The Rainbow Connection [LGBTS Club]

[Shining Raichu]

Aaaa I have so much replying to do but I completely forgot about the LGBT Club until about five minutes before I have to leave for work, as always tends to happen in the daytime anyway just wanted to drop by and say a quick welcome to TwiDragon So, welcome! I'll add your name to the list now and I'll do everything else tonight!

[Jellicent♀]

Hola everyone. I believe I'd like to join the club, too!

I'm a gay guy in Louisiana, so seeing a support group or club of any kind is quite a rare thing here,, so when I saw you had one here, I decided to join!
(Of course I lurked for a while, first)

[Pudz]

I was hoping you'd join, Jellicent!

[TwiDragon]

I wouldn't be able to live long down there without loosing my mind. There are a lot of ignorant news storys from there that really make me mad.

Even though I'm in the "south". I'm in a very open area.
30 minutes away from a LGBT charity shop (If youve been to Richmond, you know what I'm talking about), and having one of the biggest GSA's in the state (county wise)

Hopefully you've lived through it pretty fairly :3

[Jellicent♀]

Haha, thanks, Pudz!

@TwiDragon: Ya know, it isn't as bad down here as the media makes it out to be. The only stories you see on the news are the more extreme ones. Usually we're met with decent support. The only reason the schools don't have very many GSA clubs is that it's the parents who go into uproar about it.
I am fortunate enough to have a very supporting family (with exceptions to my grandmother), so I really think that has helped a whole heck of a lot.

I've met bullies about it, but once they realized they just couldn't get to me, they backed off. I had the support of friends when it came to stuff like bullies, though. One of my friends at the time towered over everyone at school, seeing that he was 6 feet and 7 inches tall! So, when I was around him, no one bothered me too much.

[TwiDragon]

^I see, maybe I never dealt with bullying about it (besides immature elementary school stuff) is because I came out just last September. I was already situated with everyone I knew, and I had a supporting family.

Also, I made a thread in the poll section. It sort of relates to the group, and I would like any support I can get. Thanks ^-^

[QuilavaKing]

I actually kind of wish I had been out in high school, just so I could have joined the GSA. As far as I know, I've still never met a gay person in my life, lol. Then again, I never once had to deal with any bullying of any kind, so it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to give them ammunition like that. (I would have been a really easy target back in high school... but no one ever paid attention to me, thankfully.)

Hopefully there's one at the college I go to next year.

[Keiran777]

Hello Jellicent and Twidragon. :3

Originally Posted by QuilavaKing

I've still never met a gay person in my life, lol. Hopefully there's one at the college I go to next year.

What are the chances??? They're so rare!

[TwiDragon]

Unfortunutly the school's GSA is very limited in what they can do. The leaders do nothing but plan movie partys, and they don't do anything other than sit in the room and do nothing. I wish they would do something else besides "be a group of friends"

[AshleyKetchum]

Originally Posted by TwiDragon

Unfortunutly the school's GSA is very limited in what they can do. The leaders do nothing but plan movie partys, and they don't do anything other than sit in the room and do nothing. I wish they would do something else besides "be a group of friends"

I know at my school's (Which I never have gone too but heard rumors) They sit and just talk. not sure what they talk about since I have never been told. For all I know could be about the media and music. I feel for me knowing someone going though the same issue is more helpful. Maybe its just me though.

[Jellicent♀]

You know, that's pretty nice, too, though. In the first place there is only so much a group of students can do. Second, I would have loved to have had a group of friends I could just talk to. There aren't man openly gay people around her in Louisiana, and if there are any, they're not exactly the type I want to be friends with. So to have had a club in school where I could at least just chat with other gay guys around my age would have been wonderful, even if we weren't able to do anything within the community.

[TwiDragon]

Well, I mean I know there could be more done with the money instead of throwing partys. I'm an officer in anime club, and the other two leaders arn't exactley rich. Any funds for our club comes from out pockets, and we do a load of stuff. Some costly (for us), some not so much.

The GSA is ran by five people who seem to always have at least 100 on them, have jobs, and do all sorts of crazy things. I don't exactley know what they would do, but throwing partys and leaving money in the jar to do nothing is kind of wasteful

Thats how I feel at least

[Jellicent♀]

Yeah, that I can understand. That would irritate me to the max if I knew that. If they have all of that money then they should definitely do something more than just watch a movie. That can at least take them to a pride parade or something.

[TwiDragon]

Yeah, the only thing thats been done so far with the money is that shirts are being sold in the school store that say "*My school*, GSA" with a picture of peace sign and an eagle over it. Thats the only thing thats been done, and I don't know where the money is going towards. Maybe the school, a charity, the club? I don't know.

[Scarf]

Well, just having a GSA in the first place is doing a lot. It lets people know that there's a safe place and people who won't judge you. That could mean the difference between someone staying in school or dropping out.

[TwiDragon]

^True, but I still wish the club was able to do something with the income the club has.

[Shining Raichu]

Welcome, Jellicent! Sorry that took so long, I saw you joined days ago and wanted to say hi but kept getting distracted - when you joined the forum, someone on IRC linked me to your profile and said "I have a present for you" because you were a new gay guy XDD.

