The Gay Community?

(Posted by Nick, '11)

Yesterday at a meeting for all interns who work at the campus life office, one such intern brought up the idea that there really isn’t a gay community at Vassar. They said that those who identify as queer are divided up into little groups, cliques some might say, that never really socialize with other cliques. They brought it up because they didn’t feel there was a sense of unity in the queer community here, if one does indeed exist.

I agree with all of these ideas. Personally, I don’t choose my friends based on any criteria – if they’re likeable and show an interest in being my friend, that’s alright – they can call me their friend. I don’t restrict my friendships based on sexuality, ethnicity, gender, or other such categorical determinants. That said, I have recognized that in just the class of 2011, there is definitely at least one gay “clique,” of which I am not a part of, nor do I want to be a part of it.

Having established that they most certainly exist, are these cliques indicative of the existence of a queer community? No. What defines a true queer community? Unification. Concepts about which we all agree and around which we all coalesce. Concepts that promote queer “ideals” like marriage equality or widespread social acceptance of the spectrum of queer life.

Right now, there are a select few that involve themselves in queer organizations and go to events hosted by these organizations. Why is this? The only thing I can come up with right now is the possibility of a general apathy toward the advocating of queer ideals. Vassar is a “queer-friendly” campus – we’re so socially accepting of lifestyles different from our own that we don’t find a need to organize. We’d just be preaching to the choir, so to speak. What do you think?