Photo exhibit spotlights gay- and lesbian-parented families

Marianne Cutler, an ESU sociology professor, sits smiling in her backyard with her significant other and four-month-old daughter, Cai, half-asleep in her mother's arms, in an image that would seem right at home in the living room of any family house. Except in this image, Cutler is not the mother holding Cai. It is her partner, Sandy Bardsley. "Love Makes a Family," an exhibit spotlighting similar photos of gay- and lesbian-parented families, will try to show that a family with two mothers and two fathers is just as much a family as one with one of each. Cutler said one only needs to look at her photo to see that their family is a real one. "A lot of people think that family and gays and lesbians are two mutually exclusive terms," Cutler said. "This will educate people by demonstrating the reality that a lot of people don't see or choose not to see, in some cases. Here, they'll see that we are a family." The "Love Makes a Family" exhibit, which premieres on Wednesday, October 11, for National Coming Out Day and will remain on campus for one month, will consist of more than two dozen framed, museum-quality photos of gay and lesbian families from all over the country, as well as from right here at ESU. The photos will be exhibited in glass displays the lobby of Rosenkrans Hall, as well as the lobby of Hemlock Hall and possibly other dormitory buildings, depending on the number of pictures submitted by ESU students, faculty and staff. Cutler is the only member of the ESU community to have submitted a photo by the press time of this article, but dian fitzpatrick, the sociology professor who brought the exhibit to the campus, said that she is expecting several submissions before the Friday deadline from the campus LGBT community. "There is a heterosexist assumption that there are no gays or lesbians on campus," fitzpatrick said. "That's wrong. They are among the students, the faculty and the staff, and what this does for them is normalizes them. It makes people see that gay and lesbian families are ok." Culter said that gay and lesbian community at ESU was the reason she chose to submit her photo to the exhibit. "Out of 7,000 students, some percentage are gay or lesbian," she said, "and if this helps them to know that they are not alone or that they can have a family, then it's certainly worth the risk." Although the photo subjects, like Cutler, are openly gay, fitzpatrick said it still takes a great deal of bravery for them to participate. "Anytime one is in a minority, it does take courage to step forward and say, 'Look at me,' because of the opportunity to become a target of prejudice and hate," she said. Cutler said she is "not naive" and knows there will be some viewing the photos who have negative feelings about homosexuality, and especially homosexual families. "While I'm optimistic that people will respond appropriately, there are no guarantees," she said. "But it's a risk worth taking, because this is how change happens." The "Love Makes a Family" exhibit was created in 1994 by Family Diversity Exhibits, a Amherst, M.A.-based non-profit organization which has also organized exhibits for multiracial families and families with mental illnesses. These exhibits have been featured in locations all over the country. This is the first time the exhibit has come to ESU, and fitzpatrick thinks it will educate members of the campus by making the local and national LGBT community more visible. "The more visible these groups are, the less strange they will seem, which leads ot understanding and learning." fitzpatrick said. "We all have prejudices, and those prejudices are rooted in ignorance. This says, 'Look at this, we're a family,' and helps to debug some of the myths that are out there." For more information about the "Love Makes a Family" exhibit, visit www.familydiv.org.