Queer Monologues at MU provide safe place for LGBTQ issues
The event returned to the MU campus after a three-year absence.
Published April 28, 2009
During the monologue "Sex," performer Cody Davis talked about the common misperception of gay people.
"People think of us as sexless Banana Republic mannequins, non-threatening and highly fashionable," Davis said.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Resource Center sponsored the Queer Monologues on Friday night.
After a three-year lapse, this was the first year the monologues returned to MU. The monologues have been absent since February 2007, when former LGBTQ Resource Center Director John Elizabeth Faughn canceled the show and a rift formed between students at the center.
"It is important for queer voices to be heard with issues and struggles of the LGBTQ discussed openly," LGBTQ Resource Center Director Ryan Black said. "The queer community is marginalized, silenced and made invisible by many. It is also important that members of the queer community along with allies have a unique forum in which to share their stories of both joy and pain."
The night began with Black walking onto the stage with a rainbow flag and announcing the purpose of the event.
"We are resisting marginalization by breaking the silence," Black said.
The monologues covered topics such as derogatory language, intimacy, domestic violence and sex.
Although other people had written many of the pieces performed, three of the writers presented their own monologues.
Hall coordinator Joe Kelley performed an original piece "Happy Birthday, Mom" about his relationship with his mother.
"It was extremely empowering, especially since it was very personal," Kelley said. "I grew up in a very conservative area and it was based on my own experiences of people around me and what they said."
Kelley said events such as this are important for anyone who might have grown up in very conservative areas and were unable to discuss their homosexuality.
"By giving voice to this, it helps those that might want to come out and acknowledge their sexuality," Kelley said.
MU students wrote all monologues performed.
"It's very local, very relevant and everyone can relate to something in the monologues regardless of sexual orientation," performer Keri Smith said.
Unlike the Vagina Monologues, which have a standard set of monologues to perform, the Queer Monologues are unique to MU.
"It is great to have an event where we are all able to come together in a safe, inclusive space that allows us to voice our concerns, our hopes and our stories," performer Tom Romano said.
Performer Cat Edmonds said the event celebrates diversity within the LGBTQ community.
"So often, gay people are all just put into one category, one group of people, and some voices get lost in the mass," Edmonds said.
Edmonds said the experience created a sense of unity that she really enjoyed.
"All of us had different stories to relay, some stories of our own, some of other students, and we all banded together to make a very powerful performance that I feel impacted those who came to the show," Edmonds said.
The final piece of the night, entitled "Voices," showcased all the different voices of members not only of the LGBTQ community, but also allies, performed by the entire cast.
"These monologues represent collective ideas and individual ideas that are crucial to getting the word out that we are here," Edmonds said. "We have important issues to talk about, and we will not be quiet about it."