Higher Education LGBT Articles Digest #124
1. DAILY NORTHWESTERN (Northwestern
University) Prof's book challenges opinions of human sexuality; Bailey tackles
sensitive transsexuality issues; some find his views offensive
2. DAILY KANSAN Queers and Allies' Pride Week accents family
3. DAILY KANSAN Freshman gets involved with Pride Week
4. ASSOCIATED PRESS Michigan: Grand Valley State University
president rejects benefits proposal
5. CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION The Foundation for Individual
Rights in Education begins filing lawsuits against universities and colleges
that have "speech codes," many of which contain prohibitions against
hate speech targeting LGBT campus communities.
6. ATHENS NEWS (Ohio) Activist Leslie Feinberg tells Ohio
University crowd: People are too wrapped up in gender
7. DAILY KANSAN Queer group revives idea to establish
fraternity
8. THE GOVERNOR OF KANSAS has vetoed a provision in a budget
bill that would have cut some $3.1-million in state funds to the University of
Kansas because of its use of what were called "obscene" materials in
a popular undergraduate course
9. MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE University of Minnesota holds first
of what are sure to be hundreds, perhaps thousands of annual Lavender
Graduation celebrations this spring
10. BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS (Kentucky) Den Renzi, cast
member on MTV show "The Real World: Miami," talks openly about his
sexuality at "Diversity Rocks" at Western Kentucky University
11. STANFORD DAILY Psychology lecture by self-proclaimed gender
identity expert Michael Bailey lacks sensitivity to sexual orientation
12. PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER St. Joseph's affirms offer to
Santorum; Despite faculty and student opposition, the university did not
rescind an invitation to the senator to speak at graduation
13. DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS Report cites rise in attacks on
young gays 18-years and younger
#1
Daily Northwestern, April 21, 2003
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
( http://www.dailynorthwestern.com )
http://www.dailynorthwestern.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/21/3ea39785e6cef
PROF'S BOOK CHALLENGES OPINIONS OF HUMAN SEXUALITY
BAILEY TACKLES SENSITIVE TRANSSEXUALITY ISSUES; SOME FIND HIS VIEWS
OFFENSIVE
By Sarah Dreier and Kevin Anderson
The cover of his book features a muscular
male leg wearing sparkling
high heels, but psychology Prof. J. Michael Bailey never has been afraid to
challenge traditional perspectives of men and women in society.
In his first book, "The Man Who
Would Be Queen," Bailey tackles
sensitive issues about gay men and transsexuals. He said he realizes the
book might be offensive to some, but that doesn't mean he should back down.
"I think the book is intentionally
controversial," Bailey said. "I
write about things that matter and that people are uncomfortable with.
The
cover (as well as the book) is meant to be provocative."
Bailey said he became interested in
studying homosexuality during a
psychology sexuality class in graduate school and began his Northwestern
career by studying the genetics of homosexuality.
"The Man Who Would Be Queen"
encapsulates much of Bailey's research.
He began writing the 256-page book in 1998 but completed the majority of it
last summer. The book, published in March, focuses almost entirely on
male
sexuality. Bailey, who teaches human sexuality at NU, admits he's
"increasingly aware" that he doesn't comprehend female sexuality.
The chapters in Bailey's book, such as
"The Boy Who Would Be
Princess" and "The Man He Might Become," discuss complicated
issues such as
gay femininity in an straight way.
Weinberg sophomore Liz Hook said she
thought Bailey's discussion of
complicated issues made the topics brought up in human sexuality class seem
more real.
"(Bailey) made topics that are
usually kind of taboo in regular
American culture seem sort of like a natural part of life," said Hook,
who
took Bailey's class during Winter Quarter. "He was so open about
everything
and so were the guest lecturers. That made it easier for other
people."
Bailey asserts in his book that there are
two types of male-to-female
transsexuals - highly feminine gay men and men who are neither gay nor
feminine. Members of this second group, known as autogynepheliacs,
change
sexes because they are aroused by the idea of themselves as women, Bailey
said.
The rationale behind the second type of
transsexual, as well as
Bailey's desire to place all transsexuals into one of the two categories,
has led to heated debate. Lynn Conway, a male-to-female transsexual and
former engineering professor at the University of Michigan, said Bailey's
conclusions are both false and offensive.
"In the process of investigating
Bailey's work on transsexualism, we
do not learn anything about transsexualism," Conway said.
"Instead we begin
to see more clearly all that is wrongheaded with the current scientific and
social stereotyping of transsexual people."
But Bailey said he thinks people in the
second group of transsexuals
are upset with his findings because they do not like being classified as
autogynepheliacs.
"A lot of people think there is
something weird about (being an
autogynepheliac) and it is a narcissistic blow," Bailey said.
"I am very
sympathetic to transsexuals. I like these people, except for the people
who
hate me - they scare me."
Bailey maintains he has scientific data
to support the existence of
autogynepheliacs. Bailey has conducted numerous tests in which arousal
to
different stimuli is measured and analyzed. Even though members of that
transsexual group might not acknowledge it, their arousal patterns in the
lab serve as evidence, Bailey said.
