Art is meant to provoke, so don't censor it

The LGBT community has long dealt with issues of censorship and hiding who they are. Don't talk about your sexuality. Don't dress like a woman when you are born a man. Don't kiss your girlfriend or hold hands with her in public. Don't be gay, or lesbian, or bisexual, or transgender.
But what if that censorship comes from within the community?
It's not a new issue, but one that many believe we should all be past. The gay community should embrace transgender people. Black and white LGBTs should work together. Bears and butches, unite. Twinks and femmes, harmonize.
Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen – and it's a subject up for debate right now, in our very own Michigan LGBT community.
On May 15, an exhibit is supposed to open at Affirmations – but it isn't. Photographs of femme performance by local lesbian artist Kristin Kurzawa were already hung on the walls of the Pittmann-Puckett Gallery when the decision was passed down to cancel, or at least postpone the show. Affirmations claims that the judgment was based upon the fact that the photos – some depicting full-figured women in sexy or scant clothing – were inappropriate for the family-friendly center. To put it simply, the photos, Affirmations said, were "too sexual."
Kurzawa calls it blatant censorship of a small section of the LGBT community that she says is often neglected or looked down upon: sexy, feminine, curvy lesbians. She sees her photos as sexual and beautiful, not dirty.
Says Kurzawa:
"If the gay and lesbian community center can't support the work of queer people about queer communities, then who can?"
This is a complex issue. No one would argue that children should be subjected to nudity, sex or other R-rated material – but who's to say Kurzawa's work is R-rated? There's flesh, but no nudity. It's sexy, but there's no sex. It's provocative, but not vulgar.
We think the community deserves to see it and judge for themselves. The great thing about art is that it provokes debate and conversation – and isn't open conversation about sexuality the very thing we in the LGBT community encourage? Yes, someone might get offended. But any art that doesn't provoke emotion – even if it's anger – is hardly worth a second glance.
The LGBT community is a diverse one. We have families, but we also have the leather community and dance clubs that, on a weekend night, make Kurzawa's artwork look like a Disney movie. We have promiscuity, but we are also teachers, parents and politicians. Some of us are conservative, and others are quite liberal. That's not to say that the parts of the whole always mix – but the parts that don't necessarily appeal to the masses should not be ignored.
Kurzawa's photos of femmes have already been displayed at the Shaut Gallery in Ann Arbor, and Affirmations should follow suit. The merits of showcasing this oft-ignored and misunderstood part of the community far outweigh the possibility of complaints by parents. Femmes are part of our community. Let's give them the spotlight for a change.