From Towleroad:

Gallup has revealed the results of a recent poll showing support for marriage equality at 53 percent, the third consecutive reading of 50 percent or higher in the past year.

Another poll shows the largest-gap ever measured between those who favor ‘nature’ over ‘nurture’ when it comes to sexuality.

Gallup states that, currently, 47% of Americans view being gay or lesbian as a sexual orientation individuals are born with, while 33% instead believe it is due to external factors such as upbringing or environment. That 14-percentage-point gap in favor of “nature” over “nurture” is the largest Gallup has measured to date. As recently as two years ago, the public was evenly divided.

Read more at the Gallup here.

1 month ago · 13 notes · Source

Submitted by thevoicesproject :

Growing up, coming out and learning to speak THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE. 

THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE

‘The aim was to pick up chicks by sounding like a Frenchman. Hasn’t really worked out yet.

In THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE 17 year old Charlie struggles to find the words to be true to himself…and his best friend. 

A wry, delicate take on first love and awakening sexuality from a young man’s perspective, THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE is written and performed by Kim Ho, under the mentorship of leading Australian playwright Tommy Murphy, and directed by Laura Scrivano, for The Voices Project from the Australian Theatre for Young People (atyp)

Don’t miss this folks. This is a must-watch.

2 months ago · 204 notes · Source

Some may feel that it is possible to love a person and not accept that he or she is gay. I don’t think so. Loving a person means loving a whole person. We don’t get to pick and choose the parts. Sure, we can hate the fact that someone is always 20 minutes late, or be infuriated about a 15-year-old’s new nose ring. But those aren’t defining characteristics. Our orientation is a fundamental part of who we are. Loving someone but hating the fact that he or she is gay would be like loving someone but hating the fact that he or she has arms or legs.

And what about those parents who do “accept” and “tolerate” their gay children? I guess that’s better than it could be. They’re better parents than those who throw their children out of the house or abuse them for being gay. But does any kid deserve to settle for mere acceptance or tolerance from his or her parents? Words like “accept” and “tolerate” do not indicate good things; in the context of homosexuality, they imply that there is something wrong with being gay that parents have to put up with. That is not a good message.

Every child deserves to be loved for exactly who they are, so I think it’s about time that we change how we talk about our gay children. Let’s abolish the words “accept” and “tolerate” and replace them with “cherish” and “celebrate.” When we cherish and celebrate who our children are, then maybe the scared gay kids in this country will stop worrying about whether their parents will “still” love them and will simply know they are loved unconditionally.

—  By Amelia, Huffington Post Blogger, from the piece titled “’Accept’ and ‘Tolerate’ My Gay Kid? That’s Not Good Enough”. Click here to read the full piece.

2 months ago · 167 notes · Source

Anonymous asked: “What does "Questioning" mean ? Sorry , I'm rather slow .”

Hello anon,

Questioning is one being unsure and/or exploring their sexual orientation, sexual identity and/or gender which can be due to various reasons. It is also referred by the letter ‘Q’ in LGBTQ* acronym sometimes that refers to either queer or questioning.

According to the American Psychological Association:

“Adolescence can be a period of experimentation, and many youths may question their sexual feelings. Becoming aware of sexual feelings is a normal developmental task of adolescence. Sometimes adolescents have same-sex feelings or experiences that cause confusion about their sexual orientation. This confusion appears to decline over time, with different outcomes for different individuals”

To learn more, visit the related page on Wikipedia here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questioning_(sexuality_and_gender)

Hope this helps and don’t hesitate to ask more if you need.

Best wishes, 

4 months ago · 1 note

Stripping The Label
by James Vong on Vimeo

Submitted by glad-you—came 

4 months ago · 23 notes

'Strengths and Silences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in Rural and Small Town Schools'

Rural lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students feel less safe, face heightened victimization and have fewer supportive resources than LGBT students in suburban and urban areas, according to Strengths and Silences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in Rural and Small Town Schools, a new study released today by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN). 

