The Nevada Sagebrush

Shite article as always, but I wouldn’t encourage roommates pissing each other off if I was you.

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I’ve been reading this column for months now. While I believe that it’s important to have a venue for students talking about sexuality, I find these articles growing increasingly insensitive towards marginalized student populations. Let me be frank. Caitlin do you know what heteronormativity means? Not everyone that reads your article is straight but you seem to assume an entirely straight audience. I think you have a unique opportunity to advocate for students who face a slurry of discrimination and homophobia on a regular basis — esp. on campus at UNR. If you’re honest about occupying an educated feminist subject position you need to know that homophobia is a form of misogyny — a way to feminize and infantilize gay men. The bottom line here is that your articles privilege a certain sexual orientation: straight. Hence you end up silencing / further marginalizing a group that needs advocacy much more the dominant group (straight folk). Maybe for your next article you investigate gay sex for yourself. Who knows? Maybe you’d end up liking it.

Caitlin,
Good article again. You write very well and keep the readers attention to your writing.

EnglPhd,
Maybe she doesnt write about gay sex because she isn’t gay. Maybe she talks about straight sex because the majority of us students are straight. She is writing to address the majority of us students. Why should we always have to include the minority, if you don’t like reading about it don’t read it.

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Hey EnglPhD, btw nice pretentious name you gave yourself buddy. If I am not mistaken, this is Caitlin’s column and that means, wait for it, she can write about whatever she wants. Also, I am getting sick and tired of this crap people like you throw saying she is marginalizing gays and all this negative talk. Not talking about them does not mean she hates/marginalizes homosexuals. I forgot to mention Latinos while writing this comment, I must harbor some deep hate for them since I clearly don’t want to talk about them, or could it be it just didn’t occur to me. If Caitlin is straight, and wants to provide real life examples of exploring sexuality, then it makes sense that she uses straight examples. But I’m sure since you have a PhD and all you are much smarter than us lowly “students” so what do we know anyway.

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Thornley-I’ve read and edited your writing with the team at Insight magazine. That’s all I will say. ;)

EnglPHD- I’ve had lesbian encounters, I wouldn’t mind talking about it. Honestly, I was planning on getting to it soon.

Would love to chat about it more. I am all for it, email me! Thanks for reading my column. Cakey56@hotmail.com

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“Shite article as always”

You may be the spitting image of the late Rocky Dennis, but you sure could learn a thing or two about having a positive attitude from him. True love and sex is still out there to be found Eric, but I’ll admit that that it doesn’t help when there isn’t an Adult School for the Blind across the street from the University. Don’t give up!

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lol…at least I aim for informative writing.

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I for one think Caitlin’s articles are funny and true. Not everything has to be a big deal. Can’t a girl just write about sex? As a fellow girl who also talks about sex, give us a break and let us be young and sexual and have a good laugh about it. Also, English PhD, I’m in the English department too… not everything has to be a theoretical critique. Some things are just meant to be funny.

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Thanks for the positive notes and defenses.

Phd-Like I said, I understand your opinion and am down to chat about it more. But this is my column and at the moment, I’m having straight sex. So that’s what I’m writing about. I love gays more than ANYONE, I literally sleep on the gay club dancefloor every night. Don’t assume I’m “marginalizing gays” please.

I also understand you have a Phd? haha

Eric- Again, we’ve read your “writing” at Insight and all have some GREAT opinions on it. Keep it up man, I would never dream of editing you because you write so well and inform greatly.

Seriously, get off my column.

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IP, you are probably the worst commentator on this website. Congratulations.

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Ok…let’s compare this:

http://www.unrinsight.com/?p=4681

…this column. See the difference? I am done. Good luck with your other rants.

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I see the difference, Eric. This article is a semi-funny short piece on sex and that other one is boring and awful.

Really, you used the phrasing “I am going to make two arguments…” to place your thesis? n00b st47u5.

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Eric, writing about sex and writing about genocide are completely different. Get over it!

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And in my opinion, sex columns are utterly worthless, and so is this whole “Abolish ASUN” movement.

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If you don’t want to earn Eric’s ire, turn your article into one covering nothing but the latest news about British fops miming the Beatles.

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So if I have a white supremacist column I can write about it because it’s my column? This campus is known in other parts of the country to be deeply intolerant on many levels. Do your research. My point is that having a “straight pride” column is essentially the same. I’m not trying to play the victim card if the systemic influences of heteronormativity are oblivious to some of you – and unquestioned. People don’t see the air they breathe do they? Look: If you have control over a form of print media, you should be careful not to replicate sexist/racist/ablist/etc tropes. Again, it’s important that we have a place for people to discuss sexuality in this open forum via the newspaper. Thank you for that Caitlin. Just don’t abuse your power to simply appeal to the “majority” when everything already does that. There are plenty of things that cater to the “majority” already. Surely there’s room for compromise?
I didn’t slander anyone for being homophobic in my previous post and don’t appreciate the immense backlash of ad hominem attacks I’ve received for simply trying to open dialogue and spread tolerance (charity, peace and tolerance are Jesus Christ’s favorite ideas).