"I am not rejecting the claims (of
transsexuals) for no reason," he
said. "There is good scientific research that says you should
believe me
and not them."
Bailey's topic of gay femininity also has
attracted criticism. When
he talked to the Emory University gay and lesbian alliance last week, many
listeners had a problem with the idea that something could be reliably
called either male or female, a concept Bailey accepts in his book and uses
to categorize gay men.
Bailey said he does not conform to the
politically correct tendency
to pretend there is no difference between men and women.
"Different doesn't mean that men are
better than women or that women
are better than men," Bailey said. "To say that gay men are
feminine is not
meant in any way to be offensive."
Although the book has offended some
members of the gay and
transsexual communities, others have been more receptive. At Outwrite
Books, an Atlanta-based bookstore and café catering to gays and lesbians,
Bailey said he was well received by an audience of mostly gay men.
"They were a more entertained and
sympathetic audience," Bailey said.
"Although they felt a little upset about (the notion of being feminine),
they were willing to accept the idea of femininity in gay men."
Weinberg sophomore Gwen Casebeer, who
took Bailey's human sexuality
class and read part of the book, said she understands how male and female
stereotypes help Bailey illustrate his findings.
"I think if you are being very
technical or (politically correct) you
could say it is stereotyping men and women," she said. "I
don't know how
else he could make his point without using these stereotypes."
Although "The Man Who Would Be
Queen" has been the subject of
controversy, Bailey said he also thinks it has the potential to change minds
and help readers comprehend the reason behind his categorizations of men and
women.
"A lot of stereotypes are begging
for an answer," Bailey said.
"Unless we acknowledge them, we can't answer them."
#2
Daily Kansan, April 21, 2003
University of Kansas
Stauffer-Flint, Lawrence, KS, 66045
(Fax: 785-843-4512 ) (E-Mail: opinion@kansan.com )
( http://www.kansan.com/ )
http://www.kansan.com/stories.asp?id=200304210007
QUEERS AND ALLIES' PRIDE WEEK ACCENTS FAMILY
By Henry C. Jackson, Kansan staff writer
Members of Queers and Allies want to add a new definition to the word family
this week.
"Family is not necessarily a father,
a mother and the children," said
Sarah Burris, head of Queers and Allies support group. "A family is
a group
of people who cares enough about a group of people to get together."
Queers and Allies will celebrate Pride
Week this week in an effort to
come together, celebrate tolerance and increase education about gay and
lesbian issues. The theme of this year´s Pride Week is "Focus on
the
Family."
Members of the organization have been
planning the event since
mid-fall. It is the group's most high-profile event.
"It's one of those things where it's
our opportunity to expose KU to
more diversity," Burris said.
Burris, Lawrence junior, said pride week
would offer the opportunity
to break down stereotypes of gay and lesbian people presented by the media.
"Situations aren't always going to
be easy," Burris said. "We're
just focusing on who we are."
Pride Week´s activities include lectures
on bisexuality and state
sodomy laws and a march for gay rights.
"We're committed to educating
ourselves and others to the issues we
face," said Patrick Ross, Queers and Allies director. "So
we've planned a
lot of education events. The whole week is an education
opportunity."
Ross, Topeka senior, said there were
still a lot of queer people who
weren´t used to being gay.
"It´s basically an open invitation
to come out and feel comfortable
and to show that there's a community here to help queer students succeed at
KU," Ross said.
As has become a custom, Pride Week also
will feature the 10th annual
"Brown Bag Drag," a lunchtime display of cross dressers.
Burris said this
was the event she looked forward to the most.
"I love the drag show because it
brings a group of people together
that don't normally come together," she said. "Even though a
lot of our
events are really political and we've got a lot of serious things going on
this week, this is a thing that's just going to be about having fun."
Ross said he was also looking forward to
the drag show, particularly
because it brought in people who might not otherwise pay attention to Queers
and Allies.
"I think it brings a lot of people
because it's the most outrageous
event," he said. "Straight people come to see what a drag
queen looks like.
It's just kind of a celebration of the ludicrous."
For a full scheule of Pride week events,
visit www.ku.edu/~qanda/.
- Edited by Anne Mantey
#3
Daily Kansan, April 23, 2003
University of Kansas
Stauffer-Flint, Lawrence, KS, 66045
(Fax: 785-843-4512 ) (E-Mail: opinion@kansan.com )
( http://www.kansan.com/ )
http://www.kansan.com/stories.asp?id=200304230015
FRESHMAN GETS INVOLVED WITH PRIDE WEEK
By Megan Hickerson, Kansan staff writer
Christopher Entwhistle helps bridge the
gap between the gay community
and the community at large.
The Palatine, Ill., freshman is the
Queers and Allies student senator
at the University of Kansas. Entwhistle spends 20 hours a week in the
Queers and Allies´ office and has been preparing events for Pride Week.
He
has helped plan events such as an open forum on homosexuality and religion
and the Brown Bag Drag Show on Friday.
"The drag show is so popular because
it's so outlandish," Entwhistle
said. "It's also a good way for students to get out of
classes."
