These are things the prof said in his lectures. He was explaining some concept or another and to give an example he mentioned a game he used to play with the other boys when he was younger. I think this was a middle or high school age group, but I'm not entirely sure. It was an informal very physical game called "Smear the Queer." As he said the name of the game he looked a little bit embarrassed and glanced over at me. He knows my position on the GLBT. He made some comment about the name being politically incorrect, then went on to describe a game in which a ball is thrown up into the air and comes down amid a cluster of guys. The guy who catches the ball becomes the "queer" and the object of the game is to tackle this fellow and get the ball from him. Or something like that. Have you ever heard of that game? Have you ever played that game? One of the other students in the class said he had played it before.
I was disturbed. I don't remember if I said anything, though I think I made a comment to the effect that the game endorses and gives first hand experience in homophobic violence. I was not amused. I hadn't considered how our society indoctrinates its youths in gay bashing. The more I think about it the angrier I get.
But that's not all. On Thursday he was discussing scientific advancement and the human genome project. Again I forget exactly what point he was trying to make. It's in my notes somewhere. But I remember what he said. He suggested that it would be wonderful if genetic scientists find the specific genes responsible for birth defects, or learning disabilities, or homosexuality! Then the scientists could remove the faulty gene and ... something. As soon as he said "homosexuality" in that context, my mind went into defensive overdrive. I was appalled.
He and I have had a few discussions about homosexuality. He lent me a video about the gay youth center in Washington DC called SMYAL. He sounded all supportive and encouraging, etc. I suspect he thinks he is. I also suspect he hasn't really thought about it very deeply. His bias is showing.
I want to talk to him about this, but I'm not sure how to proceed. I don't want to sound accusational. I'd like to point out his inconsistencies and show him his bias. I want to make him understand that gay is OK. But I need to not offend him. It's a tricky relationship. He is my professor, he has a doctorate degree (for what it's worth) and I only have a bachelors. But he's younger than I am. I seem to have more information about homosexuality than he does. It appears that I understand it better, anyway.
What would you do? Discuss.
