Hello everyone! We hope you are having a great break. As part of our ongoing attempts to uphold our mission statement (“to promote awareness about LGBTQ culture and to foster understanding, acceptance, and tolerance through education and activism”), this week we discussed the concept of privilege. Privilege is a difficult topic to wrap one’s head around, so if you have any questions after reading this post, feel free to email us questions at gsa.wra@gmail.com, or ask questions in the comment section below!
Before we begin, we want you to say the following several times: privilege is not personal. Got it? Privilege, in the sense in which we are speaking, is not related to personal accomplishment--you don’t earn the privilege we’re talking about. These types of privilege merely exist in culture.
So what is privilege? Anti-racist activist and academic Peggy McIntosh explains that privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done or failed to do. Privilege affects people differently depending on the intersections of oppression that they experience; oppression is the flip side of privilege, where a group is denied access to something because they do not belong to a certain group. To further explore these ideas of privilege, we put several types of privilege up on the board and asked those that attended the meeting to pick one and we could talk about the ways those privileges interact with us in our every day lives. Below are the ones we discussed on Thursday.
Native English Speaker: As a native English speaker, one is guaranteed to understand all signs posted here in the United States. The Internet is written primarily for English speakers, and a huge amount of literature is either written in English or translated into English. Native English speakers also have the advantage of going to practically any country in the world and being able to find someone able to speak at least rudimentary English in that country--these are all privileges non-native English speakers don’t have in their native languages.
White: White people are less likely to be arrested than people of color, and have access to higher quality goods; ghettos and inner-city spaces are more likely to be considered “food deserts” (low access to nutritious food), for example. White people can choose whether or not to acknowledge the fact that they are white, and they have a much higher amount of representation in different types of media; for example, we could count on one hand the number of people of color in the Harry Potter series. White people are more likely to control conversations, and what is said by a white person is more acceptable--in some cases, a white person could repeat the exact same idea as a person of color, but where the person of color might be ignored, the white person would be paid attention to. This might be because white people have created the dominant culture and virtually erased the histories of other groups in the process. White privilege is a privilege that intersects heavily with other types of privilege, and is one of the privileges we encourage particularly increased awareness of.
Monoracial: People with monoracial privilege--that is, people whose parents are both of the same race--are guaranteed to almost always have their race represented on forms. They never have to worry, if there is no “multiracial/other” option, about which box to tick. Even when there is a “multiracial/other” category, the proximity of “multiracial” to “other” immediately makes those who are multiracial feel like “others” or outsiders.
Male: Men are more likely to dominate a conversation, and have what they say taken seriously. They are less likely to be harassed or sexually assaulted than women; although men are victims of sexual assault, likely in higher numbers than reported, the estimated number is still significantly lower than attacks made on women. They earn much more money than women, and are much more likely to hold positions of power. Their success and achievements are not written as a success for men; this is rarely true for women. If a man fails in some pursuit, his failure will not be chalked up to the fact that he is a man--the same cannot be said for women.
These are just a few examples of privilege. Other types we’ll discuss later include heteroseuxal privilege, cisgender privilege, and Christian privilege. Do you have any of the types of privilege we discussed here? Which ones? How do they impact your daily life? Think about it--examine the ways privilege touches your life and the lives of those around you.
In other news, THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20TH, from 6:30 - 7:45 pm, in Wilson Reading Room, GSA is hosting an ALLY WEEK WORKSHOP. This will be instead of our weekly meeting. We will be playing games, distributing prizes, and there may be sweet treats and something to drink! Please come out, as this is our first big event of the year and it would be a great opportunity to show your support. Bring a friend! We promise it will be a fun and educational experience. You can RSVP to the event here.
We hope the rest of your midfall break is fun and safe, and we look forward to seeing you all Thursday evening!
Sunday, October 16
Friday, October 7
10/6: The first gay pride was a riot!
Happy LGBT History Month from WRA’s GSA! In honor of this month, GSA held a meeting about the Stonewall riots that began on June 28, 1969. We have already posted a blog about the oppressions faced by gay people before the riots, so this post will focus instead on the riots themselves.
For most of our information, we watched the documentary Stonewall Uprising, a great resource that explains the situation through interviews with historians and writers, and oral histories from gay people who were at the Stonewall Inn the night of the riots. Click the link if you’d like to check it out--the DVD is also in the Ong Library, if you’d like to watch it on a bigger screen!
The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar located on Christoper Street in New York City, smack in the middle of where the gay community tended to congregate at the time. It attracted people from all walks of gay life--people in business, academia, as well as middle-class people, but it was most popular with the young, homeless crowd and with many drag queens; it was described as a “refuge” by a man in the documentary. Because one homosexual on the premises classified an establishment as “disorderly”, the New York State Liquor Authority would revoke or deny a liquor license to a bar that served gay people. Seeing an opportunity to make money, the Mafia bought up the Stonewall among other bars and sold incredibly cheap, watered-down beer that was often stolen. Although they often paid off police, raids were still frequent, and in fact, the Stonewall Inn had been raided earlier that week.
