The 'gay? fine by me' T-shirt day that took place at Homewood-Flossmoor High School on April 19 was a success, according to a student who co-organized the event—despite some reportedly harrowing experiences with homophobic classmates.
Alissa Norby, an out senior at the school who helped put the event together, told Windy City Times that the day was filled with tension. 'Actually, it was a very contentious day,' she said. 'The school permitted Christian students to wear anti-gay shirts as well, but there were these other students who thought it was OK to express their homophobia so they wore these other T-shirts. So people came to school with T-shirts that mocked ours; there were boys who had shirts that read 'gay? burn in hell'—and not many of those boys were punished. I [ personally ] reported four boys who were harassing me and shouting the word 'dyke' at me; they were wearing shirts that read 'gay? not fine by me—except for lesbians,' and at the top they read 'faggots are assholes.''
According to Norby, the situation actually became worse. 'These guys actually followed me and I reported them to a security guard—and the guard yelled at me for causing trouble,' she said. She then said that she walked out of the school into the parking lot and they followed her while screaming obscenities. 'At first, I was pissed off,' Norby confessed. 'But then after I got in my car and they got in their car, they started taunting me and [ even ] swerving in my lane. I then got pretty nervous.' So what happened to these students? Norby said that there was no comeuppance: 'I reported the guys and the school said that there was nothing they could do about it.'
Schoolmates also taunted another organizer. 'My friend, Myka Held, was followed by three big guys who yelled 'faggot' and she turned around and asked them to stop. [ Held, incidentally, is not gay. ] They then came closer and continued to taunt and harass her.'
Norby said that the aforementioned remarks were pretty typical of things said throughout the day. 'People were coming up to each other and saying things like 'You're a sin against God' and 'You're going to burn in hell with Matthew Shepard.'' In addition, she remarked that intimidation led to a decrease in participants: 'Probably 25 bought our shirts [ but fewer than that ] actually wore them. Last year, when we didn't have opposition, almost all 100 of the students [ who bought T-shirts ] wore them. This year, it looked to us that [ fewer ] students wore them this year. We were outnumbered by Christian groups by, I would say, two to one.' Norby noted that there was no tension last year ( although there has always been 'an undercurrent of heterosexism and homophobia' ) and that the increased hostility this year was probably due to preparation time. 'Last year, it was more word-of-mouth. This year, people knew it was going to happen,' she said.
However, despite constant jeering and fewer participants, Norby considered the day a success. 'Initially, I didn't feel that the day was successful—but, in retrospect, I do. I've realized that I really could've stepped down from all this—and we even debated the idea of having [ the event ] on a different day. But for people to come out to support us and wear these T-shirts in the face of all of this hostility and adversity ... they're so brave and courageous and I have so much respect for them. To stand up and express your views in the face of all of this hatred is something to be commended.'
Norby also commented that her parents were behind her but concerned. 'They were supportive of my efforts but they were [ definitely ] worried about my physical and mental safety. But they realized that, in order to make changes in a school like H-F, you have to risk [ those things ] .'
Norby added that she felt like she was letting down the gay students because 'the argument against Christians is something you can't win. My argument is based on respect and facts while their argument is based on faith. [ However, ] they were promoting tolerance of intolerance. I do not promote that ... I promote tolerance and respect for people. Looking back, they totally missed Jesus's main teaching of 'doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.''
The 'gay? fine by me' campaign is a national event that schools ( mostly colleges and universities ) hold. It began at North Carolina's Duke University in 2003, according to the project's Web site, www.finebyme.org .
Norby said that she and Held got the idea to start the event after Norby's mother brought her a magazine article last year that discussed the project.