Tuesday night's LGBT event, organized by the Queer Student Alliance, in association with ALLIES, raised awareness of what it means to be queer.
The meeting began with audience introductions, as all attendees were asked to give an assumption about themselves that was untrue. Replies ranged from incorrect assumptions about nationality, heritage, blondes, threesomes and, in the case of English professor Heather Love, people assuming professors are dorks.
Love focused the discussion on the history of the word queer and the controversial connotations surrounding it.
In addition, the group discussed the transformation of the word in recent years, which has come partially as a result of shows such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
"Its rise to fame was the end of the '80s and beginning of the '90s," Love said. The academic genealogy and move into the academy was unthinkable in the early '80s, Love said in reference to queer studies.
Love questioned what it really means to be queer. She defines "queer" as "identity that is against identity" and also as acting to "question gender categories ... and identity."
The floor was opened to questions from students -- many of whom held personal and passionate opinions.
Although Love said, "for me I will always be lesbian, because there was no queer when I was growing up," College sophomore M Tong, said "I don't like the word lesbian. I would say 'queer' because I don't like being identified with bull-dykes."
Tong explained that the word lesbian creates a rift between women, as "you can't be a 'lesbian woman.'" In Tong's opinion, linguistically speaking, people are identified as either a lesbian or a woman, but not both -- as in this case the word lesbian is a noun as opposed to an adjective like gay or queer.
Attendees found the discussion to be productive.
Wharton sophomore and co-Chairman of the Queer Student Alliance Brett Thalmann felt that the event had "great turnout and good discussion of different connotations of 'queer'."
College sophomore Emily Buzzell, who is interested in "becoming more active in the queer community," felt it was a "balanced discussion, with a lot of interesting perspectives," as she "came in thinking 'queer' was an accepted term, but apparently it does still have a bad connotation."
According to Love, events like this are needed, as "there could really be more activism in the LGBT Center."
