Same Sex Relationships at Duke

From an administrative standpoint, Duke provides numerous resources in support of the university’s homosexual community. The Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Life is one of the more active organizations on campus and regularly offers discussion groups, social events, and ally networks where members of the Duke community can express their affirmation for homosexuality. Additionally, Duke students who choose to come out have the opportunity to receive counseling and graduate mentors to discuss any concerns they may have about coming out.

However, the consideration and support afforded by the LGBT center and other student affairs groups to make homosexual Duke students feel comfortable with their sexuality does not represent the treatment they receive from other modes of campus life. Within the context of the Duke “hook-up culture” which largely defines the university’s social scene, being openly gay can be incredibly challenging and intimidating. This social bubble, in which alpha-males and promiscuous girls are generally the center of attention, is based almost entirely on heterosexuality. According to a member of one of Duke’s fraternities, “It would be almost impossible for a gay person to join our fraternity without feeling uncomfortable. Not because anyone in our frat is homophobic, but because so much of what goes on in our fraternity revolves around trying to hook up with girls. Someone who wasn’t trying to hook up with girls would just feel out of place a lot of the time and would be viewed as somewhat of an outsider.” Even outside of the Greek-life culture, however, openly gay Duke students often find it difficult to attain complete acceptance in the social scene. One gay male student, who will remain anonymous, openly wondered whether he would have been better off attending a school with a student body that has more diverse lifestyles than Duke, such as NYU. Furthermore, those Duke students who are open about their homosexuality and are entirely comfortable with it are often accepted but treated completely differently from their straight peers. According to one student with an openly gay friend, “It’s probably hard for him because since there are so few openly gay students in the Duke social scene, he becomes the “token” gay student and therefore a lot of people expect him to act in a certain way and say certain things that are characteristic of gay people, instead of treating him the way they treat any other guy.”

While Duke students are accepting of homosexuality and blatant homophobia is rarely seen, there is certainly a sentiment that it is difficult to find complete acceptance and comfort as a gay individual in Duke’s “hook-up” culture. Gay students are not treated maliciously but they are treated differently from straight students, which sometimes causes them to feel like outsiders.