Daniel Syms

Ethnography Journal
Anthropology 1010
Utah Pride Center

Being gay is nothing new. There seems to be common misconception among some
people today, that being gay is some sort of 21st century fad, or epidemic that is spreading among
our youth. These people need to look back at history to realize that this is not the case. A short
list of some of histories greatest gay people, or at least having homosexual tendencies, would
included Michelangelo, Alexander the Great, Eleanor Roosevelt, Oscar Wilde, Tennessee
Williams, and some historians even point to Leonardo da Vinci, Abraham Lincoln, Walt
Whitman, and James Buchanan.
In my opinion, the misconception of gay people being a new, radical, or immoral lifestyle
choice, is probably due to the fact that gay people have been persecuted in most cultures around
the globe to the point that they are forced into hiding and secrecy. Historically, it has not been
safe for gay people to come out to the world and announce they are gay. And those that have,
usually receive backlash in the form of bullying, violence, arrest, torture, and even death. In the
United States, few attempts were made to create advocacy groups supporting gay culture until
after World War II. And even then homosexual people were mostly treated as abominations.
The problem with a misconception of gay culture being a lifestyle choice, is just that, it is
not usually a choice. There is a dangerous idea which has circulated among homophobic groups,
that all gay people choose to be gay, and if they wanted to, they could choose to be straight. But,
for most gay people, including the ones I have personally asked about this, their sexual

preference has been with them for as long as they can remember, and feels as natural to them as
breathing. There is even some research to suggest that there could be a gay gene, and that it is
truly a biological result. The gay gene has yet to be found by scientists, but there are other
examples of scientific evidence which point to a biological root, instead of a choice. Such as, a
homosexual person is much more likely to have homosexual siblings than that of a heterosexual
person, suggesting that biological inheritance is a factor. Of course, genes cannot control
behavior completely, but they certainly play a role in how behavior develops. There are, of
course, homosexual people who feel their sexual preference was less of a natural tendency, and
more of a response to the environment they grew up in, but these people are greatly in the
minority. Also, although most of these people also feel that their homosexuality was more of a
reaction to external stimuli, rather than something they were born with, they also find the idea of
being attracted to the opposite sex, an impossibility.
The reason that I bring these theories of born this way vs choice up, is because I
think it is important to the methods with which we define different cultures, and how those
cultures are identified and classified by the outside world. Like most other cultures around the
world, the LGBTQ culture, is one that most people are born into, and not one that they decide to
be apart of. I think this point solidifies the LGBTQ culture, as a legitimate culture, and not a
subculture, lifestyle choice, off-shoot of society, cult, fad, or any other demeaning definition an
outsider may try to box them into. To contrast, a person who is born into, say indigenous
Peruvian Amazonia culture. This person is likely to carry aspects of this beautiful culture with
them for the rest of their lives. If they grew up learning the aspects and traditions of this culture,
they are likely to reflect those elements in their personalities and daily lives. Even if they move
to a different place with a different culture and attempted to assimilate, it would extremely

difficult to eradicate all aspects of indigenous Peruvian Amazonia culture from their lives. In the
same way, most LGBTQ people feel their culture to be an inalterable aspect of their identity. I
think it is important to touch on this point before moving forward.
When selecting my group for this project, I was very weary at first. I wanted to make
sure that I had a good chance of getting along with whatever group it was, because I knew I
would be spending 12+ hours with them. As I scanned the list of possible options, I honestly
passed over Utah Pride Center several times, thinking it would be the biggest wild-card option. I
called around to several other groups first, hoping to pick the easiest way out of this project. I
ignored the prompted call to choose the group, of which I knew the least about, or had
preconceived notions for, and I dialed several other numbers. After half a day, and no call back
from the groups I had contacted, I reassessed my strategy. I reviewed the list, and the assignment
once again and considered the implications of being honest with myself and the project. I
admitted to myself that the Utah Pride Center would most likely hold the greatest challenge, and
greatest chance for a perspective shift, and I dialed their number. I am very glad I did so because
from an anthropological perspective, Utah Pride Center offered the richest experience I could
hope for.
Most of my expectations for working with the Utah Pride Center, and LGBTQ culture,
were rooted in ignorance and lack of understanding of certain cultural nuances. I had my
encompassing opinions of what all gay people were like, and my generalizations about what I
could expect from this group of people. My ignorance was innocent for the most part, because I
had not had very many opportunities throughout my life to interact with LGBTQ people, but
nonetheless, some of my assumptions would certainly offend the average LGBTQ community

