Sex and the Smithie: Squish the myth, not the SLUGS
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Opinions
The "Sex and the Smithie" column is written by a different Smith student each week.
It's been weeks since this section printed "It's time to squish the SLUGS," but until I read Jocelyn Thomas's letter to the editor regarding this article, I didn't feel the need to respond. I had simply shrugged off the biphobia and hostility, hoping that everyone else on campus would dismiss this attitude as easily as I did. Now, however, I realize that it's important for someone to say that the term SLUG is offensive and that the disdain directed toward bisexual, bicurious and questioning individuals is harmful to the LGBT movement.
Yes, it is LGBT, though the last two letters are often ignored. Both biphobia and transphobia are problematic, but I would like to focus on biphobia in this article. I really shouldn't have to say that biphobia is not acceptable, but I'll repeat it for those who missed the memo: Biphobia is not okay. Some people are attracted to both men and women. A bisexual woman may ultimately end up with a man, but her choice of a partner does not make her attraction to women disappear. She remains a member of the LGBT community, even if she never has a relationship with a woman.
The SLUG myth conceives of a malevolent straight girl who's out to break some lesbian hearts. Its proponents refuse to acknowledge the possibility that this girl may be bisexual. She's the villain: She just wants to get off, and she'll grab whatever warm body is nearest. Although my instinct is to dismiss this idea as absurd, I'll suspend my disbelief and pretend that such a girl exists. Tits or dick, she'll take whatever is there. Honestly, I can't see this person as some kind of sexual predator. This person sounds, instead, like someone who is out of touch with her own body and desires. She needs to take a step back and figure out who she is before she invites anyone into her bed.
I can understand that proponents of the SLUG myth fear getting hurt, but that's how relationships work. Sometimes the relationship doesn't work out, and people end up hurt. If a girl leaves her girlfriend to be with a guy, she's not necessarily denying her same-sex desires. That relationship may not be working, and maybe the girl has discovered she also finds men attractive.
It's been weeks since this section printed "It's time to squish the SLUGS," but until I read Jocelyn Thomas's letter to the editor regarding this article, I didn't feel the need to respond. I had simply shrugged off the biphobia and hostility, hoping that everyone else on campus would dismiss this attitude as easily as I did. Now, however, I realize that it's important for someone to say that the term SLUG is offensive and that the disdain directed toward bisexual, bicurious and questioning individuals is harmful to the LGBT movement.
Yes, it is LGBT, though the last two letters are often ignored. Both biphobia and transphobia are problematic, but I would like to focus on biphobia in this article. I really shouldn't have to say that biphobia is not acceptable, but I'll repeat it for those who missed the memo: Biphobia is not okay. Some people are attracted to both men and women. A bisexual woman may ultimately end up with a man, but her choice of a partner does not make her attraction to women disappear. She remains a member of the LGBT community, even if she never has a relationship with a woman.
The SLUG myth conceives of a malevolent straight girl who's out to break some lesbian hearts. Its proponents refuse to acknowledge the possibility that this girl may be bisexual. She's the villain: She just wants to get off, and she'll grab whatever warm body is nearest. Although my instinct is to dismiss this idea as absurd, I'll suspend my disbelief and pretend that such a girl exists. Tits or dick, she'll take whatever is there. Honestly, I can't see this person as some kind of sexual predator. This person sounds, instead, like someone who is out of touch with her own body and desires. She needs to take a step back and figure out who she is before she invites anyone into her bed.
I can understand that proponents of the SLUG myth fear getting hurt, but that's how relationships work. Sometimes the relationship doesn't work out, and people end up hurt. If a girl leaves her girlfriend to be with a guy, she's not necessarily denying her same-sex desires. That relationship may not be working, and maybe the girl has discovered she also finds men attractive.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
zeezle1219
Anon
posted 11/22/09 @ 11:54 PM EST
Loved this. As someone who fears the SLUG title and has not come out as a bisexual to all of her friends, I appreciate that this is being acknowledged. (Continued…)
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