On Wednesday, we began class with my expert question which related to Brown–Saracino’s article about Ithaca. In particular, I wanted to unpack the tension between ambient community and Real Community, but I don’t know if my question was clear/engaging enough. Many members of the queer community in Ithaca claimed that Real Community was lost despite the fact that queer identity was embraced and accepted in Ithaca. American culture privileges an integrationist ideology that many oppressed groups adhere to, but to some degree, this ideology has failed the queer community’s ability to find “Real Community”. I wanted to engage the class by first asking, ‘if the cost of integrationist ideology is real community, then what ends should the American public and minority groups be striving for when dealing with issues of diversity?’ Perhaps more simply stated, ‘is ambient community enough?’
Honestly, the class discussion started off with a solid couple minutes of awkward silence. The first answer, solicited by Professor Greene, was simply “I don’t know”. I got the sense that most of the class, in fact, did not know. I’m still unsure myself. Lucia brought up that Real Community seemed tied to oppression, or one’s marginalized identity. Real Community was thus a product of such circumstances. This provoked me to ask a follow up question, “Is all [normative] white community ambient community?”.
Ambient Community provided residents of Ithaca with all of their basic needs: Close personal ties, access to community spaces, activity-based ties, a sense of belonging, etc. Queer Resident of Itacha were, however, missing things like community: centers, support groups, a Pride celebration, “Sexy Spaces”, etc. The lack of Real Community seemed to be felt most by newcomers to Ithaca, who were perhaps looking for something different than what they found.
In retrospect, I wish I had used a different quote to engage the class. I think reading Brown–Saracino’s piece was difficult for me because the experience that many of the lesbian women were expressing seemed to be one of privilege… but it feels wrong to say it like that, yet I still don’t have better words to express my confusion. Instead, I wish I had used this quote:
Sarah recognizes the unexpected cost of living where it is “a non-issue to be lesbian.” She said, “I think that it is also a place where it is a non-issue to be lesbian so that there is no community because you don’t need to be together. And I think that is to our detriment . . . there is no Pride Festival, you know. You kind of don’t need it” (emphasis added). She added, “It’s the plus and the minus of . . . living in a place that is so accepting that it is not a big deal [to be lesbian].” (Brown–Saracino, 374)
I guess I can use this opportunity to re-engage the question. Sarah (quoted above) understandably makes the point that Ithaca is lacking institutionalized and ritualized affirmation of the queer community’s presence and need for continued support. This seems to be an intra-group call to action for members of Ithaca’s queer community. That said, the lesbian community represents about 25% of Ithaca’s population and as Sarah said, many of the rituals and institutions do not exist in Ithaca because “You kind of don’t need it”. Despite this, Ithaca is not what they consider “Real Community”.
Is the queer community of Ithaca ignoring/under appreciating the privilege they have to coexist in ambient community? Is this an actual privilege? How much does Ithaca’s highly educated, 70%+ white demographic contribute to the queer community’s ability to experience ambient community? Is real community simply a function of group mobilization around marginalized identity? Or is it actually about authentic, positive relationships to people regardless of the reason? I’d love to hear others’ thoughts.