Beyond Performative Diversity in Queer Spaces
By: Jules Pizano
Coming to UC Berkeley as a queer person, I had dreams of finding an expansive, accepting community where I’d finally feel at home. In a place known for activism and progress, I thought I’d leave behind the isolation that defined my earlier experiences growing up in Whittier, a city on the outskirts of LA where resources and understanding for queer identities were scarce.
But what I found here at Berkeley was both more complicated and beautiful than I imagined. The queer community isn’t monolithic, and finding my place came with challenges. UC Berkeley must address this and expand support and resources that reflect the diversity of queer experiences, ensuring every student feels seen and empowered. The broad queer community is not as accepting as it seems, where you have to have special interests to fit in. UC Berkeley has the opportunity to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment by recognizing the diverse experiences within the LGBTQ+ community yet keeps failing us.
There are spaces that are deeply affirming however, like the Multicultural Community Center (MCC) and the Gender Equity Resource Center (GenEq Center), Queer Alliance Resource Center (QARC), and clubs like Gia Magazine where queer students of color can be in a space where they are accepted just as they are.
When I interviewed five students about their experiences being a QTBIPOC here at Berkeley, one student shared how being part of the queer community has been transformative. “Being in community showed me the possibilities for who I could be,” they said. Although the queer and trans community on campus isn’t huge, they found deep connections and close friendships. “The freedom to explore has been huge,” another student said, pointing to the broader Bay Area’s richness in queer resources and spaces that allow for personal growth. The academic environment at Berkeley also provided tools for self-understanding: “The academic language and theory taught in Black studies has helped me understand my experiences as a queer woman of color. It gave me a way to articulate myself that I didn’t have before.”
This kind of discovery is common at Berkeley, where students feel they can come into themselves after feeling restricted in their hometowns, like I have experienced. Whether through participation in radical spaces like the MCC and GenEq Center, many students are able to feel affirmed in their identities where they will be respected and not feel isolated.
But even within a campus known for inclusion, not all queer students feel immediately welcomed. Along with myself, the students I interviewed admitted to the same experience of it taking a long time to find our space within the queer community and get connected to resources. Some interviewees pointed out subtle exclusions they experienced, particularly around the issue of race. “As a QTBIPOC student, there’s alienation from white queer spaces. White queerness can sometimes feel like an extension of white power, and queerness is used as a weapon.” The University isn’t a safe space for QTBIPOC students as historically queer spaces around the US catered toward white people. Intersectionality hasn’t been fully institutionalized, especially not here at Berkeley. Despite this, many queer students of color have managed to carve out affirming spaces for themselves, such as through the creation of clubs like GIA Magazine, a QTBIPOC publication on campus. “Once you find those spaces, yes, there’s acceptance, but it shouldn’t take so much work to find them.”
The challenges queer students face go beyond just the queer community. The campus itself, with a history of free speech, is another site of struggle. “Berkeley is a place for free speech, but that’s also harmful to our community. With the rise of right wing politics and the university allowing right-wing speakers to come on campus, it’s terrifying because one of our peers can be targeted,” one student explained. “Institutions won’t protect us; it’s up to the community.”
Physical spaces on campus like gender neutral bathrooms are not easily navigable for queer students either. There are about 40 gender neutral bathrooms around campus but many are not as easily accessible to students. One student shared how bathrooms are a big issue for him and feeling discomfort wherever he goes. He mentioned that in class, sharing pronouns is not a standardized practice so he gets misgendered all the time. This shows how despite efforts to provide resources, institutional support seems performative rather than substantive. If queer students don’t feel safe to walk around campus, how will they be able to have a supportive learning environment?
As I finish my time here at Berkeley, I hope that the university can build an environment where queer students don’t have to search so hard for belonging. Where inclusion isn’t just a buzzword, but a lived experience for everyone in our community. “I want to see an expansion of what it means to be queer, rooted in solidarity with other POC groups. Queerness should be a commitment to liberation,” one student shared. Other students spoke on the need for genuine survival programs and more funding for equity centers and gender neutral bathrooms. On a broader scale, the university needs to stop funding the aid in harming POC and marginalized communities. Queer activism is central to many movements of struggle, especially of Black, Brown, & Indigenous communities. Queerness is more than an identity, it is a politic rooted in solidarity and collective liberation.