pride Games was promoted with the help of the Student Athletic Advisory Council, and we were able to bring Staceyann Chin to campus with the support of Execelano Project. Also, our discussion on women Gay Jeans Day: Then and Now..............12 Reaching Forward: Representing the Homosexual Identity.......................................14 My View of the Q and U...........................16 Gift Giving.....................................................17 In 12 Point Font....................................17 Astrophysics...............................................17 Happy Birthday Ellen DeGeneres...........18 Heterosexual Questionnaire..................19 QPenn Speakers......................................20 Still Queer After All these Years............21 Straight Myths............................................21 Queer Vocabulary................................22 KeAndra Dodds SAS ‘08 and Brittany Binler SAS ‘09 who have sex with women (WSW) is being co-hosted by the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women. This year’s theme, “The Q & U,” seeks to emphasize the various ways in which sexual orientation and gender identity affect both the queer and straight communities. Regardless of how you identify, Penn’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender awareness week presents you with the perfect opportunity to learn something new. Join us at the LGBT Center at 6:00 tonight to celebrate the launch of QPenn 2008! 2 1998: Allies forms in the fall of 1998, one year after Matthew Shepard ‘s brutal murder. CO-EDITOR Caila Nickerson CO-EDITOR Kevin Tucker CONTRIBUTORS Enmanuel Martinez, Robert Schoenberg, Atlee Melillo, Lee Huttner, Malek Lewis, Jeffrey Stanavitch, Zoe Goldberg, KeAndra Dodds, Cynthia Wright, Sandra Zhao, Terrence Green, Phinnaeu Atwood and others. COVER DESIGN Lee Huttner CO-CHAIR KeAndra Dodds CO-CHAIR Brittany Binler PUBLICITY CHAIR Curtis Rogers PUBLICITY COMMITTEE Kyle Lukewitte, Ben Linder, Chelsea Lew, Lee Huttner RALLY CHAIR Jimmy Tobias SPEAKERS CHAIR Malek Lewis SPEAKERS COMMITTEE Tatiana Aparicio, Cynthia Wright, Anna Aagenes, Terrence Green, Dennie Zastrow, Brett Thalmann, Katherine Atkinson SECRETARY/PRIDE GAMES CHAIR Anna Aagenes PRIDE GAMES COMMITTEE Octavia Payne, Kellee Hand, Ninah Harris, Johnathan Yonikoo Vaknin, Charlotte Lawson, Cynthia Wright, Carol Xu, Kelsey Wolfe, Alisha Prystowsky, Tatiana Aparicio, KeAndra Dodds LGBT CENTER STAFF Bob Schoenberg, Erin Cross, Ninah Harris 1974: One year after the American Psychiatric Association votes to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders the first gay group at Penn, “Gays at Penn,” is founded. 3 Reflections Malek H. Lewis Wow, this is it. I’m graduating. After four years at the University of Pennsylvania, I have finally reached the end of the road. Am I sad? Honestly, no. However, I am realistic. In my final words to the community, I will be humble enough to say that I doubt I will be remembered in the years to come. I am sure some will pass on stories of red heels, offhand comments, and advocacy for Queer People of Color (QPOC). But ultimately, I will be forgotten and as much as that is a blow to my pride, it is okay. People who were heralded for their leadership in the LGBT community only a year ago or those who were looked at as “that person” are so quickly forgotten. “Who is that?” a freshman asks… My response: “She was one of the biggest fighters on behalf of the community and helped establish the Lambda Alliance.” My response is met with a simple, “Oh.” Thus, instead of a long diatribe on the future, I am going to do what I always do: speak my mind. Some of you already know what I’ve written below, some of you take these things for granted, and hopefully some of you have never before heard my thoughts. In the end, these are my final observations. Take them for what they are: The LGBT Center Belongs to Everyone I felt the need to start with this one because it has been an ongoing issue for years. Whether or not our Center belongs to a certain group of gays, the truth is, the Center and the staff are impartial. They exist for those who enter, no matter their sexuality, gender, race, or group of friends. It is a place of support, comfort and safety where one should never feel alienated, especially by one’s own community. I only hope that more people realize that you don’t just have to go to the Center to prepare to take on the university or even print a paper. You can go to the LGBT Center to watch the newest episode of Project Runway* and maybe meet some new people. *My use of Project Runway is merely an example. Other popular shows include Make Me a Super Model, Desperate Housewives, anything on ESPN, and recently the presidential primaries. placed on one group of people, whether you believe it or not, affects you and calls into question the very idea of humanity. Are we not all human beings? Then why do we not all deserve equal rights? 4 Years is Not Enough The university is slow. It procrastinates, waits us out, and seeks to appease us in the moment, knowing we only have four years. Example: the Intercultural Fund vs. Renovation of the Arch and new staff positions for the cultural centers. When first entering college, we are told that these next four years will be the best years of our life. While these four years being the best depends on the person, what all of us are not told is that these next four years are nothing compared to the decade or more timeline on which the university functions. Thus, as leaders, in order to truly enact change, we must not only begin thinking about the long term picture, but also create programming and advocacy that functions on this long term timeline. Moreover, we need to keep in mind that we are only here for four years Tolerance is not Acceptance and thus we must find and educate those The next time you are listening to a who are to suceed us. presidential hopeful, that is Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, listen closely to the The Political is Personal words they use with regard to LGBT people. I will never understand people’s aversion Listen to these candidates to see whether to politics. As if one is ever exempt to the they strive for tolerance or if they strive for legislations, decisions and opinions from acceptance. The truth is one would be hard governing bodies. Whether on the level of pressed to find the latter rhetoric. Although our very own university or even nationally, the distinction seems miniscule, one can politics affect everyone. While you alone may tolerate a smell, but when one accepts a avoid what is happening, it does affect you. person it goes beyond the superficial and If not face-face, then via your family, your into one’s own personal space. friends, and even professors. In the words of many others and most recently, Julian Do not tolerate my actions, rather accept Bond, Chairman of the NAACP, “LGBT who I am. rights are Civil rights.” The restrictions Apathy is Our Greatest Weakness We are not equal. Just because everyone knows that single gay person or likes to call themselves an ally does not mean that we’ve done it- that we’ve reached the end of the line-that we are all equal. In fact, we still have quite a ways to go. From this point forward homophobia has become as stealthy and underhanded as racism. We don’t have to worry about being called a “faggot” to our face, but how different is the so commonly used phrase “that’s gay” or “you’re gay.” Yeah, you don’t mean it like that. You just mean that it’s stupid, that he’s being weird…you were just playing around. Oh, well, then by all means use it because of course the verbal denouncement of a group of people can’t lead to something physical. I guess Matthew Shepard and Lawrence King had nothing to worry about when they were just being verbally insulted. 4 2005: In an effort to expand the implementation of Penn’s gender non-discirimnation policies gender neutral housing is made avalible to all students. A Queer Day in the Life Cynthia Wright Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Walking to get ice cream, I hear two men leaving Greek Lady, play-fighting with one another, and as one runs across the street the other yells, “You’re such a fucking faggot!” Walking in Rittenhouse Square holding my girlfriend’s hand, we pass a group of construction workers that yell “dykes” at us, and later a group of boys that ask if they “can join.” My friend comes back from class shaken up because he was harassed by a group of middle schoolers who called him a faggot and pretended to punch him. At a friend’s family dinner, my friend’s uncle talks to me about how if I want to attract a man I need to work on being “fascinating” so that men can do the “adoring.” This, he says, is why I haven’t found a man yet- I need to be more fascinating. One of my closest friends at the bar loses a game she is playing and comments at how “gay” it was, then apologies because she forgot that I was there that night. It’s okay when I’m not there. On the subway I’m sitting next to my girlfriend holding her hand and two drunk policemen get on. We’re alone in the subway car. After snickering to each other, one of the policemen comes over to us and sits down next to me. Refusing to acknowledge him, we get off at the next stop and the policeman yells “fucking angry lesbians.” My friend’s door gets peed on because the neighbors find out that he and his roommates are gay. This is 2008. