Last week, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Debra Chasnoff premiered her film “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up” in Dana Auditorium.
Chasnoff’s riveting and often funny documentary sparks dialogue about the effect of homophobia on gender roles in high school and how these issues affect all of us.
“Parents should see this film and see how their kids are affected by the rigid rules they deal with,” said Chasnoff to the Dana audience. “But people are afraid to talk about sexuality because you may have to talk about religion, heterosexuality, sex and love . and if perhaps you talk about homosexuality, they might become gay. But kids get it. They know what homosexuality is.”
Chasnoff’s film is a series of interviews revealing how teens feel pressured to conform to stereotypical gender roles for their public selves.
The audience chuckled as they observed a young man, attired in a purple velvet suit, slyly admit that his flamboyant attire was assembled not only to please himself, but also to shock teachers and “piss off homo-haters.” Yet, the viewers also shared the emotional pain of the handsome and earnest cross-country runner who couldn’t go to his prom with his boyfriend. He felt cheated of the time-honored tradition of the slow dance for fear of losing his hard-earned Eagle Scout badge.
The film was not exclusively focused on lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered youth, but about every teen that struggles with fitting in and public perception. The film opens with a group of high-school boys shopping for clothes. Similarly dressed in baggy pants, oversized t-shirts, and black jackets they let their opinions fly as they pick through a rack of t-shirts, each one held up for the other’s approval. One shirt’s colorful design prompted a teen to say, “If you wore that you’d get shot. That’s a pretty-boy shirt.”
It’s the fear of being labeled that has these boys so concerned with their attire and leads one teen to confess that he thinks hard about what he puts on in the morning: “I’m always thinking about what they want me to wear.”
Public image was on all of these kids’ minds.
“Being called gay is the ultimate insult,” said one young man. “Questioning someone’s sexuality is a powerful tool used to control someone.”
The brutal honesty of the high-schoolers surprised some audience members.
“These kids have just as many problems and pressures, it’s not just a gay issue,” said junior Andrew Smith-Tomlinson.
The teen’s candidness was fueled by their willingness to help, so that others won’t have to go though what they have had to. The filmmaker said she had no problem getting volunteers; however, if they wanted to be on film, she forewarned them that she would “only show the parts where you tell the truth.”
Audience reaction to the movie was favorable and struck a personal note for some.
“High school (is the same) no matter where you go. The kids in “Straightlaced” could have come from my high school in New Jersey or from Greensboro,” said senior Jamie Metrick. “No matter where you are, there is the pressure to conform to extremely specific expectations of a ‘typical’ teenaged girl or boy.”
Others viewed the teen’s experiences as emblematic of the institution of high school.
“Since I have been to Guilford, for me, these issues are not as prevalent. Still, it is sad to witness that what I experienced in high school two years ago still exists in 2009,” said sophomore Brian Daniel.
However, some viewers felt the film offered a glimpse into the here and now.
“It was a great insight as to what’s happening to this generation, though we also see a part of ourselves in this equation,” said sophomore Je’lissa Fowler. “I think on the outside, Guilford tries to portray this image of equality, but when you look beneath the surface, homophobic actions still take place.”International student advisor and Latino community project coordinator Jorge Zeballos agrees.

“Even though Guilford is a progressive campus, we all come with our baggage. A film like this helps us to deepen our understanding of important issues,” said Zeballos.
The “Respect for All Project” event was co-sponsored by the Guilford education studies department, the multicultural education department, Equality NC and PFLAG Greensboro, along with several other educational and community organizations.