Community

Did I every tell you I am a lesbian? Probably not. That is usually not the first thing I tell people when I meet them. I AM GAY!!! I am an OUT, PROUD, LESBIAN! There! So now that that is out of the way I can now speak of my wonderful community of LGBTQ!

I have been out since college, as well as most of the lesbians in my generation. We have come out in college or a little later. I am proud of my community, we are fun, caring, loving women who just want to have fun and be who we are.

Community is what counts in our lives. It is what we as out LGBTQ need to keep going, keep living, and keep loving who we are. It also is like a second family. Since many (again I am speaking from my experience, not stating facts or anything) primary families dislike us. They verbally abuse their gay kids and some even through them out of the house. They end up on the streets alone with out any place to call home.

We help each other in the community. We take in homeless gay youth and we help them to be proud of who they are. The Pride Parade helps us to convey our pride to the world, and help bring others out. That is the best tradition of the community, coming out. Everyone has a story, some good, some bad, some so inspiring that you just know in your hart that who you are is the best there is.

My out story is simple. Came out to myself in college, worked with it till I was comfortable with it, then in my late twenties told my family and they were fine with it. That is it. My mom even gets involved in the community here and there. Witch is great for me. Single yes, but always looking for a great woman to have in my life,(any woman out there want a great lady as a partner?)

I am sure what I am telling is nothing you haven't heard before being that now kids in high school are coming out! witch I find fantastic. I contribute kids coming out to the Gay-Straight Alliances that are popping up all over the place in schools to bring our community to the forefront and I say well done to them. They work hard to educate people about LGBTQ and that is another wonderful example of how a community should be.

All of the organizations The Task Force, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, Gay-Straight Alliance, and Equality Illinois just to name a few organizations that are a major part of our community. There are so many groups that support us that it will take hours just to name them all and each one is a vital part of all our lives because with out support we will be drifting in a sea of loneliness and hate.

Speaking of hate, I have not so nice words to say about the religious right and most straightes (straight people), but in this online world were things can be miss construed I will keep it to myself. I will simply say that I am against the religious right and most religions all together because they don't help us. They don't like LGBT and they remind us all the time they want to get rid of us. So why should I, an out lesbian, want anything to do with any religion?

And those straightes, well I will just say I am against most straight people. The very, very few that are our allies are OK, but I just can't stand straightes, they bore me and seem (to me) to be just as liam and silly as religion. I have never met a straightes that sounded ( yes I will be slightly insulting) intelligent or seem to have any idea of who they are and what they want, or had any ideas at all. Hell they even make jokes about us and don't seem to care. I mean really I just can't stand them.

Oh believe me I can go on and on about what I am against, but I really rather talk about what I am for witch is my LGBTQ community! My community that is pushing for change everywhere and is making everybody see what equality really stands for. We come together every day, week, year and we strive to change harts and minds to what the world really can be.

I see a wonderful future for my fellow LGBT and it is coming!! Our rights are coming, our lives are coming, and our loves are coming so look out world WE ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE QUEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE LGBTQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!