Due to the upcoming mayoral elections, there was a police crackdown on gay bars, and during peak hours on the evening of June 28, 1969, police arrived with paddy wagons to make their usual arrests of those found to be in violation of any number of laws that discriminated against gay people and the gender-variant. But as they began to handcuff people and take them out to the paddy wagons, a crowd began to gather around the Stonewall, and many of those arrested were not going quietly. People began to throw pennies at the police, calling them coppers. Sensing the tense mood, the police retreated back inside the Stonewall, along with a reporter from The Village Voice, the newspaper that had its offices just up the street. The crowd began to get more and more violent; in some cases, incendiary devices were reported as being thrown, and at least one group of drag queens wrestled a parking meter from the ground and used it as a battering ram while the police frantically tried to call for backup. When that backup finally arrived, the crowd was briefly driven back but soon pushed forward again. Violent behavior increased, but the riots also took a different form: several people recall a group of drag queens singing songs while doing a kick-line in front of the police.
The riots continued for several days afterwards, with people from all sorts of backgrounds joining in; although they had begun with the drag queens and the poor street kids, representatives from almost every walk of life showed up to show their support. Out of this coming-together arose the gay rights movement; a year later, they would reunite to hold the first Pride Parade, which made its way from Christopher Street to Central Park despite bomb threats and other fears of violence. The event was so momentous around the world that in Germany, gay pride events are referred to as Christopher Street Day. For the first time, gay people from all walks of life stood together against the oppression that had kept them quite for so long.
~
Next week we’ll be talking about privilege and how it affects all of our lives! What do you think about the Stonewall uprising? Do you have any suggestions about meeting ideas? Email us at gsa.wra@gmail.com! Also keep your eyes peeled for information about an upcoming workshop we have in honor of Ally Week! Good luck with the week before midfall break!
For most of our information, we watched the documentary Stonewall Uprising, a great resource that explains the situation through interviews with historians and writers, and oral histories from gay people who were at the Stonewall Inn the night of the riots. Click the link if you’d like to check it out--the DVD is also in the Ong Library, if you’d like to watch it on a bigger screen!
The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar located on Christoper Street in New York City, smack in the middle of where the gay community tended to congregate at the time. It attracted people from all walks of gay life--people in business, academia, as well as middle-class people, but it was most popular with the young, homeless crowd and with many drag queens; it was described as a “refuge” by a man in the documentary. Because one homosexual on the premises classified an establishment as “disorderly”, the New York State Liquor Authority would revoke or deny a liquor license to a bar that served gay people. Seeing an opportunity to make money, the Mafia bought up the Stonewall among other bars and sold incredibly cheap, watered-down beer that was often stolen. Although they often paid off police, raids were still frequent, and in fact, the Stonewall Inn had been raided earlier that week.
Due to the upcoming mayoral elections, there was a police crackdown on gay bars, and during peak hours on the evening of June 28, 1969, police arrived with paddy wagons to make their usual arrests of those found to be in violation of any number of laws that discriminated against gay people and the gender-variant. But as they began to handcuff people and take them out to the paddy wagons, a crowd began to gather around the Stonewall, and many of those arrested were not going quietly. People began to throw pennies at the police, calling them coppers. Sensing the tense mood, the police retreated back inside the Stonewall, along with a reporter from The Village Voice, the newspaper that had its offices just up the street. The crowd began to get more and more violent; in some cases, incendiary devices were reported as being thrown, and at least one group of drag queens wrestled a parking meter from the ground and used it as a battering ram while the police frantically tried to call for backup. When that backup finally arrived, the crowd was briefly driven back but soon pushed forward again. Violent behavior increased, but the riots also took a different form: several people recall a group of drag queens singing songs while doing a kick-line in front of the police.
The riots continued for several days afterwards, with people from all sorts of backgrounds joining in; although they had begun with the drag queens and the poor street kids, representatives from almost every walk of life showed up to show their support. Out of this coming-together arose the gay rights movement; a year later, they would reunite to hold the first Pride Parade, which made its way from Christopher Street to Central Park despite bomb threats and other fears of violence. The event was so momentous around the world that in Germany, gay pride events are referred to as Christopher Street Day. For the first time, gay people from all walks of life stood together against the oppression that had kept them quite for so long.
~
Next week we’ll be talking about privilege and how it affects all of our lives! What do you think about the Stonewall uprising? Do you have any suggestions about meeting ideas? Email us at gsa.wra@gmail.com! Also keep your eyes peeled for information about an upcoming workshop we have in honor of Ally Week! Good luck with the week before midfall break!
Saturday, October 1
9/29: Q&A Redux!
This week in GSA, we continued with our questions from last week, and managed to knock three more out in the twenty minutes we have each week. Before we get to the questions, though, we’re proud to announce that after working through six very good applications, the co-presidents have made a decision about club officers! Our financial officer is Irene Li, and our secretary is Alex Fellows! Congrats to them both! We’re excited to have them on board and see how they can contribute to the club from their new positions. And now, onto the questions!
Is it a reasonable aim to eventually eliminate derogatory phrases from my vocabulary and eventually [for] others to do so?
First we identified what phrases we still hear commonly on campus. These phrases and words included “That’s so gay”, “faggot” and “no homo”.