Entwhistle said that the Lawrence
community was accepting and
diverse. He said that in his Chicago suburb hometown, he turned a few
heads
when he came out his sophomore year of high school.
"Anyone who didn't know anyone else
that was gay was pretty
surprised," he said. "I grew up being Catholic and a Boy
Scout."
Although his mom needed some time to get
used to the idea of having a
gay son, Entwhistle's younger brother disowned him for nine months.
"He eventually told me that it's not
that I was gay, it was that I
didn't tell him first," Entwhistle said. "That meant so much
to me to hear
him say that."
Entwhistle's mom and brother are both
coming to Lawrence for the
weekend to celebrate his birthday and to attend some of the Pride Week
events that he's been planning.
"I think the drag show will be a big
shock to them," he said.
Student Body Vice President-elect
Catherine Bell appreciates
Entwhistle's work ethics and cheerful attitude.
"He always makes us laugh - which
the Student Senate office needs
sometimes," the Coffeyville junior said.
Because of Entwhistle's involvement in
the Student Senate and the
Queers and Allies office, he was one of three nominated to be KU Queer
Activist of the Year.
The winner will be announced on May 8.
. Edited by Anne Mantey
#4
Associated Press, April 23, 2003
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1245444&nav=0RceFOf1
GRAND VALLEY STATE PRESIDENT REJECTS BENEFITS PROPOSAL
Allendale, Michigan - The president of Grand
Valley State University
says he won't support efforts to secure benefits for employees' same-sex
partners.
President Mark Murray announced his
decision not to recommend a
policy change at yesterday's meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Faculty members have been fighting for
such benefits for years. The
faculty senate forwarded a same-sex benefits proposal to Murray earlier this
month.
Psychology department chairman Robert
Hendersen says he's deeply
disappointed that Grand Valley State will remain a trailing university
rather than a leading one. He says the issue won't go away.
University Academic Senate President
Cliff Welch says he'll ask
senate members how they want to respond. The senate could take its
proposal
directly to the board.
#5
The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 24, 2003
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/04/2003042402n.htm
CAMPAIGN AGAINST CAMPUS SPEECH CODES BEGINS WITH A LAWSUIT AGAINST
SHIPPENSBURG U.
By Beth Mcmurtrie
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed a lawsuit on Tuesday
against Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, kicking off what its leaders
say is a new national effort to rid public colleges and universities of
policies that restrict student speech.
"This is the opening salvo," said Thor L. Halvorssen, executive
director of FIRE, as the campus free-speech advocacy group is known. "We
are going to bring them all down. We are hereby declaring war on speech codes
at public universities."
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, Pa., on behalf of
two students listed as John and Jane Doe, charges that Shippensburg's policies
governing student conduct threaten constitutionally protected speech and, as
such, violate the students' First Amendment rights. The lawsuit alleges that
the policies are vague, are overbroad, and discriminate on the basis of
religious and political viewpoint. Among other examples, it cites the
university's Code of Conduct, which states that the university does not
consider words or actions that are "inflammatory, demeaning, or harmful
to others" as deserving of protection.
The complaint further alleges that those broad restrictions have had a
"chilling effect on the plaintiffs' rights to freely and openly engage in
appropriate discussions of their theories, ideas, and religious and/or
political beliefs." The plaintiffs seek an injunction restraining the
university from enforcing all speech-restrictive policies, plus unspecified
monetary damages.
The university, which received word of the lawsuit on Wednesday, issued a
statement saying that it "strongly and vigorously defends the right of
free speech." But, it added, "We do have expectations that our
students will conduct themselves in a civil manner that allows them to express
their opinions without interfering with the rights of others." It did not
comment directly on the lawsuit's claims. Peter M. Gigliotti, Shippensburg's
director of communications, said the university had no further comment.
Mr. Halvorssen said FIRE plans to help file lawsuits "in every district,
in every circuit in the country." More than 50 lawyers, he said, have
already signed on to work on the cases pro bono, along with a dozen
public-interest legal foundations. "We are hoping to have eight lawsuits
filed in the next six months."
FIRE also plans to create an online database of speech policies at both public
and private universities. The Web site, which the group expects to be
operating by May, will allow users to review speech policies at various
universities and will give the policies one of three ratings. A green light
will indicate that speech is nominally protected. A yellow light will indicate
that the university's policies may be used to restrict speech. Red will
indicate clear restrictions on speech.
Mr. Halvorssen said that more than two-thirds of all public colleges and
universities have speech codes that are unconstitutional. He said he could not
offer a simple definition of what is unconstitutional because colleges
restrict speech in many ways, through pluralism statements, tolerance
statements, e-mail policies, and the like. "They do not have the guts to
call them what they are: speech codes," he said.
The lawsuit marks a new approach for FIRE, which typically works on individual
cases where it believes a person's civil liberties are being threatened. Alan
Charles Kors, president of FIRE, says multiple lawsuits will be more effective
in dismantling restrictive speech policies: "It is not efficient to
proceed case by case, outrage by outrage, for the next hundred years. ... We
want to bring down unconstitutional speech codes nationally. We want the law
to pronounce on this, and we want American society to impose its protections
on the public universities and colleges it subsidizes."
