LGBT Issues Topic of Discussion

By Steven Petherbridge



Community activist Josh Joschee leads a WITW discussion at
Valley City State University Monday Night.



More than seventy students, faculty, and community members gathered in the Valley City State University student center Monday evening to hear guest speaker Josh Boschee discuss the topic of growing up gay in North Dakota.

Sponsered by the What in the World is Going On campus community group, the meeting dealt with family, spirituality, and community issues faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals living here in North Dakota.

 “He approached the issues in a very non threatening way and evoked experiences that a lot of people have had in common (gay or straight) and I think that was a neat bridge building device,” said Dr. Lynne Isaacson, Associate Professor of Social Science at VCSU. “He focused on so many aspects of the lives of gay and lesbian people,” agreed Ben Fergesun of Valley City, “as well as his own personal life and his experiences in coming out. This certainly is an issue for people in North Dakota because it’s not something a lot of people talk about.”

Boschee shared his personal experiences growing up in Minot North Dakota and the pressures and relationship challenges he faced as a young person. Although his family was accepting of him, he feels that their response was not typical to what is experienced by many LGBT individuals in North Dakota and that is causing people who could be productive citizens here to instead leave the state. “We have a strong faith community as well as a conservative environment here,” explained Boschee, “so a lot of times people will be closeted here, but once they’ve left they’ll come out. I think if our state were to make a statement by passing policies that were supportive of all North Dakotans it would help young people who want to stay here.”

Many attendees were surprised to learn that Senate Bill 2278 (2009 Legislative Assembly) that amends the ND Human Rights Act and Fair Housing Act to make it illegal to discriminate in housing, employment, credit transactions, and public accommodations based on sexual orientation (gender identity / expression) passed the ND Senate 27 to 19, but was defeated in the ND House of Representatives, 34 to 54.

I just saw it as a fairness thing,” said Representative Phil Mueller who supported the legislation. “We don’t discriminate against those who are white, black, Muslim, Jewish, or Catholic, so why would we think it is ok to discriminate against this group . . ., that’s what it came down to for me. If it comes down again that’s where I’ll be again. We don’t do much by revolution in Bismarck; it’s more of an evolutionary process. There will come a time, if it doesn’t happen in this coming session it will happen in another session, that we will not be discriminating based on sexual orientation.

While working for change in state law, Boschee also hopes to challenge individuals to become more aware of their feelings and attitudes on the subject. “The only place we can create real change is in ourselves so my challenge to individuals is, if they have certain ideas of what being gay is or if they harass people because they are lesbian, that they really check that and see where that is coming from and then create a change internally.  I’m not asking them to sign a petition or to agree with what I’m saying, but rather to think about where those things come from, and then as people become more comfortable and are able to confront issues that they are not comfortable with or that don’t align with their values, to have a respect and fairness and then continue to move forward.”

Boshee also discussed where stereotypes come from and how they are reinforced. “Discrimination and homophobia is taught somewhere, and kids pick up on right and wrong and how it is defined in their family, where they go to worship, or their daycare or school. What statements are made in these places can make a big impact on how young people perceive LGBT people.”

Josh Boschee is the co-chair of the NDSU Pride Network as well as the facilitator of the NDSU Safe Zone Ally program.  He is also a board member of the Pride Collective & Community Center, a volunteer with the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, and the Commissioner of the Fargo Human Relations Commission.