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Commentary Oregon Daily Emerald Monday, May 9, 2005 NEWS STAFF {541)346-5511 JEN SUDICK EDITOR IN CHIEF STEVEN R. NEUMAN MANAGING EDITOR JARED PABEN AYISUA YAHYA NEWS EDITORS MECHANN CUN1FF PARKER UOWEI l. SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS MORIAH RAUNCIT ADAM CHERRY BRJTTNI McCLENAHAN EMILY SMITH EVA SYLWESTER SHELDON TRAVER NEWS REPORTERS CLAYTON JONES SPORTS EDITOR ION ROETMAN SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER STEPHEN MILLER BRIAN SMITH SPORTS REPORTERS RYAN NYBURG PULSE EDITOR AMY UCHTY SENIOR PULSE REPORTER JOSHUA UNTEREUR PULSE REPORTER CAT BALDWIN JOHN PALMER PULSE CARTOONISTS AILEE SLATER COMMENTARY EDITOR GABE BRADLEY ANNEMARIE KNEPPER CHUCK SLOTHOWER JENNIFER MCBRIDE COLUMNISTS ASHLEY GRIFFIN SUPPLEMENT FREELANCE EDITOR DANIELLE HICKEY PHOTO EDITOR LAUREN WIMER SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER NICOLE BARKER TIM BOBOSKY PHOTOGRAPHERS KATE HORTON ZANERITL PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHERS BRET FURTWANGLER GRAPHIC ARTIST DUSTIN REESE SENIOR DESIGNER ELLIOTT ASBURY WENDY K1EFFER AMANDA LEE JONAH SCHROG1N DESIGNERS SHADRA BEESLEY JEANNIE EVERS COPY CHIEFS KIMBERLY BLACKFIELD JOSH NORRIS SPORTS COPY EDITORS GREG BILS1AND AMBER LINDROS NEWS COPY EDITORS JENNY GERW1CK PULSE COPY EDITOR ADRIENNE NEIiJON ONLINE EDITOR WEBMASTER (541)346-5511 JUDY RIEDL GENERAL MANAGER KATHY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER LAUNA DE GIUSTI RECEPTIONIST JERED NAGEL PATRICK SCHMERBER HOLLY STEIN JANA SWANSON ROB WEGNER CAROLYN ZIMMERMAN DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING (541)346-3712 MELISSA GUST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR TYLER MACK SALES MANAGER MATT BETZ HERON CALISCH-DOLEN MEGAN HAMLIN KATE HIRONAKA MAEGAN KASER-LEE KELLEE KAUFTHEIL MIA LEI HELM IYER SHANNON ROGERS SALES REPRESENTATIVES CLASSIFIED (541)3464343 TR1NA SHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER KORA1YNN BASHAM ANDO KATY GAGNON KER1 SPANGLER KATIE STRINGER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541) 3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER TARA SLOAN PRODUCTION COORDINATOR |EN CRAMLET KRISTEN DICHARRY CAMERON GAUT SABRINA GOWETTE IONAH SCHROGIN DESIGNERS The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Fri day during the school year by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Ore gon, Eugene, Ore. The Emerald operates independently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property Unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law ....mm?/ fAE?/ OH, m." What maims FUIC1VAN6LEK Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist ■ In my opinion More than MAN MEETS WOMAN Jury selection begins today for a sec ond trial in the murder of Gwen Araujo, a 17-year-old biological male who had lived her life as female from age 14. Gwen was tortured and killed more than two years ago after her group of friends discovered her biological iden tity. The two men allegedly responsible for Gwen’s death apparently had con tinual sexual contact with her in the months preceding her murder. Remember these facts as we move to a related facet of this story. It is my belief that one key reason for the presence of homophobia among men is the fear of being placed in a sex ually passive position. In heterosexual romancing, most people abide by (or at least find themselves deeply en trenched within) the social norm of male as initiator, female as receiver. It is socially acceptable and normal for men to approach women, shower them with sexual flattery and take the initiative to make plans for the future. Although there is nothing inherent ly better or worse about being in ei ther position, it is often scary to be in a more passive sexual role, especially living in a culture in which masculine sexuality is so intense. If a woman at the bar is approached by a man in whom she has no sexual interest, the situation becomes one of fear when the male initiator continues to act to ward her in a sexual manner. Sudden ly, instead of considering how she can get away from this drunk loser and go talk to the cute guy hovering by the door, all her thoughts aim toward guarding herself from sexuality, specifically the sexuality of the un wanted initiator but also by default her own sexual feelings. Although this woman may have started her night excited to get to gether with someone, a relentless bar fly full of cheap pick-up lines has quickly turned her evening into one filled with fear of sexual assault AILEE SLATER FURTHER FROM PERFECTION rather than anticipation of an enjoy able sexual experience. Now imagine being that woman every day, as every form of mainstream media shoves male sexuality down your throat. It’s hard to put yourself into that mindset if you are America’s domi nant gender or sexuality. Just as most gay women can never fully un derstand the intricacies of straight male sexuality, few straight men can truly grasp the delicate line women must toe between experiencing and protecting our sexuality. Unless you think about it in terms of homophobia. For the most part, it seems to me there are two types of homophobia in the United States. The first is a larger, institutional homophobia, usually based on religious teachings or a con servative culture. The Catholic Church’s reluctance to condone gay marriage is one example of this brand. The second type occurs at a more personal level and is often from straight men toward gay men. You’ve probably heard homophobic comments coming from straight men who are uncomfort able with homosexuality because they don’t want gay men hitting on them. Though they may be liberally minded in every other facet of life and OK with homosexuality in general, the idea of another man expressing