I do reckon that the biggest, most influencing factor out of all of these (that which has a direct effect on the others) is the second category. At the risk of sounding like a humanist, it is that human “factor” that truly brings it home for folks. Once people realize how un-extraordinary gays and lesbians are in comparison to their het counterparts then paradigms shift, policy’s change, and Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin throw hissy fits.
(Source: sixpacktrending, via powerpussysays)
"As we enter a new decade, a new generation is redefining what it means to be LGBT. In the not so distant past it was easy to differentiate between the butch and the effeminate, the top and the bottom, the male and the female, the gay and the lesbian, and so forth. Nowadays there are terms that are the exception to every rule. The non-gender conforming. The gender-queer. The poly-amorous pansexual. The gender-gifted. The same-gender loving. What does it all mean: one can only guess, much less assume. In the end, combining them all, we would definitely end up with an eclectic LGBTQQAINGCGQPAPGGSGL potpourri that one would not be able to explain. With these emerging LGBT identities, do we now see a rainbow of terracotta instead of a red and an orange? How about a teal or a magenta? In efforts to continue to educate society about the diversity, fluidity and intersectionality within the LGBT community, where do we begin? And more importantly, where do we go from here? At this time, we need to take two steps back to be able to see the mosaic, the woven tapestry we call life. So next time anyone feels that the LGBTQQAINGCGQPAPGGSGL equation is not inclusive of their gender identity or sexual orientation, let’s be cognizant of how the Ls, the Gs, the Bs, and the Ts might be impacted."
"Allies are those who turn on the light in the dark and neglected corridors I’ve come to know so well. I’m referring to those hopelessly dim labyrinths that have been forged by the underside of an internalized heterosexism—where depression, anxiety, and self-loathing reside. For so long I had wandered those halls as afraid of my sexuality as I was of my happiness."
A good, short history of conversion therapy, reparative therapy, and the intersection of mental health and gay politics. Thanks Rachel.
"Sexuality without spirituality becomes boring and addictive and even cynical; spirituality without sexuality becomes disengaged and diseased, that is, disincarnated."
- Matthew Fox
