It is allegedly transformational.
1 Like
So is the conclusion of The Washington Examiner.
One hopes users here don’t develop their societal opinions from that rag, because quite frankly, that conclusion is beyond offensive
6 Likes
Leaving the conclusion aside, the 38% number itself is interesting.
1 Like
I don’t set much store by the news outlet behind this story. Look them up on All Sides. And its author has ….interesting… groups attached to his name. From his bio: “has previously worked for Students for Life of America and Turning Point USA.” From SFLOA screams the blaring words ABOLISH ABORTION. So, yeah, take this article with an unbiased grain of salt.
Is it contagion? Or is it that kids at Brown feel free to express themselves in whatever way they fancy at the moment? Who cares?
One could think of worse things to be exposed to. I won’t name them here, for fear of turning this thread in the wrong direction. As a moderator, I’ll be watching to see the progress of this thread.
6 Likes
Who cares? Brown is a fantastic school and I could care less about the sexual orientation of the student body.
13 Likes
About as interesting as past Lesbian until graduation news stories. Young adults experiment, as they have since the days of the University of Garden of Eden. No news story here
9 Likes
I find it interesting because other campus publications at other universities don’t report such high numbers. The campus publication survey is a window into the place. I was too lazy to dig up the original campus publication article. But I have not encountered a number that high anywhere else. That itself is interesting.
2 Likes
Why does this matter at all. Brown is a great university. I think digging up suspect statistics can be done about any college.
5 Likes
Mmm-kay
Again, goes to who is publishing the conclusions, and I’ll include the Brown Herald in being at fault here.
Lumping asexual or unsure responses into the LGBTQ+ bucket suggests lack of understanding
10 Likes
This is not about the greatness of Brown. Don’t we discuss the culture and vibe of a college on this forum. That is what this is.
When I attended Vassar the running joke was at VC you find out your roommate is gay when you meet them at orientation while at Dartmouth (pick the conservative school) you find out at the 30th reunion after their second divorce.
In other words the atmosphere on campus was much more welcoming to transparency, forthrightness and being able to present one’s whole self.
I suspect at Brown the atmosphere of acceptance allows students relative to other schools to be open and not afraid to share who they are so perhaps that is why other schools don’t “report” such high numbers.
9 Likes
Is Dartmouth conservative?
Relative to other Ivy League schools, yes. Edited to add: although Dartmouth has a more active conservative cohort, I’d say that liberal leaning students still predominate so it is all a matter of degree.
3 Likes
At the time Dartmouth was know for a campus paper The Dartmouth Review.
The Dartmouth Review - Wikipedia.
Think Omega House in the movie Animal House. That was the popular impression with Dartmouth and Wash U often suggested as the real life inspirations.
2 Likes
I will let my gay daughter know she was probably coerced into this due to her performing arts high school which many were gay… But it’s Not how this works!!! You don’t copy someone’s behavior then become it! And also who cares. Brown is very welcoming. Why even have this article with great paragraph like this below :
For example, the American Lung Association says that marketing, pressure from friends, and seeing their parents smoke cigarettes can contribute to higher rates of smoking. “Peer relationships” are also linked to alcohol abuse and drug use. On the positive side, peer support groups can be helpful in weight loss and paying off debt.
5 Likes
Something tells me that Brown is not an outlier in this respect among highly competitive, academically oriented, colleges. These guys have been trained to recognize complexity when they see it. And sexuality is a complicated subject when you get honest about it.
2 Likes
Please don’t post anything from the Washington Examiner. It’s not a credible source. Find the original source or don’t post.
But for the record I have encountered higher LGBTQ numbers at other schools. There’s nothing weird about it. And it’s not social contagion. Many students want to go where there will be others like them. That’s part of why they pick the school.
There are high numbers of jocks at some schools, and high numbers of frats and sororities at other schools, and high numbers of Black folks at other schools, or Asians, or American Indians, or activists, or sports fans, or edgy alternative folks.
You know there are schools with higher than 38% Greek participation. LGBTQ orientation is different in that it is not a choice like Greek participation, but there is a similarity that kids who are interested in Greek Life want to go to a school with a robust Greek Life. Many kids who are LGBTQ want to go to a school with a robust LGBTQ life.
There’s nothing weird here and the school is not making them gay (ie the spurious claim of “social contagion”) – they may very well have picked Brown because 1) it is an excellent school and 2) it had their major and 3) they could afford it and 4) they are LGBTQ and they found a vibrant LGBTQ scene there among other things.
Please do not perpetuate the myth of “social contagion” and do not post anything ever from The Washington Examiner or other sources with their lack of credibility.
22 Likes
Eloquently said!
2 Likes
the percentage of students identifying as bisexual has increased by 232%," the student newspaper reported. “Students identifying as other sexual orientations within the LGBTQ+ community have increased by 793%.”
Makes total sense as pan, poly, gender-fluid, etc were not common terms a decade ago. Bisexuality was seen as “not a thing” as “they still like boys/girls, they need to pick one”
Eric Kaufmann, in comments to the College Fix that his research has found sexual behavior has not kept pace with the identification.
In other words, bisexual identification outstrips bisexual sexual activity.
Makes me laugh. Do they assume every bisexual person is a 'ho ? What about those that are bisexual and in committed heterosexual relationships? Do they have to cheat so that he’s sure they are truly bisexual and not just being coerced by the LGBTQ community to identify as such? What about those that just aren’t in a relationship?
“If this was about people feeling able to come out, then we should have seen these two trends rise together,” he told the College Fix . “What we find instead is that identity is rising much faster than behavior, indicating that people with occasional rather than sustained feelings of attraction to the opposite sex are increasingly identifying as LGBT.”
Or perhaps, students are now understanding that sexual preference is most likely a spectrum and are open to those feelings rather than so afraid that they go lock themselves in the proverbial closet. Sounds to me that those that subscribe to what this author is selling are terrified of normal human sexual behavior and feelings and would prefer that they or their kids were not exposed to any possibilities other than straight 1950s heterosexuality. I’d also like to ask the author how long he knew he was attracted to women before he actually slept with one.
Funny how the author of this article jumps to the conclusion that this is due to social pressure to identify as LGBTQ+, rather than concluding that when people are in a setting where people have diverse views, thoughts, and identities they are not forced into traditional gender roles, gender identities, or ways to express their sexuality.
5 Likes
Here’s a little thought experiment. Are you straight? Have you ever been somewhere, say a party or a workplace where there were gay people? Did it make you want to “turn gay”? If so, then maybe you really are not straight. If not then maybe you can see how utterly stupid and bigoted the idea of “social contagion” is.
13 Likes