Questions posed by students on campus
By Mounia Abousaid and Rachel Hampton
How do you decide you’re gay?
That’s not really how it works. When did you decide to be straight? People largely discover that they’re gay quite simply – by realizing that they’re attracted to someone of the same sex. It’s not something that one considers and then decides on. It’s natural.
What is it like to deal with homophobia?
Homophobia is an irrational fear or antipathy towards homosexuals or homosexuality. Dealing with it is horrible – it is essentially a group of people telling us that they believe a large part of our identity is invalid, that they think of us as inhuman and unnatural just because of who we happen to be attracted to. Think about it. How would you feel if you were walking along with someone you love and a person stopped you and said, “Your significant other has pointy ears. Therefore you are going to hell and I think that you are less than me, that you deserve to be fired from your job and bullied and discriminated against in all walks of life.” People are betrayed by their friends and hated because of homophobia. They lose their families and live in fear, terrified that the next person they come out to might do something terrible in response – whether that is a loss of friendship or physical violence.
What does LGBT stand for?
LGBT stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender. Lesbian and gay are fairly self-explanatory. Bisexuals are attracted to people of both sexes – this does not necessarily mean that they are attracted to everyone who walks by, just that it is possible for them to be attracted to both men and women. A transgendered person is a person born knowing that they are not the sex that their physical bodies are. For example, a baby might be born whose physical characteristics are that of a boy, but as this person develops they realize that they mentally identify as a woman. Technically the acronym is much longer and more nuanced – in fact the definition of transgender is much more complex and broad – but this is a bit of a crash course.
How does coming out work and why do people come out?
Coming out is the process by which a person reveals that they are part of the LGBT community, to their friends, family, coworkers, etc. The process and the reasons that people come out are intensely personal and individual. In general, being in the closet is extremely uncomfortable – it involves a great deal of hiding and lying, feeling as if the people you love do not know or understand you. There are purely practical reasons as well – dating is a hell of a lot easier if people know who you are open to dating. Also, people desiring to switch sexes through surgery or other methods usually feel the need to explain to their loved ones the changes which are going to occur – instead of just showing up and saying, “Hi, Mom. Yeah. I’m a boy now. Always have been, actually.” There are also legal reasons in these cases, such as switching sexes on official documents.
Do gay people bring anything positive to society?
Yes. We bring people. The LGBT community contributes to society regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