member. All that being said I made and effort and promise to myself that I would try to enter to
the experience with an open mind, and from an anthropological point of view.
Culture shock- Feelings of alienation and helplessness that result from rapid
immersion. Being tossed into my first event hosted by the Utah Pride Center was shocking
indeed. When you go from a world of a well defined scaffolding of boy-girl attraction, and
gender definitions, to attending a conference on the fluidity of gender and attraction, normal
starts to change shape. Alienation, or helplessness would not be the right words for me, because
I was met with open arms, and guidance throughout the entire event, but I cant say I wasnt
slightly surprised by the event and its participants. This became the norm for any Utah Pride
event I volunteered for. I began to meet wide array of people with different gender identities,
sexual preferences, unique fashion, language, values, etc. But the one constant was always
kindness and acceptance to any and all who wanted to part take. This is why
my culture shock, quickly transformed into cultural understanding.
One aspect of working with the Utah Pride Center which made
establishing my ethnography easy, was that most of the events where
actually specifically geared towards educating the public about LGBTQ
culture. This meant that my field work was usually accompanied by the
culture itself informing me about whether my observations were accurate.
For example, I was initially unsure about certain elements of language used
by the LGBTQ community. I began to hear words that I was unfamiliar with, and I was unsure
about how to address certain people. But this issue was fixed when I was allowed to attend a
workshop specifically addressing this. There was jargon and lingo to describe
peoples different levels ranges of sexuality and gender such as pansexual,

asexual, polyamorous, as well as how to address transgender people, who had transitioned
from man to woman, woman to man, or even people who did not identify with a gender. The
rule of thumb here, was if you are unsure, just ask the person. Some people had transitioned to a
woman or man, and preferred to addressed with their transitioned pronouns, (he, him, his, she,
her, hers), and some people preferred to be addressed by their original gender. There was also
inside lingo and nicknames for certain types of LGBTQ people, some that may even be
offensive within the community. For example, I heard the term queen used several times,
when referencing a particularly effeminate gay man. I also heard the terms twink, which is
used to describe an attractive, usually boyish-looking, young gay man, or bear, which is used
to describe a larger man, who projects the image of rugged masculinity. Queen, twink, and bear,
may nor be politically correct terms to use, but when I heard them, they were being used as a jest
or joke, and seemed harmless to the recipient of the label. The non-verbal communication
I witnessed was basically identical to that of heterosexual culture, only perhaps more same-sex
embraces. When working with Utah Pride Center, there was never a shortage of of hugs, smiles,
kisses, head nodding, and a wide range of gesturing.
Kinship can be a sensitive subject to discuss with some members of the LGBTQ
community, because a lot of times their traditional family units can have trouble with accepting
their sexual preference and gender identity. Utah also has a unique problem with this because of
the popularity of the Mormon religion. This religion usually identifies with LGBTQ culture to
be immoral and unnatural, and this has created a void between many Utah LGBTQ members and
their traditionally Mormon family structure. Of course there are always exceptions to this, and
one informant I spoke with told me her story of her family learning to accept her for who she is.
A girl I met during my service spoke of a long and difficult road she went through with her

Mormon family. She came out to her family around the age 15, and they were immediately
appalled by what she had revealed. The family send this girl to counselors and therapists within
the church structure to attempt to figure out her condition. This girl went through many
years of dismissal, and disapproval from her family, but because she loved them anyway, she told
me she eventually got through their ignorance to find a place of acceptance and support. Her
family has changed their opinions, and today they are closer than ever. This story was touching
to me, but there is not always such a happy ending with this kind of issue. Many LGBTQ
members I have spoken with have fractured and polluted relationships with their biological
families, and have turned to the outside world to attempt to establish a new kinship or family
unit. This is one of the main objectives of the Utah Pride Center, and other LGBTQ support
groups around the country. To provide a place free of judgment or scorn, where a person can
develop new relationships with people who are like themselves. This means that the definition
of kinship is also very fluid to the LGBTQ community, and many of them tend to find
brothers, sisters, and even moms and dads elsewhere in their lives. Of course, many
biological families are also very supportive of their LGBTQ family members from the start, and
do not let their unique attractions or definitions of gender, or love break their family bonds.
Many times an LGBTQ person can bring their family closer together, because they need support
against the discrimination from the outside world.
Marriage is also a cultural aspect which takes on unique definitions within the LGBTQ
community. On June 26th, 2015, the United States Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal
nation wide. This recent development has changed the cultural landscape of marriage for the
LGBTQ community, and has same-sex couples across the nation celebrating and tying the knot
in a way they have not been able to before. Before this date, there were many states that had out-

