Students Discuss Gays

Students debated the prevalence of homophobia in the Black community at Harvard and elsewhere last night.

The discussion, co-sponsored by the Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Students Association (BGLSA), the Black Students Association (BSA), and the Association of Black Radcliffe Women, attracted about 20 people to Currier House.

One BSA officer said that because the Black community at Harvard is so small, it may be difficult for homosexual Blacks to find a comfortable place.

"Because the community is very small...it is very easy for the community to throw you outside if you don't fit a certain mold," he said.

One junior said he felt forced to make a choice at Harvard between being active in the gay community or the Black community. As a consequence, he said he was distanced from both communities.

Black homosexual students said they experienced additional pressure when coming out because of the expectations placed on them as Harvard students to be role models for other Blacks.

Representatives from the BSA said the isolation of gay Black students could be lessened by more contact between individual members of the gay and Black communities.

"There must be some commonality. You need a link [between communities]," said one BSA representative.

A sophomore member of the Association of Black Radcliffe Women said individual interactions among the groups to create connections are important because many students arrive at Harvard without having ever met an openly gay person.

A BGLSA member said he believes homophobia is more prevalent in Black society as a whole, from his personal experience and data from sociologicalstudies.

But representatives from the BSA disagreed withthis statement, questioning the validity of thesurveys.

Others raised the possibility that homophobiamay be more prevalent in Black society because ofhistorical pressures to prove manhood.

"It might be more dominant because of emphasison maleness due to stigmatism from the whitecommunity," one BSA member said.

The discussion also centered on the refusal ofmany national Black groups to accept the analogybetween the integration of gays into the militaryand the integration of Blacks into the military.

Many participants said this was due to theperception that Blacks do not choose their color,while homosexuals choose their sexual orientation

But representatives from the BSA disagreed withthis statement, questioning the validity of thesurveys.

Others raised the possibility that homophobiamay be more prevalent in Black society because ofhistorical pressures to prove manhood.

"It might be more dominant because of emphasison maleness due to stigmatism from the whitecommunity," one BSA member said.

The discussion also centered on the refusal ofmany national Black groups to accept the analogybetween the integration of gays into the militaryand the integration of Blacks into the military.

Many participants said this was due to theperception that Blacks do not choose their color,while homosexuals choose their sexual orientation