STRAIGHT TALKING: From the Wall Street Journal

[Also discussed here. --Eve]

...On Wednesday, though, a new offense, by a new perpetrator, surfaced at Harvard: heterosexism.

In a Crimson article, writer Anna M. Friedman reported on negative reaction to a campus speech last Saturday by the actress-musician Jada Pinkett Smith. Ms. Pinkett Smith, who is married to the actor Will Smith, was in Cambridge to receive the "Artist of the Year" award from the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. As part of the foundation's Cultural Rhythms show, Ms. Pinkett Smith performed with her band. She also talked to the audience about her life and career, and noted that her ability to overcome disadvantages--she said she was the child of teenage heroin addicts--was proof that if you follow your dream "and don't let anybody define who you are" you can succeed. Personal happiness is possible too, she added: "Women, you can have it all--a loving man, devoted husband, loving children, a fabulous career. . . . To my men, open your mind, open your eyes to new ideas, be open."

Nice, motivational stuff, it would seem, and many in the audience felt inspired. Not all, though. Among the campus groups affiliated with the foundation is the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters Alliance, or BGLTSA, and it didn't like some of what it heard. A co-chair of the group, Jordan B. Woods, told Ms. Friedman that part of Ms. Pinkett Smith's speech was "extremely heteronormative, and made BGLTSA members feel uncomfortable." In other words, Mr. Woods and others in BGLTSA explained, by focusing on a heterosexual relationship, Ms. Pinkett Smith took such a narrow view that some in the audience felt left out. Nobody called her a homophobe. Through ignorance, she just came off as "insensitive."

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posted by Eve at 8:41 AM | link

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