I think the diary that I read from the gay male graduate student (whose name I wish I had written down) who attended U of R in the 1970s stood out to me because the entries were so personal yet so relatable. I loved the anecdotes that were written in about the early days of the Gay Liberation club, and how people would give them flack but often they were able to laugh it off. I loved hearing the stories of the first few trans information panels on which trans people would share their experiences and educate people about trans issues. I think this diary would be incredibly important to include in an exhibition about queerness at the University of Rochester because it provides a first hand account of what life was like for the queer people here during the early days of the Gay Liberation Movement.
One example of inclusion I encountered that left me feeling unsatisfied was the depiction of a queer couple on the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. The couple is a female-female couple, one of them lesbian and one of them bisexual. In the scenes with this couple, the chemistry was abhorrently non-existent I felt like I was watching people kiss as if it the other had terrible breath or something. Their expressions didn’t change, they looked bored, and it was very disappointing. I find it very important to represent queer intimacy on television because most drama and comedy shows on today include tons of heterosexual intimacy or passion, and yet often queer couples kiss as if their grandmother is watching. Perhaps this was just a case of bad acting, but I really thought that perhaps the scene could have been written and directed better as well.
-RF