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t understand why we, the gays, make so much “noise.” We have it pretty good at Penn, they say. “Why are you still so angry?” Or if they slip and say something is “gay” they apologize by saying “come on, you know I didn’t mean it...you know I didn’t mean you.” You know what, maybe it’s not okay. Try going through every day holding your breath, waiting for someone to throw out an insult, or better yet, a punch. Try imagining what it’s like to worry every time you want to hold your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s hand in public because you’re not sure what the consequences will be? For holding hands??? Forget that heterosexual couples could basically have sex on the dance floor of bars, but if a lesbian couple starts dancing in Blarney you get a circle of frat boys howling and yelling “make out already!” And if a gay male couple were to start dancing... forget about it. Why do I deserve to be afraid all the time? Why is there a guy outside of Van Pelt every week yelling at me that I’m damned because I found someone that I love, and that person is a woman? A 13-year old boy was killed two weeks ago in Southern California by a fellow eighth grader because he had asked him to be his valentine. What was this boy thinking? What were his parents thinking when they decided what values to teach their son- to hate someone for loving, so much that death was an acceptable solution? How do people still have so much hate, after everything this country has been through? This year’s theme for QPenn is the “Q & U.” I’d like to make the bold assumption that everyone is affected by the queer community, and it’s not because everyone is “queer.” It is because everyone has some sort of stigma that affects them. It doesn’t matter if you’re Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, northern, southern, rich, poor, old, or young; everyone is trying to fit some sort of ideal and can’t completely do it. Everyone has been judged before. When you walk into a room full of people, you know that they are judging you based on how you look, talk, act. Maybe you’re Asian and someone thinks “ah, I bet she sucks behind the wheel” or maybe you’re a football player and someone thinks “he must be dumb as shit.” You know those stereotypes aren’t true, and it sucks to know that people make those assumptions about you based on the hearsay. ALL OF US get thrown into some stereotype unfairly, but STILL we judge others. You know how it feels; how can you turn around and treat people how you hate being treated? I know that it’s going to take a long time to undo the stigma that’s been placed on gay people. It may not happen while I’m still alive. But I still get up every morning and hold my girlfriend’s hand walking down Locust because I’m hoping that little by little people will realize that there’s nothing wrong or threatening about loving someone, regardless of who they are. The next time you’re screaming “faggot” outside of Greek Lady, or saying how “gay” something is because you think it’s stupid, or letting someone say these things without speaking out against it, think about who you’re hurting. You’re hurting someone every time, even if it’s not your intention. It’s 2008. Everyone should feel free to love who they want, not just those that happen to fit into what’s believed to be the norm. How about we stop worrying about who everyone loves and start worrying about real problems? 1978: The Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force is founded under the aegis of the Christian Association at Penn. 5 Activism KeAndra Dodds What ever happened to college activism? neighborhood race riots reminded us that our Does it still exist? racial tensions never actually disappeared. Honestly, can you think of an act of Meanwhile, many black males participated activism as defined by the dictionary that in the Million Man March, an event meant you have recently supported, initiated, to address the state of the black community witnessed, heard about or even thought but coincidentally highlighted the sexism, about? and homophobia within. We HAVE made Well, times have changed, you might progress but how far have we really come? say? How far have we come when Sure, times have changed. College campus populations are still largely campuses are very unrepresentative as different places far as race and class, compared to 35, 25, or and the minority even 5 years ago. We a doctrine or practice that emphasizes cultural centers and have come a long way organizations that do direct vigorous action especially in exist are constantly from the 1960’s, when college campuses support of or opposition to one side under attack and became centers of of a controversial issue (Merriam criticized by the debate and scenes of Webster Dictionary) majority? How far protest, but were still have we come when largely segregated. Back then women were gay men still cannot give blood and Penn still fighting for the right to use contraceptives funds a Reserve Officers Training Course and homosexuality was a mental disease. (ROTC) which adheres to the “Don’t Ask, We have come a long way from the 1970’s Don’t Tell” policy, despite Penn’s vow not when schools were still resisting integration support discriminatory institutions? How despite the law and the gay rights movement far have we come when queer institutions was quickly growing despite and, perhaps, still stigmatize queers of color and the most because of the growing homophobic nature prevalent acknowledgement of queers in of the women’s and African American civil people of color rights movements. Meanwhile, women communities is the were fighting for the right to have abortions “Downlow Brotha?” and to not be discriminated against due to These issues are pregnancy. We have come along way from not new, however 1980’s when AIDS was pegged the “Gay much they have Disease” and multiculturalism became transformed. There the trend as multicultural centers and is still work to be organization sprung up on campuses. Yet, done, which we tend more and more college graduates were to acknowledge, but becoming yuppies, moving their socially what do we do about liberal and economically conservative it today? bodies to urban spaces sparking what would Well, to sum it become gentrification. We have come a up, we discuss these long way from the 1990’s, when college issues and bring student Matthew Shepard’s tragic story speakers to address showed us that LGBT people are still not them, sponsor protected from hate crimes or much else and awareness weeks Activism: and awareness, and host parties to celebrate our progress. In other words, we make people aware and proud. Obviously this is a large generalization but I really cannot think of more than two acts of activism or direct pushes for change that I have witnessed in my four years at Penn. Have we become complacent with the idea that awareness is enough? Do not get me wrong, there is something to be said for all of our programming. I personally have witnessed some of the first lines of communication being created between various communities on campus. I have seen previously unheard of event collaborations, and been quite inspired and informed by several amazing lectures and performances. Education is powerful and getting students, organizations, centers, and the administration to even acknowledge a problem is a huge feat. By no means do I wish to downplay these acts. Still, I question, how far can we continue to progress without more “direct vigorous actions” especially concerning the controversial issues we face today? I really do not have the answers but I wish for you to consider this: how will we bring activism back? 6 2004: “Gender identity” is added to Penn’s non-discrimination policy as a protected category. More than a pantomime Sandra Zhao When my friend asked me to write something for this supplement and told me that the theme was “The Q and U” I’m not going to lie I was pretty stumped. Yes, I guess you could describe me as a nUcleus surrounded by orbiting Qs, but hey, we’ve got a strong electromagnetic force. This whole Q+U=FUN business got me thinking about a term that I’d once been called that still makes me shudder a little. I won’t say it aloud because it makes me squirm, so Charades it is! Hope you’re ready. Two words. And they rhyme! The first starts with the letter of the alphabet that follows E and also happens to be a derogatory name for a homosexual male. The second is a derogatory term that describes a wrinkly, cantankerous single woman. Remember, they rhyme. Got it? Okay, let’s continue. Plenty of people apply this designation to themselves, and I’m all for liberty and people doing as they choose without judgment, but every time I hear the phrase it baffles me. I mean, maybe it’s just because I like to draw upon terms that make me sound cooler, prettier, smarter, etc than actually I am when I refer to myself, but I still can’t quite comprehend why someone would want to think of themselves in such a way. But that’s just me. I’m also a bit label-shy, feeling desperately confined once designated a definition. The problem, to me, with labels is that once tagged your individuality instantaneously evaporates and left in its place is a giant adjective bubble. I suppose this is how it is with all stereotypes, irrespective of how apt they may be. I mean, by definition, minus the connotations, the phrase would apply to me. Yes, sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in gays, and yes, I am a boyfriendless female, but connotations speak louder than words, and they can’t be ignored. I remember the first time that I heard the word “queer” used in an LGBTQ context. As someone who’s been referring to policepersons and snowpersons since the first grade, I couldn’t quite grasp why someone would consciously categorize themselves under such a hateful word. Seeing my dumbstruck reaction, a friend quickly explained the notion of re-claiming the term as an act of empowerment. Calling yourself an offensive word in order not to make it offensive? How interesting. Sort of like reverse psychology, right? Undermining the underminer. Whoa. But I wonder if there’s a difference between reversing the connotation and reversing the definition. Does reclaiming mean stripping the definition of its negative nuances and dressing it up in something a little more flattering? Or does it mean giving the word a whole new definition? Or both? In the case of “queer,” where is the distinction between fulfilling the original definition without its society-applied undertones and embodying the complete stereotype? It’s fantastic that the community has rallied around the term, but I wonder if there are slurs that can’t be reclaimed. I don’t think that I was wrong in feeling insulted by the designation, but neither do I feel that it’s wrong that some people don’t mind it. I’m curious as to whether they’ve reclaimed and redefined the phrase, or if they simply never found it offensive. As for me, I don’t think that I can reclaim the label. I don’t like the way it sounds, and maybe that discomfort is conditioned by my discomfort with the words that compose the phrase, but I’m not sure I can be loud and proud of a name that I can’t even type. Not only does the phrase insult me (word number two) but it insults my friends (word number one). I guess this leaves me label-less and full of rhetorical questions but that’s okay. Luckily there’s something else I remember from first grade: every Q needs its U. The Q in Numbers Numbers from 25 years of supplement publications...and then some. 12 Total number of years Gay Jeans Day was sponsored on Penn’s campus 1996 11 Year in which the term “transgender” enters the supplement with an article on “transgenderism” and a photo of RuPaul Number of articles on bisexuality in past LGBT Awareness Week supplements 64, 186, 249 1989 16 Number of resources listed in Penn’s LGBT Community Resource Guide in 1984, 1994, and 2006 Year in which the term “AIDS” entered into the supplement’s print Number of contributors to the 2008 QPenn Supplement 2003 Year in which the United States Supreme Court decriminalizes gay sex 1982: The Office of Student Life hires a gay programs coordinator and the Counseling Center hires a gay counselor. 