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The Spectator
Race and Sexuality Panel Raises Important Questions
by Jessie Brown '12Features Writer
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, Rainbow Alliance and Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority Incorporated sponsored a panel discussion of the intersection of race and sexuality, a topic rarely addressed. The panel, comprised of students and professors of varying races and sexualities, talked about topics ranging from coming out to the climate at Hamilton.
Coming out is often difficult and uncomfortable, especially in black and Hispanic families, which tend to be very centered on religion.
"My father is ex-military. Both of my parents are Catholic," said Tyrone Evans '09. The combination of a black, ex-military Catholic father and a Hispanic Catholic mother led to a series of events in order to "fix" his homosexuality, including a psychiatrist and a session with a priest.
Beyond religion, some cultures do not grasp the concept of being gay.
"[My father's] family doesn't understand having a pet [animals are for food or protection], let alone being gay," said Mica Warton '09, who credits her "white, liberal mom" for forcing her father to accept her. "She told him, 'You are going to be okay with this.'"
Some cannot even come out to their entire families because they know that they will not face acceptance. Stephanie Tafur '10, has not come out to her sister because her bisexuality challenges her culture's gender roles. Her sister, according to Tafur, is married, owns her car and house, is pregnant and therefore embodies what a Latina woman should be. Her culture makes her feel as though she is "not the right kind of Latina I'm supposed to be."
Though the panelists may have found acceptance with some family and friends, Hamilton does not necessarily accept them. Part of the problem is that Hamilton is so small that attaining true diversity is a challenge. Robyn Gibson, '10, claims that "as a black, bisexual woman, the place isn't ideal socially" and that she has trouble finding people with whom she can identify.
With historically homophobic institutions such as religion and men's sports so prevalent on campus, another issue arises in trying to find a safe space. Warton mentioned that she and others found a small group quickly, but that the group did not grow, and she rarely felt comfortable outside of that group.
The biggest challenge perhaps is feeling safe on the Hill. The panelists had varying responses as to whether they felt safe on campus.
"I think I feel comfortable here because I haven't been in a relationship with a woman," admitted Gibson, adding that she probably would not be comfortable dating a woman here.
Comfort and safety are two separate issues, though.
"I do feel safe at Hamilton, but I know if something happened, nothing would happen," Evans stated. Considering the vague e-mails following threatening incidents, he does have a point. This semester, someone vandalized the driveway of Ferguson, using chalk to write "Fags" and draw an arrow pointing to the building. "[The] arrow [is] a target, and that makes me feel unsafe," Warton said. An RA in Ferguson sent out a notice of incident to only the residents, but no further action was taken.
Warton, Evans, Tafur, and Randall Mason '11 agreed that they find such responses "offensive" and call them "insufficient." E-mails from the administration gloss over the incidents, conclude with unclear warnings and do nothing to bring attention to the seriousness of the incidents, let alone acknowledge that many of them are hate crimes. Such e-mails feel "half-hearted," as if administration sent them out of obligation, Warton commented. While no one was visibly hurt by the vandalism at Ferguson, she points out, "Violence is not always visible, and this is a violent campus—violently ignorant."
Mason's term for the climate of Hamilton is "sunshowery"—sunny because, to the general population, it seems diverse in that there are various races on campus, and showery because they only "accept pieces of me;" his homosexuality is not embraced as quickly as his race. Though Hamilton accepts only the brightest students, Mason described them as "the brightest ignorant people." Evans agreed, stating that too often people "use knowledge to oppress." The evidence of this is clear; in the majority of states in the US, it is still legal to fire an employee for being gay.
Progress comes slowly—"with all deliberate speed," remarked Warton—but it is visible. Evans mentioned his boyfriend's recognition of how different life is for gays today versus fifty or even twenty years ago. "That gives me hope."