[Nelson A.]

I've noticed more and more that discussing whether you are straight or gay/lesbian with others has become an absolutely normal thing, something mainstream. To me, it seems fitting to ask if you're male or female, young or old, in high school or college, Protestant or Catholic, and even your income and social status, which are natural and normal, everyday things. But if it's OK to ask if a person is gay/lesbian in sexual orientation, then you also have to include hermaphrodites and transsexuals in gender, and pedophiles and zoofiliacs in sexual orientation; otherwise it's unfair to those extreme groups. What has led the gay movement to become so powerful and influential and so near the goal of becoming as accepted as male and female, young and old, educated and uneducated, Protestant and Catholic, etc.?

User Detail :  

Name : Nelson A., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 30, City : Caracas, State : NA Country : Venezuela, Occupation : Lawyer/Business, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Normand O. L.]

The way in which homosexuality was declared normal was by a vote of professional psychiatrists in 1972, I believe. Presumably, pederastry could also be declared normative via a vote. Part of the reason this sort of behavior has become accepted lies in the increasing reluctance of more and more Americans to say forthrightly "this is wrong" and "that is right." To do so is to invite charges of intolerance, homophobia, mean-spiritedness, etc.

User Detail :  

Name : Normand O. L., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 50, City : Alameda, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Mechanic, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Craig]

They didn't take a simple vote. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association declared it was not a mental illness after 35 years of research that found that "Homosexuality per se implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability or general social and vocational capabilities." The American Psychological Association agreed in 1975. Recently the American Psychological Association has been accused of supporting child sexual abuse. The APA came out with an official statement to the contrary. I suggest that if you are going to make the insulting claims that you are, Normand, that you take the time to research what you are being told, and to back it up with fact.

User Detail :  

Name : Craig, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, 

[Patrick S.]

The gay movement didn't become so powerful and influential by itself. Gay people have become open and honest about who they are and have educated more people around them. It's hard to make a powerful statement by yourself. But, we're not by ourselves anymore. We're becoming more accepted because we're coming out and saying who we are. People who didn't know gays before are finding out that they've always known us. We're their family members and friends; and they're finding out that it's no longer a secrete topic. It's as normal as man and woman.

User Detail :  

Name : Patrick S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 24, City : Dallas, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Programmer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Craig]

Perhaps you have trouble differentiating between a man and a woman having a loving, sexual relationship, and a man who rapes women, molests little girls, females dogs, a female corpse, etc. Most of the world seems to understand the difference between consenting and non-consenting relationships, though, and have taken the time to find out that heterosexuals and homosexuals aren't all that different.

User Detail :  

Name : Craig, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, 

[BB23282]

I think that comparing homosexuality with people who abuse or want to abuse children is totally wrong. Being homosexual is perfectly natural and has nothing to do with harming people or animals. It is perfectly normal and proper not to accept pedophiles, as they do get pleasure from causing pain and suffering. I'm not so sure about the zoophiliacs part - I find the whole thing disgusting, but if the animal is willing, it becomes difficult to say why it is disgusting.

User Detail :  

Name : BB23282, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 24, City : Leith, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jim C.]

Double standards are fascinating things, unless you are a victim of them. Sexual orientation and relationship status are not a private matter, they are very public. Heterosexual people use titles like Mrs., wear wedding rings to announce their availability from across a room, use body language to be "obvious" about being coupled, or just with a friend, or single. If one starts to think about it, a long list of ways that heterosexual society publicizes status of romantic attachment practically writes itself.

It's no different for gay people; all these things exist for us, too. What is new is that every day these are being hid less and less. We're no longer invisible. When you see my partner and I holding hands, and our two children treating us like the parents we are, it is no longer possible to imagine we are just roomates, brothers or buddies. We're a couple and a family, and that is what we look like. We have all been here all along, but we're not hiding anymore.

User Detail :  

Name : Jim C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 42, City : Rochester, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Medical Tech, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Chris H.]

To expand on Jim's response, I think a lot of it also has to do with our awareness of ourselves. By that I mean that we stopped letting other people tell us what we are, stopped believing everything we're told we are and stopped being afraid. I see a correlation to how being black isn't such a "horrible" thing anymore. Once people get past preconceived notions about others and see them for what they are, they realize that gays are just like everyone else. We have our bad guys and we have our good guys. The only difference now is that we don't feel ashamed of ourselves anymore. But it's not just gays not being ashamed anymore. It's a raising of consciousness of everyone. People are more intelligent. And we, meaning everyone, aren't afraid to question things and think for ourselves. Therefore, we're not afraid of differences anymore. This site is a perfect example. We actually want to become aware of each other.

User Detail :  

Name : Chris H., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 33, City : Lafayette, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : Legal secretary, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Larisa-M]

I think that in the process of building up a culture, a lot of harmless behaviors get grouped in with the harmful ones. For example, going outside naked is a harmless act - it hurts nobody. Yet it is not allowed by this society. Nothing terrible would happen if we were all to go naked in hot weather - it's just not allowed because of an arbitrary social rule. I view the prohibition against homosexuality to be a similar arbitrary social rule. It does not hurt anyone if a person decides to engage in a sexual act with a consenting person of the same sex - if they both want it, and aren't hurting anyone else, whom does it hurt? Since the prohibition against homosexuality was hurting quite a lot of people, this rule is getting changed. The difference between homosexuality and things like pedophilia is that homosexuality occurs between consenting adults - pedophilia or zoophilia involves a non-consenting child or animal. And I think that anything consenting adults do in their own bed is their own business.

User Detail :  

Name : Larisa-M, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineering student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[travis]

Why is it okay to discuss being gay or lesbian today? The answer lies in some strong people of past generations. People who were willing to stand up and say they were homosexual. People who were willing to put themselves on the line to show the world that homosexuals were (are) normal, to show the world that homosexuals were able to do more than society was then willing to admit. It was those strong people who dared to challenge society. Personally, I thank them. As far as I know, this has not yet been the trend for many of the other groups mentioned.

User Detail :  

Name : travis, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : DeKalb, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : technology director, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Al]

The increasing awareness of sexual orientation and the desire to discuss and compare among friends is indeed a product (maybe good, maybe bad) of the gay 'revolution' of the last 20 years. Certainly people deserve to be judged and dealt with on a fair and impartial basis - gender and choice of orientation should have nothing to do with fair competition for employment; the provision of housing and all manner of social services, etc.

However, there exists a certain element in the lesbian and gay community that wishes to annoy and harrass anyone not of their orientation. I cannot imagine anything more counter-productive, but it is a factor I observe almost on a daily basis in my city. The increase in mutual discussions is most likely due to a heightened awareness of and acceptance of alternate sexual orientations. My personal feeling is: 'Fine, do what you like; only don't bother me or my family. When my kids are old enough to understand themselves, I'll accept whatever choice they make. Until then, I am not bound to promote gayism just because other straight people damn it; and I have no intention of granting greater favor to a gay person (over a straight person). I insist on everyone being evaluated on their own merits - not as part of any special interest group.

User Detail :  

Name : Al, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 49, City : Ottawa (Ontario), State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : audio engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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