7 The Other Side of the Moat Jeffrey S Stanavitch, Temple ‘09 “What’s that?” “It’s my refuge.” “What’s in there?” “The scariest thing I’ve ever seen.” <><><><><> She opened the pantry door and saw me standing in there. She was surprised to see me, though she said otherwise. “What’re you doing?” I didn’t know. Probably hiding. Probably from her. Later she would attempt to convince me there was no reason to hide, but at the time she just stared at me. I refused to move. I didn’t want to talk about it. Especially with her. “Come out of there. Your skin is changing colors. You’ll get sick.” It was safer in there than it was outside. No one could see me. She called my dad. She called my whole family. And all of my friends. While she was gone I closed the door again. I put seven pennies in the frame so she couldn’t open it, not with everyone out there. They all stood outside telling me it was okay. They wanted me to open up. I wasn’t ready. It was dark in there. I liked it. I could barely see anything, especially not myself. But I couldn’t move a muscle without pushing the door open a little. So, I stood still, closed my eyes, and tried to stop listening to everything coming from outside. My friend yelled something like, “God is not in there with you.” He wasn’t out there with them either. My tears splattered on the floor as I couldn’t wipe them off without opening the door. Couldn’t they have just left me alone? They continued to yell. I felt more and more splattering on my feet. But I had stopped crying a while ago. I just couldn’t cry anymore. I was the ugly duckling and I didn’t want to help it any longer. I looked and the floor was red. The lack of sunlight, the consistent position, and the cramped area caused my arms and legs to bleed. When she saw the blood come under the door, she finally broke it down herself. The sun in Philadelphia keeps me from bleeding. It’s also far away from her. <><><><><> Jack barged through the already open door to find a living room full of friends and a kitchen of even more dirty dishes. He smiled and sat down. “Hi, baby. How was work?” “You know.” It was long but he loves it there. He finally found a job where he can relax and be himself, a job that is just the right amount of work and just the right wage with just the right people. “So the funniest thing happened. I told you about Dick, right? Well after I was cut, I was sitting a few seats down from him talking to Abby, one of the servers. So he says to Brad, the bartender, ‘Can I buy this kid a drink so he can go back to the other end of the bar? He’s annoying me.’ So I tell Steph, the manager, about it and she flipped out. She almost kicked him out and told him never to come back. I couldn’t believe it. I love that place.” No one laughed, but Jack enjoyed telling the story. Everyone sat silently, listening to music they recognized from childhood, contented with memories of the past. Or in Jack’s case the present. He was with his friends, listening to his music, in his apartment, in his life. <><><><><> two leaves were growing next to each other on a tree the first looked at the second and noticed it was a different shade of green so it asked the second why it chose to be that color to which the second responded it was not a choice and if it had a choice it would be the same as everyone else but it can’t help being this color so it embraces it wholly <><><><><> “It’s strange. Unless you’re expecting it, you’re totally averse when it happens.” <><><><><> You’re an architect in another world. You’ve built some crazy things, like a wall to keep people from reading too much of your book and a glass box to keep sound out when you are inside. You came up with an idea for a building recently. A place to go to, to flee from your most feared things. When they announce the construction you’re happy. You’ve pressed the counselors to give you the gold to build this tower for three years. It is by far the most inventive design you’ve come up with yet. And it serves a purpose unlike every other structure you’ve built. “This building will be a haven, a place for all those who need it, a place of solitude and charity and happiness,” you say at ground breaking day. It is going atop a hill surrounded by a forest of living trees to guard it and a hundred yard wide moat protected by a submarine 2001: After a series of meetings with staff, faculty, students, and alum regarding the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, QPOC (queer people of color) is formed to address issues of mutual exclusivity between the LGBTQ community and the people of color communities at Penn. 8 dragon. A thorny bramble patch will grow after construction just outside the moat. Wizards and mages are creating an invisibility spell powerful enough to last forever. The monks are creating a hurricane to surround it. Everyone is impressed, but they don’t know that it isn’t for them. It’s only for you. After seven years the tower has been erected. It stands prominent for one day and then disappears into the natural and unnatural barriers. You laugh sinisterly as the government leaders and all the people that helped you stand outside the moat, while you stand inside the fading façade. You used them to get away from them. But inside you suddenly feel cold and alone. <><><><><> Person One: It’s nighttime. Why are you wearing sunglasses? Same Person, now only in thought: I don’t like when people can see my eyes. <><><><><> Jack sat down with some relatives at the party. They were blabbering about the difference in prices at the department stores on the mountain. He was staring at his empty glass. He had traveled a long distance to be here for her birthday. And Christmas and Easter and every other holiday, because that is what they wanted. They asked him constantly “When are you coming home?” But upon arrival, he is always subordinate. No one even noticed his presence. No one asked him about his life. Everyone pretended. They couldn’t admit that it bothers them: the distance, the choices … So they didn’t acknowledge it, or him, at all. She came by with a bottle of wine and filled up everyone’s cup around the table. He looked down again, the glass was still empty. “I’m horribly thirsty.” “Go get yourself a drink, they don’t care. Look she’s filling up his glass.” Jack’s brother wasn’t twenty-one either. “I think I’ll just have a coke.” There was nothing in the cooler or in the pantry. “Nothing to drink here but alcohol.” “I don’t want to end up like all of you.” “You’re going to Jacky, my boy. It’s in your Irish blood.” That wasn’t what Jack meant, but he couldn’t explain himself. He was too confused. Instead of feeling at home, here he felt empty, lost in memories of the past. <><><><><> There was nothing there. I got up and went to the bathroom without looking in the oversized mirror that hung over the toilet. I didn’t want to look at myself, not after last night. My scalp hurt which meant my hair was disheveled. My skin felt worn and patchy. I stuck my head out of the bathroom door and noticed my roommate’s bed was made. I took off my clothes and sat down at my computer. My bed looked like someone else had slept there. And in fact someone else had. I couldn’t stand it. An hour later it was time to shower. I looked again at my bed with disdain. The mirrors were all foggy when I got out. I thanked God again that I didn’t have to look at myself. I couldn’t pick out clothes. I didn’t want to move. It was a great idea at the time, but now I felt empty, like an autumn leaf or someone who lived in a dark closet their whole life. I couldn’t hide behind my sunglasses anymore and I could no longer face the people who love me for who I am nor those who pretend it is unimportant. I had built this place up for years and in one amazing night all the walls caved in. Emigrants take refuge in new countries, I wanted to go back. Virginia was my home, not the gayborhood. I brushed my teeth. The mirrors were clearing up even though I opted not to open a window. I looked up and there was … Nothing in the mirror. Can’t see myself. Can’t see anything, But the bathroom wall behind me. Relief overcomes me, And fear leaves. … nothing. Nothing, but myself, naked and broken. And it scared me. 1984: LGAP (Lesbians and Gays at Penn) celebrates its 10th anniversary. LGAP’s activities fall into 4 main categories: social, support, educational, and political. 9 If you’re looking for gay transgression, this isn’t for you Phinnaeus Atwood My intent is not to refute any stereotypes of the paraphilic gay male, but to relay my knowledge to the blind straight man. May your sexual partners benefit from my debaucheries. 1. 2. 3. 4. Having a penis doesn’t entitle you to a blowjob; flaccidity deserves no reward. Don’t treat your coital associate like a whore, unless you’re paying. Don’t treat your coital associate like a whore, unless (s)he deserves it. If you’re getting forty minutes of head, expect to dish out forty minutes of something in return. This is not the Edo period, and we are not your oiran. 5. A recent study shows that one in four teenage girls has a sexual transmitted disease – discretion is advised. 6. If we are to learn anything from six seasons of Sex and the City, it’s that jackrabbit fucking is not a turn-on. 7. Neither is bubblegum-scented lubricant. 8. If gum is needed to veil your halitosis, however, by all means chew away. 9. Remember: gum should be the only thing you’re chewing. 10. Be a gentleman. After sex, open the door for him/her before you kick ‘em out. And one for the ladies: 1. If the man you’re with isn’t doing it for you, keep this Woody Allen quotation in mind: “Don’t knock masturbation – it’s sex with someone I love.” Go ahead. Love yourself. DEVELOPMENT and ALUMNI RELATIONS at the UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA PROUDLY SUPPORT QPENN Penn Alumni Relations E. Craig Sweeten Alumni House 3533 Locust Walk Philadelphia, PA 19104-6226 The Q and U A diverse community challenges us both to reflect upon our assumptions and to learn from new perspectives. Penn Alumni, the University’s alumni association, recognizes the importance of the interests and concerns of today’s – and tomorrow’s – LGBTQ alumni, with initiatives through the Penn Traditions program and the Penn Alumni Diversity Alliance. For more information, visit us online at www.alumni.upenn.edu. Penn Alumni enthusiastically supports QPenn’s efforts to promote dialogue and understanding throughout the University community. 215-898-7811 | alumni@ben.dev.upenn.edu | www.alumni.upenn.edu 2003: PATH (penn’s athletes and allies tackling homophobia) is formed as a task force to address the mutual concerns of Penn’s LGBT and athletic communities. 