Mr. Davies mentioned that he had noticed that athletes in interviews, understanding that there would be backlash if they used the phrase “no homo”, now say “pause” instead, as in “I thought you looked really good out there today, pause.”
Many members at the meeting expressed that they thought it was pretty impossible to delete derogatory phrases from vocabulary entirely, but others said they think it is entirely possible to delete derogatory phrases from one’s personal vocabulary, and that the next step then is to try to make others aware of how their word and phrase choices might affect those around them. It’s not necessarily easy to make these changes, even within your own personal vocabulary, but we feel it’s very important to try.
When you’re talking to really super intolerant people, how do you stop from being horrible back?
We discussed several strategies for dealing with people who are unwilling to discuss issues in an open-minded or even respectful manner. Obviously, above all, your safety in such discussions is of the utmost importance, and we at GSA encourage you to remove yourself from such a discussion if you feel unsafe at any time. We also stress the point that by allying yourself with GSA, everything you say instantly comes under scrutiny--if you are an ally in GSA, you must be an ally in all areas of your life. This isn’t a universal truth, and it can weigh pretty heavily on a person, but it’s something to keep in mind when you’re having such a discussion; as unfair as it is, you are a representative of the club.
It was suggested in the meeting that having conversations with incredibly intolerant people is in fact a sort of waste of one’s time--that if they are truly not going to listen to you, you should save your energies for people you can convince. This led to an idea of “tolerance of intolerance”. We also talked about dealing with incredibly intolerant strangers in places like restaurants and on airplanes. In many of these cases, removing oneself from the situation might be of the best interest to all parties, particularly if you can get away.
But in the WRA community, Mr. Ong pointed out, we have a responsibility to better each other, and so having these discussions and calling others out on their behavior and language is absolutely something we should do--not just should do, but must do. This is why we do things like calling out workshops--to arm you all with the skills to go out into our community and make a difference. Yes, calling people out is very hard, but if we all step up to the plate more often, we’ll find not only that our peers have curbed their language, but we have other people around us who can step up too.
Can you explain the correct terms that people generally don’t understand or use correctly?
A lot of basic terms can be found at the Terms 101 post including ones like transgender and crossdresser/drag queen, etc. One specific set of terms we were asked to explain further that wasn’t on that list was the difference between the terms “sex” and “gender”.
In the case that’s being talked about here, “sex” refers primarily to physical body parts, both primary and secondary sex characteristics. In GSA, we’ll often use “gender assigned at birth” rather than talking about someone’s “sex”, because it implies that assigned gender is natural, and that to transition from one’s assigned gender is therefore unnatural. Sex, in this case, is often described as being “biological”.
Gender, on the other hand, is far more complicated and complex. A definition for gender that Ai has come up with is “a categorization denoting a performance of traits, often split up as “masculine” or “feminine”; gender is constructed by culture and then performed by people in that culture”. Long story short, gender is many things: self-identification, attribution, cultural roles. Digging through that mess can be very complicated and complex, so complicated that we ran out of time to properly discuss it, though we plan to have an entire meeting dedicated to sex/gender issues at a later date.
~
Do you have any questions? Suggestions for meetings? Comments? Critiques? Email us at gsa.wra@gmail.com! Get ready for next week’s meeting as we dive into the history of the LGBTQ rights movement and discover why the first Pride was a riot!
Is it a reasonable aim to eventually eliminate derogatory phrases from my vocabulary and eventually [for] others to do so?
First we identified what phrases we still hear commonly on campus. These phrases and words included “That’s so gay”, “faggot” and “no homo”.
Mr. Davies mentioned that he had noticed that athletes in interviews, understanding that there would be backlash if they used the phrase “no homo”, now say “pause” instead, as in “I thought you looked really good out there today, pause.”
Many members at the meeting expressed that they thought it was pretty impossible to delete derogatory phrases from vocabulary entirely, but others said they think it is entirely possible to delete derogatory phrases from one’s personal vocabulary, and that the next step then is to try to make others aware of how their word and phrase choices might affect those around them. It’s not necessarily easy to make these changes, even within your own personal vocabulary, but we feel it’s very important to try.
When you’re talking to really super intolerant people, how do you stop from being horrible back?
We discussed several strategies for dealing with people who are unwilling to discuss issues in an open-minded or even respectful manner. Obviously, above all, your safety in such discussions is of the utmost importance, and we at GSA encourage you to remove yourself from such a discussion if you feel unsafe at any time. We also stress the point that by allying yourself with GSA, everything you say instantly comes under scrutiny--if you are an ally in GSA, you must be an ally in all areas of your life. This isn’t a universal truth, and it can weigh pretty heavily on a person, but it’s something to keep in mind when you’re having such a discussion; as unfair as it is, you are a representative of the club.
It was suggested in the meeting that having conversations with incredibly intolerant people is in fact a sort of waste of one’s time--that if they are truly not going to listen to you, you should save your energies for people you can convince. This led to an idea of “tolerance of intolerance”. We also talked about dealing with incredibly intolerant strangers in places like restaurants and on airplanes. In many of these cases, removing oneself from the situation might be of the best interest to all parties, particularly if you can get away.