Mr. Kors said that Shippensburg was chosen as the first case in part because
its policies are representative of a large number of universities.
One longtime opponent of speech codes said he supports FIRE's goal but
questions its strategy. Robert M. O'Neil, director of the Thomas Jefferson
Center for the Protection of Free Expression and a law professor at the
University of Virginia, said that even at the height of the speech-code
"frenzy," in the late 1980s and early 1990s, only about 200
institutions adopted the kinds of speech codes that were ultimately struck
down by federal courts for being overly broad and unconstitutional. Most
colleges, he said, simply have policies designed to prevent harassment that
could potentially be applied to student speech.
"I just can't believe there are anything like that number of genuine
speech codes," Mr. O'Neil said of FIRE's assertion that more than
two-thirds of universities have such policies. "If all they're talking
about are policies focused on harassment which could conceivably be applied to
student speech but never have been, that really is rolling out the cannon to
shoot a mouse."
#6
Athens News, April 24, 2003
14 N. Court Street, Athens, OH, 45701
(Fax: 740-592-5695) (E-Mail: news@athensnews.com )
( http://www.athensnews.com )
http://www.athensnews.com/issue/article.php3?story_id=12488
ACTIVIST [LESLIE FEINBERG] TELLS OHIO UNIVERSITY CROWD: PEOPLE TOO WRAPPED
UP IN GENDER
By Alexandra DeLuca, Athens News Campus Editor
Well-known author and transgender
activist Leslie Feinberg brought a
message of unity and a plan of action to Ohio University's lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender communities Monday night at the kickoff of
"Pride
Week 2003."
"If there was ever a need to feel
proud for the next 364 days, it is
now," Feinberg told an enthusiastic crowd in Ohio University's Memorial
Auditorium.
Feinberg is the author of three books,
including "Transgender
Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to RuPaul."
As a "transgender," according
to a handout at the speech, Feinberg
lives under the broad term for those who don't fit society's view of gender
or sex as a fixed entity, according to a handout at the speech. This
moving
idea of sex and gender don't necessarily have to follow one's own biological
make-up, the handout suggests.
Because Feinberg lives on this spectrum
of gender, where there is no
either/or, Feinberg does not use the pronouns he, she, her or him, graduate
student Rebecca Hammond said before Feinberg's speech. Hammond works at
the
LGBT programs office.
"Leslie uses the word 'sie' instead
of she or he," Hammond explained.
"And the word 'hir' for him or her."
Before Feinberg's presentation, Amanda
Hobson, a member of the
advisory council for the Office of LGBT Programs, elaborated on why Feinberg
was brought to OU. "Transgenders are not talked about a lot,"
Hammond said.
"But Leslie's writings are so well-written about what it means to be out
and
transgender."
In the beginning of the speech, Feinberg
thanked whoever was
responsible for the unisex bathrooms located on the second floor of Memorial
Auditorium. "Those bathrooms are for anybody who has looked at the
stick
figures on the bathroom doors and said, 'These stick figures don't apply to
me,'" Feinberg said.
While the discussion of bathrooms makes
some giggle, it's just one
way to discuss the gender phobia that is present in our country, Feinberg
added.
"We need to be able to discuss it
(gender) and bring it out of the
closet," Feinberg said. "Everyone here is affected by the way
the sexes are
partitioned in this country."
Feinberg asked the audience to throw out
their definitions of gender
and expand beyond the usual masculine and feminine labels. The speaker
compared this concept to the weather and explained that we must describe
weather in broader terms than just hot or cold.
"If not, how would you know how to
dress?" Feinberg asked.
On the subject of fashion, Feinberg
questioned why it's acceptable
for a model to wear a three-piece suit, but other women aren't allowed to
make this fashion statement.
"Models who don a three-piece suit
are called high-fashion, but what
happens when a masculine female walks down the street in that same suit?"
Feinberg also discussed unity within the
LGBT community, and said the
community should still fight for causes that don't specifically relate to
the LGBT issue, including defending a woman's right to choose.
"It relates to everyone and the
control they have over their own
bodies," Feinberg said.
Feinberg has devoted a lot of time and
effort to the pro-choice cause
through the group "Buffalo United for Choice." The group has
successfully
defended abortion clinics in the city of Buffalo, Feinberg said.
"An injury to one is an injury to
all," Feinberg said.
The way the LGBT community approaches
other seemingly non-LGBT
issues, like the war in Iraq and race, will determine the direction of the
cause. "We don't need an LGBT angle to be against the war,"
Feinberg said,
prompting loud applause from the audience.
Feinberg cited the history of the LGBT
movement as a long struggle,
but there is the possibility for "the kind of unity that says there is
room
for all of our demands."
During the post-presentation
question-and-answer session, one member
of the audience asked Feinberg's opinion on the Michigan Womyn's Music
Festival, a summer festival that has a "women-born-women-only"
admission
policy, which bans transgenders from attending.
"They're selling my book inside (the
festival), but they tell me it
would be better if I didn't attend," Feinberg said.
An audience member paralleled this
situation to OU's own "Take Back
the Night" march where there is constant debate on men's involvement.
