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Post by rachelcarson1953 on May 10, 2019 1:06:40 GMT
Is there a word that you would prefer to be called? It's been a long time since I've had a lot of contact with the community, so I am asking sincerely. Back in the 1990's, they were a large part of my social and professional contacts, but when I changed jobs, I had less contact. I prefer homo, if I am being referred to or identified by a sexuality. My main point rachel was, that I am not a part of this LGBTQIA thing though, just because I am not sexually attracted to women. It is all one community out there and this thing does not even really exist. Where is it, as opposed to the 'straight' community? Straight people and gay people are everywhere, around every corner, in every street, in every store. How do we even know if someone is bisexual? Just because they are with someone of the different sex, or same sex, doesn't mean they aren't sexually attracted to the other. Back in the 1990's, in the USA, it was a separate, and secretive community, because there was discrimination, and during the AIDS crisis there was fear. I was fortunate to be one of the few heteros to be trusted, so I saw an amazing community of support. I know you live in Australia; perhaps you have never seen the HBO movie "And the Band Played On" - it depicts the conflict during that time fairly accurately. Since that issue has passed and most intelligent people understand that HIV doesn't care about gender, the stigma has lifted. According to the scientists who studied the 'outbreak', it actually gained it's foothold in the IV drug using community first, but those folks weren't a cohesive group demanding that the Government take action along with the medial community. It's been a long time since I have been a part of those tight-knit support groups; the world has changed and my world is that of a small, rural community. Anyone in my town who is 'different' has fled to the nearby large metropolitan city. So I've had little interaction with anyone who isn't a white, straight, church-going farmer. Only when I am in the medical community do I have contact with any diversity, including race. Back in the day, some of my closest friends were gays and lesbians. It was a different time. I spend most of my time now with retired "crazy cat ladies" in the cat rescue group I volunteer with. But thank you for updating me on the current vocabulary. To me, we are all just human beings.
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