September 17, 2003 Follow the Rainbow Ashley Laughlin Pride Liaison, Douglas Students’ Union Welcome to the first installment of the OP’s newest column: Follow the Rainbow. Follow the Rainbow is a bi-weekly column that will be dealing with queer issues. This summer semester brought with it massive change for the Douglas Students’ Union's Pride Collective. For those of you who do not know, the Pride Collective is a student-run support- group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students at Douglas College, as well as their allies. The Collective is an inclusive organization for students of all genders and ages, and provides support, connections, and a social atmosphere for queer students. The Collective offers a wide variety of resources including movies, books, magazines, fact sheets, etc. that are available in the Pride Resource Center, which has recently relocated to room 328 in the Students’ Union Building. The Pride Collective also sponsors sev- eral social functions a year—from movie and pizza nights to pub nights. The Pride Collective holds weekly meetings on Thursdays at 4:30p.m. at the Pride Resource Center. All Douglas College students are welcome to attend, so feel free to stop by. There are two people who oversee the day-to- day operations of the Pride Collective, with the help of volunteers: the elected Pride Liaison for the Students’ Union, as well as the Pride Collective Assistant, a student employee. One of the major changes that the Pride Collective saw this summer was the hiring of Laine Le Vecque, as the new Pride Collective Assistant. Speaking on behalf of the Pride Collective, I would like to thank Laine for the hard work and enthusiasm she has shown since her arrival here. Both the Pride Liaison and the Pride Collective Assistant have drop-in office hours, or can be contacted at 604.527.5474. Log on to for more infor- mation about the Collective’s campaigns and events, or call 604.527.5474. All voicemails and emails will be kept confidential. Questions, comments, ideas, concerns: Email: prideliaison@douglasstudentsunion.ca Phone: 604.527.5474 Cover Up... Just A Little Erin Culhane OP Contributor “It’s getting hot in here. So take off all your clothes.” Ah yes, the eloquent words of the bandaid-wearin rap artist Nelly. And speaking of heat and garment removal, this summer was a hot one, and a hot sum- mer in Maple Ridge meant that the quasi-famous icon Linda Meyer did just as Nellie asked. Well, not all the way. For those of you not familiar, P’'ll give you the quick and dirty lesson that I doled out to my kids two summers ago. While we were stopped at a traffic light, Meyer walked by our car and my kids, upon noticing she was bare-chested, commented, “Mom, why isn’t that lady wearing a shirt?” After briefly considering turning up the radio and ignoring the question altogether, I said, “Well, she doesn’t think it’s fair that men are allowed to go without a shirt and women have to wear one, especially when it’s this hot.” “Oh,” my son said, while my four-year-old daugh- ter asked, “Can I take my shirt off when we get home?” To me, a shirtless woman isn’t a big deal. If Meyer wants to go without one, that’s her choice. It is, after all, an expression of gender equality, right? I personal- ly couldn't do it. Call it modesty or vanity, or a mix- ture of both, but my pair prefer padding and under- wire to the floppin’ around, carefree feeling. The thing is, every summer another wave of criti- cisms come crashing in about Meyer’s breasts. The comments mainly come from men, but women have been known to weigh in on the issue. I’ve heard peo- ple complain about their shape, size, what they do while she’s riding her bike or walking down the street, even their age. The general consensus being that she doesn’t have “nice” breasts, so she shouldn't be “show- ing them off.” Well, I've never met Ms. Meyer, but I'm quite certain that these comments are a slap in the face to her cause, which I think has more to do with gender equality than “look at my chest everyone!” And while Meyer’s breasts may not measure up to the “barely legal” specimens available at the local Opinions ¢ the other press © booby bar, certainly no one can dispute the fact that not all breasts are created equal. And if Meyer’s choos- es to bare her bosom, it’s her legal right to do so. But I’m going to stop short of giving her the “you go girl” incantation. Because you see, when it comes to the shirtless issue, I’d like to see it go the other way. I'd like not for all women to take off their shirts to be equal to the men, but for men to cover up their breasts. Consider for a moment the classic, shirtless man. His breasts are not perfect. He would certainly bene- fit from Cosmo Kramer and Frank Costanza’s inven- tion—the Mansiere (a.k.a. Bro). And yet, there he is, mowing the lawn, riding his bike, or gasp—walking into the grocery store, his woolly, rotund torso exposed for all to see. I understand that all men are not created equal — that’s why tank tops come in all different shapes and sizes. A light cotton tank with large armholes can be quite cool on a summer day. Why not give it a try? Why not put those hairy, over-sized nipples under wraps and tuck that bulbous abdomen away? And while you're at it, why not familiarize yourself with a stick of deodorant? While discussing the issue with a male friend of mine, he asked, “How about at the swimming pool? Do you want guys wearing t-shirts?” Hmm. That's a tough one. After much deliberation, I’ve decided that men can go topless at the swimming hole (aren't I kind?). But the paramount issue is understanding that your upper torso comes to an end before the crack of your bottom, not halfway down it. A highly intelli- gent person invented a drawstring on the bathing suit—please use it. It's September and summer is coming to an end. But if I know the Lower Mainland, he’s got a few more hot and sweaty days in him. Let’s all enjoy, but for the love of all that is sweet-smelling and hygien- ic—keep your shirt on! Kim Meier OP Photographer No. He doesn’t have enough experience dealing with government issues. Janine Emily ~ http://www.otherpress.ca I guess so, he seems pretty nice, and he’s got a lot of money so he wouldn't need to be crooked like other politicians. Thi rd Deg ree iene you want Arnold Senetes utero running BC? I dont really know, I haven’t bothered following it. ey Page 7