July 15, 2004
Sociologists' Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Caucus
The Sociologists' Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Caucus was organized to:
Encourage unprejudiced sociological research
on lesbians and gay men and their social institutions;
Provide a forum for current research,
teaching methods and materials, and professional issues relevant to
homosexuality;
Monitor anti-gay ideologies in the
distribution of sociological knowledge and to investigate practices oppressive
to lesbians and gay men;
Oppose discrimination against gay and lesbian
sociologists in employment, promotion, tenure, and research situations;
Maintain a social support network among its
members.
For more information, subscriptions or submissions to the
newsletter, email Michael Handel mhandel@ssc.wisc.edu,
Diane Illig dsilling@salisbury.edu,
or Kevin Henson khenson@luc.edu
AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING EVENTS
Friday, August 13,
2004
SLGBT Caucus and ASA
Sexualities Section Reception. 6 to
9 PM
San Francisco LGBT Community
Center. 1800 Market Street. http://www.sfgaycenter.org/
6:00-6:45 PM Simon and Gagnon Award Presentation—Barry Adam
Martin Levin Dissertation Award Presentation—Barry Adam
7:00-7:45 PM Activist Panel—Organizer, Eve Shapiro
7:45-10:00 PM Reception/Party
IMPORTANT NOTE: ASA
OFFICIALLY BEGINS ON SATURDAY THE 14TH YEAR. PLEASE PLAN TO
KICK OFF YOUR MEETINGS WITH THE CAUCUS AND SEXUALITIES SECTION THE NIGHT
BEFORE IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
Saturday, August
14, 2004
10:30 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Paper
Session: Negotiating Sexual
Identities
Organizer: Mary
Bernstein (University of Connecticut. Presider: Beth E.
Schneider (University of California)
Participant(s):
Feeling a Bit
Under the Leather: Performativity, Embodiment and the Specter of Starched
Chiffon
Peter M.
Hennen (Ohio State University, Newark)
Rescripting
Identities: Women Choosing Women
Teresa J
Arendell (Colby College)
Queer
Diasporic (Non) Identity: Japanese Lesbians Return Home
Amy L. Stone
(University of Michigan)
Saturday, August
14, 2004
4:30 p.m. - 6:10 p.m.
Open Forum. What do
Sociologist Have to Say About Same-Sex Marriage?
Organizers/Presiders: Nancy A. Naples and Kevin D. Henson
“Activist courts have left
the people with one recourse. If we are
to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must
enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America. … The union of
a man and woman is the most enduring human institution, honoring--honored and
encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith. Ages of experience have taught humanity that
the commitment of a husband and wife to love and to serve one another promotes
the welfare of children and the stability of society.” --George W. Bush. February 24, 2004
Earlier this year, President
Bush, claiming that “the welfare of children and the stability of society” were
at risk, called for a constitutional amendment to “protect” different-sex
marriage by explicitly excluding same-sex couples from the rites and rights of
the marriage contract. Although the
President’s plea was saturated with social science language, many social
scientists have challenged the veracity of these claims. What does social science, specifically,
sociology have to offer to the discussion about same-sex marriage? What are the local and global implications
of defining marriage in a more restrictive fashion even as other countries are
moving to expand access to state-sanctioned marriage contracts? What are the implications of the current
conflation of religious and civil meanings of marriage in the United
States? What are the implications for
the women’s and LGBT movements of embracing same-sex marriage as a political
issue? What stance should the state
take in determining the best interest of children and their families? Should one family form be state-sanctioned
above all others? Finally, what role do
sociologists have as public intellectuals in the contentious political debates
of our current culture wars? An invited
panel of sociologists will open the forum by addressing different aspects of
the debate on same-sex marriage. These
opening comments will help establish a framework for all participants to
discuss sociologists’ potential contributions to this important nation-wide
debate.
Panelists:
Barry D. Adam (University of Windsor)
Juan J. Battle (Hunter College and Graduate Center, City University of New York)
Jodi O'Brien (Seattle University)
Judith Stacey (New York University)
Arlene Stein (Rutgers, State
University of New Jersey)
Saturday, August
14, 2004
6:30-8:15 PM
SLGBT Caucus Business Meeting
Sunday, August 15,
2004
10:30 AM-12:10 PM
Creating an Inclusive
Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Students, Staff, and
Faculty
Organizer/Presider: Betsy Lucal (Indiana University, South Bend)
In this workshop, graduate
students and faculty will discuss their experiences at colleges and universities
with varying levels of inclusivity. Among the issues to be discussed are: being
the “pink elephant” in the classroom and teaching about sexualities,
negotiating the pitfalls and promise of being out on campus (including issues
related to getting tenure), mentoring LGBT students, the meaning of being
“gender queer” within the context of a women’s college, and working with campus
LGBT groups and university administrators. Workshop presenters will propose
possible solutions and plans of action to create an inclusive climate.
