I don't like labels... but stickers are wicked!

Labels are controversial in any community and, I would say, especially within the LGBTQ subculture.  Labels can be seen as boxes, defining one-self within limits, effectively restraining one’s actions within prescribed stereotypes and pigeonholing ourselves. Especially when used by those not within the LGBTQ subculture, some labels can be seen as offensive.

I can only comment on labels within the lesbian and queer subcultures as that is the scene I have travelled in myself, but they are present within the gay, bi and trans- subcultures too:

Lesbian, Lipstick lesbian, Femme, Butch, Stone butch, Sporty dyke, Dyke, Soft butch, Chapstick lesbian, Pillow queen, Stud, Diesel dyke and Stone femme are labels in use within the lesbian and queer community (the list is not exhaustive, there are many more!!).

But I think that labels don’t need to be prescriptive, I think they can be empowering!

We live with labels, whether or not we like it! We are daughters, brothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives, friends, etc... these are ALL labels. Labels are necessary to know what’s inside when the outside doesn't describe who we are.

Reclaiming words such as dyke has been seen as a positive step in LGBTQ equality and I see other labels as useful tools, making it possible to accurately position oneself within the LGBTQ community and to find partners and a dynamic that one seeks. Others within a certain community understand who one is and what one identifies as and can go by that information.

I am a queer femme. I have a clear label that I embrace and live within, loudly.  I defend my right to label myself and when dating I date within a community that understands my identity. This does not mean I am a stereotype.

What is a femme? To some the term might represent a lesbian woman who dresses and acts in a way that society considers typically feminine, to others femmes surpass mainstream femininity (although they can also be labelled a high femme). Others define a femme as a feminine woman attracted to extremely masculine women (butches) or transguys. This is where I fit and I do not feel pressured to constantly wear makeup, skirts and high heels.

Take the term dyke as a further (maybe more practical) example. What is a dyke to you? A lesbian woman? Someone with short hair, tattooed and pierced, with a chained wallet and grungy look? A young lesbian? Does a dyke wear dresses? Skirts? Is she a soft butch using a modern label? The definitions are broad and evolving, they are different for each person and within each friendship group, area and greater context. I considered myself a dyke for years and I didn’t fit within any of those definitions.

I am a queer femme who dates and has dated transguys, butches, gender queers and bois and my label: 1) situates me within the queer community; 2) shows the subculture I fall within, and 3) at least gives a broad idea of the context within which I date. My label empowers me and does not confine me within any box.

Do you label yourself? What is your view of labels? Do you see them as prescriptive stereotypes or useful tools?

An interesting link with further discussion:

·         http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sisters_talk/2009/08/23/lesbian-labels-we-love-to-hate--she-said-she-said-episode-6 A podcast about the use of labels within the LGBTQ community. If you are easily offended please do not listen to it.

  - Katrin
(P.s. this really much better if you click on the title of this post and read it then).

Preconceptions

Hey there! It's Dan again! In my blog entries, I want to show and write about various LGBTQ artwork that I find, perhaps sometimes with some sort of theme to go with it, so I'm not just just showing random pieces of artwork for the heck of it! It also means that there are lots of pictures in my blogs, and not much reading, which I know will appeal to some people!

This time, I wanted to write a blog with the theme of preconceptions. Or stereotypes, or prejudices, if you prefer! Or rather; I'll write about how silly they often can be!

http://remnantxxx.deviantart.com/art/Homosexual-acts-performed-here-177154085?q=boost%3Apopular+max_age%3A744h+lgbt&qo=55

Like this photo, shown at the top of the page. I know I wanted to hit myself for the first thought that popped into my head when I saw the sign "Homosexual Acts Performed Here". But really, it's a brilliant demonstration that gay people act just like everyone else, and it's mearly only a small aspect of their life which is different to anyone else's. And I love it, I think it's a brilliant demonstration! It's suprising how many people probably haven't thought of homosexual acts in this way!

http://broken-pencil-lead.deviantart.com/art/Yes-I-m-Gay-But-Poster-II-175008946?q=boost%3Apopular+max_age%3A24h+gay&qo=1

http://broken-pencil-lead.deviantart.com/art/Yes-I-m-Lesbian-But-182012053

These are two pieces of art with a similar message. They are the same sort of thing: one is a gay man describing themselves, and the other is a lesbian. I think that it shows that even if someone’s gay or lesbian, they’re still individuals, and all have their own traits! Stereotypes of gay people exist for a reason: they must be true to some extent! But no-one should feel like they should conform to these stereotypes, or similarly, there’s no need to avoid them purely to not be associated with other stereotypes! I think that the simplest thing to do is accept yourself as you are (as corny as this is) and not worry about this sort of thing, or let it influence you too much!

