Looks like Tony Perkins and a number of other social conservatives, including Sarah Palin, who will be gracing us with her presence tomorrow, are about to have their Scanners moment. The reason these folks and many others might be at risk for exploding domes lays in the results of a recent study by UCLA Law School which found that over 3 percent of Americans identify as queer. A brief combing of the internets will lead one to the conclusion that America is actually getting gayer, either that, or more Americans are feeling comfortable disclosing their sexuality without fear of social repercussions.
Now, 3 percent is probably a gross underestimation, and given the trend of these types of studies – a 1993 study found only 1 percent of American males identifying as queer – the number is likely to rise in coming years. The study also found that 8.2 percent of Americans have played for the other team at least once and a formidable 11 percent admit to being attracted to an individual of the same-sex. Among other things, these numbers indicate that straight-identifying guys and gals will continue to be hit upon by their queer brothers and sisters for the indefinite future. Most people would agree that one-in-10 odds are good enough.
In any case, studies such as these, when put into proper context, lead to the emergence of more serious questions. Fundamentally, America is probably just as gay as it has always been, and so the increased visibility of the LGBTQ crowd can only be explained by an increased comfort in being oneself. What is important to recognize is that while we have made substantial progress in recent decades in manifesting a more accepting, humane culture, social mores have yet to settle in a position absent of prejudice and discrimination. Look no further than the spate of queer teen suicides over the past year, or even Kobe Bryant’s less than dignified application of both f-bombs to describe Ref. Bennie Adams the other night.
Fortunately, Kobe’s regrettable outburst was met with an appropriate fine and public outcry. The school yard tormentors of the youth that took their lives in recent months escaped such public reprimand and were never taken to task for their hateful and ugly personal slurs. As members of a flagship campus and future members of communities across the globe, it is incumbent upon us to work proactively to call out discrimination and hate-speech at its every utterance.
It is not only attitudes and language discriminating against sexual orientation but also pejorative outbursts and affectations directed toward women and people of color that must be snuffed out. A necessary part of exposing and combating hate in our community relies upon those who know right from wrong; those who know better but choose to remain silent when faced with hate, instead of calling it out and embarrassing the sorry sod from whence it came. Most don’t realize they sound like complete and utter idiots when they make fun of women, people of color or queer folks, and it’s our job to make them well aware of how dumb and insensitive they are being.
Today can be seen as a culmination of work done by many students from across campus, from the LGBT Campus Center to the Shared Governance committee which this year choose to make anti-discrimination efforts a flag-ship effort of the term. Today marks the 10th year anniversary of “The Day of Silence” in its current form. I personally like the option to “break the silence,” since not talking for a whole day is like Chinese water torture, at least for this guy.
It’s always easier to let desultory word-vomit roll off our shoulders, but we aren’t doing anyone any favors by doing so. Discriminatory attitudes will remain pernicious and endemic until they are confronted head on, and a good place to start will be this afternoon’s rally at 4 p.m. on Library Mall. Let’s not let it end there.
To channel Churchill, we must fight hate in the residential halls, we must fight it in the locker room, we must fight it in the bars and we must fight it in ourselves, for the costs of not doing so are too great to bear.
Sam Stevenson ([email protected]) is a graduate student in public health.
