Yes, I said Morehouse College. The prestigious black, all male college who last year, sparked drama after enforcing a dress code that focused on "men dressing like girls."
Vibe magazine has talked to a few of the gay students there. Here are some pieces from the article:
“I’ve always been into clothes, shoes, hair and everything,” says Diamond, who was born and raised in Providence, R.I. He says there’s a good chance he’ll transition into a woman at some point. “My mother says I always played dress-up in her clothes, my grandmother’s clothes. I’d even get my brother to do it sometimes. That’s just always been me—pushing the envelope of what I’m supposed to be as a man.”
So does Diamond really consider herself a man? At the question, he groans. “Yes, I refer to myself as a man, you know, to relieve any confusion. Sometimes people don’t understand the whole androgyny thing. There’s always the question: Well, what are you? Yes, I’m a man. I like women’s clothes. And yeah, I’m gay. But I don’t want that to define me. How come people can’t just see me as a person?”
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Michael—who lives with Diamond and his boyfriend, Eric—and Brian, who has an off-campus apartment, are two of the current students at Morehouse who proudly call themselves members of the Plastics. “When I first got here, the androgynous kids were called the Glams,” Brian explains. “And then one day we were all sitting together on Brown Street and some straight guys walked by and called us the Plastics. Straight boys are the ones who gave us the name.”While the two admit that the relationship between the Plastics and the straight community is fraught with issues, they say the rest of the gay community who can be downright hostile. “The gays hate us,” says Brian plainly.“It’s because we have a certain aura,” says Michael. “We don’t care what people think about us when it comes to how we dress and carry ourselves. Some people are uncomfortable with it.”
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Phillip—who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.—came to Morehouse in hopes of pleasing his father, a minister from Jamaica who he says is staunchly homophobic. “I’ve always wanted to be a man’s man,” says Phillip, with a sigh. “I wanted to be masculine. I thought by coming here to Morehouse I could be the masculine man my father wanted me to be. The first day I got to campus, I was a boy. I had my little dreads pulled back, jeans and all that. Trying to be this masculine boy, real cool and real quiet.”It took exactly one day on campus for Phillip to see that this plan was not going to work. “The first time I walked from my dorm to student services, someone yelled out ‘faggot’ and a crew of boys started laughing at me.” Phillip throws his hands up dramatically. “That was it. I was going to have to be me. There was no hiding that I was not masculine. That I was not a boy. I went back to taking my female hormones and rocking my hair.”
I encourage y'all to check this article out. It's very interesting
