I posted this in the comments section on AthensWorld, but subsequently thought it worth posting here.
Re: National Coming Out Day:
My first October at UGA, I found hilarious the right-wing students’ reaction to the “outlandishness” of National Coming Out Day. There were several complaining letters in the Red and Black, about how they didn’t want that gay shit all up in their face, and the Lambda Alliance students at the Tate Center were bombarding everybody with their gay agenda, and so on and so forth. Wow… I didn’t know that one sad little table with two stoic-looking students standing behind it and a Lambda Alliance banner hanging from the front could be so inciteful. I wished those fools could see National Coming Out Day at NYU… well, first of all, they don’t have National Coming Out Day, they have National Coming Out Month. And the whole month is replete with parades, film festivals, guest speakers, theme parties, and so on. Much of it consists of free condoms being thrown around. A fine time was had by all (the two times I was there for it).
Off to get Chick-Fil-A breakfast now…
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7 Responses to "Cross-over post"
it is only a week here. i guess we arent as liberal as nyc. :( but i signed the banner they are hanging up!!!
Well, I wouldn’t worry about it, I’m betting Ann Arbor is pretty good on the “liberal scale” ;)
Glad you’re having a good time at school! Is it Arctic there yet? I need to email you instead of communicating via blog… ;)
I concur Amber. Though I must ask this question about the NYU experience …
Even if it’s done in a joking fashion, doesn’t throwing condoms around kinda hurt the cause (playing on The Onion article called ‘Gay Pride Parade Sets Back Gay Rights Movement’). Isn’t that sort of saying gays have much more sex than hetrosexuals … that it’s more important to them.
I’m a proponent of gay rights, but I just don’t know how throwing condoms helps out … if it’s done in a satirical fashion.
I’ll bite… what’s wrong with having more sex?
It’s not just a gay thing. Homosexuals just tend to have a more open view about sex. Younger people do also. Amber’s dorm resident advisor had condoms readily available on her door. And the only thing they had in common was the school they were enrolled in.
It’s not being satirical. It’s being realistic and healthy. It only “hurts the cause” because people still have a weird thing about expressing views about sex (especially gay sex).
Well, first of all, “throwing condoms around” is a bit of an exagerration. Not *too* much of an exagerration, though. As Chris has already attested, there were always people eagerly giving out free condoms at NYU, in various locations. As Chris said, all the RAs had condoms (and dental dams, and little things of lube) in an envelope on their door. Obviously they were available at the student health center. There always seemed to be some event going on that involved giving away free condoms, too, such as the Student Organizations Expo, etc.
This was basically the case at my friends’ colleges that I visted, too (although altered a little at each one, since New York City provides a unique college environment). A few years ago I read a letter in the Red and Black where someone was objecting to free condoms… I don’t rememeber the circumstances or anything… but it kinda surprised me. I never lived in the UGA dorms so I don’t know if people were uptight about it or whether it was a non-issue, but I don’t think the RAs had condoms on their doors.
It was pretty much a non-issue at NYU, to be honest. It was like, they’re there if you want ‘em (along with maps of the city) but if you don’t, then don’t take ‘em.
And yes, I thought of that Onion article too after I posted this. But I didn’t post this trying to get people to “bite”. That Onion article is hilarious, one of my favorites.
I don’t know if homosexuals have a ‘more open’ view of sex. Perhaps the argument could be made they have a different view of expressing it … then again you probably haven’t been to Classic City Saloon because lots of hetrosexual sex is flaunted there.
I lived at O-House and I don’t remember if they offered condoms or not. I know they were readily available at the Health Center.
I guess, for me, I thought it was unusual. That was all. That is, I do thoroughly enjoy the sex, but it isn’t necessarily an integral part of my existence. That is to say there are plenty of other things of which I am immensely proud of sharing, and my sexual prowess isn’t one that ranks at the top of the list … not that I’m ashamed of it either.
My line of thinking was that if this was a ‘Gay Pride Parade’ and by throwing out condoms, you’re giving the implication that sex is something which ranks high on the values/identification scale. If that’s so, then fine. I just don’t know how effective such an antic is in the fight for equal rights, etc.
Well, like I said, they were basically throwing out condoms all the time at NYU. Coming Out Month didn’t make it any different.