PS: Other person who claimed to be in the Eng department at UNR. If you don’t see ideology and language as the same thing then your career in the department probably isn’t going to be a pleasant one.

C: Prove to me that the majority of students here are straight. If you can’t support your claims you shouldn’t try to argue them. I’m not implying you’re incorrect, but you certainly can’t prove that you’re correct.

In the name of doing one’s research, can you please prove to everyone how this campus is considered so “deeply intolerant on many levels” by other parts of the country?

Just because she is currently writing about straight sex does not mean that she’s putting down gay sex. And don’t try to “spread tolerance” to me, because I am gay and I still manage to enjoy this column.

(Also, “I didn’t slander anyone for being homophobic in my previous post and don’t appreciate the immense backlash”, just fyi, you had nobody to slander because only one person had submitted a comment before you. You must not be used to being wrong or argued with.)

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I’m a transgendered individual who has witnessed first hand intolerance (I’m not saying directed at me, I’m not playing the victim card here) on this campus. So if we’re going to out ourselves on some petty forum about dear Caitlin’s “straight pride” column: me too.
Relax, I know I didn’t slander anyone before me, or anyone who posted after. Thanks for agreeing with me.
Apropos the research: Consider recent events on campus: Blackface demonstration by the unr comdey troupe (This isn’t the first time it’s happened here). Swastika graffiti on student campaign signs (in my own neighborhood too there was white power graffiti that I had to look at every day I drove home. So much for having the choice to not see/read it). Instances like this are ubiquitous and well documented. By trying to argue with me you’re missing my point completely because I too appreciate reading Caitlin’s column (as I’ve stated now three times and still get at least someone riled up). Please do some research of your own on the term “Heteronormativity”. That’s all I’m trying to say – that and Caitlin is missing an opportunity to be a more reflective and not always so selfish of a writer.
Again I’m not trying to insult any readership, but I find insinuations about me “not be used to being wrong or argued with,” to be the kind of language that shuts down discussion as opposed to opens it. That’s not my intent.

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EnglPhd,
You proved my point for me when you said gays were the minority. Saying your not playing the victim card is not true because if you wern’t this argument wouldn’t be happening. You are also playing an inequality card which because Catlin doesn’t write something you like you claim it to be inequality. Also the “blackface” should be no big deal. The comedy troupe did something that was funny much like Dave Chapelle does when he imitates white people. That was not intolerance. Again, Catlin shouldn’t have to cater to the minority of students or even the minority of people its her column so if she wants to write only about straight sex that is fine, if your uncomfortable read a gay pride column or something.

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C: You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly ignorant while consequently buttressing my claim that UNR is deeply intolerant on many levels. Look forward to the new column coming soon to UNR’s sagebrush: White Pride – If you don’t like it, go read some minority magazine instead.
You enjoy your unearned privilege and don’t think about what else I’ve posted. I’m done here. If you bigots want to rip me apart on this insignificant forum about sexuality then so be it. The majority effectively silences ANY dissonant voices. You win.

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Marginalize Dissent! Go!

I cannot believe this argument is still raging. EnglPhD, you are being ridiculous and unreasonable. How can you possibly claim that Caitlin is being selfish for writing her column about her life? YOU are being selfish for demanding that she write only what you want her to. It isn’t Caitlin’s fault that she is interested in men any more than it is a gay person’s fault that they are gay. Caitlin is in no way obligated to cover any topic in her column, and she has definitely never written anything that was at all discriminatory towards anyone. Likening this column to a “white pride” column is crazy and insulting. This is not a “straight pride” column. That isn’t the point at all. If Caitlin was a lesbian writing a gay column, would it be appropriate to chastise her for not talking about straight sex? No, it would not. Because that is not the point at all. You need to calm down.

I don’t think anyone that is arguing with you is doing it because they hate transexuals. I understand that intolerance happens everywhere, and I think that it’s terrible. But it’s not Caitlin Thomas’s fault. In fact, it has nothing to do with her or this column.

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No offense, EnglSomething, but perhaps you are trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill? I am not trying to belittle you or claim that there isn’t real transgender (or gay or lesbian) discrimination out there in the world. But claiming “UNR is deeply intolerant on many levels” is certainly extrapolating quite far from the available evidence, especially as it relates to Caitlin’s column.