But in the WRA community, Mr. Ong pointed out, we have a responsibility to better each other, and so having these discussions and calling others out on their behavior and language is absolutely something we should do--not just should do, but must do. This is why we do things like calling out workshops--to arm you all with the skills to go out into our community and make a difference. Yes, calling people out is very hard, but if we all step up to the plate more often, we’ll find not only that our peers have curbed their language, but we have other people around us who can step up too.
Can you explain the correct terms that people generally don’t understand or use correctly?
A lot of basic terms can be found at the Terms 101 post including ones like transgender and crossdresser/drag queen, etc. One specific set of terms we were asked to explain further that wasn’t on that list was the difference between the terms “sex” and “gender”.
In the case that’s being talked about here, “sex” refers primarily to physical body parts, both primary and secondary sex characteristics. In GSA, we’ll often use “gender assigned at birth” rather than talking about someone’s “sex”, because it implies that assigned gender is natural, and that to transition from one’s assigned gender is therefore unnatural. Sex, in this case, is often described as being “biological”.
Gender, on the other hand, is far more complicated and complex. A definition for gender that Ai has come up with is “a categorization denoting a performance of traits, often split up as “masculine” or “feminine”; gender is constructed by culture and then performed by people in that culture”. Long story short, gender is many things: self-identification, attribution, cultural roles. Digging through that mess can be very complicated and complex, so complicated that we ran out of time to properly discuss it, though we plan to have an entire meeting dedicated to sex/gender issues at a later date.
~
Do you have any questions? Suggestions for meetings? Comments? Critiques? Email us at gsa.wra@gmail.com! Get ready for next week’s meeting as we dive into the history of the LGBTQ rights movement and discover why the first Pride was a riot!
Sunday, September 25
9/22: Question and Answer!
This week’s meeting was very busy, as anyone who had to leave early could tell you. First we voted on the constitution, which was ratified with a unanimous vote by all present. If you’re curious to know the content of that document, feel free to check the previous blog post, where we have it in its entirety!
This week we did a basic question and answer session; upon arrival at the meeting, students and faculty were presented with slips of paper to write anonymous questions that were then selected at random to be discussed. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and could not to get all the questions, but we hope to continue the discussion this week! For right now, we’re going to post the questions we talked about on Thursday below, along with a brief outline of our discussion! Feel free to comment on this post with answers of your own.
1. Do you think that the LGBTQ community is accurately portrayed in TV or movies (take shows like Glee, for example)?
In the meeting, we discussed how representation in media does not necessarily equate positive representation; for example, in an episode of Family Guy, the character Quagmire’s father comes out as a trans woman. The trans* community generally responded negatively to the episode, much to creator Seth MacFarlane’s confusion.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that while there are in fact gay men like Kurt from Glee in the world, narratives are incredibly diverse; not every gay man is going to be like Kurt, nor is every lesbian experience going to be like it is portrayed on The L Word.
2. How is it fair that men can’t have sexual relations with other men and give blood? Shouldn’t anyone have to take an HIV test first?
HIV tests are actually standard for all blood donations, because they can’t be careful enough (if you are exposed to HIV-infected blood through a transfusion, there is a 90% chance you will contract the virus), so that answers the second part. As for the first part, we actually intend to answer this when WRA has its next blood drive! You should know the rule has been relaxed in the UK; if, as a man, you haven’t had sexual contact with another man in a year, you can donate blood.
3. Do you think sexuality is permanent? In other words, how would you explain a married man realizing he’s gay after living a “straight life”?
There are two camps with two different theories on this topic. On the one hand, some argue sexuality is fluid, and so to go from being attracted mostly to men to being attracted mostly to women is not out of the question. This is especially prevalent in the bisexual community, and studies have been done into the fluidity of sexuality particularly among women.
On the other hand, in the hypothetical situation, the other camp would argue that due to the stigma of being a gay man, the man in the situation could just have been repressing his sexuality, or not realized it. What do you guys think about it?
4. Will we learn anything about the relation between chemical balances of the brain and how they affect people’s personalities/sexualities?
Um... we can add it to the list! This wasn’t something that was on our radar, but we can look into it for a meeting sometime this year. It sounds very scientific, which is not something that is Ai’s particular forte, but if you have found any information about it that has sparked your interest, please send it to gsa.wra@gmail.com!
5. When do we plan on once again holding/beginning to work on Broadway Backwards?
As soon as we can get the administration to work with us on a date! We hope to begin rehearsals sometime shortly after winter break. In the meantime, think about what you might be willing to perform for a possible winter cabaret! We will keep you posted on upcoming dates for that.
6. We all know that we should address behavior that slights another--racism, sexism, ageism--but how do we encourage a more welcoming, educated community in general--adults, administrators, neighbors, parents, faculty spouses?
This question is a very difficult one. In GSA, we’ve talked extensively how to call someone out when they’ve said something offensive or hurtful, but how do we as a community prevent such behavior before it even starts?
Education is incredibly important. Being able to talk about LGBTQ issues openly and including such issues in the curriculum, or even as a part of our daily lives, spreads understanding.