10 You Said You Loved Him Zoe Goldberg, Temple ‘11 You said you loved him. I couldn’t hear you say it, but I read it between your words, and I was happy for you, even though I asked you out first, and I should have gotten the chance to treat you right before you let some boy in. I know I shouldn’t be acting like a child, and I should have been rooting for you instead of silently wishing that it wouldn’t last for my own selfish reasons. And of course, when it ended, I tried my hardest to be sympathetic, to be “that friend” but inside I was broken… you still loved him. I didn’t stand a chance with you, so I turned back around, smiling widely… you can’t win every round. Sometimes I get this feeling that I just don’t have a chance in this world, being who I am… mainly because I’m not sure who that is, and I may know some things, but my mom is right too… relationships are hard for me, though not as hard as trust, and surely eventually, my soul will just rust. Some say there’s no place for me in this world, but I say I’ll stand strong… you may not have chosen me, but there’s always more fish in the sea! I can be a friend the one with the label on my chest but I will always be me why be ashamed? Why be the rest? What is Heterosexism? Assuming that that everyone you meet is heterosexual. Looking at gay or lesbian people and automatically thinking of their sexuality, rather than seeing him/her/hir as a whole, complex person. Not confronting homophobic/biphobic/transphobic remarks for fear of being identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Thinking you can “spot one.” Wondering who the “man” or “woman” is in a same-sex relationship. Thinking that LGBT people are too outspoken about LGBT rights. Using the terms “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual,” or “transgender” as accusations. Avoiding mentioning to friends that you are involved with gay rights organizations because you are afraid they will think you are gay. Feeling that a gay or lesbian person is just man or woman who couldn’t find a person of the “opposite sex. Thinking that if a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender friend touches you, ze is making sexual advances. Unlearn Homophobia! 1986: Penn’s gay and lesbian organizations now include LG-GAPSA (Lesbian and Gay Graduate and Professional Student Association), the Lesbian/Gay Staff and Faculty Association, LGUA (Lesbian and Gay Academic Union), PRISMA (Philadelphia Regional intercollegiate Sexual Minorities), and NELGSU (Northeast Lesbian and Gay Student Union). 11 30 years ago, in February 1978, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (then the National Gay Task Force) issued a press release declaring the first ever National Gay Blue Jeans Day. The press release read as follows: TIMELINE of JEANS DAY at PENN 1984: This was the first appearance of “jeans” as symbol of lesbian and gay solidarity on Penn’s Campus. On October 31st, also know as Halloween, everyone was encouraged to wear jeans in an article called “Pants for Politics: Jeans back equality” during Lesbian and Gay Awareness Week and was hosted by the group Lesbian and Gays at Penn (LGAP). Also according to the article, in an effort to subvert the day, “Heterosexual Footwear Day” was created. And seeing as one would probably be wearing footwear in late October, everyone would be forced to support the heterosexual community. 1986: The article “Fashion Statement: Jeans are ‘in’ for dignity and pride” compared wearing jeans on April 9th in support of the lesbian and gay community to celebrating Martin Luther King’s birthday and not being black or St. Patrick’s Day and not being Irish. In other words, anyone could and more importantly should participate, regardless of orientation or identity. For those who couldn’t wear jeans, LGAP also passed out lavender and pink triangles, in support of the movement and remembrance of gays and lesbians who died in the Holocaust. 1987: “Gay Jeans Day: Political Pants?” asked the question “what does denim have to do with sexual orientation or civil rights?” On April 8th, jeans had everything to do with civil rights and reminded us that you didn’t have to be lesbian or gay to wear blue jeans but are in fact showing your interest in taking a stand for the civil rights of every person. 1988: Advertised as a “Chance for You to show Your Support,” wearing jeans on April 13th was a demonstration of compassion for the higher rates of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals losing jobs due to sexual orientation and/or identity, their greater susceptibility to physical violence and abuse, and your opposition to that and all other forms of discrimination against the lesbian and gay community. 1989: Gay Jeans Day equals “YEAAH!!!” for the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community and its allies at Penn. Every one was reminded to once again don jeans in support of civil rights for all and widespread education of LGB issues to reduce uses of stereotypes and the overall misunderstanding of what LGB people face in society onApril 12th. FEBRUARY 1978 BLUE JEANS DAY: Are you ready? The word is go for National Gay Blues Jeans Day on Friday, April 14th. The idea is for campus gay groups to announce and publicize locally that on April 14th lesbians and gay men on campus will wear blue jeans all day to demonstrate gay pride and self-affirmation. Of course, not everyone will, and some non-gays will wear theirs “by mistake”—but that’s the “beauty part.” On the individual level, each person who knows about the event will be forced to make a conscious decision about something most college students (and many faculty) do automatically, and as a result will have to consider what it’s like to be a member of America’s “most discriminated-against minority.” Jeans Day at Penn: Then and Now “Those who cannot remember the past, are doomed to repeat it.” -George Santayana 1990: Members of the University community were asked to wear jeans to affirm their support of civil rights for LGB people. “Wear jeans on March 28th. Wear them in pride and self-knowledge. Wear them as an act of love and sensitivity. Wear them to demonstrate that supporting civil rights of LGB people is natural, is mainstream. Most of all, wear them because in a true democracy, the bestowal of equal rights on all people should be considered normal--normal as wearing jeans.” 1992: On March 25th, Jeans Day was again part of the calendar of events for B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Awareness Days) and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals on campus were encouraged to “wear their jeans in support of gay rights!” 1993: “When you’re brought up, like the rest of us in this country, rich or poor or yellow or green, there’s not a whole lot of discussion about ‘homosexuality’ or ‘alternative lifestyles.’ As a kid, you’re taught right away that queers are weird, queers are funny, they’re a danger to kids, they’re afraid to fight, and they all want to cop your joint. And that pretty sums up the general thinking out there, if you want to know the truth.”-Denzel Washington from 1993’s Academy Award winning film, Philadelphia. This quote was featured among many others on the ‘93 supplement cover. Keeping this “truth” in mind, all faculty, staff, and students were encouraged to “throw on their favorite pair of jeans in support of equal rights for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people” on March 24th. 1994: The B-GLAD supplement reminded us that one out of every ten people identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. People were encouraged to show their pride and strut their stuff to the ironic interpretation of the Christmas carol “Deck the Halls” when rocking their jeans on March 23rd. “Don we now, our gay apparel, fa la la...” As well as continuing to show support for civil and human rights for LGB people. A fair warning was also issued that by that refusing to, implied homophobia. 1995: On March 22nd, the beauty behind the concept of Jeans Day was reinforced. Some will in fact wear jeans by mistake, that is, not intending to demonstrate their support for anything. However, the knowledge of what jeans symbolize on this day causes most to reflect, and make “a conscious decision about something most of us (students, staff and faculty) do automatically, and as a result will have to consider what it’s like to be a member of America’s “most discriminated against minority.” -A National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Bulletin, February 1978 2000: Although Jeans Day was apparently on sabbatical for a few years, it returned in full force on March 31st. The Penn population was encouraged to wear jeans in support of the queer community. 2003: Calling all Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgender individuals, Queer individuals, or Allies... “wear a pair of your favorite jeans on March 21st to support QPenn week!!!” A week that not only brought together the Penn community through art, education, music, activism, film, sports, performance, humor, and celebration but was also a reminder to continue to make strides in bringing further awareness to LGBT issues. March 2008 This year, on Wednesday March 26th, Gay Jeans Day is making a comeback at Penn. Why take the time to put on a pair of jeans? Well beyond the fact that jeans are the top choice of attire by college students, Gay Jeans Day is a tradition at Penn. It has been a symbol of hope and a call to action. This seemingly trivial exercise has given everyone the opportunity to take a stand against injustice in comfortable surroundings. Truth be told not everyone has the ability, the desire, or let alone the courage, to march in the streets against discrimination; give fiery stump speeches in front of large crowds; or run for political office to physically change non-inclusive and discriminatory policies. However as students, people who devote their time and energies in the pursuit of knowledge; our education is a privilege that we shouldn’t take for granted. We have all learned, through that very pursuit, the ideals of justice and equality should not be limited to a certain few. Their exclusivity would only compromise, if not completely negate their meaning and substance. And as the short trip down memory lane above has show us, you don’t have to consider yourself L (Lesbian), G (Gay), B (Bisexual), T (Transgendered), or any variation of these to participate. If you’re not, show the greater Penn community that you can put into practice what you have been taught and be an Ally, even if it’s only for the day. By performing the small act of wearing jeans on Wednesday March 26, 2008, individually you acknowledge that you remember and recognize what LGBT people have and continue to endure needless discrimination, bias, and hate. Please join us and others by wearing jeans. Collectively we can demonstrate at Penn, our support for the continued education and awareness of LGBT issues, and mutually the pursuit of the highest aim, civil and human rights for all. Reaching Forward: