WOMYN Wednesday

Hey, everyone!

I promised to keep you in the loop about WOMYN, so here's the rundown: Our Senior Layout Editor, Robert Kollenberg, has begun putting the magazine together. We're also working with an artist to create a unique cover design for the magazine, as well as a layout redesign. Finally, just as a reminder, if you're on the Review Board, please return your comments on new submissions ASAP - y'all are the ones who have the power to accept or reject submissions!

I don't know if y'all are interested in my eensy saga of grad school applications, but I'll keep telling you anyway. So, I decided to leave my LGBTQ-related activities on my C.V. without offering any kind of explanation. In most ways, it has been a non-issue, but there is one particular incident that was a little unsettling.

Some of you know that, in addition to applying to graduate school, I'm in the midst of the scholarship competitions for the Rhodes and the Marshall. In order to be an official candidate from Duke, I had to have an institutional endorsement interview, which works kind of like a mock scholarship interview and a constructive criticism session all rolled into one. As you might imagine, it was pretty stressful, and I was very nervous. The interview was more of a rapid-fire grilling session than anything else - I was asked about a range of things pertaining to my thesis and my personal statement. Some of the questions I couldn't answer (I don't yet know everything about the sixteenth century in France, unfortunately), which didn't really help. The last question, though, sent me over the edge. I was asked what the climate was like for LGBTQ people on campus, and whether that environment had anything to do with my involvement with WOMYN.

I was not in any way expecting such a question, and my experience as part of the LGBTQ community is not something that I enjoy explaining to a roomful of complete strangers. Nor is it a story that I should have to tell, especially since my interviewers are human, with their own notions and prejudices that could affect whether I continue in the competitions.

I got something coherent out before I started crying uncontrollably (mortifying). Now, let's be clear: there are certain questions that should never be asked, and the one I responded to probably falls under that category as well. My situation is a little different - because it was not a job interview, I don't think that there is any kind of legal issue at stake. However, I think that every interview should follow the same basic, ethical principles. One of those is that no one has the right to force you to come out (or to out you) in any setting. We still have to negotiate a world full of prejudices and injustices, and in many states (and other nations) we have no protection against discrimination for being LGBTQ. So, know your rights, people, and assert them if you have any doubt about a situation.

My story has a happy ending, or perhaps a new, happy beginning: I am continuing on in both scholarship competitions, which is very exciting. I don't know how much farther I'll get, but even being at this point is amazing.

WOMYN Wednesday

First, I want to send a huge thank you to everyone who has submitted to WOMYN! Our next issue is going to be wonderful! We would still love to have some ideas for cover art, so if you want to help with that please talk to Robert Kollenberg, our Senior Layout Editor, or email womynatduke@gmail.com as soon as possible. Finally, if you want to submit something but missed the deadline, please talk to me (Jennifer).

Okay, so that's pretty much it for WOMYN news, although we will keep you in the loop in the weeks to come! I would now like to offer a (tangentially related) personal musing. Read on if you wish.

Applications for graduate programs in my field opened on September 1. So, I've been working hard to whip my C.V. into shape, find professors willing to write references, and write a compelling personal statement. One thing I had to think about a lot was whether to disclose my involvement with the BDU blog and WOMYN - not because they're not important to me (because they really are!), but because it would mean coming out to more people, specifically the professors who are writing reference letters for me. Oh, of course it's not a blatant kind of coming out. Rather, it's the ambiguous kind that leaves room for so many awkward questions and assumptions.

I wouldn't consider myself super closeted at Duke, but there are some situations in which I don't think coming out is a useful or relevant act. My professors don't need to know I'm queer in order to write me a letter of reference, and graduate programs don't need to know in order to decide whether I'm a good candidate. Thus, coming out seems like an overshare. However, I've been fighting (with myself, with peer pressure, etc.) for years to be fully myself, and expunging all LGBTQ-related activities from my C.V. and things would feel like lying or going back in the closet. It's a weird situation for me. I've basically decided to leave that information in, but to offer no explanation. I would rather show my involvement with activities that are important to me and open myself up to questions and assumptions than erase them from the story I tell to recommenders and graduate schools.

WOMYN Wednesday!

Hello, all you marvelous readers!