In the meeting, it was suggested that visibility is incredibly important--that GSA get up at Morning Meeting and make ourselves as known as we can, to give the signal to new students about the nature of respect in our community. But at GSA we also have to walk a fine line between being visible and being accused of shoving our views down others’ throats. The importance of straight allies here is practically beyond words. Part of why GSA exists is so after the club educates its members, the members can then go out and educate other students. We don’t mean just calling people out; we mean being openly supportive every day of the week. Bringing up issues in class (when appropriate), talking about it in the dining hall, being aware on the practice fields or at Morning Meeting... part of being a global citizen is being able to implement your respect in every day ways, and at GSA we really think leading by example is the best way to bring out others’ respect.
GSA hopes to provide the opportunity and tools for education and acceptance, but in the end, the members of the community must be open to embracing new ideas.
~
What do you all think? Do you have any other questions? Feel free to comment below, or come to this week’s GSA meeting--we’’ll be answering more questions!
This week we did a basic question and answer session; upon arrival at the meeting, students and faculty were presented with slips of paper to write anonymous questions that were then selected at random to be discussed. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and could not to get all the questions, but we hope to continue the discussion this week! For right now, we’re going to post the questions we talked about on Thursday below, along with a brief outline of our discussion! Feel free to comment on this post with answers of your own.
1. Do you think that the LGBTQ community is accurately portrayed in TV or movies (take shows like Glee, for example)?
In the meeting, we discussed how representation in media does not necessarily equate positive representation; for example, in an episode of Family Guy, the character Quagmire’s father comes out as a trans woman. The trans* community generally responded negatively to the episode, much to creator Seth MacFarlane’s confusion.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that while there are in fact gay men like Kurt from Glee in the world, narratives are incredibly diverse; not every gay man is going to be like Kurt, nor is every lesbian experience going to be like it is portrayed on The L Word.
2. How is it fair that men can’t have sexual relations with other men and give blood? Shouldn’t anyone have to take an HIV test first?
HIV tests are actually standard for all blood donations, because they can’t be careful enough (if you are exposed to HIV-infected blood through a transfusion, there is a 90% chance you will contract the virus), so that answers the second part. As for the first part, we actually intend to answer this when WRA has its next blood drive! You should know the rule has been relaxed in the UK; if, as a man, you haven’t had sexual contact with another man in a year, you can donate blood.
3. Do you think sexuality is permanent? In other words, how would you explain a married man realizing he’s gay after living a “straight life”?
There are two camps with two different theories on this topic. On the one hand, some argue sexuality is fluid, and so to go from being attracted mostly to men to being attracted mostly to women is not out of the question. This is especially prevalent in the bisexual community, and studies have been done into the fluidity of sexuality particularly among women.
On the other hand, in the hypothetical situation, the other camp would argue that due to the stigma of being a gay man, the man in the situation could just have been repressing his sexuality, or not realized it. What do you guys think about it?
4. Will we learn anything about the relation between chemical balances of the brain and how they affect people’s personalities/sexualities?
Um... we can add it to the list! This wasn’t something that was on our radar, but we can look into it for a meeting sometime this year. It sounds very scientific, which is not something that is Ai’s particular forte, but if you have found any information about it that has sparked your interest, please send it to gsa.wra@gmail.com!
5. When do we plan on once again holding/beginning to work on Broadway Backwards?
As soon as we can get the administration to work with us on a date! We hope to begin rehearsals sometime shortly after winter break. In the meantime, think about what you might be willing to perform for a possible winter cabaret! We will keep you posted on upcoming dates for that.
6. We all know that we should address behavior that slights another--racism, sexism, ageism--but how do we encourage a more welcoming, educated community in general--adults, administrators, neighbors, parents, faculty spouses?
This question is a very difficult one. In GSA, we’ve talked extensively how to call someone out when they’ve said something offensive or hurtful, but how do we as a community prevent such behavior before it even starts?
Education is incredibly important. Being able to talk about LGBTQ issues openly and including such issues in the curriculum, or even as a part of our daily lives, spreads understanding.
In the meeting, it was suggested that visibility is incredibly important--that GSA get up at Morning Meeting and make ourselves as known as we can, to give the signal to new students about the nature of respect in our community. But at GSA we also have to walk a fine line between being visible and being accused of shoving our views down others’ throats. The importance of straight allies here is practically beyond words. Part of why GSA exists is so after the club educates its members, the members can then go out and educate other students. We don’t mean just calling people out; we mean being openly supportive every day of the week. Bringing up issues in class (when appropriate), talking about it in the dining hall, being aware on the practice fields or at Morning Meeting... part of being a global citizen is being able to implement your respect in every day ways, and at GSA we really think leading by example is the best way to bring out others’ respect.
GSA hopes to provide the opportunity and tools for education and acceptance, but in the end, the members of the community must be open to embracing new ideas.
~
What do you all think? Do you have any other questions? Feel free to comment below, or come to this week’s GSA meeting--we’’ll be answering more questions!
Monday, September 19
The Constitution
Here is the soon-to-be constitution of the club. We are ratifying it this Thursday, so everyone should come and show their support. Enjoy!
