Yerson Padilla Anthony Borrero English 1101 November 26, 2012 UNC Charlottes Queer-Straight Alliance and Their

Literacy

When I hear the word Queer, I dont hear it as a derogatory word. When I was a little kid I heard it being used to bully others. But not anymore, now I take it as a takeback term. Its empowering the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer community (LGBTQ). Said Troy Laney when I asked him about the word Queer, and its use today with in the Queer community. As a member of People Recognizing Individual Diversity and Equality (PRIDE), UNC Charlottes Queer-Straight Alliance, and being an openly gay man, Troy Laney had some insight on the literacy used in PRIDE. PRIDE acts as a safe heaven for the gay community, its a place in which anyone can go to, and feel comfortable with being themselves. Claimed Omar Ramirez, another member of UNC Charlottes PRIDE group. In this essay I will be discussing UNCC very own QueerStraight Alliance, and how their literacy within the club differs from their everyday vernacular in the very heterosexist UNCC Campus. I will discuss about the history of the Queer-Straight Alliance, its purpose, and the literacy composed with in the group by its members. By doing this I hope to educate an audience on what exactly is the purpose of a Queer-Straight Alliance. Also I would like to educate my audience on what, and why Queer literacy is so important to PRIDE.

PRIDE has been UNCC fully pledge Queer-Straight Alliance. At a University level, Queer-Straight Alliances are very important (Beemyn). They act as a safe space in which students can be themselves (Beemyn). Not to long ago Queer students had no place to go and be themselves. It wasnt until Columbia University, in 1967 chartered the country's first student gay rights group (Beemyn). It wasnt easy for Columbia to start the countrys first gay rights group. They had so much opposition against them. In the 1960s homosexuality was seen as immoral, as an unnatural act committed by perverted deviants (Hall). Therefore the students wanting to start such a controversial group had so much criticism. Thankfully all their hard work paid off, and their acts helped fuel a large-scale political movement in the US (Beemyn).

Pride is the place my boyfriend and I can go together and not be harassed for holding hands, and being with each other explained Troy Laney. Queer people overall differ from their heterosexual, cisgendered counterparts (Survey Says). It makes sense then why they would build their own groups and areas to be a part of. Everyone always wants to feel welcomed and invited. And that is exactly what PRIDE does. PRIDE acts as the place in which Queer people can be who they are, without the repercussions of being marginalized. When I asked Omar Ramirez what he thought the purpose of the group PRIDE was, he had this to say: People from all different walks of live come to the pride meetings, with one goal in common, to feel accepted, and appreciated. And its true. As I looked around the room, while people were coming in, as the meeting was about to start, I noticed that people would sit with random strangers. I could tell by the way they introduced themselves to one another. They did this until the meeting started. Not one

single person was left isolated. Everyone had somebody right next to them. As if they as well all knew the purpose of the group, which is inclusion and acceptance.

As I made my rounds on observing people, I overheard people talking about what they did today, common tea-time talk. It wasnt until Bonnie, the President of PRIDE, introduced PRIDEs purpose and its executives. Bonnie then introduced hirself as gender-queer. Meaning that Bonnie does not identify as cisgendered, or Bonnies sex, does not match Bonnies gender. Right from the start Queer literacy was being thrown out. Much of the audience just listened because they knew what Bonnie was talking about. That was the first forum of Queer literacy that was introduced to me. Gender plays a huge role in the Queer community. Gays and Lesbians have been accepted finally in society at large (Van Buskirk). However the notion of breaking gender-binaries have yet to be accepted. Gender and sex, play a huge role in UNCCs PRIDE group. Gender is a culturally based therefore it shouldnt be important, we should all be seen as people said Troy Laney, when I asked him about his views on gender.

Since PRIDE is a functioning Queer-Straight Alliance some of PRIDEs members identify as Trans* (the * in Trans* signifies that Trans can include for example, transsexual, transgendered, transvestite etc) raising the question on what is a persons preferred gender pronoun (PDP) is. Knowing a persons PDP allows you to establish a relationship with that person, enabling communication. Its also a sign of respect for a person who identifies as Trans*. It all falls back to the theme of inclusion.

Whilst the meeting continued, and the discussion of the day came to a close and people started to talk amongst themselves more. I noticed that people started to talk about their lives more. About who knows if they are Queer or not, who they are and who they are not out to yet. Small talk. Which lead me to question their literacy outside of PRIDE. Does it change? And in fact it does. When I asked Omar Ramirez about the different types of literacy used within and outside of PRIDE he had this to say

Yes, of course the way I talk at PRIDE and the way I talk to other outside of Pride is different. When Im at a PRIDE meeting I feel more safe, more relatable to people Knowing that the people at PRIDE know what I am talking about when it comes to things as relationships is nice. I dont have to worry about the looks I would get from talking to a heterosexual crowd. It feels better when I have people I can relate to

And it is true; people that interact with people coping with the same issues tend to feel better (Beemyn). PRIDE is a place in which people can talk freely about who they are. When a queer person is out in public with the person that they love, and they hold hands they get funny looks. Unlike their heterosexual counterparts, who would not be judge as harshly. That is the unfortunate reality. Therefore queer people act different while in public, the way they speak, walk, and dress. Their self-expression is warped. Trying to juggle two very different worlds is hard. Two worlds in which people act way differently. Literacy with in a group such as PRIDE is redefined when they exit their safe heaven. The literacy they are comfortable with while at the PRIDE meeting is not the same comfortable literacy when out in the real world.