a sexual inter est in them inspires the deepest sense of anger and fear. This anger and fear is exactly what most heterosexual women cope with at every stage of their sexual lives: It comes from a place of not having autonomy over sexual thoughts, desires and actions because the sexuality of someone else is getting in the way. This brings us back to the subject of Gwen Araujo, or, more accurately, the men who murdered her. Gwen was not murdered because she was a biological male pretending to be fe male; Gwen was murdered because she engaged in sexual contact with her killers under false pretenses. If her killers had spotted a transgender per son on the street, would they have been so offended as to strangle him or her and attack that person with a skil let? Unlikely. The people most bent on harming Gwen were the people with whom she had sexual contact. The anger of those men is under standable. Sexuality is a personal and precious thing, and it’s disturbing to feel that one’s sexual life has been en trenched in deception. Sexuality is a powerful force and losing control of that is one of the most frightening ex periences a human can undergo. What is not understandable is the actions of the murderers in relation to that anger. TYagically, those young men determined that the only way to reclaim their sexuality was through the murder and degradation of anoth er human being. Also tragic is the presence of any and all hate crimes based on sex and gender, so many of which occur as knee-jerk responses from heterosexual men afraid of los ing their highly coveted role as social controllers of sexuality. Until culture undergoes a serious revolution, let’s at least hope the up coming trial will let Gwen Araujo’s killers know sexual control has to do with everyone’s right to sexual autono my and that murdering Gwen was a step in exactly the wrong direction. aileeslater@dailyemerald. com OREGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged, and should be sent to letters@dailyemerald.com or submitted at the Oregon Daily Emerald office EMU Suite 300 Electronic submissions are preferred tetters are limited to 250 words, and guest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one submission per calendar month Submissions should include phone number and address for verification. The Emerald reserves the right to edit tor space, grammar and style. Guest submissions are published at the discretion of the Emerald ■ Editorial Mayor kelps distinguish line between church, state The editorial board commends Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy for deciding to bow out of the annual Eugene-Springfield Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast, to be held this year at the Eugene Hilton. In a time when the line between church and state has been blurred and reli gious acceptance has been narrowed, Piercy has shown true strength in the face of hun dreds of complaints from local residents. At a West University Neighbors meeting Thursday evening, Piercy said she wanted to represent people of all religious beliefs, a prin ciple that has guided her leadership in other public positions for years. In addition, Piercy said attending the June breakfast would weaken the separation between church and state. The decision contrasts with Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken’s readiness to give the wel come at the breakfast, which is sponsored by private Christian citizens but not sanctioned by the city. Leiken has cited his self-described “corny” rationale for attending the breakfast: He believes in American freedoms, and he’s not going to give those up just because he holds a public office. We strongly disagree with Leiken’s shallow evaluation of this event and of his position. If a mayor, as the leader of a city’s policies and growth, attends an event sponsored by a certain religious group that says it believes “there’s room for spiritual substance in the political dialogue,” he or she is showing an openness to something that has caused very real religious strife in this city and in this country. Once elected to a public office, an of ficial has the duty to represent his or her citi zens to the best of his or her ability. When a mayor believes it is unimportant to sacrifice some personal beliefs to better serve his or her constituents in an unbiased fashion, that person shouldn’t take on the profound duties of an elected office. Piercy has not shown disregard for the prayers of the people of Eugene, as she has been publicly accused of doing. Instead, she has presented a genuine sensitivity and sense of sacrifice and duty for the greater good of Eugene’s diverse array of residents. ■ Out loud “I appreciate any citizen’s desire to pray on behalf of our community, but I don’t think such a prayer breakfast should appear to have government sponsorship or any religious point of view.” — Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy on Tuesday discussing her decision not to attend the Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast. “My concern about the Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast is the very title of it. ” — Piercy at Thursday’s West University Neighbors meeting. “The beautiful thing about the United States is we are a melting pot, and we have this freedom of religion.” — Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken on Tuesday discussing his decision to attend the Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast. “We just want to support the cities and mayors. It’s not a plot; it’s some well-mean ing individuals who believe there’s room for spiritual substance in the political dialogue.” — Clayton Walker, a Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast organizer, on the goals of putting on the event. — From Register-Guard and Daily Emerald reports
