Out.

A November 2007 study releasedby University of California LosAngeles’s Williams Institute foundthat the number of same-sex couplesin Fort Worth increased more than 10times since 1990. This trend is reflectedacross the nation with the number of”unmarried partners” increasing by fivetimes over the 16 year period, accordingto the study.The most dramatic increases werereported in socially conservative Southernand Mountain states, and Texas was noexception.David Jenkins, a social work professorat TCU and a member of Fort Worth’sgay community, said these numberssurprised him.”Fort Worth really doesn’t have a veryobvious gay community like a lot ofurban areas like San Francisco or OakLawn in Dallas,” he said. “I think timesare changing.”Though there may be more gay and lesbiancouples in Fort Worth, Harriet Cohen, alesbian social work professor at TCU,said the numbers can also be attributedto a changing attitude of both the gaycommunity and the larger society.The Williams Institute’s study lists severalreasons for the dramatic increase.Coming out: AcceptanceOne theory, the report cites, is thatcouples feel more comfortable with theirstatus as a cohabiting, same-sex couplethan in years past.Cohen said gay and lesbian people aremore proud of their sexuality and aremore willing to divulge their sexualorientation on census reports.”I think there is a maturing of the gayand lesbian community,” she said. “Wehave more self-confidence in who weare as people, and we are realizing thatbeing gay or lesbian is one of multipleidentities, but isn’t our only identity.”Jenkins said this maturing is leading tothe acceptance of the diversity of the gaycommunity.”Gay used to be fairly one-dimensionaland now it’s taking on different roles,like parents, older adults, men andwomen,” he said. “There is a maturing inthe community about what it means tobe gay, and we’re not ashamed of it.”Jenkins said confidence enables gays andlesbians to come out to the community,but it doesn’t mean there won’t benegative reactions.”When a gay person moves into a nongayneighborhood, they might getreactions of “Oh, yay! Someone’s goingto have a great yard and a nice house,’and others will say “Oh, yikes. A sinner,'”he said. “We can’t escape that.”Despite setbacks, Jenkins said progress isbeing made.”Sixteen years ago, we were in the middleof the AIDS crisis,” he said. “We weredying, we were overwhelmed and wewere hunkered down just trying tosurvive. We’ve moved past that now.”Jenkins said that there is a new strengthin the gay community that is empoweringgay and lesbian couples to be forthrightwith their sexuality, but the fear to comeout has not disappeared.”I don’t think we’ve totally come of age,”he said, “but we’re moving forward.”The migration: SuburbiaGay and lesbian couples are moving to thesuburbs more frequently than the generalpopulation, according the report. Jenkinssaid this is a result of feeling safer andmore accepted in society.He said Oak Lawn, in Dallas, was onceone of the more densely populated gaycommunities in the nation because itprovided a feeling of security that othercities couldn’t offer.”It was unsafe most every other placearound here,” he said. “That was one placein good old Texas 8212; in the Bible Belt 8212;for gay people to feel accepted.”But, Jenkins said, things are changing.He said same-sex couples in general nolonger feel they have to flee to these urbanareas 8212; “gayborhoods” as he called them8212; to feel secure. These areas, he said, canprovide community, but is often perceivedas an exile for homosexuals.”I think the urban areas were a good placeto hide, but I don’t think gay people arehiding anymore,” he said. “I think we aresensing now that we are welcome in otherareas.”Cohen agreed and said gay and lesbiancouples may not feel the need to settle inurban areas as they did in the past.”People aren’t flocking to those traditionalcities that had gay ghettos,” she said.”Gays and lesbians are more integratedinto the non-gay community and feelthat they truly have a place there.”Raising questionsWith large increases in the amount ofsame-sex couples in the U.S., Cohen said,there needs to be legislation supportingthis growing population.While TCU offers a health plan forfaculty in same-sex relationships, itis not a common provision for otherinstitutions, she said.”The fact that TCU has domestic partnerbenefits is one of the reasons that I endedup here instead of another university,”she said. “There are too few places thatoffer that.”Many couples are not able to get jointcoverage, even if they have been ina loving, committed relationship for15 years 8212; longer than the averageduration of a heterosexual marriage inthis country, she said.”There are over a thousand benefits thatheterosexual couples have that gay andlesbian couples do not have access to,”Cohen said. “While I’m excited that Ican cover my partner with medical anddental, we still have the issue of lifeinsurance and retirement. I would like tosee policy that is open and inclusive.”Jenkins shares this sentiment, and saidthere is a need for a legislative wake-upcall in the U.S. He said there is a needfor policy-makers to recognize the largepopulation of gay couples who are beingdenied the same rights as heterosexualcouples.”There was a TV show several yearsago called “Who Wants to Marry aMillionaire?’ where the contestants metand married a person the same night,” hesaid. “That woman and man had everybenefit and right that I will never have.It’s kind of a sad commentary on how we”value’ marriage.”The TCU communityJenkins said, like Fort Worth, TCUstudents and faculty have varying beliefsabout homosexuality. While some areaccepting and encouraging, others canbe judgmental and stigmatic in theiracknowledgment of gays and lesbians,he said.”I think TCU is trying,” he said.Blade Berkman, a sophomore at TCU, isa vice president of TCU’s Gay/StraightAlliance. He said the alliance has beena major source of encouragement andsupport for him and other gay andlesbian students.When he first came to TCU, Berkmansaid, he was looking for a gay organizationon campus and found the Gay/StraightAlliance.”It was really important for me to havethis place where there are other peoplelike me,” he said. “It is a safe havenwhere I know I am always accepted andsupported.”This is important at a university likeTCU, he said.”At TCU, there is more tolerance thanacceptance,” he said. “Tolerance is a stepin the right direction, but it’s not thesame as acceptance.”Berkman said he hopes that students willunderstand the need for a “gay-friendly”environment, and maybe even help stirup social activism around the topic ofhomosexuality. He said he has yet to seethis support at TCU.”People aren’t motivated or passionateabout things anymore,” he said. “As agay man, there are a lot of injusticesthat I’m interested in seeing righted inmy lifetime, and I want to be a partof it.”Berkman said his reaction to the WilliamsInstitute study was not one of happiness,but of relief that things are changing forthe gay community.”This is the beginning of a community inFort Worth,” he said.