QPenn kicks off celebration of pride

(See below for correction.)

With event names like "Fence Sitters' Social" and "Deconstructing Societal Bullshit," QPenn plans to attract attention on campus.

The celebration, which highlights pride in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, includes over 20 events over the next two weeks -- beginning today with a rally on College Green.

"We have a presence on campus, and these are our weeks to show it," said QPenn committee member and College sophomore Michael Pollak.

Anticipating the size of this presence on campus -- not to mention that events are open to the Philadelphia community -- LGBT Center Associate Director Erin Cross expects "over 2,000 people in and out" of the various QPenn festivities.

While QPenn is only beginning its second year under its current name, the tradition of the pride week on campus began in 1985. Yet, as the focus of the week has since shifted, so has the title.

"It was Gay Awareness Week when it started, and that wasn't very inclusive," Cross explained.

And with inclusiveness as its intended focus, the celebration expanded from its original title to Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week to BGLAD -- or Bi, Gay, Lesbian Action Days -- and finally to QPenn.

QPenn Committee Co-Chairwoman Aviva Moster felt the title change was called for because BGLAD did not mention transgender.

"It was somewhat of a silent T," she said. "And it shouldn't be silent."

The committee views the new name as more inclusive.

"The Q stands for anything, but most people interpret it as queer," QPenn Committee Co-Chairwoman Amanda Nordstrom said.

"We didn't want to keep boxing people in," Cross explained.

Also aiming to avoid boxes, QPenn's theme, "Queer, There and Everywhere" hopes to highlight the expanse and diversity of the LGBT community.

LGBT "is not just its own little sector," Pollak said. "It's not just a white thing."

Many events, including "Shook Ones: Homophobia and Gender Identity in Hip Hop" and "Queer and Chicana: Deconstructing Societal Bullshit" are sponsored by campus minority groups.

The hip hop show, which will include a performance by Caushun, known as "The Gay Rapper," is sponsored by Queer People of Color Task Force, Africana Studies, the United Minorities Council and The Foundation.

The event is a "big initiative to bridge the gap between LGBT and the African-American community," Nordstrom said.

Gap-bridging meant not only planning events within ethnic communities, but also among other campus subcultures.

"Coming Out to Play: The Experience of the LGBT Athlete" is far from the only taboo topic QPenn plans to tackle. "The Big Bad Q Word: The 'Queer' Controversy" event includes a discussion of the term "queer."

The term "came out of a lot of controversy," said Nordstrom, who helped plan the event. "And now there's a movement to reclaim the term."

Event specifics will be promoted at tables on Locust Walk.

Correction

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