Today allowed an opportunity for the group to be exposed to the great presence of the LGBTQ community in Chicago. Our day began with a visit to the Center on Halsted, the most comprehensive LGBTQ community center in the midwest. The group was first given a guided tour of the facilities. The center offers various programs for the LGBTQ community, among them sports leagues, weekly senior luncheons, after-school youth programs, and so on. The center serves LGBTQ identified individuals throughout the city, and offers services for low-income individuals to travel to the community center to experience the various services offered there.
After our tour of the center, our group was given the opportunity to participate in a discussion with David Zak, a play-write and longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights. For me, this dialogue challenged me to consider my own heterosexual biases. Growing up, I had been exposed to the LGBTQ community at a young age. I remember attending a Gay Pride parade when I was in grade school and hearing my mom openly express her support of the Gay community. Today, I have some family members who identify as Gay. However, when David jokingly asked me if I was on the “Down-Low” (a term commonly used in the African-American community referring to people hiding their homosexuality), my immediate reaction was one of defense. Though David was joking, I recall raising my eyebrows in shock that he would even assume this identity on me.
Then I took a step back. Why was I so defensive when he made this remark? Maybe I feared any inkling of doubt among peers as to my heterosexual identity. This reveals my own underdevelopment as an LGBTQ ally. I have always believed that the LGBTQ community should be granted the same freedoms in marriage and other privileges given to heterosexual individuals. However, I do not have any close friends who identify as LGBTQ and am immersed in a community that promotes heterosexual models without giving equal exposure to the LGBTQ community. While I continue to support the LGBTQ community and identify as an ally, I am unable to fully understand internal struggles of self-identified LGBTQ people. I appreciated what David did in purposely making the comment in order to challenge my own comfortability as an identified ally. The feelings that his comment evoked show that I must continue to develop my awareness of issues within the LGBTQ community and gain continual exposure to the community. I need to continue to challenge my heterosexual worldview in order to ally myself with the cause of the community.
Rene Alvarez Jr.
Junior
English Major; Secondary Eduction