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| ===The 2000s=== | ===The 2000s=== | ||
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| In April 2001, a Woodbury High School student in ] sued the South Washington School District because the school principal refused to let the student wear a sweatshirt that said "Straight Pride."<ref name="shirt">Welsh, John. (April 4, 2001) ]. '''' Local section, Page 1B.</ref> The student wore the shirt to "express his religious and political convictions to other students, teachers and staff regarding intimate personal relationships."<ref name="shirt"/> By May 2001, the federal court let the student wear the "Straight Pride" shirt to school.<ref>] (May 21, 2001) ''''</ref> In January 2002, the judge in that case, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the high school violated the student's constitutional rights when the principal ordered him not to wear the"Straight Pride" shirt.<ref>] (January 18, 2002) ''''</ref> The Judge went on to say, "Maintaining a school community of tolerance includes the tolerance of such viewpoints as expressed by 'Straight Pride.' While the sentiment behind the 'Straight Pride' message appears to be one of intolerance, the responsibility remains with the school and its community to maintain an environment open to diversity and to educate and support its students as they confront ideas different from their own,".<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b0631377ab6.htm| title='Straight pride' allowed in school: Court prevents banning of teen's printed sweatshirt| accessdate=2007-29-07| publisher=FreeRepublic.com }}</ref> | In April 2001, a Woodbury High School student in ] sued the South Washington School District because the school principal refused to let the student wear a sweatshirt that said "Straight Pride."<ref name="shirt">Welsh, John. (April 4, 2001) ]. '''' Local section, Page 1B.</ref> The student wore the shirt to "express his religious and political convictions to other students, teachers and staff regarding intimate personal relationships."<ref name="shirt"/> By May 2001, the federal court let the student wear the "Straight Pride" shirt to school.<ref>] (May 21, 2001) ''''</ref> In January 2002, the judge in that case, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the high school violated the student's constitutional rights when the principal ordered him not to wear the"Straight Pride" shirt.<ref>] (January 18, 2002) ''''</ref> The Judge went on to say, "Maintaining a school community of tolerance includes the tolerance of such viewpoints as expressed by 'Straight Pride.' While the sentiment behind the 'Straight Pride' message appears to be one of intolerance, the responsibility remains with the school and its community to maintain an environment open to diversity and to educate and support its students as they confront ideas different from their own,".<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b0631377ab6.htm| title='Straight pride' allowed in school: Court prevents banning of teen's printed sweatshirt| accessdate=2007-29-07| publisher=FreeRepublic.com }}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 08:07, 29 July 2007
| An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it.Feel free to improve the article, but do not remove this notice before the discussion is closed. For more information, see the guide to deletion. Find sources: "Straight pride" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR%5B%5BWikipedia%3AArticles+for+deletion%2FStraight+pride+%282nd+nomination%29%5D%5DAFD |
Straight pride refers to a loosely organized following that expresses religious and/or political convictions in support of intimate personal relationships between opposite sexes. It originated in the late 1980s in reactionary response to the-then twenty-year old gay pride movement. For the most part, the following has grown to deemphasizes expressed opposition to non-heterosexuality and to focus on heterosexual pride, although the unexpressed sentiments are largely perceived as being anti-homosexual. Straight pride remains widely unknown in comparison to the world-wide gay pride movement. It is seen by some to have the potential to water down local impact of the gay pride movement. In response, the straight pride following brings homophobic accusations in some locations and in other locations has merged into gay/straight pride or has given rise to Human Pride day to celebrate both gay and straight pride. Straight pride attempts to expresses itself through straight pride day and week celebrations that are designed to give attention to heterosexual issues. Many still have not caught on strong enough for an annual event however.
Symbols of straight pride include white pins emblazoned with blue squares, multi colored horizontal figure eight, a peg in a box as well as male and female symbols holding hands.
History
At a 1989 meeting of the Catholic University Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) where "Straight Pride Day" was under discussion, the YAF student president stated, "We would ask, if you're a commie, if you're a fag, if you're a pain in the (bleep), we're going to come after you. We're going to come right out and say it. We're taking it from campus outward."
The 1990s
In April 1990, students at UMass-Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts staged a "Straight Pride" rally to celebrate "normal and traditional American sexual behavior." Organized by the University of Massachusetts Chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, the rally encouraged members of the university's Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Alliance to protest it as "a mockery" of equal rights gained over the last 20 years. In March 1991, students at UMass-Amherst hosted the second annual "straight pride" rally, which in part involved wearing white pins emblazoned with blue squares emblematic of "straight pride." However, by 2000, Boston, Massachusetts was holding its Sixth Annual Gay/Straight Youth Pride March.
In July 1999, the city of Toronto, Ontario organized a Straight Pride day.