Representing the Homosexual Identity Lee Huttner We are, have been, always will be in a time of change. That constant universal flux which made the Greek philosopher Cratylus afraid even to speak or move is an undeniable feature of existence, and arguably the most powerful force of social and cultural change. We never exist in the same moment twice; we never cease to transform or to be transformed. Representation of any form becomes problematic in a universe of constant change. What is set down as an image, a text, a performance which seeks to represent “reality” immediately becomes dated from the moment of its conception. How can we gain anything from any representation which must be, by its very nature, stagnant? Our personal human relationship with change comes not from an understanding of the constant, infinitesimal alterations in reality (those alterations that prevent us from being the same person we were a second ago), but from a perception of the greater changes that move the course of history. It is the problem of representing an idea which, in our minds, is stable yet over the course of months, years, decades remains instable that becomes the greatest concern. The concepts of “gay” and “queer,” of “gender,” “sex,” and even “love” have undergone such radical transformations over time that it becomes a struggle for many today even to define them, let alone to represent them through any mimetic medium—literature, visual art, dramatic performance, et cetera. The problem of gay representation becomes the problem of explaining something that is almost unexplainable, understood only through its long history of change, its struggle to gain the status of the Heraclitian harmony amidst absolute discord. An examination of the representation of homosexuality is, above all, an examination of the representation of the ever-changing history of homosexuality. For any people whose very existence is founded upon intolerance, misunderstanding, strife, and conflict, this painful past becomes not only a primary subject of representation, but the very medium of representation itself. As Penn English professor Heather Love points out in her book Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History, the queer community can be defined as constituted not by “a shared set of identity traits, but rather as emerging from a shared experience of social violence.” Thus our medium of examining homosexual representation becomes an examination “not only [of] obscure men, but [of] obscurity itself.” This historical sense of loss and stigmatization can be found at the heart of many works which seek to represent homosexual identity. Theatre lends itself powerfully to this genre. Martin Sherman’s Bent is one of the most acclaimed plays to focus explicitly on the painful past of homosexuality. Written during a time when little was known about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals during World War II, Bent gripped its first audiences with its gritty presentation of the concentration camps, the cold horror of physical and psychological torture, and especially the pain not only of love (same-sex love, at that), but of loss. Sherman’s drama makes it ingeniously clear that the characters’ personal stories cannot coherently exist without the larger histories playing out behind them. At a time when homosexuals—along with Jews, Gypsies, Catholics, and others—were methodically sought out, isolated, and exterminated, love (albeit doomed love) survived. But it was precisely this love which led to the characters’ downfall. Bent, in exploring the history of homosexuality, explores that social violence which has repressed the homosexual identity 14 1987: Penn students travel to Washington D.C. to join some 650,000 LGB supporters in the 2nd National March for Lesbian and Gay Rights. from asserting itself; and yet paradoxically, that very same identity has emerged precisely from this violence and repression. Love also writes, “Homosexual identity is indelibly marked by the effects of reverse discourse: on the one hand, it continues to be understood as a form of damaged or compromised subjectivity; on the other hand, the characteristic forms of gay freedom are produced in response to this history.” What has become the gay pride movement came out (no pun intended) as a reply to this history of violence: it is this violence which shapes the homosexual identity, and the freedom from this violence becomes the ultimate response to history—you may shape us, but you may not break us. Patrick Wilde’s play What’s Wrong With Angry? brilliantly demonstrates the triumph of defiance and the power of acceptance over the historio-political forces of repression. When it first opened in London in 1993, the age of consent in Britain was 21 for homosexuals and 16 for heterosexuals (the age of consent was not fully equalized, in fact, until 2000) and legislation called “Section 28” (not repealed until 2003) prohibited schools and local authorities from promoting homosexuality or depicting homosexual relationships as an acceptable view of family life. The protagonist of the play, Steven, is a 16-year-old homosexual who engages is sexual acts, and thus is, on all accounts, breaking the law. The play follows his story of suffering and unrequited love and his eventual, powerful triumph over social violence and repression. The torment he suffers at the hands of his classmates, family, and society at large, serve to carve out his identity. His acceptance of his sexuality contrasts with his lover John’s—who has not undergone the same pain—discomfort and continuing repression of his own. Steven frees himself from the anguished bonds of his repressed identity, knowing that it was exactly this anguish which allowed him to understand and free himself. What we today define as “gay” is certainly not what it was twenty years ago, nor what it will be twenty years from now. There is no sure way even today to define it; we do know, however, that it is indelibly marked with the presence of the past. Representing homosexuality is, like homosexuality itself, dynamic, taking into account not only the present or only the past, but by necessity both. The theatrical examples chosen here are not limiting, nor is the genre of theatre itself. All forms of artistic representation which have tackled the problem of gay identity tap into the same methods. Those methods have changed, are changing, will continue to change, as long as human history changes, and along with it, humanity, toward what we can only hope for will be the better. Perhaps that Heraclitian harmony in unattainable, or perhaps it is itself changing, but we must not, like Cratylus, fear this change and flux. It is necessary, it is unstoppable, and it is what drives us all. Past melding with present melting into future. We must “feel backward” to the past which resounds with pain and loss, and feel forward to the uncertain future, which undoubtedly resonates with change and promisingly rings loudly with freedom. LGBTQ &C Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning ... and Christian? Penn Queer Christian Fellowship! The Penn Queer Christian Fellowship does not limit its fellowship to Christians. Whatever you believe, if you are intrersted in learning about the lives of LGBT Christians, please join us! http://www.upennca.org/programs/queer _ christian _ fellowship/ The Christian Association | 118 South 37th Street (37th at Sansom), Philadelphia PA 19104 | 215-746-6350 Check out the SMART P E O P L E L IV E I N C O L L E G E H O U S E S 1989: The Lesbian and Gay Awareness Week at Penn officially becomes the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Awareness Week at Penn. 15 My View of the Q and the U Atlee Melillo I could not believe that I had been accepted into the University of Pennsylvania. I had spent months, sleepless, in agony, waiting for my sure to be dooms day letter. There are no words to describe the ensuing feelings of relief, pride, disbelief, and euphoria that followed my acceptance. The University of Pennsylvania was my ticket out of Scotch Plains, NJ. I saw it as my escape from ignorance and into a world of scholarly “higher thought.” Surely, everyone at the University of Pennsylvania was educated, insightful, respectful, and most of all, above discriminatory homophobia that I had seen running rampant in my hometown. Anonymous I want to comfort you. I want to rub your back when your days are long. When you are feeling the pressure, feeling stressed, I want you to feel me. Feel the weight of my palms discovering the lost tombs of your tender shoulders. Feel my emancipated machines freely perusing the mounds of your muscles, Reading every wrinkle, every curve, every delicious syllable As if your back was the treasure map to a secret so deadly, One taste puts you in a plane of reverie for eternity, internally contemplating how a gift so good could have come to be. Feel me Caressing the twin columns standing guard to your robust backbone, Pulsing pillars protecting like Fort Knox the frustration found only by the skills of my fingers. Feel my impassioned excavators unearthing the key to your relief, Finding the answer deep in the ditches of your caramel landscape, Digging deeper, harder, longer, until passion supplants pain, ecstasy replaces angst, And you transport to a realm where I am your North, South, East, and West, Where instead of earth, water, fire, and air, There are only the fortitude of my flesh, the heat of my passion, the elixir of my lust, and the waft of my whispers to ravage your senses. Sense me Moving down to the small of your back, working the tense terrain that contains no pain my methods can’t remove. Sense my meticulous implements sweep down into the freckled valley of your waist, Up the slopes of your twin succulent masses. Sense my dexterous devices navigating these fleshy formations, rivaling those Pyramids of Egypt, And standing firm, they beckon my embrace. Embrace me With your lips, those flush sacks of nectar having swollen with every thrust of my palm. Embrace me with your body now rejuvenated from my tantalizing touch, Relieved of the tension that only postponed the profound act that’s about to transpire, Embrace my body, trembling heavily with the prospect of your heavenly touch. Touch me Like I’ve never been handled before. Handle me Like I know you know how. And afterwards, exhausted from a long night’s pleasure, Comfort me. Comfort “I feel the school still has a long way to go.” Unfortunately, one of the first lessons I learned in college was that homophobia and the ignorance that goes with it plagues all different kinds of people, regardless of wealth, education, or religion. As Co-Chair of the LGBT Allies, the gay-straight alliance at Penn, I witness it first hand at some of our public events. I have been laughed at, given many stares of uncertainty, and asked repeatedly