Dear Straight People...

Approximately four months ago, I was floored when I first learned of and saw the movie trailer for the film: Dear White People. I was so taken aback that I had to watch the trailer two or three times, and call around to confirm that his was an actual movie coming to the big screen and not just a spoof; as I had previously thought. Initially I thought the title was very bold, but also perfect for the space I was in. Just a month prior to the release of the first trailer, I ended one of the most enlightening and rewarding experiences of my life; studying abroad with Semester At Sea. At the same time a majority of my experience were in some ways very similar and often identical to the environment depicted in the film at Winchester University. 

About a week ago; after being reminded of its debut—largely from experiential articles and blog post about the reactions from viewers during “gay scenes” presented in the film, I went to see the film. The film didn’t disappoint; however others in the theater did, and proved what I had read and hopefully disbelieved—to be true.

(Spoilers ahead) 

We were walking in as the trailers were playing; my friends and I had coordinated this effort as a bonding experience and needed a break from our course work. The lights were already dim and to my surprise, the theater wasn’t full to capacity. I suspect this was because it was a Tuesday night, but worked in our favor as we rushed to the middle of the theater and found the perfect seats, well…almost perfect seats as a group of people sat in the prime time middle seats, so we sat in the row directly in front of them. I was excited and soon regret having chosen these seats.

While there are a few main plots in Dear White People, the film is primarily centered on the lives of four black students. One in particular, is a kid name Lionel, played by “Everybody Hates Chris” star Tyler James Williams. In the film, Lionel is seen as awkward and has a hard time fitting in. In fact he does not fit in with anyone; not the gay kids, not the white kids, and surely not the black kids who have treated him with homophobia and cruelty. In the film, Lionel’s character plot represents homophobia in the black community. In addition to the other characters heterosexual romances, Lionel has one of his own with another man. This was disappointing to the other people in the theater, and their reactions and responses to Lionel’s romance scenes were breathtakingly horrendous to me.

I tried my best to prepare myself when Lionel’s romance scene was coming up. I had read about various reactions from the audience in blogs post and was unsure of how this audience would react. When Lionel had his first same-sex kiss I held my breath, my palms began to sweat, and my heart began racing. And sure enough homophobia, showed up. “What the fuck!?” someone in the row behind me yelled, another in shock managed to get out “c’mon Chris, how could you,” others in the audience followed suit. I could feel the negative energy in the room, as people began to express in disgust and disbelief what they had just seen. The sly homophobic comments kept coming with “sighs” and “grunts” until Lionel wasn’t on screen. I hadn’t realized it but I had sunk so far down in my seat that my posture reminded me I wasn’t sitting upright anymore. When I realized what I had just witnessed, I turned to look at my friends, and all we could do was stare at one another in in disbelief. I had butterflies in my stomach, but not the excited anxious ones. 

I felt sick. And it only got worse. 

Near the end of the film, Lionel leads the charge in breaking up a racist party held by the President of the University’s son; depicted as the antagonist of the film as an entitled white jerk. Throughout the film he verbally (using homophobic language) and sexually (in one scene pulling out his penis while talking to Lionel delivering the line “you have to talk to these people in the language they understand”) harasses Lionel. In this particular scene the racist white jerk knocks Lionel down on the ground, calls him a faggot, and jumps on top of him. In retaliation, Lionel kisses him (the audience was really expressed their disgust) after delivering the line “I guess you got me right where you want me huh?” and the racist white jerk reacts by repeatedly punching Lionel in the face.

What happened next left me speechless. Individuals in the audience began to cheer and support the racist white jerk’s actions of delivering repeated blows to Lionel’s face. It was as if time froze and I was back in my 6^th grade English classroom at Annapolis Middle School when myself and Austin; a white kid sitting next to me in class, had just got into an argument which led to him calling me a “nigger” and tackling me onto the floor. I felt for Lionel as I did for my 10 year old self when no one saw the wrong in what Austin had said to me, let alone what he did (I swear my shoulder was practically fractured from hitting the floor so hard), but I found myself suspended for repeatedly calling my white teacher a racist after she refused to acknowledge the fact that Austin called me a nigger. When the scene was over, I heard someone in the row behind me validate the actions of the racist white jerk because Lionel was a “homo.” I found some relief noticing a couple (in which I later learned were the only non-black persons in the theater) left the theater following the scene. I couldn’t really tell why they left, but could attribute a large part of it to the reactions from the audience. It was practically hell; however, I was determined to see it through. 

When the film was over, I couldn’t describe the emotions I was feeling. As we followed others out of the theater, it became apparent to me that a vast majority if not all of the reactions came from other persons in the black community. What made it worse was hearing the continued homophobic comments about “Chris” and what appeared to be a medium sized group of heterosexual individuals stare me down as we walked through the atrium of the theater. I had become used to the unwanted attention since the Kappa incident; however, in this moment I wish I had a boyfriend and that I had brought him to the movies with me that night—because I would have grabbed him, and landed a wet one on him in passing of the group. I’m not a fan of PDA (public display of affection) and usually take the high road in situations, but my emotions were raw, and I was so ready to dictate to anyone in the theater: DEAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE…..

