Word: closets
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...question begging to be answered, then, is how best we, as students of all sexual orientations, can help others find their way out of the darkness of the closet...
...very nature of Coming Out Day ensures that coming out is a political act; theoretically, it is an activity partaken en masse, nationwide. It would seem, then, that the posters at Harvard serve more of a political purpose than that of encouraging students to come out of the closet...
Perhaps the most tragic flaw in the current manifestation of Coming Out Day is that we are putting words in closeted students' mouths. Ironically, though, these students haven't even spoken, yet. They may not yet be ready to speak, yet we attempt to lure them out of the closet with posters that portray lesbian sex and read: "We don't enjoy cock at all." And then, to make matters worse, we claim to be speaking for them, to be representing those who cannot represent themselves. Such paternalism is, again, harmful; speaking for closeted students who are not yet prepared...
...What is the value of random, strident and possibly offensive posters? While it is true that existing conceptions of gender and sexual roles must be called into question, it is inappropriate to pursue this goal on Coming Out Day. To challenge an existing structure inherently entails conflict. For a closeted student, inner conflict is a daily reality. Why should he or she leave the safety of the closet in order to add external conflict to that already occurring in his or her mind...
Instead, it appears that the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered and Supporters Association (BGLTSA), or at least its most vocal members, has chosen to forget the pain and uncertainty of the closet and to perpetuate the facade of life as one big party. This is the image we project to the community at large...