Feinberg wished the OU campus luck with
the ongoing debate.
From marches, war and race issues,
Feinberg said it is our own
responsibility to stand up for what we believe.
"We are the ones we have been
waiting for," Feinberg said.
#7
Daily Kansan, April 24, 2003
University of Kansas, Stauffer-Flint, Lawrence, KS, 66045
(Fax: 785-843-4512 ) (E-Mail: opinion@kansan.com )
( http://www.kansan.com/ )
http://www.kansan.com/stories.asp?id=200304240025
QUEER GROUP [AT UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS] REVIVES IDEA TO ESTABLISH
FRATERNITY
By Jessica Palimenio, Kansan staff writer
Since the late '80s, gay, bisexual and
lesbian fraternities and
sororities have been forming at universities across the country.
One of the largest organizations is Delta
Lambda Phi national social
fraternity. The original chapter was formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986
and has now grown to 20 active chapters and five colonies across the
country.
The organization's mission states that it
was formed "To enhance the
quality of life among gay, bisexual, and progressive men by providing
dignified and purposeful social, service, and recreational activities."
In the past, efforts to create a similar
organization at the
University of Kansas have not been successful, but the idea has been revived.
In November, Jimmie Manning, Lawrence
graduate student, took the
responsibility of forming the fraternity, which he believes is important.
Manning said people claimed that gay men
had difficulty connecting
and this was a positive outlet for them to accomplish that.
The organization's mission states that it
was formed "to enhance the
quality of life among gay, bisexual, and progressive men by providing
dignified and purposeful social, service, and recreational activities."
Past attempts to start a fraternity have
failed because of a simple
lack of follow through, Manning said
To be registered as a fraternity by the
University of Kansas, it will
have to be be recognized by one of the three councils that oversee the the
fraternity and sorority community: the Interfraternity Council, the
National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Panhellenic Association.
A request for recognition will be
reviewed and voted on by the
council that receives the request. The fraternity can only apply to the
Interfraternity Council or the National Pan-Hellenic Council; the
Panhellenic Association is composed of only sororities.
Angie Carr, coordinator for fraternity
and sorority life, said past
efforts to form the organization were well received by the fraternity and
sorority system.
"I feel quite confident that they
will be given the opportunity to
participate in whichever council they choose," Carr said.
The group has not faced any opposition
from the campus community, but
Manning said he realized that opposition was still a possibility in the
future when more people find out about the organization.
"Campus really does have a lot of
tolerance," Manning said. "Even if
people don't want to join they won´t come banging down our door."
Charlie Grandinetci, national executive
director of Delta Lambda Phi,
said the organization had been fortunate and had not had negative backlash
at any of the other universities
Manning has been communicating with Delta
Lambda Phi in order to have
association with a national fraternity.
Manning said he was working with them to
establish a timeline for the
organization but did not want to make a commitment to the national
organization until he was sure there was enough interest and initiative from
the student body.
"It takes more than interest to
motivate people," Manning said.
Grandinetci said it usually took about 18
months for a group to
receive a charter from the national office, which would make the group an
official chapter.
There are about 15 men interested in
joining, and Manning said he was
surprised there was a large interest from incoming freshmen. He said
people
were becoming aware of their sexual orientation earlier, before they reach
college.
The group plans to begin having meetings
this summer.
"Everyone is excited to get
everything up and running," Manning said.
For more information about Delta Lambda
Phi go to www.dlp.org.
. Edited by Todd Rapp
#8
The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 25, 2003
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/04/2003042502n.htm
KANSAS GOVERNOR VETOES OBSCENITY MEASURE THAT COULD HAVE CUT UNIVERSITY FUNDS
THE SHOW CAN GO ON AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS.
The governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, has vetoed a provision in a budget
bill that would have cut some $3.1-million in state funds to the university
because of its use of what were called "obscene" materials in a
popular undergraduate course on human sexuality.
"In a democracy, academic freedom in higher education is essential,"
Ms. Sebelius, a Democrat, wrote in her veto message, issued on Monday.
The measure would have prohibited public universities from using state funds,
"as part of a human sexuality class or other similar class for
undergraduate students," for the purchase or display of videotapes
considered obscene under Kansas law. Material is obscene, the provision said,
if an average person applying "community standards" would find it
obscene, if it shows certain sexual acts, or if it lacks "serious
literary, artistic, education, political or scientific value."
Under the amendment, violators would have lost state appropriations for their
department or division. University officials said the measure was narrowly
tailored to cover one class: "Human Sexuality in Everyday Life,"
which has been taught for 20 years by Dennis Dailey, a professor of social
welfare.
State Sen. Susan Wagle, a Republican, who sponsored the amendment, said she
was told that Mr. Dailey had displayed pictures in class of the genitalia of
girls at ages 5 and 10, had told female students to explore their own genitals
as homework, and had implied that a woman leaving class for the restroom was
going to masturbate.
#9
Associated Press, April 25, 2003
http://www.startribune.com/stories/468/3846791.html
UMINN HOLDS ANNUAL LAVENDER GRADUATION
MINNEAPOLIS - About 25 students took part
in the University of
Minnesota's annual graduation ceremony for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered students.