I think everyone commenting should just step back and realize that this is just a run-of-the-mill sex column, talking about run-of-the-mill sex stuff (no offense to you either, Caitlin!). So what if she’s not talking about gay sex? I’m not talking about it either in my columns, but I don’t think you could accuse me of espousing “heteronormativity.” Just because she’s talking about sex means she needs to talk about all kinds of sex? I talk about science, but mostly it focuses on biology, evolution, skepticism, critical thinking, and soon some engineering will be making its way in there. I talk about these things because they are the things to which I can speak with knowledge (and hopefully clarity). I don’t think chemistry is somehow sub-par or that there isn’t interesting and fascinating things to be learned from discussing physics, only that my ability to talk about these avenues is not as well-formed as my thinking on say the biological origins of belief in gods or the feedback control nature of the American political system.

I think the analogy extends to Caitlin, and I believe she said so herself: “this is my column and at the moment, I’m having straight sex. So that’s what I’m writing about.” She’s not saying gay sex is bad, she just happens to currently have a particular expertise in “hetero”-sex.

And perhaps this is my naivete or apathy-induced enlightenment speaking, but does anyone really get up in arms about gay and straight anymore? I don’t just your religious nuts or bigoted assholes, I’m talking about the vast majority of us who don’t care at all. When I meet someone one of the very last questions I would ever get to (past “Don’t you think Dil Pickles ruined the Rugrats?”) would be “with what category A. B. or C do you enjoy sex with?” It seems like such a non-issue to most people.

And shouldn’t it be that way? Who cares who has sex with who? Sexual preference is as much of a deal-breaker in today’s day and age as is candy preference. Or music preference. My sexual preference has so little bearing on your daily life that you are right not to care about it. The same applies with you to me. Or you to Caitlin or Caitlin with you.

There’s already too many categorically based hatreds, let’s not give each other another reason to hate one another.

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EnglPhd,
Finally you may be getting the point which was if you don’t like it don’t read it. See I know I have won when you started name calling. So now we are bigots because we don’t agree with you? Thats preatty selfish and intolerant. I have never writtin anything that would make me intolerant, I made a few simple points about why Catlin should get to write what she want’s to write about. You have been on here trolling for an argument and you found a few. If you choose to write a white pride article thats fine with me….I won’t read it because I don’t care so I wouldn’t even comment on it. I read what I want to, just like you can choose do so. One thing I don’t get, what privlidge have I not earned to comment on here? We wen’t attacking you for your dissent we weren’t happy that you attacked Catlin because she is straight and only writes about straight sex.

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^Caitlin, sorry Caitlin didn’t mean to spell your name wrong in the above post.

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C: She has clearly stated she has had same-sex relationships. (or implied it) Perhaps you should read closely.

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Joe M- Awesome comment. Thanks for the defense. To be honest, I have no idea how this even got sparked. I didn’t talk about gays at all (I guess that was the problem). It is my column and I can be selfish. Again, thanks for the kind words.

Barry- Thank you, I really couldn’t have said it better myself (even though I did, as you cited). Like you, I don’t believe in addressing such a topic because its my column and I’m having sex with my boyfriend. And for Phd to ask that I go out and have gay sex and report back…well, that’s asking a lot right now. But of course I’m open to that idea.
And no offense taken. I want my column to be light. It’s a sex column. I want it to be a break from the front page of the Sagebrush and breaking news, a column where you can laugh and just feel mindless. And yeah, of course, I’d like for people to take notice and example of a strong hardcore female. Ha.

C-You are a badass. End of story. I really appreciate your comments.

EnglPhD- I hope you will continue to read my column and please, understand I’m not trying to marginalize anyone. Not my intent. But I usually stick to a personal basis for this column. Meaning, if I’ve been having sex with my boyfriend, that’s what I’m centering the column around. I can’t exactly research at this moment in time. That’s not to say I haven’t had lesbian experiences, will have more, or write about it. :) Either way, thank YOU for getting me thinking.

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I’ve been following the progression of these posts very closely and, quite frankly, I’m appalled. Any serious journalist–especially those writing in the “Perspectives” section of a college newspaper, whose base readership consists mainly of impressionable 18-20 year old freshmen–should make it their duty to recognize and acknowledge difference.

