 "Photo: Jason Johnson")
Robyn Ochs said the small, double-sided hatchet she wears around her neck sometimes becomes a toy for her 10-month old nephew.
Otherwise, she said, it serves as a symbol of lesbianism and identity inspired by independent female warriors of the Amazon centuries ago.
"But," Ochs said. "I'm not a lesbian."
Ochs, a long-time activist and scholar, explained that different sexual identities are fluid in society during her presentation called "Crossing Lines: Identity and the Sexuality Spectrum" in Lawson Hall Wednesday night.
Bisexuality is just one identity in a forest of identities, she said. Ochs said she gained notoriety by simply being one of the first to talk about the idea of being attracted to both men and women.
A spectrum of sexuality exists though many people prefer to adopt one of two labels, she said. Labeling things as straight or gay, male or female, or black or white might be considered easier and safer, but it's not realistic, she said.
"Straight people are in this big box ... and gay people are over here in a much smaller box," she said. "Though maybe much more tastefully decorated."
To illustrate her point, Ochs asked the audience to anonymously fill out a questionnaire that used a scale of zero to six. Zero meant the individual was always attracted to members of the opposite sex, while six indicated the individual was always attracted to members of the same sex. The survey asked about various points in the audience members' lives. Ochs then collected, shuffled and redistributed the surveys.
Half of the roughly 60 people stood at the front of the lecture hall next to corresponding numbers Ochs had placed on the floor. As Ochs asked them to "identify" during different times in their lives, the audience members shuffled between 0 and 6 and back again.
"You see, it's almost like someone took a black marker and drew a line across," Ochs said. Rather than clear-cut groups, one or more individuals represented each number.
The assumption that defined groups exist sometimes makes being bisexual harder than identifying as gay, said Stephenie DeArcangelis, a junior from Crete studying creative writing.
"I find myself having to prove myself in both worlds," she said.
Virginia Dicken, GLBT Resource Center coordinator, said she brought Ochs in because students requested her and that her presentation was refreshing and interactive.
"I'm certainly hoping it will move the conversation (of sexuality) forward a little bit," Dicken said.
However, where someone is from and how he or she is taught can hinder that dialogue, said Andrea Krueger, a senior from Milford studying mortuary science.
"And then people don't even have a word to describe themselves," she said.
Diana Soliwon can be reached at 536.3311 ext. 253 or dsoli@siu.edu.
