Letter from Boston Gay Pride and Joy By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
同性愛者たちの誇りと喜び ゲイカルチャーが盛んなマサチューセッツ西部の町、ノーサンプトンを訪れた雅子さんは、繁華街を散歩中、「誇りと喜び」という名の店を見つけました。ゲイ関連の書籍やグッズを扱う店です。雅子さんの周りにも同性愛の友人は何人もいます。話を聞くと、彼らを取り巻く環境は複雑なようです。

I was walking around the downtown area of a western Massachusetts town called Northampton when I saw a store called "Pride and Joy." I would have been able to guess the kind of products the store sells even without looking inside the window: gay and lesbian goods. The rainbow flags hanging in front revealed this in a more obvious manner.

I think the owners have done a very good job of naming the store with the right hints, level of tact and humor. Of course, it wouldn't have been too hard for anybody to get the joke, given that this store is in a very gay-friendly town. It is the home of Smith College, supposedly one of the most liberal colleges in the country and the town has a bustling gay arts scene.

When I say "gay and lesbian goods" I don't necessarily mean weird sexual gadgets made of leather and metal. There are a number of gay theme stores in certain areas of Boston and they are more like gift shops than sex stores. The focus is on gay literature (history, novels, humor), postcards and posters, T-shirts and miscellaneous knickknacks.

The cooking sections and arts sections tend to be quite extensive as well. In fact, these stores often have an extremely intellectual and witty tone, and I like browsing through them because of this atmosphere.

I have a number of gay friends who indeed feel a lot of gay pride and who do not hide the fact that they are homosexuals. I know they have marched in public in the Boston Gay Pride Parade and have participated in charity events for AIDS victims.

This is in sharp contrast to the laments of one of my gay friends in college who told me that her family simply didn't accept her. She participated in many lesbian peer groups, especially in theater, but I could tell she really wanted more general acceptance. I could tell that she was miserable for much of her college career and a large part of this could be attributed to her identity crisis.

What especially struck me about the name of that store in Northampton, "Pride and Joy," is the word joy. I think it's one thing to be proud and open about one's sexuality in facing a sometimes antagonistic world, but another thing to feel personal joy and comfort in being oneself.

I can't forget the day when one of my male friends spotted me in the physics department cafeteria, rushed over, took my hand and yelled, "Hey, Masako! I'm in love. And it's with a guy!!"

This was from a reserved guy who used to tell me, rather cynically, that he didn't feel that he could ever feel the same kind of excitement that the people around him showed when they were in love. Ever since then he's become more and more involved with people in the gay community and I think he's blossomed socially.

That said, being gay isn't his entire identity and it certainly doesn't take up his entire life. I told him that at Smith, one of the most popular introductory courses is in Queer Studies. I though he'd say something like "Wow, that's really cool," but instead he told me that he thought it was ridiculous that they were wasting so much tuition money to learn something they can learn for free. His honesty was refreshing, since people are often afraid of criticizing such courses for fear of being accused of prejudicce.

I had gone to Northampton to visit a friend of mine, an economics professor at Smith, and he told me that some of the administrators would prefer that the pro-gay activism be toned down so they can attract a more varied student body. The parents tend to be more conservative as well. However, many people are afraid of saying anything to the students. On an overwhelmingly liberal democrat campus, it is a big risk to suggest more conservative ideas. It's an extremely confusng isuue.

What5 little I know about homosexuality is not based on personal experience. It isn't baased on an objective understanding of history or the law, either. I can only try to understand the complexities of gay issues by interacting with my peers and because of my limited perspective, I can only say, "I want my gay friends to be happy." But I know things can't be as simple as that. At some point there will be arguments and I don't know how to argue.

Shukan ST: July 21, 2000

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