The Lavender Graduation is a cultural
celebration that recognizes the
GLBT students for academic achievements and contributions to the university.
Thursday's ceremony marked the seventh
year since the first Lavender
Graduation. For the first time, the ceremony began with a procession
from
Northrop Auditorium down the Mall to Coffman Memorial Union.
#10
Bowling Green Daily News, April 25, 2003
Bowling Green State University
813 College Street, Bowling Green, KY 42102
(Fax: 270-783-3237 ) (E-Mail: dnews@bgdailynews.com )
( http://www.bgdailynews.com )
http://www.bgdailynews.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?/200304/25+diversity20030425_new
s.html+20030425+news
'DIVERSITY ROCKS' DRAWS WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY AUDIENCE
By Taylor Loyal, tloyal@bgdailynews.com, 270-783-3243
Dan Renzi isn't especially fond of the
idea of universities hosting
gay and lesbian awareness programs.
Renzi, who was a cast member on the MTV
show "The Real World: Miami,"
talked openly about his sexuality at "Diversity Rocks," an event at
Western
Kentucky University on Thursday.
In his best naive-college-student voice,
he mocked people who are
oblivious to the idea that gay people might be sitting next to them in class
or who are walking beside them across campus.
"I'm not aware," he joked.
"I don't see gay people. There must not
be any here."
It's not as if gay people are sneaking
around so no one can see them,
he said.
"Then someone jumps out of the
bushes and says, 'Hey sailor!'" Renzi
shouted, smiling.
On the Downing University Center South
Lawn, amid booths from various
organizations that promote diversity, Renzi charmed a crowd with his quick
wit, making light of issues like prejudice and racism.
"If you walk in and you have a
mullet (haircut) and Sears brand jeans
and a T-shirt that says, 'Don't mess with Texas,' I'm going to have my
preconceived notions," he said.
Amy Basham, a senior at Western, said she
enjoyed listening to Renzi
because he didn't preach. He spoke off the cuff, jumping from one subject to
another.
"It was like talking to your
friend," she said.
Renzi got serious when he talked about
his personal experiences
growing up in a conservative family in Kansas. Renzi realized he was gay
at
a young age, but hid his sexual preference. When he was 18, he placed a
personal ad in the newspaper. He saved one of the replies between two
books
in his bedroom.
"I didn't want to meet him,"
Renzi said. "I just wanted to know
someone else was out there."
But one day, his mom found the letter.
"Her world stopped," Renzi
said. "She (previously) had these visions
of what my grandkids were going to look like."
His father wasn't too thrilled about
having a gay son, either.
Unsure of what to do with Dan, the parents sent their son to a counselor,
whose first question was, "What's wrong?"
"My parents are mad because I'm
gay," Renzi replied.
The counselor told him that if he was OK
with his sexuality, he
shouldn't worry about what everyone else thought. When Renzi left for
Rutgers College, he made a decision that he would no longer hide the fact
that he was gay.
But Renzi said he overcompensated,
talking constantly about being
gay, making sure everyone knew he was attracted to guys.
"I sort of realized that the more
labels I stuck on myself, the more
I drove people away," he said. "The more I shouted, the less
people
listened."
In time, Rezni said he found his place in
the world, and then in the
"Real World." He said he figures he got on the show because
there is almost
always a "mid-Western geek" and a gay person every season.
With him, MTV
got to kill two birds with one stone, he said.
After watching the shows, his parents
came to accept his lifestyle.
They are now spokespeople for P-Flag, Parents, Family and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays.
And even his grandmother told him, in her
own way, that she accepted
him.
One day, when he went to visit her, she
brought out a family photo
album. As she was showing him the old pictures, they came across Uncle
George, who seemed somewhat out of place, even in the album.
"No one ever paid attention to
him," she said. "I wish we would've
gotten to know him better."
Renzi knew what his grandmother meant,
even if she couldn't come
right out and say it.
#11
Stanford Daily, April 25, 2003
Storke Publications Building Suite 101, Stanford CA 94305-2240
(Fax: 650-725-1329) (E-Mail: letters@daily.stanford.edu )
( http://daily.stanford.edu/daily/servlet/Front )
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=11033&repository=0001_articl
e
PSYCHOLOGY LECTURE {AT STANFORD] LACKS SENSITIVITY TO SEXUAL ORIENTATION
By Joan Roughgarden
On April 23, Psychology Prof. Michael
Bailey from Northwestern
University presented a lecture entitled "Gender Nonconformity and Sexual
Orientation" to the Stanford University Psychology Department as part of
its
regularly scheduled departmental lecture series.
The audience, including about 10 faculty
and 100 students, enjoyed
laughing at pictures, quotations and voice recordings of gay, lesbian and
transgendered people. The material consisted mostly of film clips and
animated cartoons. At no point was the audience admonished to assume a
professional decorum. No faculty challenged the scholarship, and
criticism
of the evidently limited sampling was left to several graduate students.
