Letter to the Editor

 To the editor of the Brock Press:

The editorial cartoon that appeared in the November 22, 2011 issue of the Brock Press is, quite simply, offensive, if not altogether dangerous. The cartoon either re-writes the "new" nuclear family in which the "male" has become the "female" or the cartoon re-writes the nuclear family as two men. In the first reading, the cartoon would rely on heteronormative logic and would render the female in a business suit as being akin to the devil (care of the devilish horns).

In the latter reading, the cartoon is outright homophobic insofar as it renders a queer family as being devilish, again care of the devil's horns. Feminism and queer sexualities are not the devil's work. The homophobia and misogyny found in this cartoon are disturbing and an attack on equality. Even if this is supposed to be a joke, the joke failed -- it is not funny.

It is imperative that the community at Brock University work towards inclusion rather than exclusion, acceptance rather than fear, love rather than hate. As professors, instructors, and teaching assistants, we must ensure that all teaching spaces are safe spaces and embrace a wide-range of perspectives and voices; as students, we must demand that hatred be banished from the halls of academia. The editorial cartoon is endemic of a larger problem and it is time for the university as a whole to confront hatred, fear, and intolerance and demand that we strive towards equality and freedom for all. We must collectively recognise that not only does it get better (at some point in time), it could also be a whole lot better now if we were to simply extinguish homophobia once and for all. The University must be an utopian space in which all are safe to be who they are, love who they will, and study what they wish.

 Jonathan A. Allan Ph.D. (ABD, Toronto)

 Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Brock University, Canada