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LAMBDA A >orts
Feb. '98
Co-Editor's Corner
by Joy Liau and
Jennifer Poorbaugh
It’s been a charming win
ter— groundhogs darting from shad
ows, ladybugs fleeing indoors, rains
overtaking the lands. It seems as
though the world has been in wait.
In wait for something unusual.
Something peculiar. Students have
held their collective breath through
out these dreary winter months for
the one thing that will make the
clouds part and the sun grace the
Carolina campus and surrounding
communities. Yes, it is here at last.
Here at last! The Lambda contest re
sults are here at last!
It was a long, arduous
struggle, but a dedicated panel of
Lambda staff waded through piles of
submissions to select the best and
brightest of the local gay and allied
talent. Congratulations go to Kevin
M. King, Tyrell Haberkorn, and
Michael Kanarek for capturing the top
prizes in poetry, prose, and artwork!
Their works are proudly displayed in
the following pages for proper genu
flect and praise. Alongside them are
articles by our courageous staff and a
few of the contest submissions.
Thank you all who submitted; the
works were exceptional! Alas, we are
unable to print all the pieces, but some
will be seen in future editions.
So check it out! Peruse our
pages. Gasp and gawk. And tell us
what you think. We’d love to hear
from you. I mean, we’d LOVE to
hear from you. Really! Heck, if you
think you’ve got what it takes, join
us! Perhaps someday your words will
grace the pages of the lovely Lambda.
Enjoy the read, and look for a special
issue of Lambda during Celebration
Week! X
I was a late-bloomer in ath
letics. I played on soccer and soft
ball teams when I was little and al
ways loved P.E. class, but I was very
accident prone. I wound up in casts
or on crutches a lot. And then came
back-surgery. Thus, it wasn’t until
my junior year in high school that I
rediscovered my love for sports.
Fencing put a new energy into my
life. I’m by no means a natural ath
lete, but I love being athletic and
working towards improvement.
When I came to UNC, I made the
varsity fencing team. I loved every
minute of it! I got stronger, faster,
and more confident. I became more
and more the person I wanted to be.
Because I wanted to, I shaved my
head, even though my mom told me
I shouldn’t. I felt free.
Then in April, right before
exam week, I came out. I don’t know
if I would even be out to myself yet
if not for the fencing team. I had a
new confidence in who I wanted to
be, and the teammates were like fam
ily. The first two people I told were
teammates They were very support
ive. This year I’m basically out to
the whole team. No one has any
problem with it. This wasn’t a sur
prise to me, though, until I did some
reading.
I had always thought that
liGB Sports, Part 1:
A Late Blooming
Sport-Dyke
by Maia Kaplan
there must be many lesbians (or bi
women) drawn to sports. Coming
from a very open, non-homophobic
environment, I also thought that
straight women in sports, being strong
and athletic themselves, would nei
ther deny this, nor have issues with
it. I thought the same of coaches.
Boy, was I off base. I read a book
called Sports dykes, by Susan Fox
Rogers. Over and over I read about
women whose basketball coaches had
a “no lesbians allowed” team policy.
Or straight teammates who blamed
lesbians for lack of interest in
women’s sports because the public
thought that they were all a bunch of
dykes. Instead of sports swinging
open the closet door, as it had done
for me, it was pushing these women
back behind the old bowling shoes.
This made me think. I
thought about other women’s teams
here at Carolina. I wondered, “Could
I be the only queer varsity athlete
here?” This didn’t seem likely. Con
fronted with these unanswered
ponderings, I decided that Lambda
needed a sports-interest section in
case there are some other queer ath
letes out there wondering if they’re
brave enough to wear a Celebration
Week t-shirt or go lift at Kenan Field
House.
Anyhow, I hope to do some
further research into the queer com
munity in college athletics, at UNC,
and other schools. Hopefully the con
tinued strives toward meeting Title EX
in athletics is giving more hetero
sexual women the chance to compete
in collegiate sports without feeling as
though it challenges their
‘straightness’and femininity. Maybe
then lesbians won’t be seen as an eye
sore to the public in women’s sports.
I know that this antagonism is unnec
essary. My teammates and coach
have proven that to me. So lets see
what attitudes are out there. Tune in
next edition for “In the Closet or On
the Field?: Women in College Ath
letics.”
Have any personal stories?
Email me at “mkaplan
@email.unc.edu”. Also, check out a
list of out elite athletes at “http://
WWW,kwic.net/lgb-sport/
outelites.html”.
One last note— don’t worry,
gay/bi men. I plan to address the is
sue of g/b men in sports in future ar
ticles. X