© Opinions

the other press

Rali thurber

e opinionsubmit@hotmail.com

October 1, 2003

 

Over the

Sexual

In our society we feel the need to label
people, places, and things to make it easier
to understand what is considered to be “dif-
ferent” from the norm. At the same time
these labels can cause more confusion and
discrimination than clarity. I am, of course,
speaking of the labels we use to define the
queer community. You know many of them
such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgen-
dered, but these labels are far from ade-
quate. I want to introduce a term that I feel
represents my sexuality, and may help oth-
ers to understand themselves. / am a Sexual
Being. { feel it is important to state that this
is not another label, but a term that is all
encompassing. A sexual being is an individ-
ual who is at ease with her/his sexuality.

The most important part of the defini-
tion we must look at though, is the fact that
a sexual being is not attracted by the gender,
but by the person. I have over the years
become extremely confused about where I
fit in the queer community. When I came
out to friends and family I was bisexual
because I was attracted to the odd woman,
but, for the most part, guys really turned
me on, Months later, my friends and fam-
ily asked me if I was really “gay” rather than
“bisexual” since I hadn't dated a woman in
a long period of time. So, I went with “gay”
as the term to describe myself, and why not,
I certainly didn’t know any better and was
happy to be out and proud of it. Since I
have been out and involved with men I
have noticed a trend that extends beyond
my personal experiences and in the lives of
my other self-defined “gay” and “lesbian”
friends. I have been with more men who are
not “gay” but see themselves as “bisexual”
and more often than not “straight.” I have
also been with a number of women who I
have found sexually attractive.

So how should I be defined, I am obvi-
ously not “gay” and I am certainly not
“bisexual.” I am in the end just an individ-
ual who chooses to do what makes him
happy. For many this may seem wrong, and
society in general has asked us to define
ourselves by our sexuality. What about
those who do not fit into these neatly pack-
aged labels? The answer is a hard one for
many to process due to the heterosexism we
have been socialized to embrace as the
norm. If we are not, “gay,” “lesbian,”
“bisexual,” or “transgendered” we should
just be who we are. We should forget about
the labels and be proud of who we are with-
out the fear of what others will think or feel
about our actions. In the end we are respon-
sible for what takes place in our lives and we
cannot help feeling attracted to someone of
the opposite sex more than we can help
feeling sad, happy, or angry.

If you have questions, or are looking for
answers, the Pride Collective meets on
Thursdays at 4:30p.m. in room 328 in the
student union building at the New
Westminster campus. Queer and allied stu-
dents are welcome to attend.

     
 

 

Kali Thurber
Opinions Editor

Summer is over and so is the water-shortage scare. Yes, it’s
true. We are not going to die of dehydration after all. But
do not allow yourself to be deceived by the dwindling
media coverage on the subject. Sure, it’s rained a few days
here and there, but the issue should still be high on our list
of things to regulate. This summer Vancouver experienced
one of the worst draughts in its history, and it must be
acknowledged that Vancouverites were less than thrilled
about limiting their water consumption.

Take, for example, my landlady. It was sometime in
June that my landlady made a home
for her sprinkler right out on the
front lawn. It continued to live
there, spilling its precious juice over
the grass throughout July and into
August. My room mate and I
watched with horror, as the lawn in
front of our house grew longer and
brighter everyday. We both politely
mentioned to her the fact that there
were water regulations in effect. She
chuckled while answering, “The
water is still comin’ so it can’t be that
bad.” All right, that is true. And I
agree that it is difficult to compre-
hend that one of our largest
resources might not be as plentiful as
we would like to believe. But is that
what it would take for Vancouver residents to come to
terms with the fact that we are living beyond our means?
The complete absence of water? I hope not. I sincerely
hope that my dear, sweet landlady’s perspective on the
water issue is solely hers.

However, I don’t think that is the case. Because Canada
is so jam-packed full of lakes and rivers, we tend to use it
as if there is an endless supply. And if this summer's
draught taught us anything, I would hope it showed us
that this simply isn’t true. Water is a renewable resource,
yes, but it does not mean that we can use as much as we
want when we want it. I’m sure you heard, as it was stat-
ed publicly, that Vancouver had enough stored water to
support its’ people until the middle of November if it did-
nt rain.

I, for one, did not find this comforting. That is only a
few short months, and with people like my landlady
around who knows if that stored water would have even
lasted that long. The fact that we (as Canadians) need to
become aware of is that we are huge water wasters. Do you
know that the Lower Mainland uses more water, per capi-
ta, than anywhere else in the world?

OK, Ill just admit it. My obscene level of ignorance
allows me to be shocked by that. I am currently enrolled
in Science 100—Environmental Issues. Perhaps everyone

Do you know
that the Lower
Mainland uses
more water, per
capita, than
anywhere else in
the world?

 

that is reading this is wondering how I could go about my
life and not have knowledge about something as dire as
this. But that cannot be true. If everyone knew that we use
more water than anywhere else in the world, we would
have done something about it. Wouldn't we?

Now don’t get me wrong, I waste as much water as the
next excessive Canadian. And I really don’t want to give
up the luxuries that I was born with. There are leaves stuck
on my porch that need to be pressure-washed off, and
after I do that job I like to have a long, hot shower. The
plants in my garden really need to be
watered every day or so. And I see it
as necessary, when washing dishes, to
have one full sink for washing and
one full sink for rinsing.

But the issue of water gluttony
remains, and so do the statistics.
According to Environment Canada, a
reasonable quality of life requires
about 80L of water per person, every-
day. Now if you picture 80L of water,
it seems like a whole lot. But the aver-
age Canadian does not agree.
Canadians average use is 360L per
person, everyday. This means that we
are using almost five times as much
water as is required. And where is it
all going, you might ask?

Well, people have lawns to sprinkle, cars to wash, and
swimming pools to fill up. These are all clearly necessary
for our survival, of course. In fact, our very own school
contributes to the water gorging of Canada. Have you
ever stood in the concourse outside the library at the NW
campus, and watched the water fountain? Well, maybe
you haven’, but I had the pleasure a couple of days ago. I
watched the water shooting sporadically out of the white
hose, and then falling back down. The pool below milled
around, continuously draining and refilling itself.

The amount of water that is being used to fill our love-
ly fountain would probably be enough for several people
to live off of. But we enjoy this spectacle of nature. It
makes us feel rich and privileged to know that Canada has
such an enormous amount of water that we can let it flow,
and flow, and flow, simply for our amusement.

I don’t want to get you down about the luxuries that
Canadians possess, but I do suggest that we be mindful of
our usage. It should be an embarrassment to Canadians
that the whole world knows how gluttonous we are. And
this embarrassment should serve as encouragement to
conserve. I am not suggesting that you abstain from show-
ering altogether, or that you drive a dirty car for the rest
of your life. But maybe, just maybe, we could all do it a
little less often.

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