Bailey was introduced as
"controversial," someone whose work has
important implications for law, medicine and social policy and as a
successful teacher whose courses feature "Transsexuals stripping after
class." (First big laugh.) The initial photographs included a
male-bodied
child wearing her mother's shoes, when the second round of laughter erupted.
A female-bodied child was then shown in male clothes and quoted as saying
she "wanted a penis," again producing laughter. In another
example, an
older child in a clinical setting was given the choice of toys and chose a
doll and a wig. She was quoted as saying, "I hate my hair,"
greatly amusing
the audience.
Bailey's main claim is that 75 percent of
gender-variant male-bodied
children grow up to be gay men. Furthermore, gay men questioned about
their
childhood report more feminine identification on the average than
straight-identified men. A similar claim is made for gender-variant
female-bodied children growing up to become lesbians, though with less
certainty. Therefore, Bailey's thesis is that gay men are more feminine
than straight men, lesbians more masculine than straight women and that
transgendered people do not exist as a distinct category but as an extreme
gender-variant "subtype" of homosexuality.
Bailey did not present, much less do
justice, to the many alternative
theories and supporting data that conceptualize gender identity and sexual
orientation as distinct axes of description.
Bailey followed this claim with more
photographs and film clips. Two
gay men were interviewed and the audience was invited to sharpen their
ability to discern a gay male from a straight male - to train their "gaydar"
(his word) and "pick up the vibes." An animated cartoon
showing effeminate
gestures for a gay man was contrasted with one depicting a macho manner for
a straight man, again sending the audience into peals of laughter. He
then
proceeded to show clips of a drag queen and a transgendered woman. The
transgendered woman was described as "an extremely feminine gay man who
decided to become a woman." Bailey would show bar graphs (without
error
bars) purporting to show that gay men and straight men prefer "casual
sex"
more than straight women, and straight women also prefer this type of sexual
behavior more than lesbian women. The transgendered woman was claimed
(though no data given) to be as sexually active in casual sex as a straight
man or gay man, and for this reason had to be considered a gay man
"himself."
The lecture continued with a catalogue of
diagnostic criteria to
include in one's "gaydar" for accurately discerning gay people from
straight
people, a project that drew an approving wisecrack from one faculty member.
Using Northwestern undergraduates as subjects ("Northwestern has a good
theater department") he developed a rating for gay presentation, leading
to
the phrase, "the gayest-rated gay man."
Then voices of two gay men and two
straight men were played and the
audience was asked to guess who was gay and who was straight. Those who
guessed correctly grinned with joy and were applauded by their neighbors,
leading to the conclusion that if a gay sounds really gay, then he probably
is. If Bailey had presented a scholarly account of his theory in
comparison
with alternative theories of gender expression and sexuality, he would not
have had to rely on a comical and vulgar performance to garner audience
support.
Finally, Bailey presented the book,
"The Man Who Would Be Queen," in
which he identifies the other "subtype" of transsexual as someone
motivated
by fetishistic body morphing, a largely obsolete idea that originated with
Ray Blanchard. Bailey said his seminar had avoided the "really
controversial" material that was available in his book. The
official
publicity for the book distributed at the Denver American Association for
the Advancement of Science Convention in February, leads with the phrase
"Gay, Straight, or Lying? Science Has the Answer" and ends with the
claim
that Bailey's conclusions "may not always be politically correct, but
they
are scientifically accurate, thoroughly researched and occasionally
startling." Instead, many are now offering the book as the latest
example
of junk science and are appalled at the National Academy's complicity in the
sensationalizing of lesbian, gay and especially, transgendered people.
Bailey's book is fulfilling the prophesy
of being "controversial."
Gay, lesbian and transgendered people are organizing protests at bookstores
around the country and are writing critiques in every media outlet possible.
To many observers, Bailey appears to be a
rather dumb, stubborn,
dense and possibly deceptive regular guy with some experience in locker-room
humor. Meanwhile, the day before, on April 22, the San Francisco
Chronicle
reported that the California State Assembly passed a bill extending
California's housing and employment nondiscrimination laws to cover
gender-variant people, including transvestites and transsexuals. The
bill
will soon move to the state senate and will proceed to the governor. The
political progress being made by gay, lesbian and now transgendered people
greatly exceeds that in academia, if the homophobic and transphobic welcome
to Bailey given by the Stanford Department of Psychology is any indication.
. Joan Roughgarden is a professor of
biological sciences at Stanford.
She can be reached at joan.roughgarden@stanford.edu.
#12
Philadelphia Inquirer, April 26, 2003
PO Box 8263, Philadelphia, PA, 19101
(Fax: 215-854-4483 ) (E-Mail: Inquirer.opinion@phillynews.com )
( http://www.philly.com )
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/education/5719690.htm
ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY AFFIRMS OFFER TO SANTORUM
Despite faculty and student opposition, the university did not rescind an
invitation to the senator to speak at graduation.
By James M. O'Neill, Inquirer Staff Writer
LOWER MERION - St. Joseph's University
trustees yesterday reaffirmed
an invitation to embattled Sen. Rick Santorum to speak at commencement next
month, despite opposition from faculty and a rare campus protest by students.