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=gay+gender+is+is+not#/d2w4346

Katrin, the female rep, has discovered this piece before! I think this is a great summary which I think might help some people! The subject of gender, and the fluidity (for lack of a better word) of it, isn’t a subject I’d ever considered until recently! I’d be interested to see how accurate people think this demonstration of gender is, and whether some people can relate to their description of gender! Or whether people have different ideas on it altogether! But I think that the main idea of this piece, that it is something that one chooses for themselves, is a great one to have.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I think that some of what I've posted are actually quite thought provoking, and it would be cool to hear if anyone has any comments to add! :D

Dan. :)

Spirit Day

Well I figured that starting with Spirit Day would be a nice way to begin writing my blog entries!

To start with, a small introduction! I'm Dan Griffin, the Resource Manager on the LGBTQ committee, and I'm studying maths here at Exeter. Since I am but a lowly mathematician, I'm not very good at reading and writing! So you'll have to deal with my meager literary skills! :P

You may have realized that a couple of days ago was Spirit Day: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday . It was created as a day to raise awareness of LGBTQ bullying that goes on, and to get people to remember and show their support to people who are suffering, or have taken their lives because of bullying and homophobia, by spreading the word and wearing purple! (I don't have any purple clothes, but I wore some purple socks! Lame I know!) I'm not going to dwell on this sort of thing in my posts because I find it too upsetting a topic, but I hope to have many more happy and motivating things to show you in my posts!

http://chaoticmiko.deviantart.com/art/C-183383479?q=&qo=

As a hobby, I also draw lots of artwork, and have a gallery on a site called deviantART, and they also had a huge event for Spirit Day! I thought it was really nice! There's a whole gallery of nice uplifting artwork, and people showing their support for the cause, and I browsed through it and picked out a few of my favorites to show you that I thought were worth sharing!

http://kon-memoirs.deviantart.com/art/NOH8-183502658?q=boost%3Apopular+in%3Aprojects%2Fawareness%2F2010%2Fspiritday+max_age%3A24h&qo=116

I love the message in this picture! I think it's just the sort of thing which people who've had a rough time in their life need to hear! There really is a world full of lovely and accepting people and sometimes it just takes time before people can find this out for themselves!

http://hazza-6660.deviantart.com/art/Love-is-blind-Spirit-Day-183504301?q=boost%3Apopular+in%3Aprojects%2Fawareness%2F2010%2Fspiritday+max_age%3A24h&qo=7

I think this piece gives a message that everyone should be able to understand. It's very simple, but still meaningful! Love is blind: so it shouldn't be influenced by something trivial like gender. I think it's a nice way to think about the matter!

http://aranwen.deviantart.com/art/Purple-Rose-Ring-1-183509495?q=boost%3Apopular+in%3Aprojects%2Fawareness%2F2010%2Fspiritday+max_age%3A24h&qo=8

I bet this would have been a great accessory to wear with purple on Spirit Day!

http://tuinen.deviantart.com/art/The-Purple-Knight-183536565?q=boost%3Apopular+in%3Aprojects%2Fawareness%2F2010%2Fspiritday+max_age%3A24h&qo=137

Well this drawing doesn't have a huge amount of meaning: it's just plain cool!

http://kt-pl.deviantart.com/art/it-s-spirit-day-183310637?q=boost%3Apopular+in%3Aprojects%2Fawareness%2F2010%2Fspiritday&qo=85

And this picture relates to another project which I completely adore! The "It gets better" project! http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject . It's a brilliant cause that's worth sharing if you hadn't heard of it before, it involves a variety people making videos aimed towards anyone who's had a tough life so far dealing with their sexuality, and reassuring them that it gets better!

I hope you enjoyed my first blog entry! I'll be doing more of a similar sort of nature in the future: sharing things I find which I think are nice, motivating or uplifting, or sharing artwork that I've found and particularly enjoyed!

Dan. :)

Welcome to the LGBTQ for 2010-11!

Welcome to the LGBTQ for 2010-11!

Hey everyone! Now, we’ve wanted to write a little intro-blog for you guys, passing from one year to the next, so here goes!

