Sunday's massacre at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, grimly changed the equatn, stirrg munal fears and swiftly promptg tighter secury at gay pri events
Contents:
- GAY MEN’S FEARS OF LONG-TERM ROMANCE
- HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?
- AFTER YEARS OF PROGRS ON GAY RIGHTS, HOW DID THE US BEE SO ANTI-LGBTQ+?
GAY MEN’S FEARS OF LONG-TERM ROMANCE
The night June 1969 that gay men fought police raidg the Stonewall Inn Greenwich Village marked the begng of wir acceptance of male homosexuals. * gay fears *
Internalized homophobia -- self-shamg, self-hatred -- leads many gay men, and many queer people general, to recreate their closets long after they're "out" by shunng others, particularly those they nsir "flamboyant. This parable piece by lbian wrer Sarah Prager go through the lp of great gays who changed the world -- om ventor Alan Turg to Tchaikovsky, the poser, to the Renaissance pater and ventor Leonardo da Vci. Fd a gay elr who's been where you are and r for your well-beg, someone who unrstands you and never pass judgment, someone who lets you make the mistak you need to make.
HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?
John Casey and New York Tim lumnist Frank Bni have an timate nversatn about what agg means to gay men. * gay fears *
There would be no ternalized self-hatred if no one had ever told you that beg gay is wrong, or that gay sex is disgtg, or that gay men n't feel real love, or that beg transgenr is fake, or that beg nonbary is a mental illns or a ll for attentn. If you thk a word like "gay" or "queer" works for you right now (aga, don't have to work for you forever -- labels do not e wh lifetime ntracts) and you're not ready to tell everyone, simply say out loud to yourself. And though not as physilly threateng, anti-gay slurs and lack of acceptance of sexual mori to muni and fai n also have vastatg psychologil nsequenc on gay and bisexual people.
Although there was a time which homosexualy was nsired a mental illns, is now clear through s of rearch that beg a sexual mory and of self is not a mental illns.
AFTER YEARS OF PROGRS ON GAY RIGHTS, HOW DID THE US BEE SO ANTI-LGBTQ+?
Unrstand health ncerns for gay men and other men who have sex wh men, and learn how to promote good health. * gay fears *
Rather, the experienc of homophobia, discrimatn, and stigma that LGB people are exposed to put the dividuals at a higher risk of velopg mental health issu due to chronic strs associated wh the experienc.
Perhaps one of the first rearch studi to shed light on this topic was Ilan Meyer’s landmark 1995 paper on the impact of “mory strs” on gay men livg New York Cy.
The rults of the study monstrated that dividuals who belong to a sexual mory group wh a heteronormative society are prone to high rat of ternalized homophobia (lack of acceptance of one's own sexualy), stigma, and experienc of discrimatn and vlence. For stance, a gay man who liv a state wh no legal protectns agast discrimatn the workplace is likely to be very worried about losg his job if his inty is revealed.
A slew of bills are rollg back recently won eedoms for gay people. Is Ameri ready to fight for LGBTQ+ rights all over aga? * gay fears *
However, spe changg laws and cultural norms, people still hold on to homophobic beliefs and act ways that promote willful ignorance and discrimatn that serve to put the muny at risk both physilly and psychologilly.