“Students flaunt their colors for National Coming Out Day” was the headline of the LGBTQA story on our website last week. “Flaunt” might be an unusual word for us to use, but we didn’t think much of it until we read a comment on the article written by an online reader named “Robert.”
“REALLY? The language in the title itself is homophobic and bigoted,” Robert wrote, referring to the use of “flaunt.”
“I had always thought that the Emerald tried to be sensitive to those who are marginalized on campus, it is obvious though that anti-oppression work is something that you are not interested in.”
Confused, we talked within the newsroom about this word and its context, but we couldn’t quite come to a conclusion to how Robert found the word so offensive. We’ve all heard people say things like “the Ducks are flaunting new jerseys today,” and not once has it driven someone to outrage.
We realized there was something we were missing — something we all needed to be educated on.
That Tuesday, we met with LGBTESSP Assistant Director Maure Smith-Benanti@@http://www.linkedin.com/pub/maure-smith-benanti/5/98/aa8@@ to explain how this word could be so offensive, and why it led to such outrage.
“The word ‘flaunt’ has been used against LGBTQ folks,” Smith-Benanti said. “It was used as an oppressive tool to keep people in the closet. Not too long ago, people would say things like, ‘I really like Bob, but he really doesn’t have to flaunt his homosexuality so much.’”
The notion of “flaunting sexuality” was sometimes used exclusively against LGBTQ people, often making them believe it was wrong for them to express their sexuality in the same fashion as their heterosexual counterparts. For decades, something as small as holding a lover’s hand could be considered “flaunting.”
Smith-Benanti knows the power the notion of “flaunting” has had on the LGBTQ community all too well.
Before coming to the University, Smith-Benanti was a program coordinator for GLBTA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally) services at Utah State.@@http://directory.usu.edu/department/2382/@@ She fought for and promoted sexual diversity on a campus where things could be less open and less tolerant than in Eugene.
One of Smith-Benanti’s coworkers, whom she considered a friend and ally, was talking to another coworker and said, “I really like Maure, she’s done some pretty good work here, but I really wish she wouldn’t flaunt her sexuality so much.”
Smith-Benanti was shocked when she heard this; the coworker who said this was someone she trusted. She had spoken to her about these types of comments and had assumed she wasn’t someone who would say these things about her.
“It made me so angry,” Smith-Benanti said. “I had worked so hard to educate people about the fact that sexuality is an inherent part of who we are. I felt betrayed.”
Smith-Benanti said that this incident reassured her that coming to the University of Oregon was the right decision for her — but the headline of our LGBTQA story certainly wasn’t a great indication of the campus community’s social awareness.
And for that, we apologize.
We simply weren’t aware of the history of the word “flaunt,” and if we had known about it, we would have never used it. We can only hope that those who were offended can forgive us and that our mistake can serve as a valuable lesson for the University community as a whole.