On behalf of myself and Katrin, the Male and Female Reps (respectively… of course…) and of the rest of the committee, I just wanted to welcome you to a fabulous new year at the University of Exeter, LGBTQ-style! And here’s a rather apt place to give a huge welcome, and a humongous thanks to our new committee!

This year we’ve not only got countless exciting things for you all to look forward to, but at the end of the last academic year and over the summer we’ve been working on some little behind-the-scenes planning to hopefully deliver an LGBTQ out of which you can get more of what you want! I won’t give too much away yet though...

The good news is that we pride ourselves on being one of the few societies that has never charged a membership fee – and we’re still proud to offer you all the new and all the old, absolutely free!

All in all, we’re going to make every effort so that this year in the LGBTQ is the best yet, by both continuing the great work of past committees and giving you the chance to try out and give feedback on some new events – lets see!

- Benn Harrison, Katrin Furst
Male and Female Reps

Will Hollywood Ever Embrace The LGBTQ Community?

Anyone who has ever politely inquired whether or not I enjoyed a particular film will, firstly, probably never do so again – but will also inform you that I am inclined to be a little on the critical side at times. In fact, has been widely suggested that I am impossible to satisfy – something with which I would wryly agree. But when it comes to the portrayal of alternative sexualities in Hollywood, I’m inclined to become a little more serious.

All right, I’m bored quite easily. I didn’t like Casino Royale. I wasn’t scared of The Grudge. I think Christian Bale is incredibly overrated and that Cate Blanchett is the consummate fox – and I am well aware that these opinions aren’t exactly common. And of course, I must recognise that my own dissatisfaction with the portrayal of queerness in Hollywood is not a reflection of a greater dissatisfaction in the queer community. But nonetheless, problems exist.

It’s not that there’s a shortage of queer cinema. A quick Google search provides enough to last you until the end of time. The problem is that queer cinema is just that – it has its own category, and as such, tends to fall outside of the mainstream. It is averaged that about 4% to 10% of the population are otherwise than heterosexual. So why do so few films feature queer characters and queer relationships? Why is there no Fun with Dick and Wayne? No When Carrie Met Sally? Why are we still forced to tolerate abominable stereotyping from films like Lesbian Vampire Killers and Suffering Man's Charity?

Over the years, there’s been something of a history of groundbreaking queer movies. The Rocky Horror Picture Show, for example, or the more recent Brokeback Mountain. With this in mind, it is hardly fair to suggest that there is no effort made by the film industry to include the LGBTQ community – but for some reason, none of these groundbreaking films have the necessary momentum to propel those of alternative sexualities into the mainstream. Then, of course, there’s the often catastrophically bad portrayal of gay and lesbian characters. The coiffed, limp-wristed hairdressers, the bitchy best friends, the crewcut bulldykes, the oversexed cheerleaders. Need I go on?

My most crushing disappointment came recently from the film The Kids Are Alright, a film that failed less in its delivery than in satisfying its own promise. The Kids Are Alright portrays a lesbian couple raising two children from the same anonymous sperm donor. The film shows the aftermath of this man’s re-entry into their lives. So far, so good. The lesbian couple are lovingly, but realistically portrayed. They and their children have a normal (even boring) family dynamic. I dared to get excited. But then, somewhere along the line, it flinches. It pussies out (if you’ll pardon the expression) and succumbs to the damaging stereotype that all a homosexual woman really needs is a good bit of beasting with a hot-blooded male. Pass the bucket, please.

I won’t deny my deep and undying dissatisfaction with the current lack of queer Hollywood, but I will concede that what we have right now is the beginning of something new and big and potentially exciting. The LGBTQ community, having got its foot in the door, now needs to convince the world that this foot is not wearing a spangled heel or a Doc Marten. Hollywood are still failing to meet the demands of a large portion of our society. I suppose my main grievance with the portrayal of alternative sexualities in cinema is that the film industry still hasn’t cottoned on to the fact that the members of the LGBTQ community are just as boring as everybody else. We watch just as much television, eat just as many crap takeaways, and work just as many dull jobs. So why can’t there be more boring queer films? I don’t promise to enjoy the films they produce, but I might as well feel disillusioned and cheated by films portraying a variety of sexual identities as by films portraying only one. I guess what I’m saying is that, one way or another, I’m looking forward to falling asleep in the back of the cinema during the first ever lesbian Western.

***

This article appears in the Fresher's Exeposé, which will be in your welcome packs or alternatively can be found online here.