I do not have a poll for you today. Instead, I wish to remind you of something much more exciting and momentous:

WOMYN is hosting a submission-writing party TOMORROW from 8-10PM in the Center. The deadline for submitting your ever-fabulous perspectives on being a queer woman at Duke is this Friday, September 16. But, writing those submissions can be very difficult, which is why WOMYN has decided to help create an atmosphere that makes writing fun and communal. Because, really, we are all part of such as strong and dynamic community, and WOMYN is a tangible symbol of that community. Therefore, it makes sense that we all share in the writing process - to cheer each other on, make suggestions, and otherwise provide a supportive environment. But wait! There's more! If you come to the party, you will also receive food, FREE with your attendance!

In the meantime, I urge you to keep spreading the word about WOMYN. When it comes down to it, WOMYN is both a record of our community and a conversation among community members. We need as many voices as possible to be included in that conversation. So, please take a WOMYN bookmark to give to a friend, send an email, share a copy of the first issue - we will all benefit by encouraging others to submit. Additionally, for the artistically-inclined, WOMYN is looking for an awesome new cover design. We want this issue to be as slick as the first! You can send your submissions (art and otherwise) to womynatduke@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing the wonderful things you have to offer!

WOMYN Wednesday!

Well, first things first: I hope that everyone had a fabulous summer! To those who are returning readers of the blog: welcome back! To our new readers (I'm looking at you in particular, Class of '15): welcome to Duke and to the BDU Blog!

A few days ago, Megan wrote up a wonderful post about the many resources and activities for LGBTQ students at Duke. One of those resources is WOMYN, Duke's student publication by and for queer women on campus. I mention WOMYN specifically because I am Jennifer, the current Editor. WOMYN is currently looking for submissions for the next issue, so please send your work to womynatduke@gmail.com. We want everything from comic strips to poetry, as long as it has a queer women's focus, and if you are part of the Duke community, you can submit. The deadline is September 16, which will be here sooner than we realize!

Part of WOMYN's content is also generated by WOMYN Wednesday Polls. Because summer is always (surprisingly) busy for everyone, I thought I'd do a quick round-up of the polls posted in the past few months. Never fear, there aren't too many, so you can fill them out during your lunch break, or between bouts of packing/unpacking/orientation activities. Additionally, it's a fact that participating in these super-short surveys will raise your IQ by a minimum of 5 points. So go hither, thither, and yon to register your responses, which could appear in WOMYN's next issue!

I'll be back on campus this Friday, about which I'm super-excited, and I'd love to talk to you in person about WOMYN if you like!

WOMYN Wednesday!

Hey, everyone! So, you might have noticed that there was no WOMYN Wednesday post last week. The reason is that I was at home, in Atlanta. I took the GRE last Tuesday, because I am a super-nerd and want to go to grad school as soon as I finish college. And then I fled Durham on Wednesday at 5:00 AM to make the 6ish-hour drive home. Once there, I had to curtail all activities involving rainbows, glitter, unicorns, and civil rights activism (in no particular order). Now, however, I’m back in Durham, and I have another survey for you!

What do you want to do after college? (Click on the question to take the survey.)

The questions in the survey have been on my mind quite a bit lately, since this year I’m a senior. Soon, I will be leaving the wonderful world of Duke, although I will probably end up in a place that also requires spending inordinate amounts of time in the library. (That’s actually my ideal situation, by the way: I was born to embrace the nerdy side of life.) So, I already know what I want to do with my life, and I think it would be really interesting to hear from y’all. The real world – which I plan to stay out of, for the most part – is a much different place, and there are many of us who will live and struggle in it once we leave Duke. A lot of us are fairly involved with the LGBTQ community here, but Duke, for all of its faults when it comes to providing a safe environment for us, is a very closed, rarified, even, dare I say, liberal community compared to many parts of the US and the world. Suddenly, being LGBTQ or an Ally may become more difficult or dangerous for some of us. So, please take this survey – it’s not all serious, but I hope it at least makes you think a bit!

P.S. Once you’ve finished taking the survey, please send your submissions to womynatduke@gmail.com! The inbox is so empty that when I shout at my computer screen, there’s an echo. You can submit artwork, comics, essays, poems, photographs – anything, as long as it’s your work and it has a queer women’s focus. If you want to submit something but are struggling with ideas, feel free to ask any of the editors, and be sure to check out WOMYN’s first issue. WOMYN is super-important, y’all – by its very existence it changes campus, but it can’t do that without a community effort. So please, submit – you have until September 16!

