URM - Gay?! Forum

[bk1]

Clearly in your desire to take the opposite side of anything I say, you failed to read what I said. so let me make it clear enough even you can understand.

IF something will help you like your race, because you are a URM that school give a boost too, put it on.

IF something does not give you a boost, yet COULD hurt you because of a bias of the reader, don't put it on.

Now the fact is being gay isn't going to boost your chances at any school, being black will.

It is so remotely unlikely and nigh impossible that it would be stupid to not mention it when including it could make a great DS.

[kk19131]

All I have to say is... if it doesn't matter, why do some schools outright ask if the applicant is gay?

[bk1]

All I have to say is... if it doesn't matter, why do some schools outright ask if the applicant is gay?

I've thought the same thing in regards to the PS.

[whirledpeas86]

All I have to say is... if it doesn't matter, why do some schools outright ask if the applicant is gay?

Maybe so the adcomm knows which dirty homos to autoreject?

[kk19131]

All I have to say is... if it doesn't matter, why do some schools outright ask if the applicant is gay?

Maybe so the adcomm knows which dirty homos to autoreject?

Yay for the gay Blacks.

[whirledpeas86]

All I have to say is... if it doesn't matter, why do some schools outright ask if the applicant is gay?

Maybe so the adcomm knows which dirty homos to autoreject?

Yay for the gay Blacks.

Wooo! No one knows how to party like us!

[whirledpeas86]

So here is the (VERY) rough draft of my DS wherein I disclose my sexual orientation. I tried to keep it on the subtle side, without being too vague or obtuse. It's too long and I need to work in the whole, you know, law angle But, if anyone has an critique/advice/praise (ahem) at all, it would be much appreciated!

As I sit in the back of the car, nose stuck deep in a book, trying to ignore the talk radio program my mother has blaring up front, I hear something that catches my attention and pulls me, with breakneck speed, out of my private inner world. “You know what? There’s no such thing as gay blacks; that’s just something black folks picked up from the whites. I know it’s true because they tossed all of the African [homophobic language redacted] and dykes off the slave ships on their way over here.” I begin to pick apart, with great effort, as I was only 12-years-old, the implications of this bold statement. I am again jarred by my mother murmuring, “I know that’s right,” under her breath. My blood runs cold, then hot, then cold again. Just as I’m about to speak up, I bite my tongue, knowing that anything I could say would only bring the focus on me, and that’s the last thing I wanted to do.

This was the first time I was confronted, nigh slapped in the face, with how my racial and sexual identity, of which I had recently become aware, conflicted with each other. Growing up in a religious Black family, I was more than familiar with the flamboyantly gay man wearing the salmon colored suit and neck scarf who seemed to direct the choir at every Black church I had ever been to, yet was swept under the carpet. “Oh you know Kenny! He’s a lifelong bachelor! He and his…roommate are just living that single man lifestyle.” This is the sort of don’t ask, don’t tell policy that I don’t think will ever be repealed. Despite being aware of this hypocrisy and invisibility, I didn’t grasp how it applied to me.

Living in a predominantly white town, I was used to being the odd man out. With my caramel brown skin and curly hair, it was undeniable that I was different than most of my classmates. I always dreaded when we would do the unit on slavery in social studies; I could feel everyone looking at me out of the corner of their eye, wondering if their family has anything to do with my ancestors’ bondage. Worse yet was trying to fit in with the other black kids on the playground or at camp. “Why do you talk so white? Girl, you just an Oreo! Black on the outside, but wannabe white on the inside!” My parents taught me to be proud of my racial heritage. Yes, we were enslaved, but the fact that we made it here spoke to the strength and tenacity of our people. Yet, that was cold comfort as I sat alone while the other black kids laughed at me for my precise diction or my love of The Beatles. Whatever blackness was, I was terrified that I was doing it wrong.

Which brings us back to me sitting in that car, analyzing the harsh voice on the radio, that seemed to speak directly to me, my mother’s tacit approval the crap icing on the crap cake. I had known for so long that I was different than everyone else. I was interested in chasing boys, playing with dolls, and planning the perfect wedding. If given the choice, I would have much preferred to run and jump in the mud with the boys and chase the girls on the playground, trying to nail the prettiest one with a kiss. However, if that voice on the radio was right, what did it mean about me? If there’s no such thing as a gay black person, then who, or what, am I?

It took me years of struggle and self-exploration to integrate my racial identity and sexual identity, eventually realizing that I didn’t have to pick one or the other. I learned about people like Bayard Rustin, a key organizer of the 1963 civil rights March on Washington, who also happened to be an openly gay man. While learning about prominent LGBT people of color helped, the most transformative act I took was learning about, and embracing, myself. As a leader of True Colors, the student group on my college campus that served as a support for queer students of color, I saw the power of my people. All of my people. From the March on Washington, to the Stonewall Riots, to the individual acts of advocacy that True Colors practiced, I learned that the only person who can silence me is myself.

