LGBT
I can’t say I have no regrets ... I have a couple, this is one: A while ago at a party someone commented on the Safe Schools program in Australian schools.
In describing the aims of the program, the Safe Schools Coalition Australia reports that 75% of same sex attracted young people experience some form of homophobic abuse or bullying. A staggering 80% of young people experienced abuse and bullying while at school, more than anywhere else.
The Safe Schools Coalition Australia [SSCA] is a group of organisations focused on LGBT people in schools. Its mission is to create safe and inclusive schools for students, families and staff who are in these groups.
The person made her point by asking, “would you want your school kid to be exposed to the LGBT issues raised in the Safe Schools program?”
Her inference being that tuning in to the issue could damage children (possibly convert straight kids to be gay!) A related issue, the conjecture that growing up in a family with same-sex parents could be detrimental for the children, gets short shrift: 'No evidence':
Medical groups rubbish 'red herring' claims about same-sex parents
We were at a gathering where responding as I would have liked to, would have caused discord. But I regret not having stood by my conviction and say what I feel about the issue. I would have - and should have - said:
“Oh yes, indeed ... the issue is pertinent even for very young children.
"To begin with, gender identity confusion is not a matter that should be ignored or suppressed ... it is an issue that people are born with, where children as young as three or four may have an inkling there is something wrong with their outward gender, as opposed to the gender they feel is truly theirs. So if my six or eight year old grandson would express some gender identity confusion, I know he would get all the support he needs from his family ... and I would hope also from his school.
“The point here is that children - pre-teens and teenagers - who are thus confused and who don’t get the support they need - who furthermore are bullied, abused and teased - are going through a living hell. This is borne out in the suicide rate of teenagers due to bullying on account of their sexuality. I wrote a blog about a case in point (blog 762), and the picture of that thirteen year old boy haunts me to this day.
“So, in answer to your question: With your comment you make it obvious that you are ignorant of the issue … are you aware that your stance is responsible for sending gay children to hell and them committing suicide?”
I have essays LOVE and LGBTTTIQQAHHL in my book en.light.en.ment
The question is again brought into focus by the current YES / NO "survey" on the issue of marriage equality (Update: YES - SMH). Below are links to a few SMH articles that shed light on just how damaging and destructive this survey is (and below those headlines are some LGBTTTIAQQ Terminologies and Definitions):
(To get a handle on this issue, please read AT LEAST the first two paragraphs of the first two articles)
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Same sex marriage debate leads to psychological distress
Lilly, 5 years old, with her big brown eyes and long brown hair with ribbon matching to her school dress, wants to know why "everyone hates me". Lilly is just one of many lesbian, gay and transgender children, confused, dismayed and depressed by the marriage equality survey. A teacher had tried to explain the postal survey to the class, mindful of Lilly's orientation.
As a toddler, Lilly only ever played with dolls, evincing no interest in cars, building blocks, or balls. She refused to wear shorts and became adept at losing them at the earliest, and most embarrassing opportunity, usually in supermarkets and shopping centres.
The extent of her gender orientation first became obvious when, being herded into a group at child care, and standing with girls, she was directed to stand with the other boys. "But I'm not a boy," Lilly allegedly exclaimed. She became inconsolably distressed as the educator attempted to explain the difference between boys and girls and why Lilly, born a boy, fitted that gender. Lilly sobbed all day until her mother, in desperation at 10 that night, told her she could be whomever she wished. Lilly has worn dresses and skirts, her favourite being a Queen Elsa dress, since that week and is fully accepted as a girl at school.
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'No evidence': Medical groups rubbish 'red herring' claims
about same-sex parents
____________________________________________
Same-sex marriage could 'prevent 3000 teen suicide
attempts a year', say health groups
Mental health groups sound alarm
over dramatic same-sex marriage survey spike
Malcolm Turnbull must take responsibility
for postal survey mental health concerns: Bill Shorten
Doctors' group ramps up same-sex marriage campaign
despite conservative backlash
Malcolm Turnbull makes conservative case
for same-sex marriage at 'yes' launch
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LGBTTTIQQAHHL-P Terminology and Definitions
Lesbian
A female who is physically, emotionally and/or spiritually attracted to other females.
Gay
Generally refers to a male who is physically, emotionally and/or spiritually attracted to other males. May also refer to females who are attracted to other females, as well as the gay community in general.
Bisexual
A person who is physically, emotionally and/or spiritually attracted to persons of both the same or opposite sex. A person born with mixed sexual physiology; a sex is often “assigned” at birth, though this practice is under attack as violating one’s well-being.
Transgender
While most people's gender identity matches the anatomical sex with which they were born, some people's does not. A person whose gender identity is different from his or her anatomical sex may (or may not) elect to undergo chemical and/or surgical alteration. Many transgendered people have heterosexual identities. Since both the legal system and the general public tend to discriminate against them similarly to discrimination against other sexual minorities, organizations have enlarged their mission statements to include transgender persons.
Transsexual
A person who not only has a transgendered identity, but who relates themselves physically, emotionally, and mentally as a member of the opposite sex. Surgical procedures are sometimes undergone to physically accommodate this identity, and so transsexuals are often referred to as either “pre-op” or “post-op.”
