Editor:
In response to the letter by James Wilde (“LGBTQ stories are disappointing” Oct. 4), I would like to make a few points.
The thing about television is that it is actually a far more powerful instrument of social commentary and influence than it is often given credit for. Television is a compilation of stories, which certainly can be considered a form of art, but believing that art does not matter is extremely na’ve. Those who get to be heard through the privilege of telling their own stories do have more power within our society. Those who are oppressed through having their own stories told by others, or not at all, have much less power.
The right to be able to tell one’s own story, in equal proportion to other stories, is critical for any type of social justice. That is why television, media and art matter. Civil rights involve hearing the voices of everyone, in whatever forms of expression they choose to utilize. If these voices are silenced, how can we as a society claim to value justice, equality and human rights?
Furthermore, in an effort to better understand where the GLBTQ community is coming from, suffice it to say that sexuality matters because it matters. In a society where heterosexuality is the default assumption, it is never questioned and, indeed, never noticed. As a society, we are blind to the ways in which heterosexuality infuses every aspect of our lives, yet we are hypersensitive to “other” enactments of sexuality.
If we believe that the voices of the GLBTQ community are too loud and repulsive, it is only because we are not used to listening to them. Our own social clamor over heterosexuality has effectively drowned them out. If we believe the demands of the GLBTQ community to tell their own stories in their own words is nothing more than a frivolous tantrum, we are only displaying our ignorance regarding the importance of voice, the oppressive power structures that do exist in our society and the degree to which we are incapable of seeing our own position within a sexualized society.
Colyn KilmerAlumna ’06