Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and queer: most of us have heard these words before, but when it comes to the GLBTQ community, things become more complicated than these five simple labels.
For example, the term bisexual assumes there are only two genders. However, Renée Yoxon, a fifth-year physics student at Carleton, said it comes down to more than just a binary between the two sexes. Instead, she said she likes to use the word “pansexual” because it doesn’t put limits on how people identify themselves.
“It’s what’s between the ears, not what’s between the legs,” Yoxon said.
Rather than identifying under the traditional GLBTQ terms, some choose to identify as heteroflexible, pansexual, omnisexual or queer, Yoxon said.
“Queer is kind of like that umbrella term that can fit the entire alphabet soup of the community into just one word,” said Mike Wiseman, a co-ordinator at Carleton’s GLBTQ Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity.
He said that queer doesn’t necessarily cover all gender identities, such as the transgendered community, although some transgendered people do choose to identify as queer.
Over the last few years it has become easier for members of the GLBTQ community in urban centres to come out, but there is still work to be done in Canada’s rural communities, Wiseman said.
When it comes down to coming out, Pat Gentile, a professor of women’s and gender studies at Carleton, said it’s more complicated than being either in or out of the closet.
“I think the reality is that people are in and out of the closet many times a day,” Gentile said.
Gentile, a queer activist, said coming out of the closet depends on a person’s comfort level with the environment they are in and the people they are with. It’s about how safe the individual feels, Gentile said. She said she has had moments where she feels like she would be putting herself in danger if she disclosed her sexual orientation.
Is Carleton a safe place for students in the GLBTQ community to come out, then?
The answer to that question is somewhat disputed among members of Carleton’s community.
Patty Allen, a representative from Health and Counselling Services, said while there is still a discomfort level for many students who are thinking of coming out, Carleton has become an accepting environment for people of all sexualities.
“Ever since we’ve had [Equity Services] on campus, everything around discrimination or harassment based on culture, sexuality, gender have all improved drastically – there are good policies on campus,” Allen said.
Gentile said although Carleton has been taking steps to include GLBTQ students, Carleton is not necessarily a safe place for them yet.
She said although Equity Services has done fantastic work, everybody needs to get on board for Carleton’s GLBTQ community. She said people endorse acceptance by being “not just politely tolerant, but actively making them feel like part of the community. . . . It’s one thing to change the policy, but is the attitude where the policy is?”
Carleton needs to make itself a comfortable place for members of the GLBTQ community, much like the creation of the Paul Menton Centre has made Carleton a more comfortable environment for students with disabilities, Gentile said. She said this sense of comfort would exist if GLBTQ students saw themselves represented on campus.
In her time at Carleton, Gentile said she has not seen adequate representation of same-sex couples. She also said that she has only seen two same-sex couples even hold hands on campus, whereas you see heterosexual couples holding hands, kissing and hugging all the time.
“When I see that with same-sex couples, then you can come back to me and I’ll say it’s a safe place,” Gentile said.
She said Carleton should offer more educational opportunities to talk about homophobia, encourage queer students to run for leadership positions, host events where they can openly celebrate their pride and that more articles should be published about GBLTQ sexuality.
For any students seeking resources about GLBTQ sexuality, Health and Counselling Services provides doctors, counsellors, information pamphlets and they can recommend students to organizations off campus.