to explain why I chose to get involved in “stuff like this.” I understand that these are only a few people, but then I look at Juicycampus.com, and my disappointment in my school only deepens. I see posts about “which frat has the most fags” and “closet gays” (where I assume straight guys “out” their friends and then their friends see it and hilarity ensues). I cringe as I read these posts, knowing that someone at my school actually thinks and speaks this way. Not too long ago an article in 34th street about the LGBT Center explained how far this school has come in its fight against homophobia and its acceptance towards the LGBT community. That being said, I feel the school still has a long way to go. 16 1984: Penn GALA is formed as the LGBT alumni association. Astrophysics Enmanuel Martinez I. He was my Mars, Hiding the secret of life Away (or was he really?). Only his red sands and barren Eyes knew the truth. Mars is dead now. Dried up Riverbeds and years of doubt had left Him desolate, dry. II. And to think, I wanted to be a star, Wanted To foretell biblical prophesies and be Your wish maker. Funny how I only wanted to be a star, so Anxious and Impatient that I missed My cooling stage and become a black hole. III. My fifth grade textbook Confessed That all stars begin as collapsing Masses of Nitrogen and Helium. My mind struggles still to Understand How an unstable composition can give Rise to such enduring products. IV. The night that you died, My mother caught me Pointing to the sky; I was counting stars. She told me, “When you die, God makes you a star in the night sky.” Oh how I’ve learned Not to count the dead. Gift Giving Enmanuel Martinez We will play games of hide and seek, And you will hide Behind rest-stop bathroom stalls, In bathhouses, and at private night clubs; But I will find you in my bedroom. Oh how you sweat turning Under cold, cotton sheet. * Naked and goose-bumped, Left hand over my ringing heart, Right hand caressing the inside of my thigh, I find myself Lost in the darkness of this room, So I call out For you to find me: —Marco! Grabbing my hand and kissing my Bottom lip, you breathe into me. Moist tongue, a messenger with your response: —Polo. * We wrestle, Our weight and breath pinning each other Down. Hands wrapped Around torso and mind, we are Entangled: a conglomerate of Flesh, muscle, sweat, and soul. * Dress me with your kisses. Color my cheeks with your hand’s warmth, And tell me to hold my breath so that when I Gasp I take in everything: The dry air of the room, The ambience of this place, And the coy secret floating in the coffee brown of your eyes. * I have taken you in tonight, And now my body has decided to take you in as well. In me you will make a refuge, a home, Leaving behind a child that is both Deaf and blind— A clone of your self, An infant screaming ad infinitum. Like a good mother, I will carry you child, Forever pregnant with its reverberating howl. * By then my heart, like my water, Will have broken, Allowing me to die, but not before having given birth to Thousands of stillborn children. In 12-Point font I told you Enmanuel Martinez Writing to you about the wedding, I remember mentioning I was the Alter boy, and I also know I told you about Hector and Brian. Watching those two be, my heart broke with joy To know that one day that would—could Be me with someone else at some cheap But well prepared wedding with green and White as the theme, giving toasts and dancing Together, not perfect but just Happy—at least for the moment… That was when I realized that my writing Was too quiet for you to understand, And so in twelve-point font I told. 1991: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Awareness Week changes its name to the more acronym friendly Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Awareness Days (BGLAD). 17 Happy Birthday Ellen DeGeneres Robert Schoenberg April 30, 1997: on college campuses and many other locations around the country, parties were held to celebrate a special event. Ellen Morgan, the title character on the television show “Ellen”, was coming out that night. Ellen DeGeneres, the actress who played the lead role on the show, had disclosed her own lesbian identity earlier that month, on the cover of Time magazine, on the Oprah Winfrey show, and elsewhere. Recently, some college students were surprised when they were told about the parties that took place eleven years ago (when they were no more than ten years old). What, they wondered, was the big deal? Being out as lesbian or gay, on television or anywhere else, did not seem at all monumental to them. Their astonishment led to reflection about how different life is today than it was just over a decade ago. In 1986, more than ten years before Ellen’s television disclosure, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of sodomy laws in the Bowers v. Hardwick case. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, the hobbled “compromise” which resulted from then-President Bill Clinton’s attempts to abolish discrimination against gays in the military, had been in effect for four years when Ellen came out. The absurdly-named Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) had been passed by Congress and signed into law by Clinton (to the horror of many of his supporters) the previous September. Ellen’s proclamation was no doubt intended in part to counteract the inaccurate assumptions and harmful attitudes motivating these political developments. But, in retrospect, its greatest significance seems to have been as a harbinger of, if not a catalyst for, social change. In 1997, there were very few gay characters on television shows and fewer out gay actors. While “Spin City”, which included a gay, African-American supporting character, debuted in September 1996, “Will and Grace”, which featured two gay lead characters, did not appear until the fall of 1998, a year after the cancellation of “Ellen” (suggesting the show may have been somewhat ahead of its time). Most current college freshman were born around 1990 and many of them would not have watched much prime-time television until the late 1990s. By then, not only was there Will, and his friend Jack, but also another Jack, the conflicted gay teenager on “Dawson’s Creek”, as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s unapologeticallylesbian associates. Representations of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people on television began to proliferate at the end of the 20th century. In addition to broadcast series, there were dozens of gay players on cable “reality” shows, particularly MTV’s “The Real World”, very popular with youth, as well as “Survivor”, “Project Runway”, and, eventually, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and “Boy Meets Boy”. Ultimately, programs appeared on subscription channels that were wholly centered on gay people and gay content. Most prominent among them have been “Queer as Folk” and “The ‘L’ Word”. Not only did these shows offer more leading queer characters, they provided more diverse and, in some instances, less stereotypical representations. Among the biggest consumers of these images were youth exploring and developing their sexual identities, such as the contemporary college students who perceive Ellen’s coming out as unremarkable. Then in 2003, following their decision in 2000 upholding the right of the Boy Scouts of America to exclude gay males from membership, the Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, declared unconstitutional laws such as the one upheld by the Court in the 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision. Studying attitudes of college freshmen (as documented annually by The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA) further elucidates the many changes that have occurred in the last ten years. Positive responses to the item, “It is important to have laws prohibiting homosexual relationships” increased in 1997 to 33.9%, from 33.5% in 1996. In 2005, only 27.4% of freshmen responded positively to the same item, 25.6% in 2006. Half (49.8%) of the freshmen surveyed in 1997 believed that same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status. However, 57.9% of freshmen were supportive freshmen in 2005, reaching an all-time high of 61.2% in 2006. There have been remarkable shifts in how college students selfidentify. A growing number eschew the sexual orientation binary of heterosexual and homosexual, as represented in the opposing ends of the historic Kinsey scale. More young people identify as bisexual or queer, a term that requires less rigid classification (and which is also seen as more inclusive). There are also many who assert that any labels are limiting and oppressive and hence are to be avoided. A lot of youth today see sexual orientation as only one of many aspects of identity. They can be nonchalant about their sexuality in large measure because of the efforts of the previous generation of students and other activists. It was their predecessors’ identity-based activism which led to many of the social and political changes from which they now benefit. A vast number of such changes have occurred since Ellen came out in April 1997. They seem to have been thoroughly incorporated into the social fabric of our culture, including the many representations of non-heterosexual people on contemporary television. That makes it possible for us to understand why many of today’s college students scratch their heads in astonishment when they hear how virtually the whole country paid attention as Ellen Morgan spoke two words that were eagerly anticipated and proved to be momentous: “I’m gay”. Dr Robert Schoenberg has been the director of Penn’s LGBT Center since its inception in 1982. 18 2003: Delta Lambda Phi, the first and only gay fraternity at Penn is created. HETE swer each que ease an l? osexua e heter to b ual? 