Sexual taboos for women highlighted

The Women's Studies Student Association and the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource Center brought taboo issues to the forefront by hosting an event Wednesday.

"Re-Centering the Margins: Queer Women of Color Building Coalition in the Millennium" was a 12-hour event bringing together scholars, students, activists and artists to discuss and celebrate issues pertaining to lesbian, bisexual and transgender women of color.

"Bringing together people from the community and university campuses to discuss a diverse range of issues" is important, said Eve Oishi, a Cal State Long Beach women's studies assistant professor. "Issues that were being pushed aside are being put in the center."

The event included live performances, film screenings and panel discussions.

An undergraduate panel consisting of three women from different universities presented papers. One pertained to the idea of the woman-of-color's loss in the abyss of the Anglo lesbian-feminist movement, and another to the Western influence on Eastern ideas dealing with same-sex intimacy.

In India, ancient dance consisted of sexually explicit movements that were widely accepted, even between two women, said Anjali Alimchandani, a junior majoring in English at Byrn Mawr College.

"Acts of love were gender-free," she said. But the British colonization changed that by calling the dancers immoral prostitutes, she added.

Shireen Barday, a political science major at Barnard College, argues in her essay that Nella Larson's "Passing," a novella about a biracial woman denying her black heritage to pass as white in society, is also a story about a the protagonist's bisexuality.

The event had many objectives, said Roshni Chabra, a junior majoring in women's studies and psychology.

"It's a good way to get visibility for the most marginalized group of people, lesbian and bisexual women of color," Chabra said. "It's also a good place to network and to find out what's going on in the community.  Overall, it's fun. That's the most important thing."

Many onlookers found the event to be informative.

"It was a great growing experience," said Heather Wellborn, a junior sociology major. "I don't have many gay friends, so listening to their perspectives was very enlightening."