I've resolved to write an angry op-ed because anger is what I do best.
The Thursday edition of the Daily reported on the handling of quite an unusual situation — the appearance of a few "shocking" and somewhat "offensive" posters over the decaying mural by Shepard Fairey. I'll admit that I'm one of the people who reported these posters to the administration early Wednesday morning. In hindsight, however, I'll also say that I regret the decision and am offended by how this situation is being handled.
In the few hours after I alerted some key people to the existence of the posters, I was already beginning to become annoyed with how the message was being misconstrued. Immediately, people began labeling the posters as anti-gay marriage and potentially anti-gay. Others have even gone so far as to consider classifying them as a bias incident against the queer community at Tufts. BEAT Bias has already mobilized to facilitate discussion surrounding the issues, the administration has launched an investigation to find the culprit, and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgendered, Intersexual, Queer, Questioning, 2-Spirited (LGBTTIQQ2S) community at Tufts have even called the posters a defacement and an affront. I think that these reactions represent a profound ignorance surrounding the issues of marriage and radical queer activism.
I myself identify as gay, but politically and intellectually, I'd call myself queer. This distinction is very important to me, yet many wouldn't begin to understand. So let me explain.
I do not support same-sex marriage. But I also do not support opposite-sex marriage. In reality, I think that marriage itself is a problematic institution which ought to be changed. Even if we do expand marriage rights to include same-sex partners (a measure I completely support), I still believe that marriage represents a limiting institution for heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals alike. The simple truth is that — gay marriage or not — marriage is exclusive and fails to recognize the multitude and variety of different codependent relationships which people experience throughout their lives.
If I were living with my best friend for 30 years, I'd probably want them to be the person to decide whether or not to pull the plug. If I were to be injured for a prolonged period of time and forced to live with my sister, I'd probably want my sister to get some key tax write-offs. If I were to raise a child with a significant other, I'd probably want them to retain custody in the event of something terrible happening to me, regardless of whether or not our relationship is sexual in nature.
To be blunt, I don't think that my legal and economic relationships to any other individual should be strictly contingent upon whether or not I'd like to penetrate them.
To me, these posters were simply an incitement to discourse — they're asking you to think about the reality and the limitations of marriage for whoever participates. They're not anti-gay. They're not anti-straight. They're anti-marriage.
Now regarding the pornographic nature of the posters, I'll say something further: I understand that there are people who might be shocked by seeing a penis or a guy playing with a dildo on their way to class. I'm not necessarily saying that you should be comfortable seeing that — I was shocked enough to report it, after all. Yet I do think that there is something to be said about making those images public.
As a gay man, I'll say that I am often frustrated by how my community is simultaneously sexualized and desexualized. There are definitely those who see the queer community as overly and absurdly sexual. They're often the ones who label us "sodomites" and say we're going to burn in Hell for the rest of eternity. Fun. But something which frustrates me even further is the person who embraces me in everything but my sexuality — they recognize my identity and my culture but never the fact that sometimes I do like to go down on men.
So while I do understand the immediate response of people to these "shocking" images, I also see meaning behind the exposure. We do the same thing for Coming Out Day each year. We try to shock those of you who don't think about these things into thinking about them.
To whomever put these posters up, you've got some balls. I hope that you remain anonymous, and I hope that the discussion you've started will benefit the entire Tufts community. I can't necessarily encourage you to continue, but I can say that I'm on your side.
To everyone else, I hope that this event motivates you to expand your knowledge surrounding these issues. Come to a Queer Straight Alliance meeting. Stop by the LGBT Center. Take the Introduction to Queer Studies course. Just don't label these posters as libelous and biased at first glance without even attempting to look further for some meaning.
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Ryan Heman is a sophomore majoring in political science. He is a TCU Senate Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs Committee co-chair and a Queer Straight Alliance co-coordinator.
