Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students have faced many obstacles throughout history. But for the last 20 years, the Ten Percent Society has been providing the UW-Madison LGBT community with support and is currently the largest LGBT organization on campus.
Today, the Ten Percent Society, which refers to the approximate percentage of people who identify themselves as LGBT, celebrated its 20th birthday.
In 1983 TPS first became a resource for, at the time, gay and lesbian students. According to co-president Shane Wealti, the TPS has since welcomed bisexual and transgender students into the organization.
The group formed in response to two major events in the gay rights struggle. In 1979, there was a major march for gay rights in Washington, D.C., and in 1981, Wisconsin passed legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
\Student organizations were among the people at the forefront of the gay and lesbian movement in the late '60s early '70s,"" said Anne Henke, assistant professor of LGBT studies certificate program.
The consensus among many UW-Madison experts and students is attitudes toward the LGBT community have improved since 1983.
""Some of the works students have done in the past 20 years have been critical for making it very easy to have queer student groups on campus,"" Henke said.
According to sociology professor John DeLamater, there has been an increase over the last 20 years in support for civil rights for gays and lesbians as well.
He added that although there is more support for rights for the LGBT community, overall public opinion regarding the issue is very slow to change. Even in light of new court decisions supporting gay marriage, DeLamater pointed out that public opinion usually takes about eight to 10 years to catch up with some court decisions.
Groups like Sex Out Loud and the Ten Percent Society seek to fight against sentiments toward what DeLamater calls a ""sex negative society"" that is ""hostile toward alternative forms of sexual expression.""
These groups work together on many issues including World AIDS Day events, Sexual Health Weeks, and Coming Out Week.
The TPS also has seven dances a year catering to the LGBT community that are open to anyone. The dances are well-publicized and generally popular, group members said.
""I identify as straight but I go to TPS dances all the time,"" Sex Out Loud Project Coordinator Meghan Benson said.
""It's a place where you can feel comfortable,"" she said. ""Anyone can go to the dances and you meet a lot of great people.\