KEY FINDINGS

Hostile School Climate and Student Victimization

  • 87% of rural LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 45% reported being physically harassed and 22% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.
  • 68% of rural LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 31% reported being physically harassed and 16% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their gender expression.
  • 91% of rural LGBT students heard “gay” used in a negative way (e.g., “that’s so gay”) and 79% of LGBT students frequently or often heard other homophobic remarks (e.g., “dyke” or “faggot”) at school.
  • 3 in 5 (61%) rural LGBT students heard remarks about students not acting “masculine” enough; 42% had heard similar comments about students not acting “feminine” enough frequently or often at school.
     
  • Rural LGBT students reported feeling unsafe in specific school spaces, most commonly locker rooms (45%), bathrooms (44%) and physical education/gym class (37%).

Presence of Interventions and Support

  • 11% of rural LGBT students reported having an LGBT-inclusive curriculum (i.e., having been taught positive things about LGBT people, history, or events in their classes), significantly less than the 18% of suburban and 20% of urban students.
     
  • 39% of rural LGBT students whose school computers had Internet access said that they could access LGBT-related websites, compared to 44% of suburban students and 44% of urban students.
  • 27% of rural students reported having a GSA at school, compared to 55% of suburban students and 53% of urban students. But when there was a GSA at school, rural students were more likely to attend than urban and suburban students.
  • 25% of rural LGBT students reported having a school administration supportive of LGBT students, compared to 35% of students in suburban schools and 36% in urban schools.
  • 28% of rural students reported that other students in their schools were accepting of LGBT students, compared to suburban (33% accepting) or urban (46% accepting) areas.

Key Differences By Locale

  • Rural LGBT students reported feeling less safe than students in suburban and urban areas and rural students living in the South and Midwest were more likely to feel unsafe based on sexual orientation than were students in rural areas of the Northeast or West.
  • Rural LGBT students heard most types of biased language more than urban and suburban students, particularly with homophobic remarks being particularly significant.
  • Rural LGBT students were more likely to feel unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation (71% vs. 62% of suburban and 58% of urban school students) and gender expression (49% of rural students vs. 42% of suburban and 42% of urban students).
  • Rural students were more likely to report discriminatory policies or practices against LGBT people by their school or school personnel compared to suburban and urban students.
  • Rural LGBT students were significantly less comfortable talking about LGBT issues to school personnel than either urban or suburban students.
  • 36% of rural LGBT students had missed class and/or a day of school in the past month due to feeling unsafe, compared to 30% of suburban LGBT students and 30% of urban LGBT students.

The above content is from GLSEN’s ’Strengths and Silences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in Rural and Small Town Schools’ study. Click on the title (link) above or click here to read more.

To download the full report, click here [PDF File].

6 months ago · 295 notes

Anonymous asked: “So I thought I was a lesbian, and I told it some of my friends (only good reactions). But in the last few months, I sometimes thought about having a relationship with a guy and how nice that would be maybe and I think I might like guys a little. But I don't want to be into guys, even if that would be 'normal'. Maybe I want to be lesbian cause I already told that my friends and don't want to tell them sth different now? I don't know what to do or to think. Can you help me? What should I do?”

Hello anon,

As I always say, never rush on coming out and never be afraid to discover your feelings and attractions. You might have came out just because you realized you are attracted to girls without even giving yourself a time for discovering more. You might be bisexual at the end and or just a lesbian who is curious about how it would be like to be with a guy, those are all normal feelings and desires. 

You can’t be lesbian just because you want to, you can’t force yourself to feel what you don’t, and why would you not like to ‘be into guys’? And being into guys would not make it ‘normal’.

Just focus on whom you find attractive, your feelings and desires, don’t be afraid to explore, don’t rush on labels and coming out. Think about whether you are attracted to men in physical / visual aspect only or not. Think about your life in future, can you see yourself in relationship - building life together - with a man? 

Check out the below links as they would be helpful:

Be who you are, don’t be afraid to love.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask more if you need to.

Best wishes.

7 months ago · 7 notes

How to Come Out as Bisexual

  • Step #1
    Ooh, he’s hot! Wow, she’s so cute. Wait? What is this? Am I lesbian? Am I gay? Am I straight? What the heck is going on?!

  • Step #2
    Hey! Angelina Jolie, Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, and Brett Easton Ellis have all called themselves bisexual? What is this word, “bisexual,” and how come it’s not spelled with a hyphen? Should I be gay and then be straight, or vice versa? How long do I get to make up my mind? 