WOMYN Wednesday - Sort of

Hello, everyone. So, it’s WOMYN Wednesday, but things have been totally crazy this week, so I don’t have a super-awesome new poll for you. Next week, though, I promise! In the meantime, I hope you’re writing your fantabulous submissions for WOMYN! Your voices are crucial to the success of this magazine, and we really want to help you spread the word about your ideas and experiences. Please send your amazing work to womynatduke@gmail.com!

In lieu of a poll, perhaps you would be interested in some pictures of some absolutely fabulous queer women, courtesy of autostraddle.com? If you’ve already seen them, well, it can’t hurt to look again, right?

WOMYN Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, y’all! Just to remind you, submissions to WOMYN’s second issue are due September 16, 2011! We’re super-excited about this issue – it’s going to be so awesome, because all of you are awesome, and so are your submissions (without your voices, WOMYN’s awesomeness quotient is going to suffer, though. Just sayin’.) So please send your poetry, prose, cartoons, photographs, etc. to womynatduke@gmail.com!!! And now, it’s time for the first WOMYN Wednesday Poll of the summer:

Do you feel comfortable coming to the LGBT Center?

(Click here to take survey)

Although this question isn’t directed specifically or exclusively to queer women, it’s an important question to ask, because it applies to everyone, queer or not.

There’s been a lot of discussion this past year, both on and off the BDU Blog, about the LGBT Center at Duke. In fact, at times this discussion has approached argument status, mostly due to the apparently polarizing nature of this space on campus. (Disclaimer: the following is based on what the writer, Jennifer, has seen/heard, and should not be taken as a reflection of anyone else’s experience or opinion.)

The Duke LGBT community is made up of many different kinds of people – some are very active, out, and open, while others are not. Many of the most out and open members are often the most vocal and visible LGBT people to the rest of the Duke community. (And let’s not forget the awesome allies who stand beside us – they’re one of the As in LGBTQQIAA, and their support and advocacy makes a positive impact every day.) A significant number of these members of the LGBT community tend to hang out in the Center on a regular basis, whether it’s for Fab Friday, for one of the several discussion groups hosted by the Center, or just to do homework, surf the web, and chat with friends. These people are sometimes referred to as “The Community” or “The Center Gays,” usually in a negative context.

There are other LGBT people here at Duke who do not regularly come to the Center. That’s fine – that’s awesome, in fact. Coming to the Center is not a requirement, and far be it from anyone to force others to go anywhere against their will. Sometimes the Center seems downright scary, especially for those who are questioning, closeted, or new to Duke. Some might see the Center as superfluous or confining.

The fact that there is such a division (these two groups are broad generalizations) within Duke’s LGBT community is not bad, nor is it unexpected. But sometimes we seem a mere hop, skip, and jump away from a really hurtful conflict, which is bad. A blog post addressing this issue happened earlier this year, as did some discussions in comments on the blog. There was even a meeting about it. However, after some comments on the Anonymous Posts this week, it appears that we haven’t yet resolved the discussion. So, please take the survey – your responses will be a helpful addition to the discussion. (Do avoid any obviously inflammatory language in your comments, both on this post and within the survey – the survey is not meant to start an argument. On the contrary, we want a constructive conversation, so that there will be no need to discuss this issue further. )

On Teamwork

[Editor's Note: Welcome to our newest blogger, Jennifer! Jennifer is the current editor of WOMYN, Duke's Magazine by and for queer women and their allies. The magazine launched during the fall of this past school year. Be sure to stop by the LGBT Center to check out a copy of it if you weren't fortunate enough to grab one hot off the press. And be sure to submit your own reflections and experiences by emailing womynatduke@gmail.com. In addition to writing about things from her own life, Jennifer will be bringing sexy WOMYN Wednesdays back!!]

Hey, everyone! I’m Jennifer, and I’ve finally been convinced to write for this amazing blog, so I’ll try to introduce myself in this post. It took a little while for me to agree to write for the BDU Blog, but my hesitation was (at the time) for some legitimate reasons. Like many LGBTQA people, I have been fearful of the reactions I might get for coming out or being outed. A great deal of that fear has been directed towards my family, because the messages I received about gay people when I was growing up were extraordinarily negative, and those messages haven’t stopped. So, I’m not out to any of my family, not even to my little sister, which keeps me safe but also makes me very sad. However, I’ve been lucky enough to find another family here at Duke and in Durham. My new family is full of wonderful, beautiful people – people who are as different from or as similar to me as I can imagine, and everything in between.