Constitution of The Gay-Straight Alliance of
Western Reserve Academy
ARTICLE I - Name
Section 1 - The name of this club will be The Gay-Straight Alliance of Western Reserve Academy, further referenced as WRA GSA or GSA.
ARTICLE II - Mission
Section 1 - The mission of this club is to promote awareness about LGBTQ culture and to foster understanding, acceptance, and tolerance through education and activism. Ultimately, GSA strives to make Western Reserve Academy a safe environment: one that is free of harassment and that offers respect to all members of the community, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
ARTICLE III - Affiliations
Section 1 - GSA will abide by all policies of Western Reserve Academy; the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network International (GSANI).
ARTICLE IV - Membership
Section 1 - All members of WRA GSA must be current students, staff or faculty of Western Reserve Academy.
Section 2 - No one shall be denied admittance to the club based upon race, religion, ability, sex, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation.
ARTICLE V - Voting
Section 1 - All members who have attended at least three (3) meetings have the right to an equal vote.
Section 2 - All votes must take place during a GSA meeting, with at least fifteen (15) voting members present at the time, by a count of hands
Clause i - or if unable to attend, voting members may send in votes via email within twenty-four (24) hours of the end of the meeting.
Section 3 - The Majority is defined as more than half (1/2), and the Super Majority as more than three fourths (3/4), of all votes cast, including abstentions.
ARTICLE VI - Officers
Section 1 - The executive power of the club always rests in two (2) co-presidents who,
Clause i - upon graduation or resignation, will monitor an open application process culminating in an all-club vote for a replacement, requiring a Majority for a new co-president to be named;
Clause ii - may call for a vote of impeachment requiring a Super Majority, if the others co-president’s conduct is improper for a club official. The remaining co-president can then nominate a new co-president who is elected with ⅔ Majority;
Clause iii - and have the power to select, unanimously, club officers as well as remove them from office if it is proper to do so.
Section 2 - The Secretary is responsible for
Clause i - organising a calendar of events throughout the year and aiding in their execution;
Clause ii - taking minutes and attendance and counting votes during meetings;
Clause iii - and upkeep of the WRA GSA Facebook page.
Section 3 - The financial officer is responsible for
Clause i - managing all monetary transactions and safekeeping of the treasury;
Clause ii - and overseeing all fundraising events and grant opportunities.
ARTICLE VII - Amendments
Section 1 - Co-presidents may amend Articles following agreement of the Super Majority, but no Article may be removed in its entirety.
Section 2 - Officers may introduce new Amendments following agreement of the Majority.
ARTICLE VIII - Ratification
Section 1 - This Constitution is binding upon ratification by both co-presidents and a Super Majority.
Constitution of The Gay-Straight Alliance of
Western Reserve Academy
ARTICLE I - Name
Section 1 - The name of this club will be The Gay-Straight Alliance of Western Reserve Academy, further referenced as WRA GSA or GSA.
ARTICLE II - Mission
Section 1 - The mission of this club is to promote awareness about LGBTQ culture and to foster understanding, acceptance, and tolerance through education and activism. Ultimately, GSA strives to make Western Reserve Academy a safe environment: one that is free of harassment and that offers respect to all members of the community, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
ARTICLE III - Affiliations
Section 1 - GSA will abide by all policies of Western Reserve Academy; the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network International (GSANI).
ARTICLE IV - Membership
Section 1 - All members of WRA GSA must be current students, staff or faculty of Western Reserve Academy.
Section 2 - No one shall be denied admittance to the club based upon race, religion, ability, sex, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation.
ARTICLE V - Voting
Section 1 - All members who have attended at least three (3) meetings have the right to an equal vote.
Section 2 - All votes must take place during a GSA meeting, with at least fifteen (15) voting members present at the time, by a count of hands
Clause i - or if unable to attend, voting members may send in votes via email within twenty-four (24) hours of the end of the meeting.
Section 3 - The Majority is defined as more than half (1/2), and the Super Majority as more than three fourths (3/4), of all votes cast, including abstentions.
ARTICLE VI - Officers
Section 1 - The executive power of the club always rests in two (2) co-presidents who,
Clause i - upon graduation or resignation, will monitor an open application process culminating in an all-club vote for a replacement, requiring a Majority for a new co-president to be named;
Clause ii - may call for a vote of impeachment requiring a Super Majority, if the others co-president’s conduct is improper for a club official. The remaining co-president can then nominate a new co-president who is elected with ⅔ Majority;
Clause iii - and have the power to select, unanimously, club officers as well as remove them from office if it is proper to do so.
Section 2 - The Secretary is responsible for
Clause i - organising a calendar of events throughout the year and aiding in their execution;
Clause ii - taking minutes and attendance and counting votes during meetings;
Clause iii - and upkeep of the WRA GSA Facebook page.
Section 3 - The financial officer is responsible for
Clause i - managing all monetary transactions and safekeeping of the treasury;
Clause ii - and overseeing all fundraising events and grant opportunities.
ARTICLE VII - Amendments
Section 1 - Co-presidents may amend Articles following agreement of the Super Majority, but no Article may be removed in its entirety.
Section 2 - Officers may introduce new Amendments following agreement of the Majority.