Queer literacy as a whole is very hard to understand from an outsiders perspective. Therefore I believe this paper has been a beneficial to introduce Queer literacy to someone who has never been enriched with queer literacy. I have outlined the difference between literacy in the queer community apposed to its heterosexist counterpart. I believe this paper has been helpful to better understand Queer-Straight Alliances, and their struggles as a group. I know that with this work my audience can began to understand a new perspective. By doing so better understanding what it means be queer, and what it means to be literate in the Queer Community at large.

Works Cited

Decter, Midge. "Homosexuality And The Schools." Commentary 95.3 (1993): 19. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. Beemyn, Brett. "The Silence Is Broken: A History Of The First Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual College Student Groups." Journal Of The History Of Sexuality 12.2 (2003): 205-223. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. Hall, Simon. "The American Gay Rights Movement And Patriotic Protest." Journal Of The History Of Sexuality 19.3 (2010): 536-562. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. Laney, Troy. Personal Interview. 17 November. 2012. Ramirez, Omar. Personal Interview. 18 November. 2012. "Survey Says.." Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide 12.1 (2005): 17-21. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. Van Buskirk, Jim. "Out Of The Closet?." Library Journal 130.6 (2005): 62-65. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Source: 1

1. MLA Citation: Van Buskirk, Jim. "Out Of The Closet?." Library Journal 130.6 (2005): 6265. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. 2. Annotation: The article is about how gays and lesbians are portrayed in society. Throughout media, like openly Lesbian Ellen DeGeneres, and her daytime show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. And with such positive role models in the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay Bisexual Transgendered, and Queer) yet with positive role models. This article explains the stigmas that are still prevalent in mainstream society concerning the LGBTQ community. How everyday many LGBTQ individuals are losing their jobs just by simply being who they are. 3. Key Quotes: Gays and lesbians have been accepted finally by society at large. increased antigay rhetoric of a religious right, sexual minorities continue to lose their jobs, their families, and even their lives 4. Evaluation: I believe this article was rather informative. Though I really didnt learn anything from it. I already know a majority of the stuff that Ive read. I

believe its an easy read for people who are not used to queer topics. Its informative for people. I believe there are better sources out there.
Source: 2

5. MLA Citation:
"Survey Says.." Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide 12.1 (2005): 17-21. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 4 Nov. 2012.

6. Annotation: The article deals about LGBTQ people and how they are different and similar to their heterosexual counterparts. It looks as if gay men and heterosexual women share so many similarities in society. As do lesbian women and heterosexual males. Its seems to be that homosexual males make less money than their heterosexual counterparts. Even though the homosexual males have more years of further education, than a heterosexual male. It basically states the social, economical, structural divide between heterosexuals and homosexuals. Heterosexual women and gay men had a very similar ways, as well as heterosexual males and lesbian women. 7. Key Quotes: Report that gay men tend to have more years of education than straight men

gay and lesbian households were found to be as affluent as married heterosexual households and more affluent than unmarried straight couples

Report that rates of cigarette smoking for lesbians and gay men are higher than the rate for heterosexuals.

8. Evaluation: This article was definitely interesting. It was very insightful. It gave many facts and figures about the comparison between the LGBTQ Community and their Heterosexual counterparts.

Source: 3

9. MLA Citation: Hall, Simon. "The American Gay Rights Movement And Patriotic Protest." Journal Of The History Of Sexuality 19.3 (2010): 536-562. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. 10. Annotation: The article addresses the historical aspect of the LGBT community. It goes as far back as the 1950s. With Dr. King, and the civil rights movement that basically led up to the gay civil rights movement. The Stone Wall Riots that essentially began the gay civil rights movement. It also talks about the different demonstrations that occurred in the US. One of the well-known gay rights advocate known as Harvey Milk is also in this article. He was the first openly gay man elected into a government office in California. Hes known as the father of the LGBT Rights movement. 11. Key Quotes: For Milk the struggle for equality for gays and lesbians was part of Americas unfinished democratic promise.

Our fight against homosexual oppression is one with the revolutionary struggle of all oppressed peoples for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

12. Evaluation: This article has a lot of good information. Its very informative on the start of the LGBTQ Civil Rights movement. It outlines the struggle in a nice and neat way. The article was very thought out. I mean it would have to be since it was published.

