History in the Making: Leeander Alexander, the First Graduate with a LGBTQ Minor!

Today we celebrated history in the making as Leeander Alexander presented his Sociology Thesis and LGBTQ Capstone Research. The focus of his research was looking at Black LGBTQ students across gender identities, specifically at Colgate. He wanted to understand whether African American/Black LGBTQ students at Colgate felt excluded from the LGBTQ community, or any other social community on campus due to their race. 

The presentation started with some background as to why it is important to understand the intersectionality of different forms of oppression attributed to social identities. Historically and presently, LGBTQ movements exist within a white racial framework which thus excludes people of color who identify as LGBTQ. Leeander found this exclusivity in a specific group on campus as well. According to the people he interviewed for his research, one common sentiment was that the “Queers for Queers” group felt particularly exclusive due to the fact that the white identity was the dominant paradigm. The Black LGBTQ students felt like the group discussions lacked an intersectional framework which made them feel ignored and uncomfortable. 

However, on a more positive note, Leeander found that there are spaces and communities on campus that African American/Black LGBTQ students felt they could freely express themselves and discuss these important intersectional aspects of their lives. The first, and most surprising to Leeander, is the African American/Black community. Historically, there is a huge stigmatization of black homosexuality in the Black community which Leeander connected back to slavery. However, Leeander explained the acceptance of the Black LGBTQ within the African American/Black community at Colgate due to the shared experience of marginalization. It is no secret that Colgate is predominately white, and therefore students of color, whether LBGTQ or not, have a shared identity and understanding of what it feels like to be marginalized. Thus, Black LGBTQ students have found solidarity among other Black students on campus. 

Other groups on campus have also provided an inclusive space for African American/Black LGBTQ students. These groups include The Union, Winning Women, Rainbows, The Women’s Studies Center (!), and The Harlem Renaissance Center. What makes these groups and spaces unique is the fact that Black LGBTQ students felt comfortable to express themselves as well as they foster an environment which discussion about LGBTQ issues, race, and other forms of oppression and stigmatization can be facilitated. 

Although it is great that there are spaces on campus for discussions about the relationship between LGBTQ identity and race, Leeander ended with the message that there is still more progress to be done. He would love to see a physical LGBTQ resource center on campus that would provide a safe environment to discuss the complexity of LGBTQ identities. He also encouraged future research to assess how social class other forms of social oppression play into the lives of LGBTQ students on campus. Overall it was an insightful and informative presentation.

Great Job, Leeander! We are all so proud of your accomplishments. 

-Michelle Van Veen

BB Response: Non-Binary Genders and Trans* Rights

I love talking, and I especially love talking about myself, and I very much especially love talking about my gender and sexuality and the interesting ways my life intersects with the dominant culture.  Today's brown bag gave me and four other people who lie outside the gender binary-- "gender outlaws" if you will-- the chance to educate the Colgate community about who we are and why.  Unfortunately trans** issues are as diverse as the identities that term subsumes, so trying to get through everything in one hour is literally impossible.  So, I'm going to take this opportunity to throw some more information about trans* issues into the atmosphere.

Let's talk about sex.  The fun kind.

We all touched a bit on being read as male or female, and what that can mean in different situations, and some of us made reference to sexuality, but we didn't get to talk in depth about navigating sexual relations as trans* people.  I can't speak for anyone but myself, so I'll just talk about what it's like to be me and how I do.  I don't identify as homosexual or heterosexual (or bisexual, but for different reasons); I identify as androsexual.  The difference is that homosexuality and heterosexuality imply the sex of the object in relation to the sex of the subject.  That is, a woman who likes women or a man who likes men is homosexual, and a man who likes women or a woman who likes men is heterosexual.  But what if you're not a woman or a man?  As such, I define my sexuality only by the sex of my chosen object: men ("andros" is a Greek root meaning "man").  I also identify as pansexual, but that's a story for another day.  I identify as transsexual MTF, and as feminine, so for shorthand, you could say that I'm a straight woman.  It's oversimplifying my identity, but when it comes to dealing with guys who don't necessarily know the first thing about gender theory, it's helpful.  So how do I navigate a relationship with a guy in a climate that tries to destroy any hint of homosexuality in straight men?  Very very carefully.

Have you seen the "Shit white girls say" or "Shit black girls say" or "Shit white girls say to black girls" videos?  If I had to make one for "Shit straight guys say to transgirls", the number one phrase I'd put in there is "sorry, I'm straight", or my favourite phrasing, "sorry, I'm attracted to women".  ......really?  As Sojourner Truth would say, "Ain't I a woman?"  The amount of guys I was interested in who have said that to me is too large for me to care to remember.  In all but one case, my response to "sorry, I'm straight" has been, "me too." and I stopped talking to him.  The problem is that when guys actually know me, they know all of me, including the fact that I was born male.  Which means for straight guys, I'm off-limits no matter what.  My only shot at finding a guy who will like me back is one who doesn't know who I am.

