What's in a Name?

Hi -

My name is Andy Kravis, and I'm a 3rd year student in English (pursing an LGBTQ&S Studies Minor). My idea for an inclusive name (without, of course, being bulky), is 'the Office of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Affairs' (or if you prefer, 'Office for the Promotion of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Awareness,' but that's getting into the bulky area). The name is specific enough so as to include people who defy typical identification in any of those three socially constructed categories, yet it doesn't exclude people who classify themselves as majorities in those areas. Either way, the acronym is fairly easy to remember (OSGSA/PSGSA), though I don't know how "action-oriented" it is (or, for that matter, how "action-oriented" words in general can be).

Feedback is greatly appreciated!
- Andy

What about AGSA... "All Genders and Sexualities Accepted"?
Or OGSA "Office of Gender and Sexuality Acceptance"?
Or WAGSA "Welcoming All Genders, Sexualities, and Allies"?
It would be nice to have a name we can say instead of spell out. Feedback would be lovely :)

-Christina

What about the simple and direct:

Michigan Pride

I've been thinking a lot recently about possible new names and have heard a number of different view points at the several discussions LGBT Commission has had on the name change. Many people have said they want a name based around "Sexuality and Gender." I find this to be a good abstraction of what hold our community together. "LGBT" "queer" and other lists of letters all focus on these two characteristics. Some people have proposed "The Office of Sexuality and Gender" or "Center for Sexuality and Gender" or various alternative orderings with slight modification. Yet these lack the action-oriented side the current office has suggested. They also strike me as sounding like a department or academic program; the name sounds like the office studies sexuality and gender while in fact the key things the office does are "education, collaboration, advocacy, programming, and resource provision" (as opposed to research or investigative work).

What I would like to propose is:
Diverse Sexualities and Genders Unit (DSGU)
or Diverse Genders and Sexualities Unit (DGSU)

What I find to be valuable for the word "diverse" is that it establishes that the office is meant to be inclusive both of non-straight and straigh orientations of all sorts. It also suggests by its placement that the people that are of diverse sexuality and gender comprise the office rather than appearing to be a monkey in a cage (the study of sexuality and gender).

What I find to be effective about "unit" is that it suggests action and at the same time emphasizes that the office is part of a larger community. It also incorporates a wide range of ideas that make up what 'unit" is used to describe in the english language.
Consider:
ICU: Intensive Care "Unit"
Dual "unit" students: someone who is enrolled in two different schools at U-M
SVU: Sexual Violence "Unit" (Law and Order)
Military "unit"

Furthermore, the acronym is short enough and rolls off the tongue well enough.

It also functions in my mind better than a phrase, a single word (e.g. Pride, Rainbow), or a single verb because it makes it clear that the office is an institution (once again, officially part of the larger University).

Those are my thoughts up to this point. I hope they are of some value to this process!

Welcoming, action-oriented, fun, fresh, and inclusive to all:

Out & About

With the library and other resources the office provides, the 'about' portion can take on its meaning. If necessary, "out" could be put into quotations to make the purpose of the office more clear.

I am from Ferris State University where we have an organization called DSAGA which stands for Diverse Sexuality & Gender Alliance. It works, but I think steering away from acronyms might help to catch people's attention.

Just an idea... good luck with the process!

How about Rainbow Justice Center? Links with our ubiquitous visual, itself symbolic of inclusiveness. And Justice gets at the action-oriented aspect. And I like Center better than Unit or Department because it carries the feeling of being more... well, central.

Jenny Howard
LGBTA Speakers Bureau
UM Staff

For me personally, unit is too much of a medical model term that implies a disease than needs to be cured, which is something I would rather we try to avoid.

I say the Office for Gender and Sexuality (OGS) is probably the easiest for people to remember, least controversial, to the point, and accepting of all that identify with the LGBT office right now.