Originally Posted by Scarf

See, that's what I think part of the problem is. We've built the whole idea on the notion that no one can choose. It's a defensive stance. It reinforces the idea that only those things that are beyond people's control should be protected instead of using a better measure of things-that-don't-hurt-anyone should be protected. In general that's not a good way to look at the world. "It wasn't my choice" is not very far from "It wasn't my fault."

I also think it has the potential to alienate anyone who is confused or questioning or curious about their sexuality. Right now the message is: when you're young it's okay to be unsure, but once you grow up you'll now what you are and that'll never change. If someone does have some change in their feelings or identity beyond those initial years of puberty the message we put out there says "Well, if you think you're gay now it must mean that you were gay all along and didn't know it." I don't think that's a fair thing to say to a person. I think it ridicules their life up to that point by implying they were using a "false" sexuality or something along those lines. I'd also hate to see someone who might feel curious about their sexuality being forced back into a "No, I'm straight, I can't" mentality. That's bad for them mentally and emotionally.

I get that it's easier to get people to allow something if we say "It's not a choice," but that marginalizes people within an already marginalized group.

I find it really hard to argue this point with you because I agree with everything you've said lol. I guess in the end though, I'm just more of a results-based person, and not very patient. I'd much rather get there faster using what we've already built than changing the gameplan halfway through and dealing with more delays. "It's not a choice," which I would be so bold as to say is true of the vast majority of cases, is simply a far easier message to shove down their throats than "some people do choose to be gay, deal with it and accept us anyway".

[Jellicent♀]

Originally Posted by Shining Raichu

Welcome, Jellicent! Sorry that took so long, I saw you joined days ago and wanted to say hi but kept getting distracted :P - when you joined the forum, someone on IRC linked me to your profile and said "I have a present for you" because you were a new gay guy XDD.

xD
Well then, I feel like I should be wearing a big bow around me neck. But, thanks for the welcoming.
And yeah, I lurked and read the conversations for a little while before joining. It was interesting to see the topics everyone discusses around here.

[Scarf]

Originally Posted by Shining Raichu

I find it really hard to argue this point with you because I agree with everything you've said lol. I guess in the end though, I'm just more of a results-based person, and not very patient. I'd much rather get there faster using what we've already built than changing the gameplan halfway through and dealing with more delays. "It's not a choice," which I would be so bold as to say is true of the vast majority of cases, is simply a far easier message to shove down their throats than "some people do choose to be gay, deal with it and accept us anyway".

That's fine. Part of why I push for something more radical is to make more moderate views more acceptable. If you show someone who's anti-gay a gay person who just wants to be able to be married the anti-gay person will dig in their heels and say "no!" If you also show them someone like me you'd probably see them much more likely to find some acceptance in their hearts if for no other reason than to keep "worse" things from happening.

[TwiDragon]

Hmm, a discussion on choice? For me, I slowly got into my "gay" side through looking at fan art of crossdressed characters and traps. I then started to open up with more Yaoi, starting to be fine with Yoai, just as I am with Yuri.

I wouldn't know if this would be choice, or if it naturally flows. I mean I didn't choose to get "interested" with the content, but I did choose to continue on and go deeper within the Yaoi and other gay things.''

I really don't care if its choice or genetics. I'm fine with what I like! It does nothing wrong for being gay or bi to society except for make certain homophobes mad.

[QuilavaKing]

Originally Posted by TwiDragon

Hmm, a discussion on choice? For me, I slowly got into my "gay" side through looking at fan art of crossdressed characters and traps. I then started to open up with more Yaoi, starting to be fine with Yoai, just as I am with Yuri.

I wouldn't know if this would be choice, or if it naturally flows. I mean I didn't choose to get "interested" with the content, but I did choose to continue on and go deeper within the Yaoi and other gay things.''

I really don't care if its choice or genetics. I'm fine with what I like! It does nothing wrong for being gay or bi to society except for make certain homophobes mad.

More or less the same story for me. One day I just googled something that I had never googled before... and yeah.

Believe it or not I think that's the first time anyone has actually said yaoi, yuri, or trap in this thread, lol. I've been avoiding it though, because I figured people would think it's too inappropriate. I'm not sure if that's true or not though. lol

[TwiDragon]

^I wouldn't think so, I mean Yuri and Yaoi describe a type of genre in anime and jap-artwork.
"Trap" is a word that could get to someone, but in my dictionary it goes under "A guy who crossdresses"
and obvious a "Reverse-Trap" is the female equivlent.

[AshleyKetchum]

Yeah I think there is a difference between Yaoi and Yaoi where there doing naughty stuff. I mean lots of fans don't realize it but theres a lot of Yaoi moments in Naruto. Actually most of my fav anime people are reverse traps or the regualar bi shounen males. Isn't there a yaoi kiss in Sekirei?

[AshleyKetchum]

Originally Posted by Pudz

I really do dislike that term (trap). Though, to be technical, a reverse-trap would be a part~

You dislike the word only or the meaning? What do you call it?

[TwiDragon]

Well, Yaoi and Yuri is normally the "extreams" of Anime Gay and Lesbian pariings. There is a term for stuff that doesn't get farther than a blush and a kiss on the cheek. I can't think of the term though,

Also, does one of those shows happen to be Host Club? <3 I love that show

^Well, its a tag I commonly use for browsing. "Crossdressers" would be the better term to use as its more recognizable, and is a tiny bit more PG. However, they are words to me and mean the same thing. :x