I understand that this is Caitlin’s column and, yes, our first amendment rights gives her the ability to write whatever she wants in this column. But did any of you here responding negatively to EnglPhD–and effectively shutting down any kind of productive dialogue–actually look up the word heteronormativity? It’s not about straight or gay-pride; it’s about the absence of recognition, about keeping silent about difference, and about not drawing attention to heterosexual privilege. In a nutshell, for all of you too busy to learn about important issues you’re suddenly faced with, heteronormativity is a social bias in favor of opposite-sex relationships. Under-representation of same-sex relationships in the media only serves to perpetuate the notion that male-female relationships are “normal,” implying that gay and lesbian relationships are “abnormal.” For example, Caitlin, by titling one of your articles “Take your search for the opposite sex outside,” is an expression of heteronormativity.

For those of you who need direct quotes:

“When sexual orientation is directly addressed in an institutional setting, it is typically homosexuality, not heterosexuality, that is identified as an explicit category, thereby constructing and naturalizing heterosexuality….the silences surrounding sexual difference on many campuses obscure how heteronormativity is woven into the culture as a whole….Especially for heterosexual students, drawing attention to heterosexuality and heterosexual privilege is crucial, because it offers them a framework for beginning to understand and identify the discourse communities from which many of their beliefs and assumptions emerge.”–Amy Winans

It is in this way–at least in part–that UNR’s community is intolerant. And Barry, for you to say: “does anyone really get up in arms about gay and straight anymore? I don’t just your religious nuts or bigoted assholes, I’m talking about the vast majority of us who don’t care at all” just shows your–and anyone who agrees with you–ignorance about the real world.

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She’s straight or bi-curious. WHY are you making her cater to you? It’s her column.

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Does it really matter what our title is?

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EnglMA, I have no idea why you are laboring under the delusion that nobody knows what the word “heteronormativity” means. And none of us are the ones who connected that with “straight pride,” EnglPhD did that:
“My point is that having a “straight pride” column is essentially the same.”

There are many people who don’t have a column in the student newspaper. That’s not because of their heterosexual privilege. It’s because they wanted to write a column. If you want to write a gay column, go ahead and contact the editors. I’m sure no one would stand in your way. It’s not Caitlin’s problem that you don’t care enough to write your own column from your own perspective and expect her to do it for you.

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While I never believed that everyone here was unaware of what heteronormativity means (that’s too much of a generalization for my taste) I am laboring under the fact that at least some of the people posting here did not, and apparently still do not, understand the term. You, Joe Milar, seem to have misread my post, or not read it closely enough. If you had, you would realize that heteronormativity does not call for a person to begin writing a gay column in the student newspaper simply because a straight column is already in place.

A socially aware and socially responsible journalist writing articles about sex and sexuality must recognize that not 100% of his or her readership is seeking sexual relationships from the opposite sex. Simple nods toward any possible sexual partnerships, for example, rather than only a “search for the opposite sex” is the easiest way to begin working against heteronormativity in this community. This has nothing to do with whether or not Caitlin, as author of this particular column, is straight, lesbian, bisexual, or bicurious, or whether or not she decides to write about sexual experiences she’s had with other women. It has everything to do with the language being used that serves to perpetuate heteronormativity and privilege heterosexual relationships, whether Caitlin means to do this or not (and I don’t believe that she does).

In other words, I’m not asking Caitlin to “cater to” her non-straight readers, I’m asking her to be a socially responsible community leader (and, yes, if you write a sex column in a college newspaper, you are a community leader) and to, at the very least, attempt to stop using the kind of language that promotes heteronormativity.

And for those of you who still do not–or refuse to–understand this argument, I feel sorry for you.

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EnglMA,
Read my above posts. You are trying to get her to cater to something she is not and does not want to write about at this time. Like most journalists she is writing about her experiences and her point of view. Again most of us are straight and we would much rather read about straight topics then gay topics which is why there is heteronormativity. She should not have to cater to anyone or bow down to political correctness ,like you want her to. do

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We understand your argument, EnglMA. However, you refuse to try to understand that most people read Caitlin’s articles for entertainment, to escape all of that “socially responsible” repitition that we are subjected to everyday.

Caitlin’s articles are funny. She isn’t promoting the right to bear arms or an idea that only straight people should be allowed to marry or any other social/political issue. She means these to be funny, light reading for people who’ve had a hard week and could use a laugh.

Stop being condescending and just take it for what it is.

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There’s no difference between pure and political knowledge. (Edward Said, Orientalism) To assume that something is just “entertainment” and not in anyway politically slanted is true ignorance. The Disney movie “Alandin” is a perfect example. You can’t claim mass mediated texts aren’t just for entertainment only. Read some Noam Chomsky. If those of you who post here claim to be journalists, then please try to understand the political economy of your business. We can argue here back and forth forever, but again, what we need — what would most help all of us — would be research into the policitical economy of why these disagreements obtain.

