“Women of Ole Miss” is a four-part interview series documenting the voices of women attending the University of Mississippi. Each part focuses on a different student, exploring their unique life experiences and accomplishments and what it means to them to be a woman.
Before 2019, there was no Gay-Straight Alliance at Madison Central High School in Madison, Mississippi.
“There were no pillars in the community that were openly LGBTQ+, and with that, there was nobody for queer kids to look up to,” Marissa Maatallah said. “High school is a time where you figure yourself out, especially your sexual orientation and gender identity, and a lot of people needed support.”
After initially receiving pushback from the school administration, Maatallah then reached out to organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union for support. After receiving this support, Maatallah got the green light from the administration to start the Madison Central Gay-Straight Alliance, which would assist in providing safe spaces for Madison Central LGBTQ+ students.
Maatallah accomplished her initial goal, but her LGBTQ+ leadership and advocacy journey was just getting started. Now a freshman at the University of Mississippi, Maatallah continues to make an impact on LGBTQ+ communities throughout Mississippi.
Maatallah’s advocacy, just like her environment, is a mix of the new and the old. A large part of Maatallah’s advocacy is working with statewide LGBTQ+ organizations she got involved with during her time at Madison Central.
Maatallah is also a board member for the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition, which focuses on improving educational environments for LGBTQ+ students in Mississippi.
“We do a lot of training for teachers, so if they see somebody being bullied who’s LGBTQ+, then they know how to intervene and make it a safe space for everybody,” Maatallah said. “We also had a Gay-Straight Alliance convention in the state during COVID-19. It was cool to do on Zoom because we could have people from all around the state come to the convention and share ways to get more members involved in Gay-Straight Alliances.”
Just like there was administrative pushback against Maatallah starting the Madison Central Gay-Straight Alliance, the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition often faces a similar challenge, she says.
“Just speaking about trying to start my own club, school administrators saw it as a way to talk to kids about sex, and that is not what discussing sexual orientation is,” Maatallah said. “We do our best to educate them, even though sometimes their bias gets in the way, and there’s a disconnect because of whatever beliefs they have.”
Maatallah is currently the vice president of the UM Pride Network and the membership coordinator for the UM Psychology Club. While Maatallah’s leadership of the UM Pride Network is rooted in her love for LGBTQ+ advocacy, Maatallah’s role in the UM Psychology Club is influenced by her aspiration to become a clinical psychologist.
“I’ve been in therapy and I think it’s a really helpful thing for me,” Maatallah said. “I just have a passion for helping people. That’s another reason why I try to get involved in organizations and represent communities that are underrepresented.”
As an LGBTQ+ woman in the South, Maatallah has had to overcome obstacles not only in her advocacy and leadership, but also in her personal life.
Maatallah met Molly Boes, a junior at the university and her girlfriend of five years, in middle school. As an adolesecent in an LGBTQ+ relationship, Maatallah dealt with homophobic interactions with peers as well as adults.
“I think in some aspects, college is better but definitely being in the South influences everything more,” Maatallah said.
Recently Maatallah and Boes celebrated their five year anniversary of being a couple and went out to eat in Oxford to celebrate. After telling the waitress that it was their anniversary, they were met with a homophobic response.
“She was very rude about it,” Maatallah said. “It really threw us off guard because we’ve been together five years and are really happy, especially because your server is supposed to be nice.”
The UM Pride Network hosts events, such as the upcoming Spring Gayla, meetings and gatherings that give LGBTQ+ students a safe place on campus. Although the Pride Network is a good start for LGBTQ+ representation on campus, Maatallah noted, there is still more work to be done.
“I think trying to go across campus and make sure that for different organizations, for the leaders to say that we are here to support you,” Maatallah said. “I think that would be good.”
Bringing more LGBTQ+ voices like hers to UM is another way that change can be made, Maatallah said.
“I think LGBTQ+ women should come to the University of Mississippi,” Maatallah said. “Representation and involvement from LGBTQ+ women is exactly what we need if we want to make places more progressive and evolve. They need to see that there are LGBTQ+ women who are showing up and taking charge and are not ashamed to be who they are.”
Marissa Maatallah’s story is a part of the four part series, “Women of Ole Miss.” This series will update every Thursday, with a new woman speaking about their experiences at the university and how that has shaped their experience as a woman. Esraa Al Shawakri will be featured next Thursday.
