Students discuss issues pertaining to queer groups and persons of color at the Harvard College Women’s Center last night.
Students of various genders, races, and cultural backgrounds gathered at an event hosted by the Harvard College Women’s Center, Queer Students and Allies, and BlackOut last night to discuss queer and ethnic communities and their shared status as marginalized identities in American society.
“It’s all about different perspectives, starting conversations, and talking about experiences to build partnerships,” said Adaora I. Asala, who facilitated the discussion and co-founded Queer Women of Color and Friends, a Boston social networking group.
Asala talked to attendees about ways for queer Harvard students of color to find support in the university community. Students expressed their frustration at how campus ethnic groups rarely address queer issues and how LGBT student groups often disregard questions of ethnicity, race, and culture.
“There are a lot of queer students who are afraid to express themselves on campus,” said Miguel Garcia ’12, “There has always been something missing in QSA, something that doesn’t allow me to reconcile my immigrant experience.”
Garcia said that he is interested in forming a support group for queer Latinos on campus, and Taj E. Tucker ’12 said that he hopes to collaborate with Garcia in reaching out to ethnic minorities.
“We’re trying to find a space where people of all different communities can be comfortable,” Tucker said.
Morgan L. Haven-Tietze ’10, a member of the Harvard Transgender Task Force, said that it is important for cultural groups to acknowledge queerness, and for LGBT groups to acknowledge ethnicity, in order to facilitate connections between marginalized identities.
Haven-Tietze said that starting conversations about intersecting communities can help individuals connect with other students facing similar questions of identity.
“It’s important to make spaces inclusive for whoever wants to be there,” Haven-Tietze said. “You don’t always get a chance at Harvard to hear what everyone has to say.”
Asala similarly said that creating an open space to discuss questions of intersecting identities would help queer women of color and their allies gain a stronger voice on campus and beyond.
“It’s a challenge to marry all of my different identities and keep them in one body—being Nigerian, being queer, being a woman in science, being a woman,” Asala said. “We want to create an avenue where people from all walks of life can bring their identities together.”
—Staff writer Alice E.M. Underwood can be reached at aeunderw@fas.harvard.edu.
Read more in News
Political Career Counselor To Join IOP StaffRecommended Articles
-
Educators Challenge Virginity ConnotationsHealth educators, feminist bloggers, and queer activists gathered at the Rethinking Virginity Conference on Monday to critique American society’s negative portrayal of losing one’s virginity.
-
Male Undergrad Victim of Hate CrimeA male Harvard undergraduate was the victim of a hate crime and robbery on Sunday, according to a Harvard University Police Department crime report released yesterday.
-
GLOW Aims To Welcome Students with Multifaceted IdentitiesHarvard queer students of color have formed “Gay, Lesbian, or Whatever” (GLOW), a new group that, according to its founders, is the first organization to address the interconnected experiences of underrepresented and marginalized identities.
-
Random Acts of GaynessMy main objective with the random acts of gayness is to educate. Basing most of my strategy on the methodology used in “Pay it Forward,” I hope that the ladies across campus will start to share our knowledge.
-
Outed As AlliesLet us not forget that just two decades ago, Harvard was not nearly the queer-friendly place that it is today.
-
Proud to Apply to HarvardWe welcome the College’s decision to offer students the option to self-identify as queer.
