ARTICLES
FEBRUARY 2005 ARTICLES
Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
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Fireman Uniforms and Bondage
Loyola-Marymount's Page for (Gay) Lovers
BY CHRISTOPHER ZEHNDER
I was 11 years old, and I was in love with Annette Funicello. And I was in trouble," Dr. Ronni Sanlo told Wendy Soderburg in an interview for the publication UCLA Today. Dr. Sanlo being a woman, the troubling character of this predicament — being in love with Annette Funicello — is rendered more comprehensible. But Ms. Soderburg assures us that, today — 45 years later — Sanlo is no longer in trouble. The good professor has come to terms with her lesbianism; she now directs UCLA's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Campus Resource Center (conducting "sensitivity training sessions for faculty, staff, and — indirectly — students), and has written three books on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students and teachers on college campuses. Dr. Sanlo is also known for initiating UCLA's Lavender Graduation for homosexual students.
But if Dr. Sanlo is not in trouble, Los Angeles' premier Catholic university, Loyola Marymount, may be. Sanlo has come to terms with what she thinks is her identity. Loyola Marymount, it seems, has not. Is it a Catholic university? Or a secular university with only the thinnest veneer of Catholicity? That Dr. Sanlo last October 28 addressed Loyola-Marymount faculty and staff on "Sexual Orientation in K-16 Schools: Addressing the Needs of Teachers and Students," would suggest the university veers from strict Catholicism. But there are other indications of the same trouble.
In January, the Mission reported that Loyola Marymount now offers medical benefits to the "domestic partners" of its homosexual faculty and staff. In the spring of 2003, the university's office of training and development showed the pro-homosexual rights film, It's Elementary — Talking About Gay Issues in School, at its monthly "diversity workshop." The university has also had homosexual student groups, though it has not officially recognized them.
Or has it? I suppose it depends on what one means by recognition. The university's Gay Straight Alliance, presumably one of the unrecognized campus organizations, has its own web page (http://aslmu.lmu.edu /gsa/index.htm) on the Loyola Marymount University server. The name of the university is prominently displayed on the Alliance' s website.
Now, one might assume that such an organization on a Catholic campus would heed the Catechism of the Catholic Church and help homosexuals manage their "trial" and live in chastity. Judging by its website, however, nothing is further from the intention of Loyola Marymount University's Gay Straight Alliance.
The website provides a "Way Cool Message Board," which is exemplified by the following exchange. A girl named Sarah asks: "hey! okay can you guys give me some suggestions of cool 18+ clubs to go to on saturday and sunday nights? thank you so so so much, any ideas would be super appreciated! :)"
To which, "Jonathan" responds: "Thursday nights Tigerheat. Friday nights the Ruby used to be good, havent been in a long time. Saturday night, your best bet is Rage. And Sunday night Velvet used to be pretty good, its kind of laid back with a mixed crowd. The caveat is that most of these places are predominantly gay, although usually there will be a bit of lesbian power. The 18+ lesbian clubbing scene is almost nonexistant, unfortunatly. When you turn 21 there are quite a few hot lesbian places like HERE(my favorite) and Girlbar. Hope that helps :)"
Another revealing item on the website is a photo page, titled "Hot Guy Fest 2004," which features several bare chested young men; one of them is grabbing a bulge in his bathing suit.
Besides the "Way Cool Message Board" and the "Hot Guy Fest 2004" pictures, the website offers a list of "resources" — links to various web pages. I had the unique experience of perusing these linked pages; not one but encouraged the homosexual "lifestyle" and, more particularly, homosexual genital acts.
Among the linked pages was one, outproud.org, described on the university's Gay Straight Alliance web page as "A Very Good Coming Out Q&A." The response to the question, "is it normal to be gay," is as follows: "THE SHORT ANSWER: Yes. Being gay is as natural, normal, and healthy as being straight. No one knows exactly how human sexual orientation — gay or straight — is determined. Most experts think it's a matter of genetics, biology, and environment — that a person's sexual orientation could be set before birth or as early as two or three years old.... Homosexuality is as much a part of nature as heterosexuality. Not only is it as natural, it's as healthy to be gay as to be straight — no matter what some people might tell you...."
