The following response is in regard to the Collegian’s coverage of the Divas of Diversity event (April 4, 2012):

As the graduate assistant for the Stonewall Center, I worked closely with the University Programming Council (UPC) to make Divas of Diversity possible. I helped publicize the event – postering across campus and forwarding it to various listservs, organizations, and departments – and even encouraged my students to attend for extra credit. Needless to say, I could not wait to see the Divas in action … and for good reason: an LGBT-centered event of this magnitude was, indeed, a long time coming. In fact, Divas of Diversity marked the first time UPC had collaborated with the Stonewall Center on a campus-wide, LGBT-focused event.

But shortly after the Divas took the stage, my enthusiasm turned into disgust. Throughout the two-hour performance, I sat appalled at the blatant misogyny, classism, ableism and racism being packaged and sold as “diversity.”

And while the oppressive remarks were central to the Divas’ performance and antithetical to their intended message of acceptance, they were barely an afterthought in the Collegian’s coverage of the event. The authors even went so far as to reprint the ableist remark made by Shannel – thereby recreating the ignorance such remarks instill – and then had the audacity to trivialize it as a “joke.”

Needless to say, the night did not go as I had anticipated. And though I continue to support the event’s intended purpose, I remain heartbroken by its execution and subsequent impact. Somewhere between their misguided attempts at humor and their watered-down call for acceptance, the Divas seemed to overlook one of diversity’s greatest lessons: one cannot abolish hate by recreating it in costumed form.

Oppression thinly veiled as diversity still begets oppression; misogyny cloaked in sequins is still misogyny; and as anyone who has ever been a target of bullying can attest, harassment masquerading as humor still cuts just as deep. Because in this fight for social justice, Audre Lorde – a true diva of diversity – had it right: “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”

*I would like to make clear that, like the Stonewall Center, UPC does not condone the offensive language used by the Divas. I would also like to personally thank the staff at UPC for their graciousness throughout our collaborative process, as well as their willingness to embrace more diverse programming.

Please direct any correspondence to:
Maru Gonzalez
[email protected]
(770) 361-1555