GLBT Forum Addresses Issues of Identity and Sexuality

By Cheryl D’Mello

Robyn Ochs was the kenote speaker for the GLBT Forum.

“We obsess too much in our culture about gender and sex,” said Robyn Ochs, writer, activist, and speaker for bisexual issues and the keynote speaker at the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) Forum held at Fenn Tower Ballroom on April 3, 2009. She addressed about 40 students, faculty, staff, and community members at the Forum which introduced them to the underlying concepts, issues, and terminology of the GLBT community. Ochs, who is from Boston, MA also addressed Professor Sarah Mathews sociology class. The Forum also included four sessions and the keynote address.

The presenters included Mika Major from the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland on “Understanding Sexual Orientation and the Cost of Bias”; Jake Nash of Transfamily on “Understanding Transgender Issues”; Bruce Menapace, Psychologist at Cleveland State University who discussed “Relationships between LGBT Couples”; and Willow Witte of Jointheimpact.com who spoke about “Understanding Grassroots Activism for the LGBT Movement and Jointheimpact.com.”

Ochs’s presentation, “Crossing Lines: Identity and the Sexuality Spectrum,” was highly interactive. “Race and gender are binaries. Our system reinforces the binary system,” she said explaining how people get left out when this happens. “Opposite sexes are taught to behave in ways that emphasize opposites.” She quoted from Dr. Alfred Kinsey, a research pioneer in human sexuality, that in reality, “The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects.” Participants were asked to rate themselves on the Kinsey Scale - Models of Sexual Orientation, and then see where most people stood on the scale. The results were surprising.

Ochs shared her experiences of being attracted to people regardless of gender. She talked of the forest of identities that a person has. “It is an ecosystem of identities that affect each other and are affected by the environment such as media, culture, politics and religion.

While at the Forum, some attendees were elated to hear that the state of Iowa unanimously ruled that the ban on marriage for same sex couples violated the Iowa Constitution.

Article originally appeared in The Cauldron on April 13, 2009.