Between the Lines
Save a cow. Eat a pussy.
This is the saying I saw yesterday morning outside of Crawford Hall on my way to class.
When I read it, I literally stopped walking, turned around and had to re-read it to make sure I saw the message correctly.
After rolling my eyes and making the uh...how rude noise to myself, I walked off, annoyed and carrying the assumption that some immature drunken person had gotten a hold of one too many pieces of sidewalk chalk over the weekend and gone to town.
How rude...why do people have to be so degrading
I thought to myself.
Then, as I continued my journey up Morton Hill, I noticed a slew of other sayings chalked out, which I paid special attention to, wondering if they had been written by the same invalid.
Kiss a Queer. Happy Out Week was the next saying I encountered.
Of course...it is Out Week. I hadn't realized it until I saw this and a few other phrases that followed, like Dykes do it better.
Could it be, I wondered, that the same group who traditionally lines the campus walkways with what I consider to be supportive and fun sayings such as the ones on Morton Hill would also have written the offensive Save a cow... statement that was not far from my residence hall?
As almost anyone who knows me could agree, I am all about standing up and making your voice be heard for something you believe in, and I am a supporter and ally of members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.
I understand how embracing potentially derogatory language such as 'queer' and 'dyke' is empowering and even motivating for LGBT members. But, I do not understand how vulgar language, such as pussy is appropriate in any form of campaigning.
I also understand the concept of heterosexual privilege. I know it is something I do not have to ask for, but something I am lucky to have and I often take for granted. However, I do not plan, nor do I think it would be appropriate to chalk the campus with phrases like Forget pork choose cock.
And, I can't imagine any woman in either a homosexual or heterosexual relationship finding it attractive, kind or loving for a partner to tell her that he or she would like to Save a cow and... I would be hurt and offended if my boyfriend used that type of language with me.
I'm all for the LGBT message of acceptance. I'm all for the shock value of using words like queer and dyke to get people's attention and to make them reconsider the diversity issues in our society. But, I think using vulgar terms in these messages is going to do more harm than good.
I support the LGBT effort to raise awareness of issues in our society and on our campus, but I disagree with the method used to do so this week.
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Natalie Morales