ARTICLE VIII - Ratification
Section 1 - This Constitution is binding upon ratification by both co-presidents and a Super Majority.
Sunday, September 18
9/15: DADT!
This week we discussed the history of the US military’s policy known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), and the upcoming repeal of said policy. Before going into what was said at the meeting, here’s a quick rundown of important dates in the history of DADT.
1778- the first soldier of the US military (Lt. Gotthold Frederick Enslin) is dishonorably discharged for sodomy
1942- “homosexuals” are differentiated from “normal people” in military training and recruiting manuals; by this time, psychiatric screening is commonplace during the recruiting process. Homosexuality is considered a symptom of psychopathy, and thus gay people are denied entrance into the military
1986- homosexuality removed as a mental illness from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), raising more questions among gay rights activists about the exclusion of gay people from the military
1992- US presidential election in which then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton promises to overturn the ban
1993- rather than overturning the ban, Clinton compromises with members of Congress to create Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
2008- then-presidential candidate Barack Obama promises to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
December 22, 2010- Congress passes bill allowing for repeal, provided the Pentagon does a study on the affects of such an action and the President, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff approve the study
July 22, 2011- President Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Admiral Michael Mullen (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) approve a study provided by the Pentagon which says the repeal would have no long-lasting negligable effects on the US military
September 20, 2011- DADT is officially repealed
DADT is offically known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass. In essence, the military no longer asks in interviews if a person is gay, and those service members who are gay are obligated to remain in the closet. They will not be outed unless a fellow service member has “credible information”, and the military will not tolerate any harassment. The policy has worked over the past seventeen years with varying levels of success; in fact, Don’t Harass wasn’t added until 1999, after the death of PFC Barry Winchell, who was dating a trans woman at the time of his brutal murder by a member of his unit.
While the repeal of DADT is clearly a celebration for the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, it also raises several questions about how the military will deal with several issues. One argument against the repeal deals with unit cohesion; opponents argue that a unit cannot bond together if there is fear that the person in the bunk next to them is thinking about them sexually. The safety of out service members is also a question that was raised in the meetings. One possible solution was to separate units between accepting and non-accepting members, to create as little friction as possible, but several questions about unit cohesion arose from this as well. Either way it will be interesting to see how the military handles the transition after this week.
Do you have any comments? Questions? How do you think the military should handle this transition? Comment below or email us at gsa.wra@gmail.com with your thoughts!
REMINDERS
- The deadline for leadership opportunities within GSA has been EXTENDED to MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, at 3:15 PM, with your application turned into either of the co-presidents’ open mailboxes in Seymour or emailed to gsa.wra@gmail.com. If you are interested in applying but have not yet received an application from us, PLEASE EMAIL AI MILLER ASAP at millerm@wra.net.
- This might be a little redundant, but make sure you’re checking the Facebook page and the blog as frequently as possible to receive updates about upcoming meetings and recaps about meetings you may have missed!
1778- the first soldier of the US military (Lt. Gotthold Frederick Enslin) is dishonorably discharged for sodomy
1942- “homosexuals” are differentiated from “normal people” in military training and recruiting manuals; by this time, psychiatric screening is commonplace during the recruiting process. Homosexuality is considered a symptom of psychopathy, and thus gay people are denied entrance into the military
1986- homosexuality removed as a mental illness from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), raising more questions among gay rights activists about the exclusion of gay people from the military
1992- US presidential election in which then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton promises to overturn the ban
1993- rather than overturning the ban, Clinton compromises with members of Congress to create Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
2008- then-presidential candidate Barack Obama promises to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
December 22, 2010- Congress passes bill allowing for repeal, provided the Pentagon does a study on the affects of such an action and the President, Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff approve the study
July 22, 2011- President Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Admiral Michael Mullen (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) approve a study provided by the Pentagon which says the repeal would have no long-lasting negligable effects on the US military
September 20, 2011- DADT is officially repealed
DADT is offically known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass. In essence, the military no longer asks in interviews if a person is gay, and those service members who are gay are obligated to remain in the closet. They will not be outed unless a fellow service member has “credible information”, and the military will not tolerate any harassment. The policy has worked over the past seventeen years with varying levels of success; in fact, Don’t Harass wasn’t added until 1999, after the death of PFC Barry Winchell, who was dating a trans woman at the time of his brutal murder by a member of his unit.
While the repeal of DADT is clearly a celebration for the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, it also raises several questions about how the military will deal with several issues. One argument against the repeal deals with unit cohesion; opponents argue that a unit cannot bond together if there is fear that the person in the bunk next to them is thinking about them sexually. The safety of out service members is also a question that was raised in the meetings. One possible solution was to separate units between accepting and non-accepting members, to create as little friction as possible, but several questions about unit cohesion arose from this as well. Either way it will be interesting to see how the military handles the transition after this week.
Do you have any comments? Questions? How do you think the military should handle this transition? Comment below or email us at gsa.wra@gmail.com with your thoughts!
REMINDERS
- The deadline for leadership opportunities within GSA has been EXTENDED to MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, at 3:15 PM, with your application turned into either of the co-presidents’ open mailboxes in Seymour or emailed to gsa.wra@gmail.com. If you are interested in applying but have not yet received an application from us, PLEASE EMAIL AI MILLER ASAP at millerm@wra.net.