In my opinion, a family is like a team – we work together for some common goals, like making the family more welcoming and positive, and the love we have for each other makes cooperation easier. This blog is one example of the amazing things that happen with love, dedication, and teamwork, and I feel honored to write for it. I’m also the member of another team: WOMYN Magazine. Katherinne Silva, Robert Kollenberg, and I make up the Editorial Team, and together with you and your voices (because you’re part of the WOMYN team as well!) we want to make the LGBTQA Community a more visible part of Duke.

Megan Weinand, Jack Grote, and Summer Puente, the original Editorial Team (with the help of the ever-fantastic Dr. Janie Long), did something groundbreaking by starting WOMYN, and the current editors need your help to publish the next issue, because without you, there isn’t a magazine. In fact, as part of my contribution to the blog, I want to restart WOMYN Wednesday – WOMYN really needs your submissions and your input, and hopefully WOMYN Wednesday will give you even more ways to contribute. A quick word about submissions: the deadline for submitting to the next issue is September 16, 2011, and if you’re affiliated with Duke – a student, staff member, faculty member, or alum – you’re eligible to submit! We accept anonymous submissions, and we adhere to a strict code of confidentiality. You can submit anything: a photo, a comic strip, a poem, a prose piece – if you can email it (or a representation of it) to womynatduke@gmail.com, we’ll submit it to our Review Board. The only thing that we ask is that it has a focus on queer women and/or queer women’s issues. Additionally, we would love to have ideas for an awesome cover design for this issue. You are the ones who make this magazine, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at the WOMYN email address listed above.

However, Wednesdays won’t always just be about WOMYN; both this blog and WOMYN are forums where we can tell our stories, analyze movies, poems, YouTube videos, and political power-plays, share our secrets, and help each other ask and answer difficult questions. So, I hope that I can share more of my story on this blog, and that you will feel comfortable sharing your voices with the Community by submitting to WOMYN.

WOMYN Update!

Hello WOMYN! Thank you to everyone who submitted a piece to the magazine for this year’s issue. We recieved well over 35 submissions and we are getting really excited for the finished product.

We won’t have anymore “WOMYN Wednesdays” this semester, but stay on the look-out for our upcoming “WOMYN Release Party”, where we’ll distribute the magazine and celebrate this year’s accomplishments. We are planning on publishing the magazine in late October/early November, and we’re working on Layout and applying for funding in the meantime.

Lastly, two weeks after the Release Party we’ll hold elections for the new editors of WOMYN magazine for the following year. Anyone with an interest in working on WOMYN is qualified (first-years too!), and elections are open to all Duke undergraduate students for the positions of Editor-in-Chief and Managaing Editor. Talk to one of us for more information if you’re interested! (Note: The position of Senior Layout Editor is application-based since it requires knowledge of Layout software.)

Thanks for your support, and stay tuned!
-Megan, Jack and Summer

WOMYN Wednesday! [Deadline Tonight!]

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

The Deadline for submitting to this year's edition of WOMYN magazine is TONIGHT by MIDNIGHT. We're still looking for pieces-artistic submissions, allied support, personal experiences, LGBTQ cultural, political or Duke-related pieces. Email us your submission-as short (1 paragraph) or as long (2 pages) as you'd like-tonight to womynatduke@gmail.com.

Also-keep your eyes on this blog for annoucements about our Release Party for WOMYN, which will be in late October/early November. We're going to release WOMYN with a bang!

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"What is the best thing about being queer?"

Click here to vote!

Feel free to write your name and year (ex. Jane Doe, Trinity '11) if you'd like your response to be quoted in the magazine.

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Our goal these past few months, has been to increase the visiblity of LGBTQ women at Duke, ultimately culminating in a magazine. We don't want the conversations to stop with just one issue of the magazine (future magazine editors, we're looking at you!) or after today when the WOMYN Wednesdays stop. Raise your hand in class when someone implies that all women seek to date men. Create a safe-space in your dormitory if you are a RA. Work to end discrimination in your workplace or academic enviornments. And lastly, keep talking about LGBTQ women's issues on this campus, because that is the most important thing we can ever do-to keep the conversations going.

[Lower right, photo credit: National Coming Out Day logo, created by Keith Haring for the HRC.]

WOMYN Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of LGBTQ women on this campus.]

