textbook questions (4/14/09)

For this blog, I answered these questions in class about my subculture after reading about how some other people answered them in our textbook…
1. What surprised me?
I thought that because I knew so many homosexuals from various aspects of my life (theatre, choir, band, etc.) I would not find that this organization was more in depth than simply a lot of these people getting together to talk every week. Boy was I wrong. This group does a lot of good not only for its members but also for parents of the members and for others who are going through the same things members may be going through. They also raise money by doing charity work, putting on productions, and utilizing talents students may have within Spectrum.
2. What intrigued me?
I always find new people to be very intriguing but the students from this subculture particularly so. It was very nice to also find that they were all happy to talk to me as well. I was mostly intrigued to find out what each person thought Spectrum truly was. I was expecting to find answers like “it’s just a group I go to” or “I find dates here” but what I found was much deeper than that. All of its members talked about how Spectrum is a home with family members in it. They said that one can feel safe talking about any troubles, issues, or problems because the bond between the members was so strong.
3. What disturbed me?
While researching Spectrum, I found more about how most of these kids go through their young lives not wanting to tell people about their sexual identities because they are afraid of how others will take it. Researching this, I found that they have good reason to feel this way. Not only have I found stories about hazing in different communities but also surveys saying even though some people may not have hazed before, they might be willing to if a homosexual crossed their paths.
-Julia St. John