{"id":11297,"date":"2012-12-16T05:19:06","date_gmt":"2012-12-16T09:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=11297"},"modified":"2012-12-17T10:18:11","modified_gmt":"2012-12-17T14:18:11","slug":"patrick-henry-colleges-nonexistent-gay-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2012\/12\/patrick-henry-colleges-nonexistent-gay-students.html","title":{"rendered":"Patrick Henry College’s Nonexistent Gay Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Remember how\u00a0I wrote last week<\/a>\u00a0about the LGBT group,\u00a0Queer PHC<\/a>, recently formed by graduates of uber-conservative Patrick Henry College? Remember how Michael Farris, PHC\u2019s chancellor,\u00a0threatened to sue the group<\/a>? Well now he\u2019s saying\u00a0they don\u2019t exist<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gay students at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville don\u2019t exist. They can\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

So says Dr. Michael Farris, the college\u2019s founder and chancellor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s simple, really. Homosexuals can\u2019t exist at Patrick Henry College because the students sign an honor code, Farris claimed.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Homosexuals] could not sign our honor code,\u201d Farris said, adding that he considers the actions of gay men and women \u201csinful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the honor code is to be sexually pure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t think that there are any such students,\u201d Farris said of gays and lesbians at his college.<\/p>\n

Farris said the school\u2019s administration believes Queer at Patrick Henry College is a \u201choax.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Queer PHC blog probably had the best response<\/a> to that:<\/p>\n

Quick! Clap if you believe in fairies!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But let\u2019s stop and consider, though, because Farris\u2019s response is extremely important. I\u2019ll start by quoting once again from Queer PHC:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a stark difference in the definition of our terms. In the eyes of those like Farris,\u00a0homosexuality is just a sexual action or sexual lifestyle<\/a>. For us, it\u2019s an orientation, a marker of personal identity. Is it possible that there are no students having gay sex while enrolled at PHC? Entirely possible. But that doesn\u2019t erase the existence of LGBTQ students at the school.<\/p>\n

In a student body where there are so many virgins, why is it difficult to believe in the existence of a gay virgin?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult if you believe homosexuality is completely synonymous with having gay sex.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That, right there, is critical.<\/p>\n

Michael Farris believes that it is living a \u201cgay lifestyle\u201d that makes someone gay. And as Farris points out, the honor code students sign when they attend PHC includes a pledge of sexual purity \u2013 meaning, of course, abstinence until marriage. In other words, every student attending PHC pledges to remain a virgin. Farris, therefore, argues that because no one at PHC is having sex (or at least, they\u2019ve promised not to), then it\u2019s literally impossible for anyone there to be gay, because he sees homosexuality as synonymous with gay sex. Perhaps this helps explain his fondness for the Supreme Court\u2019s 1986 decision upholding states\u2019 ability to ban sodomy in Bowers v. Hardwick<\/em>. If you ban sodomy, Farris believes, you eliminate homosexuality.<\/p>\n

I am reminded of an image I saw recently:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

[Text: We believe that those involved in homosexuality are created in the image of God and, because of that, deserve respect. However, their actions are damaging both to themselves and to society as a whole. Just like smoking or drug addiction, this behavior should not be encouraged or promoted by our government. We believe that those involved in homosexuality are complete personalities who should not be confined to a label because of a sexual act. To do so is as superficial as labeling an adulteress wife or husband for life because of a sexual act. These actions are seeking the same love, validation, and acceptance that all of us seek, yet an answer will not be found in repeated unhealthy interactions or societal or government approval of these actions. We believe this deep hunger can and will only be satisfied in a personal relationship with Jesus.]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Like Farris, the Liberty Council, the author of this statement, views homosexuality as an \u201caction,\u201d something someone becomes \u201cinvolved in.\u201d And like Farris, they compare homosexuality to things like drug addiction and adultery. They see homosexuality as an action<\/em>, a lifestyle<\/em>, not an orientation<\/em>, or a characteristic like sex or race<\/em>. And because the honor code means pledging to be sexually pure, and therefore necessarily requires a person to not be living a \u201chomosexual lifestyle,\u201d Farris can assert that there are no gay people at Patrick Henry College<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There was a time when Farris\u2019s view was the dominant one. There was a time when homosexual contact was seen in very much the same light as visiting prostitutes, or having an affair. It was a sexual\u00a0indiscretion, and a scandalous one at that, but not an orientation. (For a look at the history of homosexuality in the United States, and especially issues of indiscretion and orientation, read Chauncey\u2019s\u00a0Gay New York<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and Canaday\u2019s Straight State<\/a><\/em>.) But Farris\u2019s view is dominant no longer, and his side is fast losing its grip on the narrative.<\/p>\n

I would finish by asking a question. If Farris is so sure that gay students don\u2019t exist at PHC, why is he so scared of Queer PHC<\/a>?<\/p>\n

A source close to the college, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Times-Mirror the blog was \u201call anyone [was] talking about\u201d on campus.<\/p>\n

The source reported that Queer at Patrick Henry College had been blocked on the school\u2019s WiFi for several days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve never blocked anything the way they\u2019ve blocked this,\u201d the source said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You\u2019d think that if there aren\u2019t any gay people at PHC, and if the honor code makes it so gay students\u00a0can\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0exist at PHC,\u00a0Farris wouldn\u2019t have to worry about Queer PHC being all that subversive or appealing to the student body. So why block it?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remember how I wrote last week about the LGBT group, Queer PHC, recently formed by graduates of uber-conservative Patrick Henry College? Remember how Michael Farris, PHC’s chancellor, threatened to sue the group? Well now he’s saying they don’t exist<\/i> What does this mean, and what does it have to tell us about the way conservatives view things like sexual orientation? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[110,285],"class_list":["post-11297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lgbtq","tag-patrick-henry-college"],"yoast_head":"\nPatrick Henry College's Nonexistent Gay Students<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Remember how I wrote last week about the LGBT group, Queer PHC, recently formed by graduates of uber-conservative Patrick Henry College? 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