BIG NEWS: The submission deadline for WOMYN magazine is in 7 DAYS, or NEXT WEDNESDAY!!! Don't miss out on a chance to publish your thoughts in this semester's publication! Email us your piece at womynatduke@gmail.com within the next week!

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"Would you speak up in class if you heard the following comment?" (see below)

Click here to vote! (We've also left a comment box for additional ideas or past experiences.)

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The following situtation happened in a Duke classroom last week:

In an 8:30am class, within the first 20 minutes of discussion, the conversation turns towards gender. One student in the classroom says, "My friend likes reading Glamour, Cosmo and watching Gossip Girl...but I mean, he's totally normal-he likes girls....".

No one in the class stopped the discussion to remind this student that her comment excluded roughly 10% of the population at large. Do you think you would have spoken up?

(You can view the results of the poll in WOMYN magazine when it hits campus late fall semester!)

[Photo credit: Upper Right, Matt Lyons: pimc2cm@gmail.com]

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Want to submit to WOMYN magazine? Click here to look at some ideas of what to submit. All are highly encouraged to submit - LGBTQ and straight-allied. Anyone with a Duke affiliation is eligible to write for WOMYN, including alumni, staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students alike.

Check out our website for more information on how to submit, and feel free to email us with any questions you might have: womynatduke@gmail.com.

WOMYN Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's poll. The responses were great, and if you haven't voted yet you still can.

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"Who is the most dateable female celebrity?"

Click here to vote!

(You can view the results of the poll in WOMYN magazine when it hits campus late fall semester!)

This week we want to take the typical Cosmo or Glamour magazine poll and ask our LGBTA community which woman they find the most intriguing. Who do you think is the most dateable female celebrity right now, LGBTQ or straight? If you'd like analyze this type of pop culture and where queer women's experiences fit into it, think about writing a piece for WOMYN!

* * * *

Want to submit to WOMYN magazine? Click here to look at some ideas of what to submit. (The submission deadline is September 15th.) All are highly encouraged to submit - LGBTQ and straight-allied. Anyone with a Duke affiliation is eligible to write for WOMYN, including alumni, staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students alike.

Check out our website for more information on how to submit, and feel free to email us with any questions you might have: womynatduke@gmail.com.

WOMYN Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's poll. The responses were great, and if you haven't voted yet you still can.

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"Which political figure do you think has done the most for LGBTQ equality in the past year?"

Click here to vote!

(You can view the results of the poll in WOMYN magazine when it hits campus late fall semester!)

"You've got to elect gay people."

Harvey Milk (from his Hope Speech, 1978)

Whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or straight-allied, LGBTQ-friendly individuals in positions of political power have done a lot for us this past year. Most recently, Judge Vaugh Walker, the District Judge of the Northern California District Court, overturned the Prop 8 ruling in the exciting trial this August. (A stay was recently decided on his ruling; click here to read the full story.) In addition to Walker, many other political figures have contributed a lot in the fight for LGBTQ equality. Who do you think has done the most for our community this year? Express your ideas and opinions in the poll and comments section this week, and let's start a discussion on politicians who fight for equality.

Did you know? There is a group of politicians that fight for LGBTQ-equality known as the National Stonewall Democrats? The group is one of the few LGBT-rights organizations that is officially affiliated with the Democratic party, and it was founded by Barney Frank in 1998.

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Want to submit to WOMYN magazine? Click here to look at some ideas of what to submit. (The submission deadline is September 15th.) All are highly encouraged to submit - LGBTQ and straight-allied. Anyone with a Duke affiliation is eligible to write for WOMYN, including alumni, staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students alike.

Check out our website for more information on how to submit, and feel free to email us with any questions you might have: womynatduke@gmail.com.

WOMYN Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke. The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's poll. The responses were great, and if you haven't voted yet you still can.

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"What is your favorite event at the LGBT Center?"

Click here to vote!

(You can view the results of the poll in WOMYN magazine when it hits campus late fall semester!)

Whether it's Fabulous Friday, the weekly Friday afternoon gathering from 4-6pm, or the Women Loving Women meetings which allow LGBTQ-identified women to build community monthly with shared dinner and conversation, the events that take place at the Center for LGBT Life at Duke offer a lot throughout the year. Which event is your favorite? Let us know by voting in the weekly WOMYN poll!

