Long Beach forum to discuss meaning of 'queer'
Posted on September 12, 2013 by Phillip Zonkel
LONG BEACH – Jennifer Reed, an associate professor in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Cal State Long Beach, isn't offended by the word queer.
"It's a positive term. I find it useful. It's not about an identity. It's about blurring the lines between gender and sexuality," Reed said. "Anyone can be queer, not just lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
"It's anything that challenges the norms of heterosexuality."
The use and meaning of queer will be discussed Saturday 2-4 p.m. at Cal State Long Beach during the panel discussion "Are You Queer?"
Panelists include local amateur boxer Pat Manuel; playwright Miguel Garcia; Adriana di Bartolo, director of the Queer Resource Center at Pomona College; CSULB sociology lecturer Carina Giorgi and teacher Robert Prior. The discussion will be moderated by Gabriel Estrada, a CSULB religious studies professor.
The event was organized by the Press-Telegram and Out in the 562, the LGBT blog started by P-T staff writer Phillip Zonkel, and Reed.
The title "Are You Queer?" is supposed to be provocative. The LGBT community, both locally and nationwide, have started to reclaim the word "queer" — which for decades has been used as a derogatory slur for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
For example, this semester, CSULB launched its 18-unit queer studies minor, which Reed helped organize with the university's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Task Force.
In other circles, however, queer is still an offensive term.
Panelists on Saturday will talk about what the term means to them and whether they identify as queer, among other topics.
"I identify as queer," Garcia, 28, of El Monte, said.
"It's a great way to not get confined into one stereotype of what gay is. It's a way to take more pride in our identity," said Garcia, executive director of the Brown & Out short play festival, which celebrates the Latino LGBTQ experience.
Reed, who helped organize the panel, is pleased with the panel's diversity.
"It would be criminal to not have a diverse panel. The LGBTQ community is sometimes dominated by the white, male middle class perspective," she said. "But this panel isn't. It's important that we hear as many voices and experiences as possible."
This entry was posted in Education and tagged boxer, brown and out, Cal State Long Beach, Jennifer Reed, long beach, Miguel Garcia, panel, Pat manuel, plays, queer, Queer studies minor by Phillip Zonkel. Bookmark the permalink.
Interesting that the panel seems to be filled with non-Long Beach residents… Why is the Press telegram and "Out in the 562" sponsoring a discussion aimed at "our" "community" and not featuring voices from "our" "community"? Also, the fact that this is on CSULB's campus makes it inaccessible for most of LB's queer community. Parking costs money. This should be hosted at the Center where there is a parking lot and free parking. This is poorly thought out and imagined.
http://blogs.presstelegram.com/outinthe562/ Phillip Zonkel
Four of the five panelists and the moderator were from Long Beach, and the location was selected for its size. Almost 100 people attended; that number could not have been accommodated at the Center. CSULB is very accessible for the LGBT community. A couple of people did mention the parking fee, and that issue will be taken into consideration for other events.
Responding to This
Once again the queer community has been "Zonkel-d".
http://www.amporg.org/queeringlongbeach.html