I hold the personal conviction that LGBT individuals should be encourage to assimilate into the the dominant culture and the ideals that it holds. It's not to say LGBT individuals are the only membership to exhibit deviation from the dominant culture, we have all watched the Jersey Shore and multitude of crap reality tv as well as our personal experiences to affirm this, generally, young populations are more divergent from the past generation, its culture, and ideas, recently than it has this group has in the recent past. However, the representation is disproportionately lower of LGBT individuals that are involved in strict monogamy, non-club scene, drug-free, ect than compared to heterosexual youths. This difference persists with each age groups, perhaps more disproportionately with age. Some major reasons being, family rejection of their LGBT children, restrictive public policy (DOMA, DADT, State Anti-Gay Marriage Bans, Ect), and an overall negative interaction with those who are in the dominant culture which tends to direct LGBT youth away from the dominant culture in order to "santize" it from impurity. There needs to be an integration of the "gay world" with the "straight world". Like racial minorities, LGBT communities are becoming more prevalent and sanctioned off, establishing a divisive culture where one kind lives here, while the rest do not.
As I said, the personal bias comes into play given that it is extremely difficult for myself to attain certain goals as far as my personal life goes since a few standards, such as illicit drug-free lifestyle, employment/education, personal financial responsibility, and a strict desire to adhere to monogamy completely filters out at least 90%+ of potential dates. And those, that have a genuine goal to have a family, including children, in the future, usually this is the final nail in the coffin. Not to mention, on the several dates I have been on (not that many as of recently due to general pessimism), my dates are often expecting more than I am willing to give on a first date, or even a second, third, or fourth...I simply refuse to concede on any of the standards either and for that reason, I have not been in a relationship of any kind in...wow, it's exactly 3 years this month. Heck, these are just prerequisites! and, I honestly don't think they are that unreasonable.
Beyond my own sentiments, I believe that the LGBT community would be more satisfied in life if they were able to have the things aforementioned, that are expected and revered by the dominant culture and further accepted by the dominant culture. Though, I see great optimism in the change in the public's attitude and public policy regarding the LGBT community, I wonder if it's too little too late for those of us already exposed to ill will. Also, I fail to understand why "conservatives" often push for the two cultures to be distinct, that is to say, if the LGBT culture must exist at all, often pushing for policy that limit integration or acknowledgement of the LGBT culture. While, "liberals" often ascertain that there is no issues regarding the demographic of the LGBT community while clear statistical data shows a significantly higher prevalence of substance abuse, drug abuse, unsafe sex, non-monogamous relationship legally recognized, or lack of desire for marriage and/or raising children in comparison to their heterosexual counterparts statistically speaking. Though, these groups goals are to advocate public policy to extend rights, which in actuality ignores many vital concerns. These issues, given they are the foundation upon which the divergence of cultures exists, also plays a role in thwarting integration of LGBT communities into the dominant culture; of which, non integration into this culture often leads to a lack fulfillment in life and/or alienation from the entirety of society.
