I was immediately drawn to the case of the New Jersey Seven by the initial outrageous media coverage. The first thing that caught my attention was the likening of these young women to animals. Numerous media reports branded them as a gang and compared them to a wolf pack. It is my contention that neither the media nor prosecutors would ever condemn in those same terms either white women or straight women caught in similar circumstances.

An article written by two female reporters that appeared in the New York Times on August 19, 2006, particularly struck me. The headline referred to Dwayne Buckle, the alleged victim, as an “admirer” of the very same young women that he ultimately accused of assaulting him. Yet I doubt that there is any woman today who has not at some point in her life been sexually harassed or “cat-called” while walking down a street or standing in a public place. I think it needs to be stated that there is a massive difference between “admiration” and sexual harassment, between freedom of speech and threats of rape or sexual assault, between “no” and “yes.” The difference is respect. I believe that the women who wrote the Times article displayed racism, homophobia, gender bias, and classism because they could not identify with the possibility that the New Jersey Seven were victims of sexual harassment. I believe that articles such as theirs contribute to a dangerous environment for all women and for all gender non-conforming people.

Dangerous and intolerable environments are exactly why people seek out safe spaces. Such spaces offer an encouraging and reliable place where people who are otherwise marginalized or oppressed, people who daily experience social prejudice, can confidently expect to be safe and comfortable. They are havens that welcome and accept, places in which to share common struggles, experiences, and ideas, but, most important, places in which people can just be themselves. This is what had drawn the New Jersey Seven to West Village. For such individuals who are subject to higher incidences of violence and alienation, it is both a rare privilege and a relief simply to be in a place to feel comfortable, supported, and safe.

Currently, same-sex marriage is the LGBTQ issue that gets the most media attention. Unfortunately, it is primarily an adult concern. The immediate day-to-day need of many LGBTQ youth, particularly youth of color, for safe spaces and personal safety gets little coverage. I believe that the case of the New Jersey Seven (eventually, the New Jersey Four) represents a grave miscarriage of justice and reveals many of the ways that society punishes lesbian women of color for challenging the gender status quo.