Another outproud.org page linked to the university's Gay Straight Alliance website answers the question, "Am I normal?" with: "yes, you are normal. It's perfectly natural for people to be attracted to members of their own sex. But it's not something that's encouraged in our society. Many people push away these feelings because of prejudice against gay men and lesbians.... It's normal and healthy to be yourself, whether you're gay or straight. What's really important is that we learn to like ourselves."
But the university's Gay Straight Alliance website goes beyond simply affirming homosexuals; it encourages homosexual genital behavior. A link to planetout.com invites: "ready to wash that vanilla right outta your hair and get a little kinky? Columnist Simon Sheppard's got the goods on everything from shower stalls to stretching balls. If it's not in here — well, you're on your own then. Happy cruising!" Another link to gaywired.com offers an advice column, "Ask Angelo, The Gay Man's Therapist." Quoth Angelo: "Is a healthy gay couple one that has sex daily? Twice a week? Once a month? Can a celibate gay couple be healthy too? Is monogamy the way to go for gay couples? Open relationships? Is just staying single better? It does take different strokes for different folks." Another advice column is advertised on the university website thus: "Savage Love — Dan Savage gives bitchy, campy but oh-so-insightful advice in his weekly sex column." In one of Savage's December columns, guest columnist Jill Corrall advises a lesbian who says she is "in a committed relationship, but looking for a bit of specific action. I'd like to hire another woman to dominate me." Corrall's advice? "I went to an expert for this one—Greta Christina, editor of Paying for It: A Guide by Sex Workers for Their Clients (Greenery Press, 2004) and longtime sapphist. Greta says, 'I have yet to run into a female sex worker in any part of the country who would be appalled or grossed out by the prospect of a female customer. Most of them enjoy it, for the change of pace if nothing else."
Loyola Marymount's Gay Straight Alliance website also offers a "Queer Culture" section, which has a link to the Margaret Cho website. Who is Margaret Cho? According to the university Gay Straight Alliance website, she is "a raunchy Korean-American comedienne with a large queer following." Another link is to a "hilarious online, animated series about the misadventures of a very queer duck and his friends." The series, called Queer Duck, features twenty episodes. In one of these, "Bi-Polar Bear and the Glorious Hole," tells how the character Bi-Polar Bear, after getting his head stuck in a hole, is repeatedly sodomized. Another episode reveals the little known fact that Santa Claus is bisexual.
Another strip, called "Rusty is a Homosexual," features a '50s-era children's book in which a boy is rescued by a fireman. The story, however, is retold, with Rusty falling in love in the fireman. At one point in the story, Rusty "comes out":
"The real shocker came at dinner that night," goes the story. "'I wish a fireman would take off all his clothes and sleep with me in my bed,' said Rusty. 'And I wish he would put a dog leash on me.' Mother nearly choked on her tomato aspic. 'Eat your dinner, Rusty,' said Mother. 'And be quiet.'" At first Rusty's family rejects Rusty, which leads Rusty to try to commit suicide. Finally, after a seeing a psychologist, the family accepts Rusty and looks for a lover for him. "Rusty's family even helped set him up with a good boyfriend," says the story. "'What about this one, Father?' asked Sue. 10-year-old boy into fireman uniforms and bondage. Usually top but versatile. Is Rusty a top or a bottom, Father?' 'I think he's a bottom,' said Father. 'This looks like a good match for Rusty.'"
Loyola Marymount's Gay Straight Alliance page does link, however, to some "Catholic" theological reflection. It comes from Dignity USA, which describes itself as an organization that "envisions and works for a time when gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality with their sexuality and, as beloved persons of God, participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and Society." Featured on the Dignity web page is a paper, titled "The Call to Wed: Why Catholics Should Celebrate Same Sex Marriage." This paper argues that homosexual sex is perfectly natural because traditional Catholic teaching that sexual intercourse is primarily ordered to procreation is a remnant of an old dualism that thinks sexual pleasure is at best suspect. Interestingly enough, the author of this paper is Patricia Beattie Jung who, with her "husband, the Rev. Shannon Jung (PCUSA) celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary this year." We are further informed that the Rev. and Mrs. (?) Jung "have three sons and one daughter-in-law." And one other thing — Patricia Beattie Jung teaches theology at Loyola University in Chicago.
What is it with these schools called Loyola?
Loyola-Marymount's president, Father Robert Lawton, did not reply to requests for comment on this story.