I was deeply upset by the non-apology offered by Brittany Jordan in her March 7 opinion article, “Exclusion of the Minority.” I am heterosexual, and was appalled by the lack of sensitivity in Ms. Jordan’s language. There are many issues with the language Ms. Jordan chose to describe the GLBTQ community, not the least of which was the use of the words “gender confusion” to describe transgender identities. “Transgender” is an umbrella term under which many identities may fall, but “gender confusion” certainly does not apply, as trans-identified people are not “confused” about their identity.
I was further shocked by Ms. Jordan’s assertion that we as a society have been “led to believe that [same-sex marriage] is a much larger issue than it actually is.” Marriage equality is an important issue, and it is far from the only issue facing the GLBTQ community. Access to legal resources, healthcare, housing, and job opportunities are but a few of the issues facing GLBTQ-identified folks every day in addition to marriage. To reduce the struggle of these communities to the debate over marriage equality is to ignore the complexity of intersecting issues in society.
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Additionally, the GLBTQ community is made up of human beings, not data points. Their lives matter. Their stories matter. Ms. Jordan needs to recognize that regardless of how many of her readers or Facebook friends identify as GLBTQ, numbers are no reason for excluding them.
Amy Ferree is a senior biomedical sciences major