The 2000s
In April 2001, a Woodbury High School student in St. Paul, Minnesota sued the South Washington School District because the school principal refused to let the student wear a sweatshirt that said "Straight Pride." The student wore the shirt to "express his religious and political convictions to other students, teachers and staff regarding intimate personal relationships." By May 2001, the federal court let the student wear the "Straight Pride" shirt to school. In January 2002, the judge in that case, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the high school violated the student's constitutional rights when the principal ordered him not to wear the"Straight Pride" shirt. The Judge went on to say, "Maintaining a school community of tolerance includes the tolerance of such viewpoints as expressed by 'Straight Pride.' While the sentiment behind the 'Straight Pride' message appears to be one of intolerance, the responsibility remains with the school and its community to maintain an environment open to diversity and to educate and support its students as they confront ideas different from their own,".
Straight Pride gained notice in 2003 in places like Stoke-on-Trent, England, Seattle, Washington, and San Diego, California where a "Straight Pride Day" was held at Poway High School in response to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students Day of Silence event.
In January 2005, the College Republicans at the University of Central Oklahoma hosted a "Straight Pride Week" for students to celebrate their heterosexuality. The event featured a "Greek Outreach Meeting," a "Conservative Coming Out Day," and an "Animal Rights Barbecue." However, the event was not well received and the president of the College Republicans received hate email and was harassed while coming out of class. A few weeks after "Straight Pride Week", the local Gay Alliance for Tolerance and Equality (GATE) student organization held a forum titled "Freedom of Expression on Campus: The Right to be Gay? The Right to be Straight?" in recognition that Straight Pride was "something that's going on at campuses across the country."
In the fall of 2004, Bob Dumas, a radio personality on the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina morning radio show Bob and the Showgram lead a Heterosexual Pride Parade down Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
In May 2005, the College Republicans at the University of Texas at Arlington hosted an event to promote heterosexuality and let students celebrate their heterosexuality. Part of the event included a Celebration of Heterosexuality Kissing Contest. In a somewhat a gesture of peace approach, the University of Texas Democrats and the Gay, Lesbian and Everybody Else Organization (formerly known as the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Association) conducted a "Human Pride Day" as a way for all to be proud of whoever they are "-gay, straight, black, white or Jew."
In June 2007, Screen Actors Guild Award and Tony Award-winning American actor and comedian Nathan Lane spoke half seriously while being honored by The Trevor Project about giving heterosexuals a Straight Pride Parade pride march.
References
- Elvin, John. (November 27, 1989) Washington Times Nation, Inside the beltway. Page A6.
- ^ Longcope, Kay. (May 4, 1990) Boston Globe.Gay-rights issue splits Mt. Holyoke campus rally and counter-rally raise debate. Metro section, Page 25.
- New York Times (March 10, 1991) Campus Life: Massachusetts; Angry Gay Groups Drown Out Rally By Conservatives. Section one; Page 140.
- Hanchett, Doug. (May 21, 2000) Boston Herald. Rally rounds up youth for tolerance - Students march for Gay- Straight pride. Section: News; Page 25.
- Burston, Joshua. (July 10, 1999) Globe and Mail. Every day is Straight Day. Section: Letter to the Editor; Page D6.
- ^ Welsh, John. (April 4, 2001) St. Paul Pioneer Press. Boy sues school over "Straight Pride" shirt. Local section, Page 1B.
- Associated Press (May 21, 2001) Federal court lets student wear "Straight Pride" shirt to school.
- Associated Press (January 18, 2002) Judge: Ban on 'Straight Pride' shirt violated student's rights.
- "'Straight pride' allowed in school: Court prevents banning of teen's printed sweatshirt". FreeRepublic.com. Retrieved 2007-29-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - The Sentinel. (March 11, 2003) Will Straight Pride Be Next? Page 9.
- Anonymous. (July 2, 2003) The Stranger. Pride, and community, and boycotts: Come on, straight folks, you know you want it. Volume 12; Issue 41; page 45.
- Soto, Onell R. (August 22, 2004) The San Diego Union-Tribune. Officials had feared violence at high school; Gay, straight teens polarized; suit filed. Section:Zone; page N1.
- ^ Gollob, Beth. (February 1, 2005) The Oklahoman. "Straight pride" raises stir at UCO. Section: Metro I, Page 15A.
- KMGH TV Denver (January 28, 2005) College Republicans Plan "Straight Pride Week." Accessed July 29, 2007.
- Albrecht, Jessica. (Fall 2004) LAMBDA on the Web. Those Flaming Heterosexuals: G105 takes to the streets to celebrate straight pride and demand equal rights for opposite gender loving people. Vol. 28, Issue 1.
- ^ Vawters, Tristan. (April 5, 2005) The Shorthorn Group counters "Straight Pride" with "Human Pride"; College Republicans say its event isn't anti-gay, but others feel differently. Student Life section.
- Widdicombe, Ben. (June 27, 2007) New York Daily News. Gatecrasher. W as straight man. Section: Gossip; Page 19.