The Picador: Volume 11, Issue 2

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Volume 11, Issue 2

9.28.2015 A PUBLICATION BY HOLDERNESS STUDENTS FOR THE HOLDERNESS COMMUNITY

Considering Culture: Sexuality at Holderness By A.J. Chabot ‘16, Maggie Cunha ‘16

W

e say we are accepting. We say we don’t discriminate, stereotype, or generalize. But, do some of our actions directly contradict these statements? Athletic team captains say they would accept gay athletes on their team, the faculty have added stickers to their computers saying “we are safe people to talk to,” and Holderness has hired its first married gay residential faculty. Clearly, we are moving forward, but what else might we do to hinder progress without even realizing it? Are there aspects embedded in our culture that, unless addressed, will eventually leave our progress stagnant? After speaking with multiple faculty and students in our community, it seems so, even in the most unlikely places. The goal of this article is not to criticize or offend anyone but instead inform and educate the community about a topic that has been acknowledged by many but shared by few. Eight years ago, Mr. Peck and the administration brought in an outside consultant to run an audit that asked students to submit notecards with hurtful comments they had heard in their time at Holderness. Words like “Faggot” came up enough times for the administration to unveil a surprisingly homophobic aspect to Holderness culture that faculty were somewhat surprised

What’s Inside

to see. Around that time, Ms. Dopp was hired, and the student-to-dorm ratio was lowered in hopes of cultivating a more caring and empathetic attitude. Given these advancements, Mr. Peck still, “wishes that we were able to have a culture that more readily accepts out males”. What about our culture doesn’t as readily accept out males? The portraits of the 8 previous heads of school used to be hung outside of the faculty lounge in Schoolhouse. Eight white, middle-aged men in suits. Phillips Andover Academy has one classroom with presidential portraits lined neatly along the inside of a classroom - a decoration that many schools in our country choose to install. Choosing to highlight only male figures rather than important figures regardless of gender could, some argue, indicate a sort of bias. Are we looking too far into it and claiming that Andover is sexist? No, we are simply shedding light on one of many decisions we make that was not given the thought and awareness it deserves. Look at the Holderness Board of Trustees and Administrative Team. Are some positions more powerful than others? Does our board have almost twice as many men than women? Mr. Lin argues that boards need to be balanced in order to bring varied perspectives into our community. But, how balanced is our board, and how balanced is our administration? Consider

What to Expect from Why We Should Talk About Don’t Drink the Water the St. Paul’s “Thing” Page 3 Page 5

our student body - what is our male to female ratio? 55% boys to 45% girls. This brings us to our main point. Holderness has an unintentional and often indecipherable emphasis on masculinity. After speaking with a variety of perspectives from within our community, we have uncovered these often subtle points of emphasis - on the field, in the dorms, and after study hall. I think everyone reading this would agree that Holderness emphasizes athletics. Not only do we emphasize sports, but we also emphasize male sports for their higher level of competitiveness. This is not to say that our female sports aren’t competitive, but that male competition originates from a different source; one that - if we were to stretch interpretation - originates from fighting other males in an attempt to court a female. But is that interpretation too stretched? Doesn’t the best football player always get the girl? And why does the waterboy join the football team in the first place - to both be a part of a more masculine group, and, more importantly, to publicize this identity. This leads us to the provocative question of whether males are influenced to play competitive sports to claim heterosexuality. In addition to athletics, the dorm culture at Holderness often supports this masculine and heteronormative model. Think about it: we let teenage Continued Page 2

Cautionary Tales with Dougie: A Night Without Check-in Page 6


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