Bending the Binary

Friend: “Are you going to the Gender Bender Dance?” Me: “I think so. I probably won’t dress up though; I figure I already bend gender enough every day.” Friend: “What do you mean? Like you’re not feminine?” Me: “Yeah!” Friend: “No, Chelsea! Of course you are!” Wait, what? I understand that this person meant no harm; if anything, my friend probably interpreted my remark as a self-deprecating comment uttered with the hopes that someone would reassure my femininity. But nothing could be further from the truth

I Watch Porn

I started watching porn when I was 16. The first thing I noticed was the porn actresses’ vulvas. They were hairless, perfectly symmetrical, with beautiful folds of labia. This being my only venue to see other female bodies, I assumed what I saw was normal (after all, they all looked pretty similar to each other) and that my own body, not looking like those of these women, was flawed. [excerpt

The Legal Limits of Racism

When I heard the news that the Food Network decided not to renew Paula Deen’s contract after she admitted to making racist comments, I was happy. Not because she used racial slurs, of course, but because she was punished for it. Maybe I’m a cynic, but I like the idea of public attention being placed on wrongdoings. That’s the whole point of having free speech, after all: to have an open dialogue wherein all possible viewpoints can be voiced, considered, challenged, and criticized until they are ultimately decided to be acceptable or unacceptable. [excerpt

Fearless Friday: Chelsea Broe

Consistently speaking up for social justice issues around campus, finding innovative ways to promote peer understanding, and making our campus a more welcoming, accepting, and open place, Chelsea Broe ’14 is a fearless leader who advocates for others

I Don\u27t Want to Save Second Base

Tomorrow kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I have one request: This October, let’s not save second base. I know, I know, you probably think this month is a good thing. If not for all of those T-shirts demanding every female-bodied person to feel their boobies, or the bracelets simply proclaiming “I love boobies,” people with breasts might forget that they even have them, or at the very least might start to think that their breasts are their own business. But the female body seems to be an object owned by the public, so we must always be reminded that boobs exist only for others’ enjoyment. [excerpt

Maybe I\u27m the Problem

Being raised in the United States, I internalized racist, sexist, transphobic, heterosexist, classist, ableist, and faithist ways of thinking. And by this, I do not simply mean that I was taught to hate people of color, queer individuals, working class people, or people of different religions. This indoctrination runs much deeper than that. [excerpt

The Shortcomings of a Diverse College Campus

“What is the diversity like at Gettysburg College?” As a tour guide, I get asked this question a lot. It’s a tricky question to answer: On one hand, I know that this is probably the family’s way of inquiring about race on campus without having to use such a taboo word, but on the other, my Diversity Peer Educator training chimes in and I want to challenge my questioner’s assumptions about what diversity even means. [excerpt

Bi the Way, I\u27m Queer

363 days ago, on October 11, 2012, I came out as bisexual. Every year, the queer community observes October 11th as National Coming Out Day, a day when queers of all kinds can openly acknowledge and celebrate their sexual orientation and gender identity. [excerpt

Surge \u3c3s Yik Yak

It was recently brought to the Surge team’s attention that a post was made on the social media hub, Yik Yak, claiming that “Surge must hate Yik Yak.” As a Surge editor and author, I want to clarify – nothing could be further from the truth. [excerpt

My Night As A Sex Tourist

I’ve been studying in Copenhagen, Denmark for a few months now, and since I had a week off to travel (perks of studying abroad), I took the opportunity to spend a few nights in Amsterdam. I was traveling alone, so during my first night at the hostel in Amsterdam, when I met a woman my age who offered to show me around the city, I accepted, excited to find a traveling partner. [excerpt