Phase 2, Post 10: Chris Woods

Chris Woods talked about the LGBTQ+ Center at NYU. I was really interested in this lecture and even more engaged in this one than other ones because not only did Chris explain to us a lot of the efforts that the center takes, he also really involved us and treated our  discussion as though we were acting under those guidelines. I think one of the most important things that Chris emphasized was comfort. He was he was making sure that everybody was comfortable. It was about making the entire class and everybody around him feel comfortable, whatever their identity was, and if they even wanted to identify. Another thing I think was important that Chris brought up was talking about the phrase queer. Originally, queer meant odd and strange and was incredibly offensive towards the community. While largely we think that this phrase has been reclaimed, it is important to remember the implications behind it and the history behind it and how it is important to use terms that everybody around you is comfortable with. Even though there are some people within the LGBTQ+ community who may be perfectly comfortable with the word queer, there are also people within that same community who aren't as comfortable or aren't comfortable with it at all. I think this is a really strong reminder to some allies who may be accustomed to certain phrases that are outdated or just not proper. Chris also brought up sex education, which I think is important information for any child to have. I was not aware that it wasn't so accessible to all. I grew up somewhere where we were taught this material in appropriate way and it was shocking for me to hear that there are many places that don't.

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