Transvestite
(Cross-dresser): Person who enjoys wearing clothes identified with the opposite gender.
Intersexual
Intersex is a word used to describe people who are both with atypical sex characteristics. Intersex relates to a range of congenital physical traits or variations that lie between stereotypical definitions of male and female. There are many different forms of intersex variations, as such, it is an umbrella term rather than a single category.
Questioning
An individual who is currently questioning his or her gender or sexual identity.
Queer
Originally a term used in a derogatory sense, many LGBT youth have embraced this word and given it a rebirth. It can be described as a broad umbrella term for anyone who may identify as being either gender, sexually and/or bodily diverse.
Androgyne
A person who relates strongly to neither the male nor female gender.
Homosexual
A person who is sexually attracted to members of the same sex.
Hermaphrodite
A person who has both male and female genitals and secondary sex characteristics.
Ladyboy
Thai: Kathoey or katoey, is a transgender woman or an effeminate gay male in
Thailand. A significant number of Thais perceive kathoeys as belonging to a
third gender - including many kathoeys themselves - while others see them as
either a kind of man or a kind of woman.
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Paraphilia
Sexual deviation ... conditions in which sexual
excitement or orgasm is associated with acts or imagery that are considered
unusual (potentially illegal) within a culture. The most common paraphilias are:
Exhibitionism
exposure of genitals in
public
Fetishism
the use of atypical, nonliving
objects, situations, fantasies, behaviours
Frotteurism
touching and rubbing against
a non consenting person
Pedophilia
the focus on prepubescent children
Voyeurism
watching others engage in undressing
or sexual activity
Masturbation
the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals
Sexual,
erotic fantasy
mental
imagery or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexual arousal; it can be
triggered autonomously or by external stimulation such as erotic literature,
art or pornography
BDSM ... a variety of erotic
practices or roleplaying, involving:
Bondage
consensually tying, binding, or
restraining a partner
Discipline
the dominant sets rules which the
submissive is expected to obey
Dominance and Submission
... of one person to another in an
erotic episode or lifestyle; physical contact is not necessary and D/S can be
conducted anonymously
Sadomasochism
Sexual arousal through inflicting
pain on another person
Masochism
Sexual arousal by having pain and/or humiliation inflicted upon oneself
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Gender Identity
Many people equate being gay with being effeminate and being lesbian with being mannish and assume that gay men really want to be women and lesbians really want to be men, but that is a mistake. Gender identity is distinct from sexual orientation. Gender identity, the sense that one is a male or a female, is usually manifested by the age of 3 or 4 years.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation, the sense that one ought to claim a gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual identity, does not manifest itself until much later in life, usually after puberty and often not until full adulthood. People who insist that, for example, a man who wants a sexual relationship with another man actually wishes he were a woman are, in effect, denying the reality of same-sex desire and insisting that everyone really wants to be (and really is) heterosexual. This is offensive.
Coming Out
This phrase has several different meanings. Generally, it denotes the act of telling someone that one is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or whatever. Usually it means making a public or semi-public declaration of one's sexual orientation.
Outing
To "out" someone is to declare their sexual orientation publicly without their permission.
Closeted
The opposite of being "out," being closeted means that one's sexual orientation is concealed or presumed to be heterosexual. Because of repressive laws, discrimination in employment and housing, violence and harassment, and other kinds of oppression and abuse, most non-heterosexual people elect to closet themselves at some points in their lives or with some groups of people all their lives.
Homophobia
Just as individual people can be racial, ethnic or religious bigots, individual people can be homophobes or can suffer from homophobia. Homophobia is the fear of homosexuality and homosexual people and of all things associated with homosexuality. Some people who experience homophobia simply avoid gay and lesbian people, places, events and topics of conversation; others actively abuse non-heterosexual people verbally and physically.
Heterosexism
Sometimes, even if individual people are not bigots or homophobes, institutions and cultural norms may be discriminatory or even oppressive by favoring heterosexual people at the expense of non-heterosexual people. Such institutions and norms are heterosexist, and people who do not protest against them or resist them also may be said to be heterosexist. Not all heterosexists are homophobic, but all homophobes are heterosexist.
Hate Crime
Assault, rape, arson and murder are crimes under any circumstance, but when the victim of such a crime is chosen simply because of his or her affiliation with a minority group, the FBI considers the crime a "hate crime." In some states, hate crimes carry an additional penalty beyond the standard penalty for assault, murder, etc. Virginia law allows for stiffer penalties for violent crimes committed against people simply because of their affiliation with a religious, ethnic or racial group. However, it does not allow for stiffer penalties for violent crimes committed against people simply because of their affiliation with a gender or sexual minority group.
Stonewall
On June 28, 1969, New York City police attempted a routine raid on the Stonewall Inn, a working-class gay and lesbian bar in Greenwich Village. Unexpectedly, the patrons resisted, and the incident escalated into a riot that continued for several days. Most people look to this event as the beginning of the American Gay Liberation movement and all subsequent LGBT movements.
Gay Pride
This is a common name for celebrations commemorating the Stonewall riots. In most cities Gay Pride is held in June (although in Richmond it is usually held in August or September). Activities usually include a parade, booths, speakers, workshops, picnics and musical entertainment.