Since the appearance of Spectrum Alliance on campus four yearsago, the University has seen its input on campus, but a debate overgay and lesbian terminology has also marked its existence.
Spectrum’s mission is to educate and create awareness within andaround the campus about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendercommunity. But problems occur when the education provided bySpectrum may not be seen as an accurate description of every memberof the LGBT community.
“The term ‘queer’ is a very controversial term and since thearticles were printed in the paper there has been a lot more talk,”said Danielle Wheeler, a mass communication senior and Spectrummember. “The term is merely a personal preference for some membersof the community and we are not trying to impose it on anyone.”
Wheeler said Spectrum’s mission is to educate the LSU community,and when they explain use of the word “queer,” they merely areeducating students on why some people choose to use the term toidentify themselves.
“Enforcing the term ‘queer’ was not on our list of goals andobjectives for the semester,” Wheeler said.
Concerning the lengthy acronym Spectrum has adopted, Wheelersaid she personally disagrees with adding so many letters toLGBT(QN) because it makes the term arbitrary and defeats thepurpose of making the acronym inclusive.
“No one person’s sexuality is either straight or gay,” Wheelersaid. “Sexuality lies along a continuum and that is what theacronym is attempting to portray.”
Wheeler said when the focus lies too heavily on which terms arepolitically correct and which ones are not, they lose sight oftheir mission.
Wheeler said there are more important issues surrounding theLGBT community on and off campus than fighting terminology.
“If you have a problem with Spectrum then you are free to join,”Wheeler said. “We are not close-minded and we are very open tosuggestions and criticisms. If all you are going to do is complainabout something and not take action to change, then do notcomplain.”
Wheeler said the problem at LSU is that people are becomingwrapped up in the terminology, which is a minimal part of the LGBTcommunity.
“I understand that some people find the term offensive,” Wheelersaid. “I personally would not care if someone called me ‘queer,’but these things are minimal and we have to come together as acommunity to make things change and not argue over pettythings.”
Despite Spectrum’s attempts to bridge the gap between the LGBTcommunity and the LSU community through education and awareness,some members of the LGBT community who are not Spectrum membersdisagree with the organization’s message.
“They are the only official organization on campus and havetaken on a role as the voice of the gay student community,” saidSam Moore, a mass communication senior. “The problem is they havetaken themselves too far and forgotten their true mission oncampus.”
Moore is not alone in his frustration with Spectrum’s stanceconcerning some issues within the LGBT community.
“Spectrum needs to take a step back and look at the wholepicture,” said Beau Danof, a landscape architecture sophomore.”They are very close-minded and do not represent the entire LGBTcommunity.”
Danof said with approximately 3,000 students coming out at LSU,10 or 15 people are not an accurate representation of the LGBTcommunity.
“The term ‘alliance’ means bringing people together fromopposite ends of the spectrum from all communities,” Moore said.”When you make decisions like using the term ‘queer,’ you are nolonger representing
the wishes of the entire community, you are setting usapart.”
Moore said the term “queer” mainly is used in the media forshock value. The popular television series “Queer Eye for theStraight Guy” and “Queer as Folk” use the term to make the showseye catching and intriguing. Moore said if the titles are brokendown to its true meaning, it basically reads as “a different viewfor the straight guy.”
Moore said he is proud that Spectrum is trying to reclaim theterm, but the reclaiming process means they are desensitizing theterm for each other. He said claiming the word as politicallycorrect makes it seem as if the term is acceptable for everyone touse.
“One group cannot dictate what is politically correct for all;society will,” Moore said.
Danof and Moore both said the term “queer” is a contradictionbecause it does not include them in society, but instead sets themapart and makes it seem as if members of the LGBT community are outof the ordinary or strange.
“We are not that different,” Danof said. “We are sons anddaughters, friends, cousins, boyfriends and girlfriends just likeeveryone else. There is one preference that is different.”
Moore said many Spectrum members argue that “queer” is a blanketterm to cover everyone in a sexual minority, but he said a blanketterm is impossible to find.
Moore and Danof agreed Spectrum has done a great job of creatingawareness on campus, but promoting a term like “queer” isanti-productive because it turns people away from thecommunity.
“In a world full of nothing but labels, we do not need anymore,”Moore said. “We especially do not need a label that is asderogatory and divisive as queer.”
Moore said the term may be acceptable to use within political orgay activist organizations, but “queer” still is too offensive tomainstream society, the society the LBGT community is attempting tointegrate their rights into.
“If ever one day the term ‘queer’ is used on the national news Iwill accept defeat. But that will never happen and until it does,the term ‘queer’ will remain a societal double standard,” Mooresaid.
While members of the LGBT community disagree about acceptableterminology, the media can sometimes get caught in the crossfire,leading to much debate about which words should be used.
Keith Darce, president of the Louisiana chapter of the NationalLesbian and Gay Journalists Association, said because lesbians tendto be more integrated in mainstream culture, some lesbians aretrying to reclaim “queer” as a politically correct title.
“Many gay men live in gay ghettos and are more open about theirsexuality,” Darce said. “Lesbians tend to have children more andlive in suburban neighborhoods. I think because women may not be asopen about their sexuality they are not as threatened.”
Darce said society generally is accepting of two women beingintimate with one another because women typically are moreemotional than men. However, when men are intimate with one anothera cultural taboo is placed.
“I don’t think many women have ever had the words ‘queer’ or’fag’ thrown at them in a hostile manner,” Darce said. “Every manwho has ever been called a queer or a fag knew it was meant toembarrass them, hurt them and
to call them out as different in front of a crowd.”
Darce said the traditional meaning of the word “queer” still isfervent in the minds of many gay men.
“You cannot erase the history a word has,” Darce said. “Themeaning of a word changes because a culture has changed. We havenot reached a point in society where it’s meaning can bechanged.”
Darce said as a community, this word may be able to have apositive meaning, but outside the LGBT community, the traditionallyderogatory and divisive meaning of “queer” continues.
The battle over terminology rises to a new level when certainmembers of the community try to persuade the press to adopt theterm to define the LGBT community.
“Journalists must be aware that they are writing for mainstreamsociety,” Darce said. “They have to look at words in a broadercontext because in many communities, both gay and straight, thesewords are threatening and distracting.”
Darce said discussions over terms and definitions are one of themany issues the NLGJA, attempt to attack.
“It is our job to help others wade through this stuff,” Darcesaid. “We recommend the media use language that is clear, accurateand understandable to the average reader and not offensive.”
Darce said NLGJA always attempts to include every member of theLGBT community, but traditionally offensive terms and long acronymsnegates the goal to be inclusive.
“It is fine to use those terms within a political organizationand in quotes, but journalists and the groups pushing these termsmust remember their mission to be accurate communicators to thegeneral public,” Darce said.