Participants:
Christina
Borel (Simmons College)
Nancy A.
Naples (University of Connecticut)
Peter M.
Nardi (Pitzer College)
Beth E.
Schneider (University of California)
Sunday, August 15,
2004
2:30 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
and Transgender Studies: The New Politics of Visibility
Organizer: Mary
Bernstein (University of Connecticut); Presider/Discussant: Tina
Fetner (Cornell College)
Participants:
Social Norms,
Inequality and Homophobia in The New York Times Advertising Business News
Angela
Theresa Ragusa (University of New England)
'What's to
Tell?': FtMs, Going 'Stealth,' and Workplace Disclosure
Kristen Rose
Schilt (University of California, Los Angeles)
Susannah
Kathleen Dolance (University of Michigan)
Monday, August 16,
2004
Workshop:
Setting Up an Effective Cross-Institution Mentoring Program for LGBT
Scholars. 10:30 AM-12:10 PM
Organizers/Presiders: Kristen Esterberg (University of
Massachussetts, Lowell), Kevin D. Henson (Loyola University Chicago), and
Melissa Embser-Herbert (Hamline University)
Panelists:
Barbara Risman (North
Carolina State University), Verta A. Taylor (University of California, Santa
Barbara), Mercedes Rubio (American Sociological Association), and Nancy Stoller
(University of California, Santa Cruz)
The purpose of this workshop
is to develop a cross-institution mentoring program for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgendered scholars. Despite the political and social gains of past
decades, many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered graduate students and
faculty still feel isolated and lacking support in their home universities and
departments. While many LGBT scholars have developed informal mentoring
relationships over the years, there still remains a need for an
institutionalized mentoring program. Representatives from the ASA Committee on
the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons in the
Discipline and the SLGBT Caucus will be joined by representatives from
Sociologists for Women in Society and ASA's Minority Affairs Program to discuss
effective strategies for developing a mentoring program.
CAUCUS SPONSORED RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROHIBITING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Endorsed and Sent to ASA Membership by ASA
Council on April 7, 2004. See http://www.asanet.org/public/marriage_res.html. Voting Results: 3,174 members cast ballots in the election (29.23% of
the 10,858 voters). The
member-initiated resolution opposing a constitutional amendment on same-sex
marriage was approved with 75% of voters in favor, 13% opposed, 8% abstained, and
4% did not mark any choice.
On the separate Council-added
opinion question asking "Do you personally favor or oppose legislation
that bans same sex marriage?" 2,394 members voters indicated that they
opposed such legislation (79%), 256 indicated that they favored such
legislation (9%), and 260 abstained (8%), and 125 did not mark any selection
(4%).
Text of
Resolution
American
Sociological Association Statement Opposing the Proposed Constitutional
Amendment Prohibiting Same-Sex Marriage
WHEREAS the
American Sociological Association (ASA) comprises sociologists and kindred
professionals who study, among other things, sex and gender, sexualities,
families, children, religion, culture, and systems of inequality and their
effects, and
WHEREAS the ASA
is dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession
serving the public good, and
WHEREAS a
constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman
intentionally discriminates against lesbians and gay men as well as their
children and other dependents by denying access to the protections, benefits,
and responsibilities extended automatically to married couples, and
WHEREAS we
believe that the official justification for the proposed
constitutional
amendment is based on prejudice rather than empirical research, and
WHEREAS
sociological research has repeatedly shown that systems of inequality are
detrimental to the public good,
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the American Sociological Association strongly opposes the proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
Co-Sponsors
-The Sociologists Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Transgender Caucus of the American Sociological Association (ASA)
-Family Section. Chair: Naomi
Gerstel, University of Massachusetts
-Sexualities Section. Chair:
Barry D. Adam, University of Windsor
-Sociologists for Women in
Society (SWS). President: Nancy Naples, University of Connecticutt
-Pacific Sociological
Association. GLBT Committee.
2003-2004 Caucus Leadership
Chair, Diane S. Illig. Salisbury University. dsilling@salisbury.edu
Treasurer, Michael Handel. University of Wisconsin-Madison. mhandel@ssc.wisc.edu
Listserv Administrator, Sarah Wilcox. Kent University. swilcox@kent.edu
JOIN THE CAUCUS…
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of the SLGBT caucus:
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PO Box 1214
Madison, WI 53703-1214
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