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H 1 r st diffe such va 1978: Penn becomes one of the first universities to add “sexual preference” to its non-discrimination policy as a protected category. of you TY Q XUALI stion to the best ROSE IRE IONNA r ability UEST 19 2008 Featured Speakers Dan Savage, Keynote Speaker Rabbi Steven Greenberg Openly Gay Orthodox Rabbi Rabbi Steven Greenberg received his B.A. in philosophy from Yeshiva University and his rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a Senior Teaching Fellow at CLAL (National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), a think tank, leadership training institute and resource center in New York City. Steve is an openly gay Orthodox rabbi and a founder of the Jerusalem Open House, the Holy City’s LGBT community center and home to World Pride 2006. After coming out publicly, Rabbi Greenberg appeared in the film Trembling Before G-d, a documentary about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews. In Greenberg’s recent book “Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality in the Jewish Tradition,” Greenberg presents readers with surprising biblical interpretations of the creation story, the love of David and Jonathan, the destruction of Sodom, and the condemnatory verses of Leviticus. Drawing on a wide array of religious texts, Greenberg introduces readers to occasions of samesex love in Talmudic narratives, medieval Jewish poetry and prose, and traditional Jewish case law literature. Ultimately, Greenberg argues that the historical record is more diverse and the law is more open to reconsideration than has ever been admitted and that spiritual and moral integrity of religions, not to mention the well-being and often the very lives of gay people are all at stake. Writer of “Savage Love” and author of “Skipping Toward Gomorrah” Dan Savage grew up in “a loud, argumentative, and very Catholic” family, and came out as gay as fruit cocktail. In 1991 he was the night manager at an independent video store in Madison, Wisconsin, when a co-worker told him he was planning to move to Seattle and start a new alternative newspaper. Savage, a self-described “pushy busybody,” replied, “You have to have an advice column. Everybody hates them, but everybody reads them.” And suddenly Savage, who’d never considered himself a writer before, was a snarky “Dear Abby” for the sexually active. Savage’s column, “Savage Love,” first appeared in 1991, in the first issue of The Stranger. Readers of any sexual persuasion were invited to seek Savage’s pithy advice with the salutation “Hey faggot,” an attempt by Savage to make the word more socially acceptable. In 1999, Savage announced he’d grown weary of “Hey faggot,” possibly because a lot of readers thought “Hey faggot” not “Savage Love” was the name of the column. The once-a-week column is funny, informative, outrageous, non-judgmental (about consenting sex acts), and very judgmental (about moronic letter-writers). “Savage Love” is now syndicated to better alternative weeklies across America. Savage is the author of numerous books including The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant. The latter book tells how Savage and his boyfriend adopted their son from his willing mother, a “spare-changing gutter punk.” “If the religious right really wanted to stop gay sex ... they should get behind gay people adopting, because nothing puts a stop to gay sex faster.” “Dying is easy,” says Savage. “Coming out is hard.” Staceyann Chin is a fulltime artist. A resident of New York City and a Jamaican National, she has been an “out poet and political activist” since 1998. From the rousing cheers of the Nuyorican Poets’ Spoken Word Poet and Activist Cafe to one-woman shows Off- Broadway to poetry workshops in Denmark and London to co-writer and performer in the Tony nominated, Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, Chin credits the long list of “things she has done” to her grandmother’s hard-working history and the pain of her mother’s absence. Her individual performances warranted her work being published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Pittsburgh Daily. Her work was also featured on “60 Minutes.” Between the Lines, a documentary that explores the notion of being Asian and woman and writer, is the latest to feature Staceyann. In 2002, Staceyann was nominated for the Rolex Mentor and Protege Art Initiative where she was considered as a possible protege for Toni Morrison. She was also featured on the second and third seasons of the Peabody Award winning HBO series, Def Poetry Jam. She has since then gone on to co-writing and performing as one of the original cast members of the ground-breaking and critically acclaimed, Tony Award winning Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. Still fighting for time to finish all the other projects she has begun: her much-anticipated memoir, the new one-woman show, CDs, the books of unfinished poems, the poet/performer/activist/entertainer is desperately trying to create some room to travel to see her sister and to breathe. 1992: The BGLAD supplement features the first queer vocabulary list entitled “Queer Speak,” including the following ten terms: Amazon, Boyz, Breeder, Coming Out, Gay-Dar, Family, Over, Read, The Village People, and Vogue. StaceyAnn Chin 20 Common myths about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People Straight Facts #1: “Nobody I know identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.” Many people have friends and/or family members that are gay. However because of, heterosexism, homophobic attitudes, prejudice, and fear of further discrimination, many gays choose to remain invisible. Statistics show that one out of every ten persons (recent statistics claim 1/8) is homosexual. #2: “It is easy to spot a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person.” Please. We look like everybody else. LGBT people cannot be classified or stereotyped anymore than heterosexual people. We are the most diverse minority on the planet, spanning every country and continent, all languages and cultures, all races and ethnicities, all socioeconomic groups and political perspectives, and all religions. #3: “Identifying as LGBT is unnatural.” Nobody knows what “causes” people to be queer anymore than anyone knows what “causes” people to be heterosexual. From a scientific point of view, it is “natural”. Any animal, including a human, is capable of responding to homosexual stimuli. Research suggests that homosexuality is almost universal among all animals and is especially frequent among highly developed species. There has been evidence of homosexuality in all human cultures throughout history. #4: “Identifying as LGBT is an illnesses and should be cured.” The word “cure” implies sickness. Research has shown that the development of homosexuality, like heterosexuality, is a gradual process that begins in childhood and both are normal and natural. It is possible to change behavior, but not someone’s basic identity and/or orientation, and any attempt to do so causes the individual a great deal of suffering. #5: “It is just a phase.” Sexual orientation and gender identity are not “phases” or something to “grow out of.” They are identities for homosexual and heterosexual persons and transgender and cisgender individuals alike. #6: “Bisexual people just can’t make up their minds.” Bisexual people are often very comfortable and settled with themselves and their sexuality and many people identify as bisexual for their entire lifetimes. Bisexuality is a genuine sexual orientation, just like homosexuality and heterosexuality. #7: “It’s okay to be queer, but why do they have to flaunt it so much?” If all gay persons “flaunted” their homosexuality in the same manner as many heterosexuals “flaunt” their sexuality, you’d be surprised and shocked at how many gay people there really are! #8: “Queer people hate straights and members of the opposite sex.” Not being sexually attracted to someone does not imply hatred! Many gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are bitter about the amount of oppression and homophobia in society but this does not mean that they shut out the rest of society. Remember that gay, lesbians, and bisexuals are already your friends, teachers, neighbors, etc. and would not want that friendship to dissolve if the other person found out they were gay. Would you? Still Queer After All These Years Take a trip down memory lane with these gender bending, gay pride, LGBT friendly/angry, outloud and proud songs. The mixtape may be a thing of the past, but these songs (from both the past and the present) are worth looking into, or rather, listening to. *Keep the mixtape alive or not...the modern practice of downloading accepted by most indivuals involved in the compilation of this list. SIDE A 1. Diana Ross, “I’m Coming Out” 2. Xiu Xiu, “Fabulous Muscles” 3. The Dresden Dolls, “Girl Anachronism” 4. K.D. Lang. “Constant Craving” 5. Rufus Wainwright, “Gay Messiah” 6. RuPaul, “Supermodel (You Better Work)” 7. The Kinks, “Lola” 8. Aerosmith, “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” 9. Ani DiFranco, “If it isn’t Her” 10. Hedwig and the Angry Inch, “The Origin of Love” 11. Franz Ferdinand, “Michael” 12. Scissor Sisters, “Filthy/Gorgeous” 13. La Rissa, “I Do Both Jay & Jane” 14. Sade, “By Your Side” 15. Melissa Etheridge, “Come to My Window” 16. Cazwell, “All Over Your Face” 17. Cher, “Believe” 18. Avenue Q, “If you were Gay” 19. Eric Himan, “One Night Stands” 20. Jay Brannan, “Soda Shop” SIDE B 1994: Penn joins the ranks of universities and employers offering domestic partner benefits, becoming the first major private employer in Philadelphia to do so. 21 Quëeŗ Vŏcābuŀåry A quick grammatical lesson from A to Z becoming infected. bull dyke: n. lesbian who is very masculine in appearance and behavior. butch: n. adj. 1. masculine or macho dress and behavior, regardless of sex or gender. 2. subidentity of lesbian based on masculine or macho dress and behavior. adj. masculine, applied to all genders. camp: n. form of humor and entertainment in which queer artists appropriate mainstream imagery in an over-the-top fashion. It is often satirical and subversive. closet: n. condition where one’s homosexuality is concealed and kept unknown to all. “In the closet” implies hiding one’s sexual orientation from public view. come out: v. 1. internally, to come to terms with and accept the fact you are LGBT, 2. externally, to stop hiding the fact you are LGBT and live all aspects of your life openly, in the same way most straight people do. cruising: n. v. going to a place for the express purpose of finding a sexual partner. crystal: adj. crystal meth; addictive drug often leading to risky sexual behavior and thought to be the leading cause of the current rise of HIV rates in the LGBTQ community. cub: n. adj. younger, smaller, less hairy or more submissive bear. D&D: adj. abbreviation for drug and disease free. downlow (DL): n. state of being usually applied to Black men who have sex with other men while otherwise living as a heterosexuals. drag: n. clothing, hair, and other affectations of a style that’s not really your own, usually considered “appropriate” to another gender. drag king: n. female who dresses as a man, usually for entertainment purposes. drag queen: n. male who dresses as a woman, usually for entertainment purposes. dyke: n. another term for lesbian, it has been reclaimed by both radical lesbians of the seventies and the younger activist women of the nineties. For agendered: adj. person who is internally ungendered. ally: n. adj. any person who works toward combating homophobia and heterosexism. androgyne: n. 1. exhibiting approximately equal proportions of masculine and feminine characteristics simultaneously or of being ambiguous, from Greek, meaning “man-woman”. 