Speak Up, Speak Out discusses gender, sexual identity at forum Tuesday

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More than 200 students filled the Bovee University Center Auditorium Tuesday night for a forum on gender and sexual identity issues.

The levels of attendance and audience participation at the Speak Up, Speak Out forum rivaled forums during the election season, said Merlyn Mowrey, chairwoman of the SUSO organizing committee, associate professor of philosophy and religion and forum facilitator. She said she believed students were so vocal because sexual identity is something that is important to everyone.

“They’re buying us pink or blue before we’re even out of the womb,” she said.

Mowrey said many straight, as well as LGBTQ, students recognize rigid gender roles for males and females as constricting and artificial. She said it is important for students to discuss gender and sexual identity from a perspective other than that of the dominant culture.

“The more variety there is, the more freedom we have to express our individuality,” Mowrey said.

The forum began with a presentation of research conducted by senior sociology major Cody Wright and Mary Senter, sociology, anthropology and social work faculty member.

The presentation, “The Climate for Women and GLBT People at CMU: The Views and Experiences of Undergraduate Students,” revealed students believe they are more “progressive” than their parents on LGBTQ issues.

The research showed most students support gay marriage. However, one fifth of the students surveyed think sexism is a campus and community problem, and most think the environment for LGBTQ people in Mount Pleasant is not good.

Panelist Justin Gawronski, president of Spectrum and Macomb sophomore, said there is a double-standard when heterosexual and homosexual students “flaunt” their sexuality. He said it is important for LGBTQ people to be out in the open because that is how political and social change is made.

Shawn McKeever, a panelist, Mid Michigan Community College student and founder of Transcend, a transgender organization for support and advocacy of gender issues, said people are generally less accepting of transgendered people than gays, lesbians and bisexuals because people don’t recognize them.

“Transgendered people often get left out or left behind because we’re stealth,” he said. “We sit in rooms with transgendered people and we don’t know it.”

McKeever said one way to tell the difference between sex and gender is that sex is biological, while gender is a perception of the self.

“Sex is what’s between your legs, and gender is what’s between your ears,” he said.

McKeever said heteronormative stereotypes try to categorize homosexual couples in traditional heterosexual roles of men and women. He said there is more variety to gender than most people realize.

“People don’t understand a spectrum of gender, they understand male or female,” he said.

Lake Orion senior Kyle Goodall said he attended the forum because, despite progress, issues of gender and sexual identity are relevant today.

“We still live in a patriarchal, classist and racist society,” he said. “The majority of people are heterosexual. If you’re part of a majority or dominant group, it is easy to assume others’ realities because they don’t affect you.”

Saginaw freshman Marie Reimers said she attended the forum because she believes gender and sexual identity issues should be brought to the forefront.

“I feel like they are underrepresented in the college environment,” she said.

Reimers said people should be able to speak up when they hear someone use a derogatory term or make an offensive joke. She said this use of language perpetuates heteronormative stereotypes and behaviors.

“Even though it’s a joke, you’re still perpetuating that notion,” she said.

Andrew Blom, panelist and assistant professor of philosophy and religion said people don’t mean to use certain terms in a negative way, but on some level they recognize that they are using it as an insult.

He said people should point out the implications of using terms in a negative way, so people can think twice before they speak next time.