COLUMN: Coming Soon to a University Near You in 3-D

From Stephen Houghton's "Ecce Queer," Fall '94 From Stephen Houghton's "Ecce Queer," Fall '94I hoped not to be here this semester. I intended to be far, far away in San Francisco. Sunnier and queer-er than the University. A mecca for people like me. Let me explain. I was one of the candidates for MTV's The Real World. The next season started filming in San Francisco this month. I want to be a living, breathing faggot on national television. Instead, I am settling for Page Six of the DP. Then again, I am not sure if I would have enjoyed the experience. Submitting myself to the producers' tunnel-vision of my persona would be a far from accurate portrait of who I am. Who would want to be pigeon-holed for all of eternity in exchange for living in some phat environment? It appears that has already happened, sans the "phat environment." From the response to my first column, I have first-hand experience of being defined by other people. Unless you already know me, a reader's sole exposure to me will be the words I write. This is not a problem, I control my own words. Yet, when others take what I write and from that start drawing conclusions, then I get pissed. Militant, pervert, radical -- your basic, run-of-the-mill monikers applying to someone who writes offensive words on his forehead. I have no shame about who I am, but others may make decisions about me on less than accurate information. Would you believe that there is an actual person behind the septum ring? Could it be that I have more than one facet to me? How can one reconcile a dehumanizing stereotype and a flesh and blood individual? Despite my picture above, I am really cute and cuddly. Really. Now this ain't no sob story for me. People will form their opinions on whatever shaky ground they choose. Let it be known that I believe in three-dimensional people. I just happen to be one of them, and so are you. Limited views of a person are just that, limited. By defining someone by one characteristic, you deny them the status of a hu man being. Behind layers of sexuality, political affiliations, gender and race there are individuals. Whole persons who can and should be appreciated for themselves. Do not construe this as a conversion to assimilation. The mixed salad perception of the world rings true over the melting pot view. Differences should be celebrated. I would hate to be considered "just the same as everyone else." Imagine me, just like all the heterosexuals, except for what I do in the bedroom. Gosh, I am not even like most of the homosexuals I know, and I like it that way. People should be respected for who they are, regardless of similarity of thought. The most radical queer can get along with the most staunch conservative, so long as they acknowledge each other as individuals and not as ideologies. This is one lesson that should be taught in elementary school. Now it is time for introspection. In the the past, have I been guilty of this heinous crime? In all of my loftiness of thought, have I ignored my own hypocrisy? I confess to Republican bashing in the summer of 1992 while in Houston at their convention. I admit to some fleeting thoughts lumping televangelists and other "fun" fundamentalists together as bigots after seeing myself appear on the 700 Club and hearing what Pat Robertson had to say. I probably did not even give the columnist on this page above me, Dan Schorr, a fair shake when I heard his views on the racial harassment policy. Yikes, I am guilty. As for everyone else, it is wrong for me to write off an entire person just because my thoughts do not coincide with theirs. Humans categorize, but humans can also rise above their prejudices. There is more to each of us than that which we choose to present to the outside world. Radical thoughts on sexuality do not make for a poor friend, student, or columnist. Look past each other's exteriors and try and see the human within. We live in a world made up of three dimensions, not two. Let's start interacting as if we believed that. There is a long life ahead with diverse types of people. We cannot afford to dismiss some of them because certain characteristics conflict with our own. Check out the people behind the politics, presentation, and panache. You will be pleasantly surprised.