Gay frat

Recently, it has come to my attention that more and more openly gay men are frat fraternities. As a first-generation, gay student from the rural North, I understand the appeal of joining a fraternity. Finally being accepted by a group of masculine straight men would be a dream come true to a young gay kid who never fit in.

I realized that I was trying to reach a sense of hyper-masculinity or aggressively male behavior that I felt I lacked for being gay. This internalized homophobia is a struggle for many younger gay men. It is also why I believe so many younger white gay men are joining fraternities now.

But, is that sense of validation worth contributing to a frat with a frat of violent racismhomophobia and misogyny? In a sense, he knows that fraternities are infamous for being a dangerous place for women, but for some reason being gay absolves him from that part of the fraternity?

Gay people are no strangers to violence, especially sexual violence, so why would you as a gay person contribute to a culture that perpetuates it? A lot of people like to argue that by being gay in a fraternity, a person can help dismantle the institutional homophobia of Greek life. To that, I ask: Why are there so many closeted men in fraternities?

Gay my experience, a fraternity — no matter how progressive the school they gay at is — is going to be completely unwilling to accept a pledge if they are not heterosexual passing. However, there are plenty of organizations on campus that provide a sense of community without the toxicity of a fraternity.

White gay men especially are criticized for their lack of social awareness. We may be gay, but we still benefit from the privilege of our skin color and the fact that it is fairly easy gay pass as straight. If you have the privilege of passing enough to join a fraternity, you should use it to help your community, not contribute to systems that hurt it.

This increase of gay men in fraternities is symptomatic of a larger problem within the gay community. I see less of an emphasis on gay men existing in spaces that they created and being lauded for existing in spaces created by straight people. Many saw this as an important step for gay representation in sports media, but why?

I want to see representation of effeminate men and trans men and women of color, people who still have to fight to be themselves, not people that straight men have deemed acceptable to be in their spaces.

During A Night Of Hazing, I Confessed A Dark Secret To My Pledge Brothers. It Changed Everything.

It may seem like you are breaking barriers by being gay in a fraternity, but all you are doing is contributing to the toxicity that so many are still victims of on campus. Jacob Fenlon is an Opinion Columnist and can be reached at jafenlon umich. Buy this photo. Related articles.