Although the gay and lesbian community has gained visibility recently, it has only taken “baby steps” toward acceptance in mainstream American culture, said panelists Tuesday evening. The forum, “Gay Identity in the Age of Visibility” featured five speakers, three of whom are Georgetown professors.
Suzanna Walters, the director of Women’s Studies at Georgetown and organizer of the panel, said that she has seen an amazing explosion of gay visibility in social, cultural and political arenas in the last 10 years.
“[Gays are in a situation] scarcely comparable to 30 years ago,” George Mason University Professor Roger Lancaster said.
English professor Ricardo Ortiz said that this visibility is not without costs. “Visibility is a curse and a blessing. It promises everything and guarantees nothing,” he said.
Ortiz said vigilance and caution are needed in dealing with the gay community’s progress. “Beyond commodification there is no guarantee of anything that represents who we are and what claims we might want to make,” Ortiz said.
English professor Matthew Tinkcom said that “there are still repercussions for coming out.” He spoke of the concept of tolerance which is currently popular in American society.
“Tolerance makes me nervous … just as there can more tolerance, there can be less tolerance,” Tinkcom said.
Cathy Renna, a representative from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said that the gay community “totally disappeared off the radar” after the Sept. 11 attacks.
” Media coverage of the queer population after Sept. 11 imploded,” Renna said.
She said that the media turned its attention to the gay community only after Jerry Falwell’s attack on gays and other groups. Renna said that it was difficult to find lesbians and gays to discuss their experiences during the tragedy.
“It’s hard to find lesbians and gay people of color who are willing to talk publicly,” she said.
Renna expressed concern that people do not have a deep understanding of homosexuality beyond popular culture.
“The gay-right is getting the most visibility … the diversity of the gay community is not portrayed,” Renna said.
Walters criticized stereotypes of gays and lesbians that are portrayed in the media and in popular culture. She said that the gay or lesbian character is always isolated within the cast, without a community of gay friends or neighbors or a supportive family.
“The gay community has and is gaining visibility, but at what cost?” Walters asked.
