Do We Need LGBT Studies?

When I went to college, LGBT studies classes were pretty much unheard of, but they're all the rage these days. Schools ranging from UCLA to the University of Maryland offer LGBT studies courses and programs. But do we really need them?

I got to thinking about this today when I read that the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus has raised $1.5 million to fund an endowed professorship in LGBT studies at Harvard University. Reportedly the first of its kind, this endowed professorship will allow the school to hire visiting professors who will come in for a semester at a time to teach classes on sexuality and sexual minorities.

The cynical part of me thinks LGBT studies are unnecessary and even frivolous. I imagine a bunch of ivory tower intellectuals sitting around hoity-toity schools like Harvard discussing the symbolism of the cock ring in gay erotica.

I know I'm an idiot. This is why I didn't go to an Ivy League school like Harvard.

Anyway, the more open-minded part of me thinks I am being too skeptical and that it is a great idea for college students to study and even minor or major in LGBT studies. We've got black studies and women's studies majors, why not LGBT studies majors? Our history, our sexuality, our communities are all worth studying, and perhaps those who dedicate their college careers to LGBT studies will go on to do amazing things to help make our lives better.

Then again, maybe they'll just sit around discussing the symbolism of the cock ring in gay erotica.

What do you think? Have any of you taken courses in LGBT studies? Do you think it is a valuable field of study?

(Image courtesy of Getty)

Comments

[Daniel]

Definitely there should be LGBT studies programs in Universities. If there is one phenomenon in World culture that is intriguing and full of different avenues to explore its the LGBT experience. There are a lot of programs of study at the university level that seem impractical to everyday life but that provide needed intellectual understanding and knowledge.

[Gay Guide Blog]

Yes,we do.

[Michael]

Yes. Most people aren't aware that Gay Culture is diverse and spans history.
Our unique outlook has shaped the world in both positive (art, sciences) and negative ways (Homophobia).

IN our modern times, our culture is well documented in terms of civil rights. Yet our history and how "we are" gay are still a mystery.

There are tons of specialized classes one can have, "Gay Cinema", "Influence of Homosexuals in Broadway", "The Gay Mind: Psycho Analysis of Dealing with reject/acceptance", etc....

[JD]

Here is an idea. Why doesn't a school like Harvard spent that more than two million bucks on scholarships for gay kids for poor neighborhoods so that they can get an education?

[vans77]

We definitely need LBGT Studies. Intellectual development is never frivolous (even if Academia is admittedly frustrating).

The field of "the Humanities" (under the umbrella of which "LBGT Studies" is included) is meant to teach a student the ins and outs of what it means to be human--it is not meant to teach job skills.

The idea is that if a student has a firm intellectual base, he will be able to adapt to whatever job or task life throws him.

I went to a very non hoity-toity State school and even though I wasn't a LBGT Studies major, I did take several LGBT courses that overlapped my major. Those courses were priceless in helping me develop my understanding of gender and sexuality beyond the limits of my childhood understanding. As a gay man, college was when I finally felt able to "come out" -- in no small part to the widened worldview my Humanities education gave me.

[lakefieldhaz]

I think that it's important for universities to provide courses that people are interested and that expand the mind.
If the interest is there and they have competent professors to head up the courses and to oversee the studies then I don't see why they shouldn't have them.

[@Daniel_Baylis]

I am gay and I do have a university degree, but I have never taken a LBGT class. I like to think I just learned through the school of homo hardknocks.

This being said... YES, we absolutely need LGBT studies in academic settings. If we comprise of 10% of the population, then it is necessary to have scholars with an in depth understanding of Queer History, current social movements, and yes, even the prominence of cock rings in gay erotica!

Kisses from MTL!