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A quick point…is there really a difference between “gay sex” and “straight sex”? Biologically, they serve a similar function – pleasure. Along with pigs and dolphins, we are the only known species that feel sensation when copulating. Therefore, does sex only serve as a basis for reproduction for the human species? I don’t see it if this is the case. In this sense, I think it isn’t prudent to claim that there is a division between the two, because in reality, it is just a tool for the human race to gain sensation. Is sex wrong? Of course not, but I am just saying we shouldn’t label the two as if we are saying one if preferable to the other, or in other terms, one is “right” and the other is “wrong”.

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Eric,
There is a huge difference between gay sex and straight sex. One means your gay and one means your straight. Straight sex also allows for reproduction and gay sex does not. Also straight sex is nore sensationable for the two people.
*sigh*,
I think you maybe commented on the wrong article.

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No, this is absolutely the article I wanted to comment on. You just don’t get it.

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I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re somehow not going to meet in the middle on this one, but I had to throw in my two cents.

I agree that this column is generally aimed at a certain demographic, and that demographic is not the gay community. I also believe this should be addressed by the author *if she cares to do so*. If she doesn’t, that’s up to her.
I admit I would be saddened if that were the case, but it’s simply not my call to make, or anyone else’s for that matter.
I believe those who have posted were trying to express their own opinion about this column, and were shut down because of their “less than popular” stance.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I don’t think attacking anyone else’s post is going to change any minds… it just makes you look foolish.

I would encourage those of you who choose to argue what others are saying take time to form your own opinions, state them, and respect everyone else’s right to do the same thing. If you do, I *assure you*, they’ll do the same for you. It IS possible to dissagree with someone without harassing them, and I hope this happens a little more often around here.

If you don’t agree with me, please say so. I’d love to hear other opinions. I only ask that you say what you feel needs to be said about the topic at hand and not my character or anyone else’s.

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Also – here’s my opinion about the topic at hand and not how it’s being handled:

As far as same gender sex/opposite gender sex thing goes, I’ve had both.
*I* vastly prefer same gender sex.

However, I can’t speak for everyone. If *you* think straight sex is better for *you*, say so! It’s really the idea that one or the other is universally more pleasurable that seems far too general.

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LOL…C…shouldn’t you be trolling the Rebel Yell?

How is “straight sex” more pleasurable? Whatever that means.

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Loveislove,
Im happy that you understand Caitlin’s article and realize that it is her writing and she has the right to write what she wants. Basically all the the “attacking of posts” was aimed at those who attacked Caitlin’s article because she did not provide an equal stance/ or she did not write about what they like.

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Eric,
The word I used was sensationable, this is because straight sex can be done in many positions which allows for more sensation in the sex, which by your termology makes it pleasurable.

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This article has a nice content, it gives interesting ideas for the reader.

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Wow! As always, enjoyed the post….and…really enjoyed the controversy in the comments!

For the record,
A. I know for a fact that some of your loyal readers are gay or bisexual.
B. Intolerant??????? There is an extremely active Diversity Commission on campus that does exceptionally good work, and it is well received, except perhaps by the blind and overeducated who have failed to notice.
C. This is a column. The columnist is protected by inarguable constitutional rights, to publish anything relevant at her own discretion.
D. Heteronormativity, an impressive big word which is I’m sure your favorite word of the day, Professor, is not actually applicable to this column or discussion. We’re laughing about sex like normal, well-adjusted humans, and your unprovoked attack just marginalized all of the readers, regardless of race or sexual orientation. An English profossor aught to know the difference between a constructive and legitimate argument, and a simple but passionate outburst of personal emotions unique to yourself. Readers of this column are not likely to be the kind of people you’re attacking, who may have marginalized GLBT “minorities” in the past.

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@*sigh*

Please, please, please inform us as to how this article is politically motivated.

“For the last week, I’ve been having sex in the car or the shower”

Wait, you’re absolutely right. I see now that Caitlin really meant “Obama’s healthcare plan should cover abortion.”

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I didn’t read every comment but I read the first one by EnglPhD. Hahahaha why does the homosexual population matter when her target audience is clearly heterosexuals and she clearly is speaking about her own sex life which is clearly not homosexual.
Literally you just sound like a baby politician complaining about political correctness. Sorry most of this planet is not homo so there should be no reason she should HAVE make more restrictions on her voice/target audience to make you feel better.
Finally I hope it makes you feel good that you need to flash your PhD in your name. I get that it’s an achievement but you’re on a forum and NO ONE knows who you really are.
I’m sooooo tired of this idea we have to cater to homosexuals in all environments. Movies, music, Tv, Games, Facebook, now blogs? GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

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