Which is one of the few ways the hook-up culture on campus could be seen as positive, because it gives me the chance to be desired, to be read as a woman and sexually valued by men.  It sounds more than a touch anti-feminist, but at this point, I'll take what I can get.  Once, I was at the Jug (as we do), and I started hooking up with this guy on the dance floor, and it was fantastic.  Long story short (and sorry if this is TMI...oops!) he started trying to finger me, but obviously he wasn't going to find what he was trying to finger, and I'm sitting there wondering "how long is it going to take him to figure it out, and what will he do when he does?"  luckily, we got spotlighted and had to stop, so I didn't have to deal with that awkward situation, but from what I've heard when he was told the next day about what happened he was cool about it. 

The point is there is a fundamental ignorance about how to make love to a transwoman.  Because we equate sex and gender-- and say that all women are female and all men are male-- when a guy finds a transwoman he's interested in, if he gets to the point of having sexual relations with her, it might be really difficult for him to know what to do sexually with her, which completely destroys the masculine imperative to be more sexually experienced than his mate.  This is why we need to revolutionize sexuality in general; because this is but one symptom of a culture where we don't know to ask for what we want in bed.  And if we don't ask, we sure as hell won't get it.

Xavia Publius

* the signifier "trans*" will be used in this article as an umbrella term for all non-cisgender or non-cissexual persons

Brown Bag Introduction: Non-binary Gender Identities and Trans* Rights

On Tuesday, February 7th, the Center for Women's Studies will be hosting a panel of faculty, staff and students who don't see gender as a binary, but rather as a spectrum. The panel will discuss how national policies and laws affect transgender healthcare rights and access to opportunities that many in this country take for granted. This brown bag is also a time to hear individual stories and learn more about people in your life who self-identify as transgender. Come to ask questions or come just to listen. As always, lunch will be provided.


The panel will be comprised of Jamie Bergeron (Assistant Director of LGBTQ Initiatives and CLSI), Andrea Finley '13, Caden Polk '12, Xavia Publius '13, and Kristy Watkins (Visiting Assistant Professor in Sociology)


-Michelle Van Veen

Are Ultrasounds Really Necessary Prior to an Abortion?

A recent article in the Washington Post reveals that the Virginia Senate passed a bill that would require women who wish to undergo an abortion to have an ultrasound and receive a picture of the fetus.  The majority of Virginia’s representatives were once more liberal, but now that there are more conservative representatives, they are trying to redefine abortion laws.  They justify this requirement as a health precaution to make sure that women understand what they are doing.  However, I feel that when a woman comes into a clinic with the intention of getting an abortion, one should believe that she has made the best choice for her life and body.  If she is required to get an ultrasound prior to the procedure, this might make the woman, who was confident with her decision in the beginning, rethink and doubt the entire procedure.  These lawmakers' actions denote that they want women to have an emotional breakdown from seeing the image of the fetus and then decide not to go through with the abortion.  It is insulting to think that Virginian representatives would stoop this low in order to impose their own beliefs on women.  The shocking requirements do not end there.  The bill also requires that women who live 100 miles away from their provider wait 24 hours to get an abortion. Those who live further will have to wait at least two days! The purpose of this bill is clearly not to make abortions safer, but to help deter women from getting them.  In a country where we constantly preach freedom, this bill will infringe on women's rights to make decisions for ourselves and our bodies. 

                                                                                                                                                     Natalie George 

Men Can Stop Rape - An Inspiring Thought and Organization

          An organization that I have recently come across which interests me greatly is the “Men Can Stop Rape” nonprofit organization, whose tagline reads “Creating Cultures Free from Violence”.  Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR) was founded in 1997, and in 2005 launched the “Show Your Strength” Campaign, which encourages men to show their strength in positives ways and to realize that men can be the ones to stop rape and harassment.  MCSR’s vision is “to institutionalize primary prevention of men’s violence against women through sustained initiatives that generate positive, measurable outcomes in populations throughout the world”. 

          I could continue to talk about the organization, but their website does a great job of explaining the reasons behind Men Can Stop Rape and the current campaigns.  I’ll leave you instead with the link to the website and some of the promotional posters used for MCSR.  I am happy to see this organization working to speak to men about rape, going against the status-quo of only educating women about how to avoid rape.  

         The Men Can Stop Rape Website: http://www.mencanstoprape.org/

-Breanna Pendleton