The Real World....?

After today's first Spirituality in Higher Ed class I came home and watched the premiere episode of The Real World: Washington DC.  The cast is out to dinner and debating God and religion.  I would love to have been in that house and use these conversations and interactions as a case study.  In class we are helping Alexander Astin with research about college student's perspectives and experiences with spirituality.  These eight young adults come from such varied backgrounds and such willingness to speak their minds.

Similarly, the issues of sexuality on this show are AWESOME!  There are two bisexual cast members...one man and one woman.  Cast members have said, multiple times, throughout this episode that they don't know many bisexual men.  I think it is interesting that bisexuality is more accepted, as is experimentation and curiosity, for women than it is for men.  the female bisexual cast member is given high fives and celebrated when she comes out to the rest of the house.  The male character, however, is questioned and the dinner table falls silent.  He felt it necessary that the rest of the house get to know him for his personality and then learn his sexuality.  "being bi is just a part of my personality.  I like to snow board, I like music, I like men and women."  The female didn't feel this pressure at all.  Our society has glamorized lesbian relationships.  Many women feel pressured to make out with, fondle, and have sex with other women as a way to lure men.

As an women who is open about her sexuality, I get so frustrated by this glamorization.  Being (genuinely and truly) queer is not as beautiful as it seems.  When I am out with my partner, we have to worry about who is around us.  We have to make sure we are in welcoming company in order to feel secure enough to hold each other hands or steal a kiss.  When we want to have kids, we have to go through a second parent adoption so that she can have legal rights and authority over our child because she did not contribute any DNA.  There is a lot of discrimination and stares and slurs and hate.  I wish that people would not trivialize my life by making it the center of the porn industry. 

ok, i think I am done venting.