Speaker gained better self image with bisexuality

Although only about 35 Pitt students showed up for nationally recognized speaker and… Although only about 35 Pitt students showed up for nationally recognized speaker and activist Robyn Ochs’ lecture Friday evening in the William Pitt Union Ballroom, those who attended learned a lot.

Ochs, who tours the nation to speak to college students and other groups, is not only an advocate for gay and bisexual rights but is also an advocate for women’s rights and same-sex marriage.

“Though women have a majority of the world’s population, they receive a minority of the world’s resources,” Ochs said, noting how she thinks women are treated unfairly.

Early in the lecture, Ochs told the group her personal definition of bisexuality.

“[Bisexuality is] acknowledging in myself the potential to be attracted to people of more than one sex,” she said. “But not necessarily at the same time or in the same degree.”

Ochs went on to talk about how at an early age, she hated her body and thought the ideal women’s body resembled those of Playboy Bunnies and Barbie dolls. However, after she fell in love with a woman in college, her perspective changed.

“I learned that women and their bodies are beautiful,” Ochs said, adding that that instance was a “light bulb” moment in which she began to view bodies as “miracles.”

Privilege differential, a term Ochs used to describe the differences between heterosexual and homosexual relationships, was another topic discussed during the lecture. Ochs said it was fine for her to kiss and hold hands with a man in public, but said she didn’t do the same with women in public. She thought that by doing so, she was “flaunting her sexuality.”

Many people in the audience nodded their heads in agreement with Ochs when she spoke about introducing same-sex partners to her family. She said her family saw male partners she brought home as “potential husbands” and were very cordial with them, but did not extend the same hospitality to female partners.

Regarding marriage, Ochs said she wouldn’t consider a traditional marriage until same-sex marriages are legalized.

“I made a promise to myself that I won’t marry a man until I can legally marry a woman,” Ochs said.

Ochs told the group that after her first relationship with a woman, her perspective concerning men changed. She related the experience to returning home to the United States after studying abroad and seeing the country differently.

Near the end of her talk, Ochs made a statement that summed up the sentiment of the evening.

“Being bisexual is a gift,” she said.

After speaking to the group, Ochs led a question and answer session where students discussed the lecture’s topics in great detail.

Pitt student Fabiola Torres thought Ochs did a great job of informing and helping students understand their sexual identities.

“I think she opened everyone’s eyes,” Torres said. ” I was amazed.”

The lecture, titled “Bisexuality, Feminism, Men and Me” was hosted by the Rainbow Alliance as part of National Coming Out Week and was preceded by a small workshop in which Ochs spoke to students about their sexual orientation and how they come to terms with it.

Ochs, a Boston resident, teaches courses dealing with gender roles, bisexuality and sexual orientation at Tufts University in Massachusetts. More information on Ochs, or her lectures, can be found on her Web site: www.robynochs.com.