(Visit the Center for LGBT Life's website for more information, and post in the comments section if you want to share your ideas and experiences. We hope you are as excited as we are to come to all of the events again in a few short weeks!)

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Need an idea of what to submit to WOMYN? We're looking for various people to write short commentary pieces on the results of one of our polls. Contact us at womynatduke@gmail.com with a past poll topic that you'd like to anaylze, and we'll give you the results to write a piece!

Check out our website for more information on how to submit. (The submission deadline is September 15th, but there's no reason to wait!) All are highly encouraged to submit - LGBTQ and straight-allied. Anyone with a Duke affiliation is eligible to write for WOMYN.

WOMYN Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we are featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke. The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

This week we would like to annouce that we have WOMYN bookmarks! Let's make WOMYN one of the first things the incoming students see! Click here to download them directly, (or click here to access them on the WOMYN website). If you're a RA, work at a location on campus, or you're just plan awesome, print out some WOMYN bookmarks (be sure to print them double sided with SHORT edge binding in Microsoft Word), and leave them in locations around campus or hand them out to help let others know that LGBTQ individuals are welcome here.

(Need a little motivation? Do it for the Class of 2014! Think about how different your first year would have been if one of the first things you saw during orientation was a bookmark for a LGBTQ women's magazine. It would have been amazing.)

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"Who is your favorite character on the L-Word?"

Click here to vote!

(You can view the results of the poll in WOMYN magazine when it hits campus late fall semester!)

(Note: This piece contains a small *spoiler* of the 6th season of the show.)

"Everybody's straight until they're not." - The L-Word

The L-Word was originally produced by Ilene Chaiken, an openly lesbian screenwriter, and the show ran on Showtime for 6 seasons from 2004-2009. (Fun fact: Ilene Chaiken also coordinated The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before her work with the L-Word.) The television series takes place in Los Angeles (although it was filmed in Vancouver, Canada) and focuses on the lives of a rotating group of lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters who live in West Hollywood.

Whether you love it or you hate it, the L-word was one of the first primetime television shows that focused almost solely on queer women. In this way, the L-word was a major success, but in many other aspects it failed to live up to some of the expectations viewers had about the program. The show lacked an accurate portrayal of diversity in almost every way possible. Ethnic/racial diversity, socioeconomic status (they live in West Hollywood), gender expression and bisexual and transgender characters all seemed to be missing in the primarily white, lesbian and affluent cast of the show. In addition, some viewers thought that the show's final season, which ends with the murder of one of the main characters, fufills the stereotypical older LGBT literature plotline of the tragic lesbian ending.

But despite its flaws, it was arguably one of the most successful and popular LGBTQ-women's series to date. Due to its wide popularity, this week we wanted to focus on the show that placed queer women in a much more visible section of the media. Who's your favorite character? And what did you love/hate about the show? Let us know in the comments field your opinions and ideas about the L-Word. (If you're comfortable with your quote appearing in the magazine, feel free to add your name and your Duke affiliation.)

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Want to submit to WOMYN magazine? Don't wait until all of the schoolwork hits this semester-get your submission in now! (Remember how difficult Physics 53 and History 190C were during the school year?) The submission deadline is September 15th.

Check out our website for more information, and feel free to email us with any questions you might have: womynatduke@gmail.com. All are highly encouraged to submit - LGBTQ and straight-allied. Anyone with a Duke affiliation is eligible to write for WOMYN, including alumni, staff, faculty, undergraduate and graduate students alike.

Womyn Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's poll. The responses were great, and if you haven't voted yet you still can.

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"What is the most important LGBT rights legislation that has yet to be passed (or repealed)?"

Click here to vote!

This week we want to focus on the political legislation that many LGBT activists are currently fighting for all around the country. Most recently, the Matthew Shepard Act was passed and signed into law by President Obama in October 2009. Not only was the Matthew Shepard Act the first federal legislation to create federal protections for transgender individuals, but it also removed a past requirement that mandated that the victim of a hate crime had to be involved in a federal activity, such as voting or attending school.

The Matthew Shepard Act made crimes motivated by gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability fall under the umbrella of the federal hate-crime law of 1969. The experiences and statistics of LGBT individuals, especially LGBT youth, show that this legislation is an important necessity for the safety of our community.

What other legislation(s) do you consider the most important for our LGBT community today?

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Want to see the results of this week's poll? Pick up a copy of the WOMYN magazine in late Fall when it hits the newsstands!

