The Trouble With Theories: A Reflection on Diversity and Sexuality

After I walked out of the "Diversity and Sexuality: Saint Mary's and Beyond" workshop on Thursday morning, I had a lot of thoughts running around in my head. They kind of found their way into this poem...

The Trouble With Theories

Theories and hypotheses
contained in speeches give and books printed
tell us to love one another, to see
in each other the life that links us.

And yet, in practice
so little of this is reality.
Civil rights and Women's Suffrage
Each cause had to fight for equality
Separately.

People are people.
Why is that not enough?
Have we learned nothing?
We are repeating this discrimination stuff.

Rather than embrace men and women
Regardless of their sexuality
We are quick to point out differences
And treat them differently.

The trouble with theories, you see,
is that they are just that:
Theories.
Ideas.
Thoughts.
Not real.
Every action begins with an idea.
But the trouble is, how to make that transition.

While homophobia is a well known term, while
sexual orientation
gender identity
The Stonewall Rebellion
Queer Theory
LGBT
are foreign to most.

Ignorance is too often accompanied by fear,
of this I am sure.
And so, to stop this prejudice
knowledge is the only cure.

Here is a link to SAGA, an organization on St. Mary's campus. Before Thursday morning I honestly could not tell you what those four letters stood for. Straight and Gay Alliance