2. independence from the gender roles specified by society asexual: n, adj. One who has no significant (to oneself) interest in sexual activity. bareback: n. adj. unsafe anal sex between two men. BDSM: Bondage, Discipline/Domination, Submission/Sadism and Masochism. The terms of ‘sadism’ and ‘masochism’ refer to deriving pleasure from inflicting or receiving pain, often in a sexual context. The terms ‘bondage’, ‘submission’ and ‘domination’ refer to playing with various power roles, in both sexual and social context. Sometimes referred to as ‘leather.’ bear: n. adj. man in the bear/cub community; commonly identified by body/facial hair, masculine self presentation and typically stocky build. Often defined more of an attitude and a sense of comfort with natural masculinity and bodies. bender: n. adj. British term for homosexuals derived from “bending over” as the bottom role and “gender bender.” Berdache: n. see Two Spirit bicurious: adj. curiosity about having sexual relations with a same gender/sex person. bigendered: adj. person whose gender identity is a combination of male/man and female/woman. biphobia: n. irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against bisexuality or bisexuals. binding: n. flattening one’s breasts to have a more masculine or flat appearing chest. bisexual: n. person sexually and romantically responsive to all genders. bottom: n. adj. person characterized by being more submissive during sexual interactions or the anal receptive partner. breeder: n. derogatory term for a heterosexual. bug chaser: n. person who actively seeks to have HIV positive sex partners, usually with the goal of some queer people, however, this term still retains its negative connotations. faggot: n. derogatory term for a homosexual man. Historically the word for “a bundle of sticks bound together and used for fuel”, this term evolved from the practice of burning homosexuals. Some LGBTQ people have begun reclaiming faggot similarly to queer and dyke. fag hag: n. woman who hangs out with gay men, often seen at gay clubs. family: n. adj. 1. used to denote members of the LGBTQ community such as “is she family?” 2. refers to the “family of choice” which many LGBTQ people identify as an alternative family structure from the traditional family from which they may feel ostracized. femme or fem: n. 1. queer woman whose self-identity is that of a “feminine” woman. 2.having qualities or characteristics traditionally ascribed to women, such as sensitivity, delicacy, or prettiness. flaming: adj. flamboyantly effeminate. gay: adj. 1. one who has significant (to oneself) sexual or romantic attractions primarily to members of the same gender or sex, may be of any gender identity, however, lesbians and bisexuals often do not feel included by this term. 2. homosexual male, 3. of, relating to, or used by homosexuals, as in the gay rights movement. gaydar: n. 1. gay radar: perceived ability to ascertain that a person is gay, even in the absence of telltale signs, 2.the sense by which queers identify other queers. gender: n. behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex but which is not necessarily a binary continuum. gender expression: n. the way individuals represent their gender identity to the world, be it masculine, feminine, androgyne, or a mix thereof. gender fuck or gender queer: v. to deliberately disrupt the bipolar gender system, i.e. mixing stereotypical aspects of gender roles. gender identity: n. gender a person finds and thinks of herself, himself, or hirself to be. gender normative: n. person who by nature or choice conforms to gender based expectations of society. gender role: n. rules assigned by society defining what clothing, behaviors, thoughts, feelings, relationships, etc. are considered appropriate and inappropriate for members of a given gender. hanky code: n. system using colored handkerchiefs and placement to symbolize preferences in sexual 22 2007: The Faculty Affiliates program is formed by the LGBT Center to support faculty and staff across campus in promoting the inclusion of LGBT material in course work and student learning. behavior and practices used primarily in the leather community. This system is designed to help locate potential sex partners with compatible interests. Hermaphrodite: adj. out-of-date and offensive term for an intersexed person. heteroflexible: n. adj. someone who identifies as heterosexual but dabbles in same-sex play. heterosexism: n. belief that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality or bisexuality, or the tendency to assume that everyone is heterosexual. heterosexual: n. person with a tendency to sexually and romantically desire a person of the opposite sex. heterosexual privilege: n. automatic benefits one receives by identifying as heterosexual but are denied to non-heterosexuals (e.g. hospital visitation rights for partners, marriage, etc.). hir or zir: n. the non gender-specific version of “his” or “her”. homophobia: n. irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. homosexual: n. person with a tendency to sexually and romantically desire another person of the same sex. intersexual/intersexed: n. person whose combination of chromosomes, gonads, hormones, internal sex organs, and/or genitals differs from one of two expected patterns. Someone whose sex a doctor has difficulty categorizing as either male or female. Approximately 1 in 2,000 babies is born intersexed. lambda: n. Greek letter which has been a symbol of the Gay Rights Movement since 1970: there are two explanations for its significance, first, it is the symbol for synergy, meaning the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, second, it is the Greek equivalent of the letter “L”, standing for “Liberation.” lesbian: n. female homosexual, named for the island of Lesbos where Sappho, erotic poet who wrote about the love of women, lived. lesbian baiting: n. heterosexist notion that any woman who prefers the company of woman or who does not date men is a lesbian. LGBTQQA: acronym. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer, Ally. lipstick lesbian: n. refers to a lesbian with a feminine gender identity and/ or who is senn as automatically passing for heterosexual. metrosexual: adj. First used in 1994 by British journalist Mark Simpson to refer to an urban, heterosexual male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle. This term can be perceived as derogatory because it reinforces stereotypes that all gay men are fashion-conscious and materialistic. no-op: adj. transgender person who consciously chooses not to undergo sexual reassignment surgery. See also pre-op or post-op. out: v. disclosure of one’s sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status involuntarily. packing: v. wearing a phallic device under clothing to validate or confirm one’s masculine gender identity. partner: n. term used within the LGBT community to refer to a significant other, often in lieu of “husband” or “wife” when marriage is not a legal option. pass: v. describes a person’s ability to be accepted as their preferred gender/sex or race/ethnic identity or to be seen as heterosexual. PFLAG: acronym. Parents Family and Friends of Lesbian and Gays. PFLAG provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity. polyamory: n. behavior and practice of having more than one partner during a period of time. pre-op or post-op: adj. pre-operation or postoperation. an identification for transgender people who are transitioning from one gender to another regarding sexual reassignment surgery. See also no-op. queen: n.1.flamboyant gay man. 2.any gay man. queer: n. once a vulgar term, now reclaimed by some members of the LGBT community to positively include everyone in the community. questioning: adj. or v. when a person is unsure of her/his/hir sexual orientation or gender identity. rainbow, rainbow flag: n. originally a symbol of the 1978 San Francisco Freedom Parade representing the diversity of the gay community, the rainbow and rainbow flag have been adopted as symbols of the entire queer movement. rice queen: n. gay man who prefers Asian sexual or romantic partners; usually applied to white men. This term is usually considered derogatory. sex: n. assignment of a person as a male or female based on biological organs, hormones, etc. scissor sisters: n. 1. slang term for women engaging in tribadism 2. a blatently queer eletroclash, neodisco band deriving their name from defintion 1. sexual orientation: n. used to describe the gender to which someone is attracted. s/he or ze: n. transgender pronoun equivalent to “he” or “she”. Transgender individuals who feel neither conventional pronoun fits them are frequently referred to by the transgender pronoun. She-Male: n. derogatory term, reclaimed by some people, used to refer generally to non-op or pre-op transsexuals. stem: n. person whose gender expression falls somewhere between a stud and a femme. sticky rice: n. an Asian person who tends to only date other Asians. Stonewall: n. riot early in the morning of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. After being the victims of numerous police raids, the patrons at this gay bar fought back; riot is credited with beginning the modern Gay Rights movement. stud: n. African American and / or Latina masculine lesbian. Also known as a “butch” or “aggressive.” tina: n. see crystal. Usage example: “I’m partying with tina tonight.” top: n. adj. person characterized by being more dominant during sexual interactions or the anal insertive partner. transgender, TG: adj. exhibiting the appearance and behavioral characteristics of another gender. n. person who lives mostly or completely in the gender not associated with their birth sex, but who does not identify as a transsexual. transition: n. refers to the process a gender variant person undergoes when changing their bodily appearance. transphobia: n. irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against transgender individuals. transsexual: n. person with the urge to belong to another sex that may be carried to the point of undergoing surgery to modify the sex organs to mimic another sex. transvestite: n. anyone who regularly dresses in clothing associated with another gender. tribadism: n. a sexual practice where two women rub their external genitalia against one another for clitoral stimulation. See also scissor sisters. twink: n. acronym. Literally, thin white insecure naïve kid. Used as a descriptive term for young, thin, stylish gay man. two-spirit: n. term used in the Native American community to describe LGBT people of native decent. This term originates from the idea that LGBT people have and draw from both male and female parts of their spirit. ursula: adj. n. female member of the bear and/or lesbian community who identifies as a bear. 1989: The AIDS memorial quilt comes to Philadelphia for the first time. 23