Monday, July 1, 2013
Page 4
How are you celebrating July 4?
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
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EQUALITY
@Bowmanatee
@UDK Opinion In light of recent #Immigration discussions in the Legislative funhouse, Im flying my patriotic self to Cozumel!
scubasurfnsand
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@UOK_Opinion I'll be celebrating my patriotism by working 11 hours and makin bank. #happy4th I guess.
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@UDK Opinion finishing
the rest of my Jayhawk
birthday cake
Negative stereotypes define gender roles
There was a pronounced atmosphere of euphoria on June 26 when the Supreme Court ruled that section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. While the justices themselves were responsible for the rendering of the decision, it wouldn't be possible to have achieved such a milestone in LGBT rights without the undying support of its allies. Indeed, what people must know is that personal beliefs, on the micro level, can have major implications for the rest of the nation. To achieve the next step in expanding LGBT rights, some widely held attitudes about homosexuality must change — namely, gender norms. These anachronistic social constructs charge men with fulfilling masculine roles in society, and women with fulfilling feminine roles.
In relation to the plight of the LBGT, gender norms often manifest themselves in labels such as "too gay," which suggests a gay person
has moved out of their acceptable, gender assigned role. People who say this about others are obviously making assumptions rooted in stringent gender binaries, which suggest that men should behave like men and women should behave like women. Those who adhere to this paradigm can only be partial supporters of the LGBT at best. Because they believe being gay is okay, so long as the gay person in question does not cross their arbitrarily constructed concepts of masculinity and femininity. What's more, gay people themselves face a stigma in their own communities
from this construct. Popular gay dating apps are riddled with statements like "no fem." With just two words, their entire personality has been discounted.
The statement, "too gay," itself is a fallacy. Homosexuality exists on a continuum and adheres to no socially constructed boundary. Studies have shown that many people fall into a grey area of sexuality, which makes these labels even more arbitrary and harmful. No human can be too much of who the are, and this label only serves to make them ashamed of it. When it comes to being gay, the limit does not exist.
Labels like these fracture group cohesion by otherizing the LGBT community internally and externally and keep them at a safe distance from their heterosexual counterparts. In order to move into equality, the LGBT community, in its multiplicity, must be fully embraced. That entails eliminating all conceptions of what roles
and behaviors men and women should adopt in society. Legislative victories will be hallow if the LGBT still feel excluded because they play a role society finds unfit for them.
Ten years ago, in 2003, the Supreme Court found in Lawrence v. Texas that criminalizing consensual homosexual sex acts was unconstitutional. Now, in 2013, our nation has taken the next greatest step. The societal gains made have been in no way infinitesimal or negligible. Our nation has gone from viewing homosexuality as a criminal offense to a normal display of human affection in a mere decade, but there's more to be done. Heteronormative beliefs are from a bygone era, and so too they must go. If we embrace all kinds of people for who they are, maybe at the end of our lives, we will be able to say we got to see the world change.
Ashley is a sophomore from Topeka. Follow him on Twitter @punchkleenw.
A CUP O' JO
Satisfying coffee addiction fuels daily routine
It's impossible, at least for me, to not feel like a motivational speaker after that first cup. I'm snapping my fingers, clicking my heels, and cheerly addressing people by their full names. The 8 a.m. hour is where about 90 percent of my daily productivity is focused. I won't complain if I'm the model American worker (if only for 60 minutes).
Without coffee, my day is like trench warfare. Blaring sounds, blinding light, and mud everywhere. I've sold my soul to the coffee plant like so many others and now my days are sitting somewhere between a quiet afternoon in 'Nam and a playground wrestling match.
If you're anyone looking to do anything, you've probably sat down for a cup of coffee first. Without thinking, you are filling up the reservoir with a half-gallon of pale brown water, punching the brew button, and slamming back a mug of raw fuel.
That's when the mid-morning famine happens. Some evil scientist at Folgers definitely met with an even more sinister scientist at Panera to add a bread-craving chemical to every batch of coffee ever. Fighting past that 11 a.m. urge to gobble some pastries has probably saved me a thousand dollars and my freshman 15.
Lunch and the hour and a half following are the least exciting of my day. I have enough caffeine-laced energy to function but not enough to really excel. It is the nadir of an otherwise entertaining struggle to get stuff done. But then comes the lowest of lows. The blasphemous Five-Hour-Energy popularized the concept of "that 2:30 p.m." feeling and at the same time underplayed it. It's even worse in the summertime, when walking around soaks you in sweat and leaves you gasping. In my more excited states I convince myself I'm dying of coffee withdrawal.
With a meth-head's ravenous hunger, I'm on the lookout for a Starbucks or a half-empty cup that somebody forgot at the Underground. I'm digging through trashcans in break rooms to suck on used filters. I am so high-strung you could pluck me for a high E.
It's there around 4 p.m. when I finally just resign myself to being trapped in that haze of sluggishness with no chance of escape until I hit the sheets. I normally chalk it up to a hard day's work, but if I'm really honest with myself, it's just the side
effects of a poorly managed addiction. I'd be terrible with heroine, I swear.
Despite my daily epic struggle with this bean, it's hard not to rely on it. If I weren't so manic and completely stuck in my head all the time, it'd probably be good for me. The only real drawback to coffee is dependence, and its benefits are what carried America through most of the 20th century. Between the Great Depression, Great War, and the 80s, I don't know where we'd be without it.
So on most days, I forego any sense of caution with my coffee and just go nuts. It hasn't failed me yet, and spending almost a third of my day in the bathroom means I'm playing a lot of games on my phone. Who cares about that though? Coffee up, America!
Kenney is a sophomore from Leawood.
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