If you claim, Professor Hagen, that your letter (“Homosexuality a subject schools should not touch,” September 23) was not written in a “fog of homophobia,” then clearly, you do not understand the meaning of the word. You ignorantly espouse that being gay means having frequent unprotected sex with no regard for health or safety. Being gay is a lifestyle, as is heterosexuality, but unlike heterosexuals, gay people are forced to deal with intolerance and bigotry on a daily basis. This dangerous bigotry is embodied in the aforementioned letter. The editorial demonstrates the tremendous need for organizations like the Gay-Straight Alliance at the Boston University Academy. Perhaps Professor Hagen should have attended a meeting of the group before so readily and aggressively attacking it.
The GSA by no means promoted unsafe sexual practices. Rather, it was a safe place for gay and straight students to express feelings and promote tolerance. The fact remains that human beings do engage in sexual activity. The responsibility and caution they use has nothing to do with their sexual orientation. “The proportion of women with AIDS has increased steadily, and the proportion infected heterosexually has also increased…[since] June 1981, [when] the first cases of…AIDS were reported in the United States.” (United States HIV and AIDS statistics summary) Statistics show that homosexuals are not solely responsible for the spread of HIV and AIDS. Professor Hagen asks, “…what is the school’s responsibility to children who later in life contract AIDS?” We ask, why does she falsely assume that all gay students will contract AIDS? This is the very essence of intolerance and, dare we say, homophobia.
We find it hard to believe that a professor at such a prestigious university would so readily buy into the stereotype that all homosexuals are crazed, reckless nymphomaniacs. When we first read Professor Hagen’s editorial, phrases such as “…do educational institutions have the obligation to inform youths that anal intercourse is…profoundly damaging to spiritual health…?” made us think the letter was a satire, but sadly, it was no joke. Professor Hagen’s inflammatory and misinformed rhetoric is cause for grave concern.
Julia Gefter Vice President, BU Women’s Center CAS ’04
Colden Ray President, BU Women’s Center CAS ’04