- This might be a little redundant, but make sure you’re checking the Facebook page and the blog as frequently as possible to receive updates about upcoming meetings and recaps about meetings you may have missed!
Friday, September 9
9/8: LGBTQ 101!
This week, we did a basic rundown of terms. The terms fall into four categories: sexuality, slurs, gender and “other.” Below we’ve taken all the terms we talked about and defined each of them!
Sexuality
- gay: identifies a person who experiences same-gender attraction
- lesbian: identifies a female-identified person who experiences same-gender attraction
- bisexual: identifies a person who experiences attraction to two genders (NOT necessarily male and female)
- pansexual: identifies a person who experiences attraction to others regardless of gender
- asexual (ace): a person who experiences little to no attraction to others
Slurs
- faggot: a slur describing feminine or gay men
- dyke: a slur (sometimes also used as a self-identifier) to describe a lesbian or a masculine woman
- whore/slut: slurs referring to a sexually promiscuous person, primarily those who are female-identified
- tranny: a slur referring primarily to trans women; occasionally used as a self-identifier by trans*-identified people
- breeder: an obscure slur used in reference to straight people
Gender
- gender binary: the concept of gender as only two genders, male and female
- transgender: identifies those not comfortable living with their assigned gender
- trans man/trans woman: a man or woman who is trans; trans men were female-identified at birth but self-identify as men, while trans women were identified as male at birth but self-identify as women
- non-binary/genderqueer: refers to those who identify outside the binary or as a mix of both male and female
- cisgender: refers to those comfortable living as their gender assigned at birth
Other
- intersex: refers to a person whose genetic/chromosomal/physical makeup does not clearly fit societal standards of male or female
- queer: an umbrella term to describe non-straight or non-cisgender people; can be used as a slur by non-queer-identified people
- crossdressing/drag queen/drag king: crossdressing is the wearing of clothes associated with a gender that is seen as different than the one ususally presented by the dresser; drag is recognized as performance-based crossdressing
- passing: the ability to present oneself, and be accepted as, a member of a different social group
- ally: ALL OF YOU!
Hopefully that was helpful! All of these terms are very important to know and we will be building on them, so make sure you have them down. If you have any questions, feel free to email us a question at gsa.wra@gmail.com.
REMINDERS
- Officer applications are due Saturday (TOMORROW) at noon!
- TIE-DYEING is THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th, at the TENNIS COURTS, from 1-3 pm. Remember to bring $1. Boarders, if you need a t-shirt, email us using the GSA email account ASAP-- before noon tomorrow!
Thanks to all those who came to the meeting! Another special shout-out goes to Lindsey Johnson who brought rainbow cupcakes to Club Expo--they were a hit!
Sexuality
- gay: identifies a person who experiences same-gender attraction
- lesbian: identifies a female-identified person who experiences same-gender attraction
- bisexual: identifies a person who experiences attraction to two genders (NOT necessarily male and female)
- pansexual: identifies a person who experiences attraction to others regardless of gender
- asexual (ace): a person who experiences little to no attraction to others
Slurs
- faggot: a slur describing feminine or gay men
- dyke: a slur (sometimes also used as a self-identifier) to describe a lesbian or a masculine woman
- whore/slut: slurs referring to a sexually promiscuous person, primarily those who are female-identified
- tranny: a slur referring primarily to trans women; occasionally used as a self-identifier by trans*-identified people
- breeder: an obscure slur used in reference to straight people
Gender
- gender binary: the concept of gender as only two genders, male and female
- transgender: identifies those not comfortable living with their assigned gender
- trans man/trans woman: a man or woman who is trans; trans men were female-identified at birth but self-identify as men, while trans women were identified as male at birth but self-identify as women
- non-binary/genderqueer: refers to those who identify outside the binary or as a mix of both male and female
- cisgender: refers to those comfortable living as their gender assigned at birth
Other
- intersex: refers to a person whose genetic/chromosomal/physical makeup does not clearly fit societal standards of male or female
- queer: an umbrella term to describe non-straight or non-cisgender people; can be used as a slur by non-queer-identified people
- crossdressing/drag queen/drag king: crossdressing is the wearing of clothes associated with a gender that is seen as different than the one ususally presented by the dresser; drag is recognized as performance-based crossdressing
- passing: the ability to present oneself, and be accepted as, a member of a different social group
- ally: ALL OF YOU!
Hopefully that was helpful! All of these terms are very important to know and we will be building on them, so make sure you have them down. If you have any questions, feel free to email us a question at gsa.wra@gmail.com.
REMINDERS
- Officer applications are due Saturday (TOMORROW) at noon!
- TIE-DYEING is THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th, at the TENNIS COURTS, from 1-3 pm. Remember to bring $1. Boarders, if you need a t-shirt, email us using the GSA email account ASAP-- before noon tomorrow!
Thanks to all those who came to the meeting! Another special shout-out goes to Lindsey Johnson who brought rainbow cupcakes to Club Expo--they were a hit!
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