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Introducing Queeriosity -JZB 3FDIUNBO Contributing Writer Oh, hey there! My name is Liya Rechtman and I’m the Junior Co-Chair of Amherst’s Pride Alliance and the Co-President of Queer Women at Amherst College (QWAAC — Yes, we know, the name is kind of dumb; let’s just call it endearing and move on.) Queeriosity is a new bi-weekly column where members of Pride Alliance will be discussing sexuality, sexual orientation, gender, allyship and queer life at Amherst College. You may be asking yourself: “What is Pride Alliance?” Pride Alliance is a group for LGBTQQIAA students and their allies interested in getting together to meet new people and to talk about politics, sex and sexuality, healthy relationships and current community concerns. We also do all kinds of different educational, academic and political programming. Did you see the big colorful posters in Keefe this week with information about Two Spirit and Transgender identities? That was us, celebrating and honoring Transgender Awareness Month & American Indian Heritage Month. Do you remember when cake was randomly being handed out outside of Val earlier this year? Pride Alliance was celebrating National Coming Out Day. If you attended orientation events, you may remember a session called Gay Voices (if you’re a first-year currently, you may remember me explaining what “bisexuality” meant). Pride Alliance meets once a week every Thursday at 8 p.m. for a group discussion in the Rainbow Room in the basement of Morrow Dormitory. During Pride meetings, topics of discussion range from the ethics of “outing” someone (publicizing someone’s sexuality where it was previously private) to anecdotes about flirting. Angie Tissi, the Coordinator for LGBTQQIAA Student Support and Services and Advisor for Pride Alliance, also holds open hours for the Rainbow Room from 1–4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. During open hours, anyone and everyone is welcome into the Rainbow Room to check out the library of queer movies and books, have a cup of coffee, or even print for free. Angie can also meet with students about concerns or topics of interest in a confidential setting. When Frost gets too crowded and noisy, I head over to the Rainbow Room just to do my work. It is possible that you (like most people) don’t know exactly what LGBTTQQIAA stands for. Well, I’m glad you asked because it’s not really that complicated. We use that really long acronym so as to try and include all the sexualities, genders and sexual orientations that we can think of, because they all belong in Pride Alliance. Often, as shorthand, you may see us use the term “gay community” “queer community” or just LGBT. So, let’s break this down: Lesbian — women who like women only. Gay — men who like men only. This term actually has a second, broader meaning and can be used to encompass both gay men and lesbian women or the community at large. Bisexual — a person who is attracted to both men and women. Transgender — an umbrella term for people whose gender identity, expression or behavior is different from those typically associated with their assigned sex at birth, including but not
limited to transsexuals, cross-dressers, androgynous people, genderqueers and gender non-conforming people. Transgender is a broad term and is good for non-transgender people to use. “Trans” is shorthand for “transgender.” Transgender Man — a term for a transgender individual who currently identifies as a man. Transgender Woman — a term for a transgender individual who currently identifies as a woman. Transsexual — a term for people whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth. Often transsexual people alter or wish to alter their bodies through hormones or surgery in order to make it match their gender identity. Queer — a person who is not straight but doesn’t necessarily want a label like “bisexual,” “lesbian” or “gay.” All of those terms are also limited in their scope to being attracted to people who are of one or the other binary gender. Queer people may be attracted to people of more than two genders and or gender nonconforming. Questioning — a person who isn’t sure which genders they are attracted to or what they’re sexual orientation is. This one can be a little tricky because it acknowledges the fluidity of sexuality. For a while, a person may simply not know if they are straight, bisexual or lesbian. The process of discovering one’s personal sexuality is a complicated one, so “questioning” can be a useful term for people who aren’t ready or don’t want to use a specific label. Intersex — people who naturally (that is, without any medical interventions) develop primary and/or secondary sex characteristics that do not fit neatly into society’s definitions of male or female. Many visibly intersex babies/children are surgically altered by doctors to make their sex characteristics conform to societal binary norm expectations. Intersex people are relatively common, although society’s denial of their existence has allowed very little room for intersex issues to be discussed publicly. Asexual — people who are generally characterized by not feeling sexual attraction or a desire for partnered sexuality. Asexuality is distinct from celibacy, which is the deliberate abstention from sexual activity. Ally — a person who confronts heterosexism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, heterosexual privilege and so on, in themselves and others out of self-interest and a concern for the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer-related people and who believes that heterosexism is a social injustice. Allies can never be left out of a definition of the gay community because we need and love the support from our straight friends, families, boyfriends and girlfriends. Okay, that’s the acronym, but here are two other useful terms to remember: Gender Identity — an individual’s internal sense of being male, female, or something else. Since gender identity is internal, one’s gender identity is not necessarily visible to others. Gender Expression — how a person represents or expresses one’s gender identity to others, often through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice or body characteristics. And there you have it, ladies, gentlemen and otherly-gendered readers. Welcome to Pride Alliance and the LGBTQQIAA spectrum. Not so complicated, is it?
Five College Events Wednesday, November 14
“Annual Fall Chrysanthemum Show,” Smith College, Nov. 3 - Nov. 18 Smith’s annual Chrysanthemum show features majestic plants in full bloom, splatters of colors and a wave of beckoning blossoms.
Thursday, November 15
“Security in the Digital Age: Are Women at Greater Risk? Building Resilience for Challenging Circumstances,” Mount Holyoke, 4:15p.m. - 9:15 p.m. A panel of distinguished speakers from the fields of journalism, security, and leadership development will discuss the ways in which questions of physical and virtual security play out for women who use media for public engagement, social networking and journalism.
“Patrick Tighe ’89: An Architectural Trajectory,” UMass, 5:00 p.m. Internationally recognized architect Patrick Tighe will trade the development of his award-winning firm over eight years. Hear how he combines new technologies, fabrication methods, construction techniques and building materials to yield relevant, forward-thinking architecture. His diverse work ranges from hand-crafted masonry structures to robotically carved interiors, affordable housing projects in L.A. and ultra-luxurious villas in Morocco, to name only a few.
Friday, November 16
“Faculty Dance Concert,” Smith College, 8:00 p.m. This annual dance concert is always an exhilarating and sold-out evening of contemporary dance. This year’s concert presents choreography by Colleen Thomas and will also include premieres of new works by Angie Hauser and Rodger Blum. Featured is preeminent contemporary choreographer Ohad Naharin’s acclaimed Echad Mi Yodea restaged by Batsheva Dance Co. member Ariel Freedman and performed by a cast of 16 dancers.
Friday, November 16 to Saturday, November 17
“Fall Orchestra Concert,” Smith College, 8:00 p.m. The concert features Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major. The event is free.
Saturday, November 17
“Daughters of Zion,” Mount Holyoke, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. At the third annual spoken word event, the members of Daughters of Zion express their faith, their doubts or any other topic of interest through poetry. This year they feature talented poets from the Five Colleges and Carvens Lissaint. There is a suggested donation of $3.
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