By Jaison Gardner
As students’ participation in Facebook grows, so does my curiosity as to why many of my straight classmates find entertainment in listing their relationship status as “In a Relationship with…” or “Married to…” another straight person of the same sex.
For those unfamiliar, Facebook is a free social networking Web site — a sort of ‘Myspace.com’ for the college crowd – where users can interact with other people in a particular city or school. Each user can edit a personal profile with as much about themselves as they wish, including relationship status and a link to the profile of a spouse or lover.
It’s mostly young white chicks getting hitched to their BFF or sorority sister, but I’ve definitely seen the occasional dude jumping the cyber broom with his homeboy.
Being gay isn’t quite so entertaining for everyone, though.
The Courier-Journal recently reported a local gay couple got kicked out of adoption certification classes because the agency decided it was better for a kid to grow up with no parents than with two gay ones.
It wasn’t so funny when eighth grader Lawrence King was gunned down in computer class earlier this year. The 14-year-old alleged shooter was freaked out that King asked him to be his Valentine, Newsweek reported.
I didn’t laugh when I read the “Washington Blade” story of 18-year-old Steven Parrish of Baltimore who was stabbed to death by fellow gang members after they found “gay messages” on his cell phone.
Many LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender) students must hide important parts of their identity from friends and classmates, sometimes leading to social and emotional isolation. Those of us who dare to be out have a range of experiences, some good and some bad. I count myself among the lucky ones.
A 2003 “Campus Climate” study by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce revealed that more than one-third of LGBT students experienced campus harassment within the previous year, while 20 percent feared for their physical safety and more than half admitted to concealing their sexual orientation to avoid intimidation.
University of Louisville’s LGBT students should take comfort in knowing that while more than 40 percent of those surveyed said their university was not addressing LGBT issues, our campus has support services which include the Office of LGBT Services in “The Intersection” (beside the Red Barn), the new Cultural Center and classes like Black Lesbian Lives and Queer Perspectives in Literature and Media.
Seriousness aside, I’m at least a little amused that my heterosexual sisters and brothers find ease and excitement in playing cyber gay for a day or two. Perhaps it’s a sign of changing times in which straight people are finding-or creating less stigma around issues of sexuality. Maybe our generation cares more about how cute a person is than how queer they are.
More power to you.
For those of us who don’t have the luxury of switching our sexuality with the click of a mouse and a drop-down menu, being gay isn’t nearly as entertaining.