[bk1]

Make your first paragraph past tense.

You mean you're writing a DS right? "Disclosing my sexual orientation" is odd phrasing.

[paratactical]

I think you have some phrasing and such to work out, but that's a powerful DS. Don't let a flame like Pip convince you otherwise.

[whirledpeas86]

Make your first paragraph past tense.

You mean you're writing a DS right? "Disclosing my sexual orientation" is odd phrasing.

Oh yeah, I just meant this is the version of my DS where I talk about being a big ol' queer. Just tried to say it fancy

[bk1]

Oh yeah, I just meant this is the version of my DS where I talk about being a big ol' queer. Just tried to say it fancy

Haha I got ya. Just the words "disclosing" brought to mind the odd image of a law school app saying: "Are you LGBT? Yes. No. If yes you are required to submit an addendum explaining this."

I agree with Para, I like the story a lot. I had the image of a woman mouthing those words in a car while listening to the radio in my mind. But as noted it definitely needs polish.

[Marionberry]

I like it very much, more than most diversity statements I read. However, I think there are some parts that could be trimmed, like maybe the second to last paragraph? "crap icing on crap cake", while funny, may not be an appropriate tone for a LS application.

Are diversity statements supposed to be limited to one page? I really don't know, but that thought occurred to me.

You do a very good job of discussing the diversity you provide in a way that is meaningful and authentic, and many DSs come off as cliche or hackneyed.

[whirledpeas86]

Thank you all so much for your helpful comments! As I noted, this is a very (very) rough draft, mostly just written to get my ideas down on paper and start to put them in some sort of coherent order. I need to cut down quite a bit to get it under a page, and work on phrasing and whatnot. But the impression I get from what you all have said is that it is a compelling story and I would do well to stick it out and use a polished and edited version of this statement. Thanks again! And if anyone is interested in doing a more in depth edit in exchange for me editing one of your addenda or your personal statement, please PM me!

[reasonable_man]

...The number of 0Ls pretending to be gay would be staggering.

Hell... I would have put out a gay porn if I thought it would have helped me get into a good law school..

[kazu]

...The number of 0Ls pretending to be gay would be staggering.

Hell... I would have put out a gay porn if I thought it would have helped me get into a good law school..

+1.

eta: if there is any evidence to prove the above, I'll do it now. I really will.

[whirledpeas86]

...The number of 0Ls pretending to be gay would be staggering.

Hell... I would have put out a gay porn if I thought it would have helped me get into a good law school..

+1.

eta: if there is any evidence to prove the above, I'll do it now. I really will.

Well, you know what they say... "Once you go gay, it ain't going away." Proceed with caution...and lube.

[Rocketman11]

I'd easily blow a guy for HYS secure

[Jackie O]

I'd easily blow a guy for HYS secure

posters itt: while reading this statement take note that rocket does not actually plan to go to law school

[sophia.olive]

All this talk about the gays is making me really horny.
And im not even gay, I think. (maybe i just didnt sleep enough with homos)

Liked the DS. It kind reads like the begining of a sultry romance, that you might find on the book selves in wal-mart. I have some titles, "Sister and Sister" "Forbidden Roommate" "Undercover BrotherS" "Keep it on the...." "Hush sister!, and lay in my arms" "The Organ Playas"

neat factoid: Did you know that the Sambia men receive oral sex from age 25 up from the Sambia boys age 10-25 in order for the boys to receive the all powerful strengh of the juice.

[Rocketman11]

^ oh dear God I think I'm in love...

[paratactical]

...The number of 0Ls pretending to be gay would be staggering.

Hell... I would have put out a gay porn if I thought it would have helped me get into a good law school..

+1.

eta: if there is any evidence to prove the above, I'll do it now. I really will.

Why, how are YOU doin?

[sophia.olive]

oh and "caramel MAMAmia"

Black lesbian is the new pink.
I met Rose Rollins, but she isnt actually a lesbian.

[whirledpeas86]

^ oh dear God I think I'm in love...

With sophia.olive or Sambian culture...or both, if that's what you're into?

[Rocketman11]

^ oh dear God I think I'm in love...

With sophia.olive or Sambian culture...or both, if that's what you're into?

i want to make SO my SO

[ahduth]

That diversity statement is pretty great, well written, compelling, confident. The crap cake thing does seem out of place, but sounds like you'll iron some of that rough stuff out of it.