Source: 4

13. MLA Citation: Beemyn, Brett. "The Silence Is Broken: A History Of The First Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual College Student Groups." Journal Of The History Of Sexuality 12.2 (2003): 205-223. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. 14. Annotation: This article is about the history of GLBTQ student groups in college. It talks about the first two Queer-Straight Alliances that started in two major US colleges. And how they evolved from each school to another and gained popularity, as well as the struggles that they faced in the late 20th century. Above all their main objective is to protect the rights of queer students. And have a safe place in which queer individuals are able to be themselves without the fear of persecution. The article deals a lot with students rights in the US. 15. Key Quotes:

Columbia officially chartered the country's first student gay rights group on April 19, 1967.

Establishing the group in Columbia proved to be a tremendous challenge.

In no small way, these efforts contributed to the development f a large-scale political movement in the years that followed.

16. Evaluation: I believe that this article is very interesting. Coming from a queer college students perspective I see this as very insightful. Also having a QueerStraight Alliance as my group that I am observing, I see this as a perfect article!

Source: 5

17. MLA Citation: Decter, Midge. "Homosexuality And The Schools." Commentary 95.3 (1993): 19. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. 18. Annotation: The articles main point is addressing the way an educator stressed the importance of using Queer people in everyday language to students at such a young age. For example using gay or lesbian instead of them or they. As well as using other references for example books such as

Daddys Roommate, or Heather Has Two Mommies. Using such books in

order to introduce homosexuality in a young age, getting kids to get familiar to such language. As well as the AIDS epidemic how it affected the ways society viewed gays and lesbians, especially white gay men. 19. Key Quotes:

Daddys Roommate, and Heather Has Two Mommies are works clearly intended for very young children, with large illustrations and brief text.

The HIV/AIDS curriculum itself provides for five lessons at each grade level.

20. Evaluation: I believe this article has a very interesting perspective on education and education of LGBTQ people. Im not sure if I agree with all of the perspectives. Yet it is a fascinating article dealing with educating the public on LGBTQ issues.

Yerson Padilla English 1101 Queerly Yours: The Literacy of Gender. Outline

Introduction (Trying to incorporate gender within PRIDE?) FRIST DRAFT We are PRIDE, we stand for People Recognizing Individual Diversity & Equality. Before every meeting PRIDEs president Bonnie Green exclaims. Shushing the group of people in the room. Everyone is there for the same reason. Whether they are Queer or Allies, there is a sense of an unspoken rule; we are all here to support one another. As the meeting continues with the introductions of PRIDEs executive board, the attendance book is passed around. People are expected to write down their name and their email address. I witness people engaging with each other, they watch they listen, and they talk. All different forums of literacy is being conveyed at the PRIDE meetings; writing, and reading, are the prominent. However there is a sense of Queer literacy. The knowledge that each individual in the group carries regarding Queer issues is the main form of literacy that is prevalent. I will be examining PRIDE as an organization and their use of literacy; reading, writing, and communicating, as well as their knowledge of Queer literacy.

 My main focus of this essay is Gender Literacy with in the Queer community. What is male, what is female, what is in between?

Second Draft When I hear the word Queer, I dont hear it as a derogatory word. When I was a little kid I heard it being used to bully others. But not anymore, now I take it as a take-back term. Its empowering the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Queer community (LGBTQ). Said Troy Laney when I asked him about the word Queer, and its use today with in the Queer community. As a member of People Recognizing Individual Diversity and Equality (PRIDE), UNC Charlottes Queer-Straight Alliance, and being an openly gay man, Troy Laney had some insight on the literacy used in PRIDE. PRIDE acts as a safe heaven for the gay community, its a place in which anyone can go to, and feel comfortable with being themselves. Claimed Omar Ramirez, another member of UNC Charlottes PRIDE group. In this essay I will be discussing UNCC very own Queer-Straight Alliance, and how their literacy within the club differs from their everyday vernacular in the very heterosexist UNCC Campus. I will discuss about the history of the Queer-Straight Alliance, its purpose, and the literacy composed with in the group by its members. By doing this I hope to educate an audience on what exactly is the purpose of a Queer-Straight Alliance. Also I would like to educate my audience on what, and why Queer literacy is so important to PRIDE.

 I will discuss about the history of the Queer-Straight Alliance, its purpose, and the literacy composed with in the group by its members. By doing this I hope to educate an audience on what exactly is the purpose of a Queer-Straight Alliance. Also I would like to educate my audience on what, and why Queer literacy is so important to PRIDE.

What I will be discussing shall be What the purpose of Gender is. PRIDE (Queer-Straight Alliance). Safe space where people are free to express themselves without the fear of persecution or exclusion. History of Queer University Groups The literacy used in the past (and then see the transition from how the use it today.) Queer? Or Gay? Or Homophile

Gender Literacy of Queer community now. Male? Female? Ze, they, their

Conclusion Questions to ask

How will this help people that are in the group learn something? Why I chose this topic? And why do I think its very important to discuss Gender Literacy in the Queer community.

Interviews I will be interviewing Troy Laney (Member of PRIDE) Omar Ramirez (Member of PRIDE)