  • Step #3
    OK, after talking to friends and telling people I’m bisexual, it’s not really working out. Gay guys don’t want to date me, because they think I’m still in the closet, or that I’ll leave them for a woman. My friends insist that my relationship history decides my orientation, so I’m going to have to be gay. I can’t be straight, so is there another word I can use that won’t make people think all these horrible stereotypes about me? Oh, look at that: “pansexual”! I like pans, or Pan, or a word that means I can love and/or lust regardless of gender! Oh, what do ya see there, something called “sexual fluidity”? That’s also pretty appropriate, because my sexual/romantic attractions could change over time. 

  • Step #4
    OK, now that I’ve been fluid and/or pansexual for some time, it doesn’t feel like it’s enough. I know now that “bisexual” can describe me, no matter what type of relationship I’m in (or not in). We have to band together, or else these lesbian, gay, and straight people will think they keeping running into the same bisexual over and over again! Why not use bisexuality as an umbrella term for all of us who are not lesbian, gay, or straight? 

  • Step #5
    Oh, you don’t want to use the term “bisexual” because you believe it reinforces the gender binary? Don’t you know that’s just internalized monosexuality coming out to bite you? I see, you have a problem reclaiming a term that was once used as a clinical designation? Oh, you’ve been assured that bisexuals don’t actually exist, much like unicorns or diet Dr. Pepper? Can’t self-identify using a term that people have considered a slur in the past? Well, you’re just not bisexual enough! 

  • Step #6
    I’ve now spent enough time being part of a bisexual community to understand that one word will never be enough to describe our awesome diversity. I’m OK calling myself bisexual, and if you want to be pansexual, fluid, queer, and/or live without labels, I shall embrace you and call you my brother, sister, or sibling. After all, what fits for one person doesn’t fit for another, and what is our orientation if not flexible? I’ll tell everyone I meet about the different ones so numerous that people often forget to count us.  
The content above appears on Huffington Post Blogs, by Faith Chelthenham, President of BiNet USA.

Note: Keep in mind that September 23 is Global Bi Day or Celebrate Bisexuality Day (CBD).

9 months ago · 58 notes · Source

asexual-not-a-sexual:

I was looking at military valor medals, and couldn’t help but think how cool they were. So I decided to make a set of medals to identify the various orientations. (I could make a remark about how each person, regardless of orientation, has their own “valor,” but I’ll refrain from being that corny.)

Just a side note: If you think labels and classifications are stupid, unimportant, or silly, that’s your business. However it’s important to respect those who still choose to classify themselves. Likewise, it’s important to respect those who choose not to classify. It’s all good, whatever you choose to do. Yeah~ 

(Actual size is 20x24”, and larger files can be sent for print and educational purposes [for free]. Contact me for more info.)

11 months ago · 27,879 notes · Source · Reblogged from imfromdriftwood

Anonymous asked: “hi im going to start by saying that i am gay :], and i was reading one of your answers to an anon ask where u say we are born this way, and i would like to state that i don't think that we are "born this way", we are made this way by a collection of happenings in our lives like our personality we are not born with the personality we develop it in our thought our lives, and that we use the argument we are "born this way" seems like an excuse, it should be "I am this way" no excuse needed forfact”

Hello anon,

I respect your point of view, but let me tell you that none of us is using this as an excuse, why would we need an excuse or for what? It is not an excuse, it is just we simply saying “we are not different than you”. We are trying to state that “you were born straight and I was born gay, it’s that simple, it’s just a different sexual orientation”.

I don’t believe sexual orientation is something that is developed like a personality, affected by what we go through. In fact, and unfortunately, almost all of us is being raised with being assumed as straight since we were born, we’re treated in that way, so according to what you say, we must have all been straight, but here I am a gay guy who is constantly fighting with homophobia, then I should have told myself “people seem to not like it, I should become straight” but we all know it’s both impossible and insensible, and I didn’t say such a thing, and I will never say so.

If the whole “born this way” deal is making you think we are using it as an “excuse”, sorry for the wrong impression but we aren’t. I, personally, am proud of being gay, being a part of an amazing community, and I’d not change it even if it were possible, why would I? 

No matter what you believe, just understand that it is not an excuse, and we’re all proud.

Feel free to share your opinions more if you would like to.

With my best wishes,

- Arda

11 months ago · 4 notes