lawed same-sex marriage, only only a few who had legalized it. Many hetero-sexual people
view marriage as something that only they should be able to participate in, and the idea of
allowing a same-sex couples to wed would ruin the sanctity of marriage. Fortunately, the U.S.
government has awarded this right to same-sex couples now, and in my opinion this was the right
call. From an anthropological perspective, marriage in the LGBTQ community is very similar to
the rest of traditional American culture. What I mean by this, is for the most part, there is not a
huge cultural difference, besides the wedding couple being the same sex. Other cultural
marriage elements such as arranged marriages, polygamy, polyandry, bride wealth, dowry, and so
on, do not exist in higher percentages within same-sex couples than in straight couples in the
U.S.
As far as religion goes, I did not observe the LGBTQ community identify with one
specific religion, more than any other. There are certainly some religions which do not approve
of the LGBTQ community, and those religions have much lower numbers of these wonderful
people, and that is their loss. But there is a general trend of many religions becoming more
accepting of LGBTQ people. If I had to asses what cultural religious beliefs LGBTQ people
held most commonly, I would say they tend to have a belief structure centered around
unconditional love. Love is the key element, and the glue which holds this belief system
together. Whether that love is between two men, two women, or any possible combination on
the spectrum of attraction and gender.
There have been many surprising factors and elements of this experience. From the
surprise about how much fun Ive had, to the surprise that of how kind and welcoming everyone
Ive met has been. But I think the biggest surprised to me has come in form of a realization that
the average member LGBTQ community is really not all that different from myself. When

initially thinking about what it might be like to work with the Pride Center, I had all sort of
thoughts about dealing with people who would much different that me on a fundamental level. I
figured they would mostly have different values, different goals, and just generally different
perspectives on the world. But what I have come to find out is that most of the people I have
met, are very much like me. Of course there are still many cultural differences, but on a basic
human level, there seem to be very minimal differences. Its not that I thought the LGBTQ
community was some strange group of people, but I did think I would find it hard to relate to the
group. I have been thoroughly surprised by just the opposite. I have not had any trouble relating
to any LGBTQ member I have met.
In evaluating the methods, I used to create an ethnography of this group, I think next time
it would benefit me to do more one-on-one interviews and analysis with informants. I did have
the chance to ask individuals some key questions, and I did conduct several interviews, but I
learned that it usually takes people time to open up to an outside element such as myself. By the
time people started to warm up to me, and accept that I was only there to gather valid
information, the project was almost over. I understand this because most people in this culture
are used to people passing judgment misunderstanding their words, so it takes some time to build
trust.
There were many moments, especially towards the beginning, were I caught myself being
ethnocentric. This usually involved ignorance to how the LGBTQ community interacted with
one another, or how I should interact within the community. I never considered my
ethnocentrism to be based around the idea that my culture was better or closer to perfection, but I
did need some time to adapt to certain more extreme elements. Elements such as to interact with
Transgender people, how to get used to watching public displays of affection between same-sex

lovers, and how to remind myself that I was there research, and not to judge anyone by the way
they preform certain tasks. I found this easy to over come after my first few visits because I
continually was being educated and welcomed by the community itself.
One moment where I was able to practice cultural relativity was during my chaperoning
of the Halloween party for LGBTQ youth. There were several areas, and activities for the kids to
hang out and celebrate Halloween, and one of them was a movie room, where they were showing
Rocky Horror Picture Show. I had never seen this movie before, and based on some of the ages
of the kids in the room, I was a bit unsure if it was totally appropriate. But upon second thought,
I realized that this movie was not only a cultural classic for the LGBTQ community, but had
some good messages hidden within it. I realized that even though some of the kids were only
12-years-old, that relativity to their culture, was perhaps more important than whether some parts
were inappropriate for their ages.
Through this experience I learned a lot about myself. I learned the value of stepping
outside of my own skin, and diving into a different culture, free of ethnocentrism especially. I
learn to nurture my interest in all things out there even if it meant exposing my own ignorance
or misunderstandings. I learned that having my eyes opened to another world, culture, and
perspective, is a valuable way to re-evaluate what is important to me in life, and how to fight for
what I want my own culture to represent. Many people in todays society are unfortunately
caught up in their own worlds and lives, to the point where volunteering for another group of
people sounds like a waste of time, or a scary concept to them. But through this project I have
found a new appreciation for the treasures that are hidden within select populations of people,
and the value that seeing the world from their perspective can create. I have walked away from
this experience, more confident in my ability to adapt to social situations, and appreciate the

differences in human beings across the board. Instead of being scared or worried about what
another group of people might believe in, or represent, I have a new found skill to identify, what
makes that group of people special. I think novelty in this world is an undervalued element. The
most beautiful things I have found in this life, and also usually the rarest and most unique, and I
will carry this lesson into my future.

WORKS CITED
<"12 Historical Figures You Didnt Know Were Gay." First to Know. Web. 17
Dec. 2015>
<Korte, Travis. "Homosexuality & Choice: Are Gay People 'Born This Way?'"
The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 17 Dec. 2015. >
<http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/history.aspx>
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States>