The Women's Center

Thinking about LGBT month has led me to think about what has not been openly discussed in regards to the gay community. What immediately came to mind, and what I consider to be an undercover issue in terms of alternative lifestyle, is the development of social cliques within the gay community, particularly among women, or those that choose to be associated with that gender.

Okay, this seems way out of left field, but I will give a background. As I have mentioned previously, I attended a women’s college. The only reason this is relevant is that in an environment where there are only women, it is easier to see how women interact with each other exclusively. Although Simmons College undergraduate school only enrolls women, for some reason there is a place called the Women’s Center. In my opinion, is not the whole school a women’s center? But anyways, the Women’s Center served as a tide pool displaying the different socialization habits of gay/straight women in a small space. There were also unicorns.

The weirdest thing about the Women’s Center (other than it being a center for women inside a center for women) is that only lesbians went there. Further still, only “established” lesbians went there. Meaning if you were a lesbian, but were not active in the gay community at Simmons College, you might feel mighty uncomfortable. Secondly, the Center was located in a place where everyone who ever attended a class had to walk by, in an underground hallway that connected two main buildings on the academic campus. The doors were left open. Inside there were scattered couches, computers, and girls lounging around with one another, relaxing and whatnot.

Now having a place where women can go and relax is wonderful, but why is it that every year only a small group of friends (changing as a new one entered the clique and another graduated) occupied the Center. Ideally, this should be a place where everyone can go and feel…welcome. I heard it summarized best by the cutest, blondest, little white girl from Connecticut in my film class: “I would love to hang out in the Women’s Center, but sometimes I feel like lesbians don’t like me.”

There are two sides to this. Living an openly gay lifestyle, even in the city of Boston is not easy. I am sure many of these girls feel judged all the time. The Women’s Center is a place where they can just be themselves and not worry about social pressure. The other side is that girls who are either straight, or choose not to be an active member of the community feel like they are not welcome. What is ultimately sad is that a place intended for unification has resulted in a place, in my opinion, that rebuilds walls between an otherwise incredibly accepting school community.

If everyone is afraid that they do not belong, everything will stay the same. I cannot say that I barged into the Center demanding sisterhood, but sometimes I wish I had. Hopefully unification will be helped along in this month’s LGBT celebrations.