Have an idea for next week's poll? Let us know, or email us to guest write it!

Want to submit to WOMYN magazine? Click here to look at some ideas of what to submit. (The submission deadline is September 15th.) Check out our website for more information on how to submit, and feel free to email us with any questions you might have: womynatduke@gmail.com.

Womyn Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBTQ issues, queer women and Duke! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus.]

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's poll. The responses were great, and if you haven't voted yet you still can.

We would also like to announce that we are now accepting submissions from alumni in the magazine! After talking with some past queer female alumni from Duke, we think that including alumni voices would bring a really great perspective to the magazine, and it would also serve as a great resource for current Duke students. We're really excited about connecting with our greater LGBTQ Duke community, so be sure to let your graduated friends know they can submit!

(Thanks to Tina Siadak, Summer Puente and Chantel Liggett for collectively coming up with the ideas in this poll. Go team!)

This week's WOMYN poll is:

"Which of these images comes to mind when you hear the term 'queer woman'?"

Click here to vote in this week's WOMYN poll.

Note: the responses are images for this week-you may select more than one option. Also, please note that by including a photo here, we are in no way making a statement about the photographed individual's sexuality.

Image 1, 2 (right) and 3 (bottom)

This week we want to hear your ideas on the stereotypes of queer women and how LGBTQ-identified women are perceived. This poll is meant to spark discussion. Can anybody ever "look queer"? Can the girl making out with a boy identify as queer? Could a softball player be queer? Is the woman with short hair wearing the sweater vest queer? Maybe the woman wearing a sari is queer? Or could it be the girl in the Hollister ad with a man? What does being queer mean?

Image 4, 5 (right) and 6 (bottom)

Why is it that we might associate one image with queer, but not another? Is this a misunderstanding of what it means to be LGBTQ? Let us know what you think by voting, and feel free to respond in the comments section as well if you are comfortable being quoted in the magazine. (Please provide your name and Duke affiliation as well, ex. "Jane Doe, Trinity '11).

Image 7, 8 (right) and 9 (bottom)

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Want to see the results of this week's poll? Pick up a copy of the WOMYN magazine in late Fall when it hits the newsstands!

Have an idea for next week's poll? Let us know, or email us to guest write it!

Want to submit to WOMYN magazine? Click here to look at some ideas of what to submit. (The submission deadline is September 15th.) Check out our website for more information on how to submit, and feel free to email us with any questions you might have: womynatduke@gmail.com.

Womyn Wednesday!

[WOMYN magazine is excited to announce that we will be featuring polls from our community in the magazine! We want to hear what you have to say about LGBT issues, queer women and Duke! The general goal of WOMYN magazine is to increase the visiblity of queer women on this campus. A special thank-you to Chris Perry, the editor of the BDU blog!]

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's poll. The responses were really great, and if you haven't voted yet you still can. We would also like to announce that the deadine for submissions to WOMYN magazine is September 15th. Click here to look at some ideas of what to submit. (Remember that submissions are rolling, so the sooner you submit, the better!)

This week's WOMYN poll is: "Does Duke seem like a safe place for someone to come out of the closet? Have you come out of the closet at Duke? Why or why not?"

Click here to take this week's WOMYN poll. Or answer in the comments section below!

The now nationwide slogan, "Gay? Fine by Me." originated at Duke back in 2003. Do we, as Duke students, still feel this way today? The goal of WOMYN is to increase the visibility of queer women on this campus, and it is intrisically linked to this question. The presence of out, visible LGBTQ students on Duke's campus changes everything. This week's question is complex, because even after telling that first friend on the quad or finally outing yourself in the middle of a class, the process is continual and much larger than a single yes or no. Therefore, this week we decided to leave an open blank in the poll so that you can tell us your comments, ideas and personal experiences of coming out at Duke in addition to your vote. Surveymonkey.com is completely anonymous, but if you would like to include your name (and a brief note of your affiliation to Duke) in your response to have your quote appear in the magazine, we would definitely love that as well.

Want to view the results? Check out the UPB newstands when WOMYN is realesed on campus in late October!

Upper Image: National Coming Out Day logo created and donated by Keith Haring to the Human Rights Campaign.
Middle: Matt Lyons, Trinity '10 (pimc2cm@gmail.com)
Contact WOMYN by email (womynatduke@gmail.com) or by visiting our website.