The staff of Ohio University’s LGBT Center will be writing a weekly column answering reader-submitted questions about the LGBT community
What do the Q, I and A mean in LGBTQIA? I thought “queer” was a no-no word? Doesn’t RuPaul represent all LGBT people? Why all the acronym variations: LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, GLBT, GRSM, SOGI, QUILTBAG … is this just more confusing than helpful? Now “the gays” can get married, equality achieved right? What … asexuals and pansexuals have their own pride flags? What’s this new name and pronoun thing at OHIO?
When it comes to understanding the complex and amazing worlds of LGBT people, I know there are a lot of questions with responses often sparking more questions rather than concrete answers. Often times my response in SafeZone training or in class presentations is “it’s complicated.”
The LGBT Center is committed to creating spaces on and off campus for conversations on sexual and gender diversities; our goal is to explain why “it’s complicated” is the best answer we can give because it truly is complicated (and queertastically awesome). As part of our ongoing mission to educate and raise awareness, we have partnered with The Post to offer a weekly column on all things LGBT, rainbows and queer.
At the center we are mindful that the world of sexual identity and gender are constantly evolving. We recognize that identity is confusing but we also celebrate the dynamic conversations the confusion sparks. For instance, words like “dyke” and “queer” have been reclaimed by some within the community as terms of empowerment redefining their negative history. We can get married in all 50 states but can still be fired in over 30 states for identifying as LGBTQA.
It’s exciting to see the attention that Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox are receiving and how this is pushing society to understand the differences between sexual identity, gender identity and gender expression. At the same time, however, it also overshadows the realities of violence and discrimination experienced by LGBT people, especially trans people of color (just this year 13 trans women, 11 of whom are trans women of color, have been murdered with these stories receiving very little media coverage.) And this is just scratching the surface of sexuality and gender, it becomes even more expansive as we look at how these two aspects of human identity intersect with other aspects such as race, religion, ability, sex, geographic location, etc.
Each week, the LGBT Center Staff will answer YOUR questions. This is your time to ask whatever it is you would like to know and/or better understand and/or have never had an opportunity to ask. All questions will be shared anonymously in print and we will post responses in this new column as well as on social media. No question is off limits. If it’s problematic or inappropriate, our response will include why it’s problematic and inappropriate. We want this to be a space for all and welcome your questions, curiosities and queries.
So bring it on, have at it, and query a queer.
This column was written by Delfin Bautista, the Director of the LGBT Center at Ohio University. Do you have a question relating to the LGBT community? Email them to lgbt@ohio.edu, tweet @oulgbtcenter with #qaqueer, post to the center’s Facebook page, oulgbtcenter or snapchat them, oulgbtcenter.
