Nelson 1

Taylor Nelson
Ms. B
Research Paper
3-4-14
Free Zone
The LGBTQA+ community works to create a safe zone for fellow members and has rules
to uphold that safe zone.
LGBTQA+ members meet in on the third floor of Schleman every Wednesday. A variety
of things happen at these weekly meetings. The members talk about their week, upcoming
events, and learn about the history of homosexuality in a judgment free zone.
Upon observation, the members seem to have several unspoken rules that they follow
during meetings. The first is that one person talks at a time. When someone is telling their
personal story or informing the group about a topic the rest watch and respectfully listen.
Rule number two is to respect others pronouns. The LGBTQA+ organization consists of
many different types of sexualities. Some members are transvestites and transsexuals. In the
group it does not matter how a person was born, but how they classify now.
It is looked down on to misuse a persons chosen pronoun.
Which follows into the third rule: do not judge another persons preferences. Among the
different sexualities are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, asexual, and pansexual. The
diverse mix means some people prefer one, both, or neither gender.
The difference in sexualities means the members do not judge others preferences.
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The different sexualities do not seem to split or label the members of the LGBTQA+
community. The group functions as a single, supportive, unit.
The sexualities have different definitions. Most people are aware of the terms gay,
lesbian, and bisexual. Where men like men, women like women, or a gender likes both genders.
Other sexualities are transsexual, pansexual, and asexual. Transsexual is where a person
believes they should be of the opposite sex. Pansexual is where the person is not focused on
gender, but who the other person is as a person. Asexual is where a person has no sexual feelings
or desire.
LGBTQA+ members state that they are proud to be a free zone. The term free zone
is used to describe how the organization is reflected to the members.
Free zone has a variety of meanings to the members of the LGBTQA+ organization, but
they have the same basic meaning. Some of the responses gather from the members about free
zone are: it means free to be who you want without judgment, free zone is living free
without worrying about being prosecuted, and it means Im safe to be who I am.
Free zone is a defiant theme of the organization. It was a founding idea of the
organization according the Purdue LGBTQA+ website.
As previously stated, the Purdue LGBTQA+ members meet on Wednesday in Schleman
Hall on the third floor. The group partakes in various activities at these meetings.
A current topic in these meetings is the history of homosexuality. During the meeting on
Wednesday February 26, the members discussed topics like the handkerchief code, pink dollar,
pansexual, and the cafeteria riot.
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The members tossed a ball to who was going to speak next to fulfill rule number one.
Rule number one was one person talks at a time.
When a person caught the ball the group leader would ask a question about the history of
homosexuality or give a topic. If the person who caught the ball did not know the answer or
anything about the topic then that person would say they did not know.
The group was over all stumped about the handkerchief code. The group leader informed
the group that the handkerchief code was widely used in the 1970s in the United States and
Europe. Homosexuals would wear a certain color handkerchief depending on what sex they
preferred and what there intensions were.
It was a way for homosexuals to meet without officially coming out, announcing they
were homosexual, so they would not be publically judged.
The members were interested in the history of LGBTQA+ and about the history of
homosexuality. They were also very interested in the present day things going on with
homosexuals.
Currently, many states are voting in favor of homosexual marriages. In the past two
months four states have passed laws allowing gay marriage. Those states are Kentucky, Texas,
Virginia, and Oklahoma. In late 2013 Utah, New Mexico, and Hawaii also passed laws allowing
homosexual marriages.
According to the members of LGBTQA+, the United States still has a way to go before
reaching equality between the sexes and those with different sexual preference but it is taking
steps in the right direction.