About 125 students, along with several
priests and faculty, protested
silently on campus yesterday, holding signs that said "Not @ my
graduation"
and "Senator Santorum does not represent the best in us," as the
trustees'
executive committee discussed the invitation issued back in January and an
honorary degree the school plans to bestow on the senator.
Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in
the Senate, engendered
controversy this week when he equated gay sex with polygamy, incest and
adultery and called homosexuality "antithetical to a healthy, stable,
traditional family."
Santorum is Catholic, and his
controversial comments seemed to follow
Catholic teaching. The church teaches that gays should be treated with
respect, but that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered" and
morally
wrong. In his controversial remarks, Santorum said, "I have no
problem with
homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts."
Still, the protesters at St. Joseph's, a
Catholic institution, said
Santorum's comments offended. "He does not seem to represent the
values of
our university," said junior Kera Walter.
Many students at the Jesuit university on
City Avenue said class
discussion is routinely woven with lessons about the importance of social
justice and of making the campus welcoming to all people, no matter their
ethnicity or sexual orientation. They said Santorum's comments did not
reflect that call to openness.
Senior Guy Palumbo said that while a
college campus is meant to
foster an open exchange of conflicting viewpoints, commencement is
different. "Having an extremist from the left or the right speak
and
politicize commencement is inappropriate," he said.
The Rev. H. Cornell Bradley, a Jesuit and
campus minister, stood in
solidarity with the students. "Graduation is a celebration for the
students, and to have a controversial speaker interferes with that," he
said. "The attention would be taken away from the students'
achievement."
St. Joseph's spokesman Joseph Lunardi
emerged from the trustees'
two-hour meeting, acknowledging the controversy but saying the trustees
chose not to rescind Santorum's invitation.
Lunardi said the trustees thought they
should remain consistent with
the school's commitment to openness. "We're trying to send a
message that
all views are welcome here, regardless of their popularity," Lunardi
said.
"This many not be a popular path,
but if we stand for tolerance, we
can't be intolerant of anyone, and we hope all involved will keep that in
mind."
The trustees also suggested in a
statement that an academic forum,
rather than commencement, is the more appropriate setting for public-policy
debate.
Santorum spokeswoman Erica Clayton Wright
said that Santorum was on a
"private schedule" for the weekend, and that she could not comment
on the
St. Joseph's decision.
Top administrators at St. Joseph's
generated a list of possible
graduation speakers earlier this year, and a director of student life then
polled some students about the list. An Irish tenor outpolled Santorum,
but
when the singer was unavailable for the May 18 graduation, the invitation
was offered to the senator.
Santorum's invitation generated
opposition even before his comments
about gays. Earlier this semester, some faculty expressed their
displeasure, arguing that Santorum's support for capital punishment and for
the Iraq war clashed with Catholic teaching and Pope John Paul II's
statements on both issues.
Commencement speakers frequently become
lightning rods for protest.
In 1999, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Anna Quindlen withdrew as
commencement speaker at Villanova University because of objections to her
support of abortion rights. Quindlen said she did not want to "ruin
the day
or cast a shadow" on the graduation ceremony.
This spring, Holy Cross College in
Massachusetts is under fire from
some key alumni and benefactors for its decision to grant an honorary degree
to Philadelphia native and television commentator Chris Matthews because of
Matthews' support for abortion rights, which counters Catholic teaching.
. Contact staff writer James M. O'Neill
at 610-313-8012 or
joneill@phillynews.com. Inquirer staff writer Mark Schogol contributed
to
this article.
#13
Denver Rocky Mountain News, April 26, 2003
400 W. ColFax Ave., Denver, CO, 80204
(Fax: 303-892-2568 ) (E-Mail: letters@rockymountainnews.com )
( http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn )
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1917000,00.ht
ml
REPORT CITES RISE IN ATTACKS ON YOUNG GAYS
By Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News
Violence against young gays and lesbians
in the state more than
doubled last year, according to a report released Friday by the Colorado
Anti-Violence Program.
At the same time, more victims are not
reporting these crimes to
police or seeking medical attention, said Carter Klenk, the group's
director.
The anti-violence program received 18
reports of hate attacks on gays
and lesbians 18 years old and younger last year, up from seven the year
before.
Hospitalization for such acts of violence
decreased from six to two.
The number of people who needed but did not receive medical treatment rose
from zero in 2001 to seven in 2002.
"What is particularly disturbing is
that at a time when the severity
of violence against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) people
is on the rise, our population is less likely to find help from the
institutions designed to provide it," Klenk said.
Other findings include:
. Bias-motivated sexual assaults and
rapes rose from three incidents
to 19 in 2002.
. Colorado received reports from 109
victims of anti-gay bias, up 11
percent from 98 in 2001.
. Serious injury reports rose from 15 to
24.
. There were 159 reported incidents, up
from 158 in 2001, of
bias-motivated violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV
status.
. The number of people who did not report
incidents to police rose
from 28 to 89.
The statistics were compiled from victims
who contacted the
nonprofit, statewide organization.
According to the Colorado Bureau of
Investigation, 16 hate crimes
occurred against homosexuals in 2001, the same as in 2000.