It’s been about a week since I saw the film, and I am still debriefing from my experience. I can relate immensely to a number of themes presented in Dear White People. I can recall different times in my life where I found myself in the Winchester University environment. For example, it was just 8 months ago that I found myself spending my spring semester in an educational environment as 1 of 21 “Students of Color; everyone non-white, in which 12 of the 21 were black out of 500 plus students. This environment was essentially the environment at Winchester  University as depicted in Dear White People, and you can imagine how we (a few members of SOC) felt when we were told that our 5 minute documentary video titled “I Too Am Semester At Sea” for the Spring 2014 Film Festival could not win first place. Part of the award for the first place film, was that it would be published on Semester At Sea’s blog, and let’s just says our film wasn’t fit to be published on the blog. Needless to say, the documentary won the most awards in individual categories, and came in second place overall.

I know what it’s like to be a black student as depicted in the film. I have lived that experience. More importantly I realize—I am Lionel. My entire life has been Lionel’s character plot. No one knows his background or his story. We just see him as awkward and an outcast primarily because he is (do we really know?) black and gay. A perfect sequel to this film would be a film about Lionel; a film that tells his story, through his eyes, and his own life experiences. And just maybe, the title will be Dear Straight People…

Seeing this movie reminded me that there is a need for non-heterosexual voices to be heard. There is a need for their stories to be told through their own eyes and through their life experiences. This very need is why I am moving forward with my book.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Morgan State University Writing Center

Morgan State University Baltimore, MD

October 25, 2014-February 28, 2015

Untold Stories: Narratives of the Young Gifted and Gay

Edited By: Brian Stewart

About the book

In the fall of 2013, Alpha Iota, the Morgan State University Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. made a clear statement when it denied membership to an applicant based on sexual orientation. The complaint filed by Brian Stewart; an ambassador to the institution and former White House Intern, made national headlines when the public became aware of the gay slurs and expletives used by a member of the fraternity. The complaint would go on to position Mr. Stewart in the public spotlight, receiving both praise and criticism for speaking out on his experience. At the same time, between messages of support and threats to his well-being, Mr. Stewart began receiving stories from all over the country from persons who experienced similar situations. First, the stories were specific and came from current members of the fraternity and or deferred applicants—narrating their experiences while seeking to join the fraternity. Then, stories of everyday struggles with one’s own sexuality, family, school, and life-in-general began to pour in. While all of the stories praised Mr. Stewart and spoke of his courage in speaking out against the chapter, it was around that same time that the first idea--of the possibility of a book giving voice to the untold stories sparked by the incident, came to be.

Inspired by the personal experience as a victim of sexual discrimination and the literary anthology edited by Keith Boykin: For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough, Untold Stories: Narratives of the Young Gifted and Gay edited by Brian Stewart is an untraditional anthology of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) voices in the 21^st century. This book responds to the ideas of homophobia, sexual stigma, heterosexism, and sexual prejudice in regards to LGBTQ persons; by offering narratives of personal experiences that will help the reader understand hostility, oppression, and discrimination towards LGBTQ persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Additional background can be found here the When Brian Smiles Blog

How to submit an essay

From October 25, 2014 until February 28, 2015, we will accept essays and other writings to include in Untold Stories. We are looking for insightful stories and or experiences centered around one or more of the following major themes: identity (in regards to sexual orientation and gender identity and or expression), family, school, and life in general. Submissions should be between 1000 and 5000 words. Send your submission to whenbriansmiles@gmail.com. Please include your name, email address, phone number, brief 1-paragraph biography and a jpeg photo with your submission. Anonymous submissions will be considered; however, we ask that you submit a pseudonym/alias to credit the work.

This particular anthology will include both established and non-established writers. Our aim is to tell the stories of everyday Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, and Ally (LGBTQA) individuals who have faced and or are still facing adversity. While we plan to include submissions from known public figures, published authors, and talented writers who have overcome obstacles throughout their lives, we are particularly looking for millennials; recent graduate or undergraduate students, and those who have faced bullying or harassment. No matter how you identify, we are only interested in well-told stories that can educate and inspire others. Ultimately, we would like to include the stories of all persons so long as the stories are relevant to the purpose and the themes of the book. It is our intention that this book will: give voice to what it is like living in the 21^st century as a non-heterosexual individual, the challenges we face, and be an opportunity to tell our own stories.

Lastly, we don’t anticipate every story to have a happy ending, nor do we anticipate every essay to deal with adversity, harassment, or some sort of tragedy. We understand life is complex, and want this book to be both educational and inspiring. We want your stories to give voice to your real life experiences, and share those experiences with others. We want to provide you the opportunity to tell your story, just you and your experiences.

This book is expected to be published in April/May 2015.

This post has been updated to reflect the changes in submission deadlines as well as adding "gender identity and expression" throughout the post.