SECTION NEWS March 2002 • Anthropology News es a yearly conference that often includes Latin name, black folks condoned DL culture." The were completely silent, even though I America specialists. episode also could have addressed the homopho- didn't think the environment was par- .^ bia and intolerance that drives many men to seek ticularly hostile. A few weeks later, ||||| / welcome short articles and comments that could be a double life. As Fullwood again wrote, "Homo however, on another Tuesday, the US of interest to our readers. Please contact me at: hate is everywhere: at the office, on the train, on attacks on Afghanistan began. I walked into class Facultad cle Antropologfa, U Autonoma de Yucatan, the street, in my building, in stores, at church, on to find a beehive of sounds and discussions; it Calle 76 M55-LL, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico; tel and television, in books, films and music." Yes, decep- didn't look like a day to start off talking about fax [52J999/925-4523; [email protected] tion, especially about HIV, isn't to be condoned. Labov and language use in department stores. As or [email protected]. But at the same time, can anybody really blame surprising as was their silence on Sept 11, today these men for not stepping forward to claim an the Arab students were vocal, excited, even loud. identity that's been depicted in such a negative Though no one in the class seemed to be dis- Society for Lesbian and light? Rather than reiterating the same old trope agreeing with them, I was surprised at the inten- of the dangerous black man, ER had the oppor- sity and depth of their anger, even though none Gay Anthropologists tunity to be really innovative. It failed. of the Muslim students were Afghan or Pakistani. BARB WEST, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Last night it failed with a second storyline as A few weeks later I walked in and heard, "Don't well. In this one, Weaver is outed at work by her you see, he could not have written this letter! It is As I write this, I am still thinking about last second girlfriend, who (like her first) has dumped preposterous." The previous week the US govern- night's episode of ER. This show has not been as her after two or three dates because she was not ment released what supposedly was the last, five- open as the original Ellen or Will and Grace about already out at work. Perhaps having bought into page letter of Mohamed Atta, who allegedly mas- dealing with LGBTQ issues, but it also has not the stereotype of the dangerous black male, the terminded the attacks and piloted one of the avoided them. What I'm wondering is whether show was eager to disavow a second stereotype: planes into one of the WTC towers. Ali and Yasser we would be better off without the kind of visi- the lesbians who move in together after two were explaining that the Arabic in the letter was bility that this high-profile series has provided. dates. However, this disavowal should not have so bizarre. "No one would ever say such a thing," During the past seven years, we've seen the come at the expense of any sense of compassion Ali said, referring to the reference to Atta's family abused partner in a gay male relationship go and tolerance on the part of the Latina girlfriend, in the pra5'er in the letter. "Where is the mention home with his abuser rather than seek help. An nor at the expense of reality. of the Prophet?" With their help, we went HIV-negative male partner of an HIV-positive My concern with ER is that it has used its through several paragraphs dissecting the letter man was disappointed when an HIV test failed to tremendous popularity to address many difficult stylistically and sociolinguistically come up positive. A teen-aged boy preferred to issues, all within the framework of entertain- If there was one single thing that the class got suffer in silence about his depression rather than ment. Why, when it comes to LGB issues (they from our discussions, it was how news in the come out to his father. More recently, one of the have yet to have a transgendered character, to the Arabic media differs from the mainstream main characters, Kerry Weaver, has had relation- best of my memory), do they reinscribe stereo- American media. We spent much time hearing ships with two terribly intolerant caricatures of types and negativity? Certainly I do not want to our Muslim students describe what was being lesbians. To the best of my memory, there has go back to the days when there were no LGBTQ said on Al Jazeera and other Arabic-language been only one semi-positive LGBTQ story line: a characters on popular TV shows, but I'm not cer- news sources. I was glad again to have native lesbian relationship was presented as nurturing, tain that this kind of visibility is any better. Arabic speakers in class when the supposedly self- caring and very long-term. Unfortunately, this incriminating video of Osama bin Laden was episode ended with Weaver denying one of the Send contributions to Barb West at [email protected]. released. Though it was hard to find the complete elderly women the right to make health-care text in the American media, we were able to get decisions for her partner when an estranged it on the Internet. When compared to the ex- nephew showed up to block the partner's deci- Society fw Linguistic cerpted translations given on CNN or ABC News, sion. So much for a positive image. the story we saw was more nuanced. Though the Last night, the show presented a less-than-flat- Anthropology Arabic was said to be confident and strong, our tering image of both a man and a woman. In one students stressed how metaphorical and idiosyn- stoiy, a black male hip-hop star learned he was JAMES STAN LAW AND MARK PETERSON, cratic the language was. HIV-positive (or Hi-Five) but refused to tell his CONTRIBUTING EDITORS girlfriend, because he would have to own up to After some 15 such weeks, the class ended. being on the Down Low (or DL). While this A Letter on Sept 11 With the events of the past semester and the sev- episode probably brought this cultural phenome- [We have not talked much about Sept 11, or its eral group projects we worked on, we had all non to light for many people outside the African linguistic importance, in this column as yet. Prof become quite close. As the last hour came to a American and LGBTQ communities, it did not do "X," however, has submitted this letter, telling of close, I asked if anyone had any final parting so in a way that would contextualize and histori- the tragedy's impact on her graduate seminar last- thoughts. After a little hesitation, Fatima said, "I cize the behavior. Instead, ER contributed to the semester. This letter might be construed as being know we talked about diglossia and Arabic things recent media buzz on DL culture, which has controversial, but it is not meant to reflect the many times. I just wanted to say that Arabic is "delivered [a] potent cocktail of stories that mix views of the SLA Board or membership, the AAA special. It is beautiful. It is the true language of homophobia, hip-hop and HIV/AIDS," as report- or even myself. In fact, in the longer version, Prof the Quraan, the words of God passed on to the ed by Steven G Fullwood in "The Low Down on X said she did not write this letter to be anti- Prophet." With animation, she went on. "You Down Low Culture" (Africana.com, July 12, American or even necessarily political. She just can look at all the other languages of the world 2001). Fullwood's article on this media buzz thought it was important that some linguistic dis- ... no other language has the same complexity should have been recommended reading for the cussion about Sept 11 be started, and wanted to of structure, the same depth of thought ... the ER writers. Rather than demonizing DL behavior hear the views of others. It is in this light that I grammar of all the other world's languages are by linking it to HIV, they could have addressed present it, and welcome comments.—Ed.] contained within it. ..." what Fullwood called the "black community's "Wait," said Pyong, a Korean student. "Don't longstanding ambiguity concerning their men- I was driving to class when I heard about "it" on you believe in linguistic relativity? Aren't there folk and adulterous behaviors. For centuries, the car radio. Our seminar on language rights and no superior or inferior languages?" many men have led double lives, one as a faith- linguistic minorities met once a week on Tuesday There was a long moment of silence. I decided ful husband, and the other as a[n] unconfined, afternoons. The day of the attacks on the World to sum things up. "Well, of course, I don't really free-wheeling bachelor. Before it even had a Trade Center, the Muslim students in the seminar think that is what Fatima literally means, but, 55 Anthropology News • March 2002 SECTION NEWS remember, we discussed at great length about the exchange of information. I have created two In one of his last acts as president, and demon- power of symbols and how the utterance of a sin- pages featuring "current" or "breaking" news.