By Louis Hendrix

Dear Queer Union,

Thank you for organizing the Queer Cabaret. I am very happy that everyone from our LGBT community got the opportunity to see and be seen. I am even more grateful that this was met with so much enthusiasm at Macalester, bearing in mind that other colleges in this country would have been less welcoming to an event like this, and other places in the world less tolerating.

Many acts were very entertaining and I praise the courage of every individual that had the guts to get up that stage and perform. I enjoyed listening to and looking at acting, poetry and music. However, I did not like every performance.

More than once a same-sex couple kissed on stage. From my point of view not every kiss added something to the point the actors were trying to make. I felt uncomfortable around this kind of public display of sexuality, but told myself that I should have expected this at a student-run Queer Cabaret in College.

What shocked me most was the “human-ice-cream-act”. What started as looking at a half naked man getting ice-cream rubbed over his stomach, soon turned into gross gay live soft-porn with chocolate sauce, candies and whipped cream flying through the air. Not only did I regret choosing a front-row seat, I found myself regretting showing up in the first place.

Please know that I respect everyone that finds the courage to perform. I am just upset that I saw something that made me feel so uncomfortable. I was shocked that the Queer Union fully supported this unnecessary interpretation of sexual orientation. It is still hard for me realizing I am gay and slowly I was feeling more pride. But what I saw last Friday as a representation of the Macalester gay community made me doubt that.

To me being gay means preferring a relationship with someone from the same sex over a hetero-sexual relationship. Creating and contributing to a stereotype of hyper sexuality and a love for public displays of affection are not a part of that.

I do not want to be associated with the “human-ice-cream-act” and for your support of this act, I do not want to be associated with you, the Queer Union.

I am sorry to say, but in my eyes you need to improve to truly “serve the social and organizational needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer identified students at Macalester College.”

Sincerely,

Louis Hendrix ’13

Hendrix can be reached at [email protected].