hopes

Oh!! Phobia is a fear of something. For example, arachnophobia is fear of spiders!! It all depends on the prefix too. A "homophobe" is a person who has homophobia. Does that make sense?

@MK I don't want to argue with you. I do not believe that my statement about religion is stereotyping; the statement that beliefs cause conflicts is a true one. People who believe different things are bound to have disagreements. And I never specified only religious beliefs, compared to personal beliefs -- which are also inherently connected. There was also never a "trap" set in the first place. @Balthazar Google "definition of homophobia" and you'll have your answer. The literal definition of the word is "dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people." @Hobgoblin Thanks for the clarification!! I get where you're coming from. And thank you very much for your kind words! I once again ask that we bring an end to any of the debates over this here. The thread is here solely to share support and acceptance, not to cause disharmony among the DCW community if some disagree with LGBTQA+. It is not to argue over whether or not it should be legal; I was hoping this would be more for updates on the subject and for people being able to share their personal experiences as a member of the LGBTQA+ community. Allies are certainly welcome, but again: this is not here to argue about. I am not trying to make this thread exclusive or anything like that, I only want to restrict the debating as much as possible because that isn't what this thread is for. I hope everyone understands what the purpose of this thread is. Please, please keep this in mind. Thank you!! As mentioned earlier, I identify as akiobisexual demiromantic, so I am gray ace and gray aro!! I like having a label myself, but I know many -- like Jean -- also don't like having one too! My boyfriend is transgender as well as queer. Many of my friends are also part of this community, so it is very important to me!! @machine I apologize for not responding to your previous post about your gender identity and orientations. Those are great, and I'll definitely make sure to use those pronouns for you!! I agree wholeheartedly with your statement of gender expression =/= gender identity. I really wish this was more understood by others, and I wish it was more common for people to use they/them pronouns if the person's gender is unclear before assuming female or male just by the way they look.

I apologize for my phrasing, I will correct it to "many wars". I was more referencing wars in the past, rather than modern warfare, that is my mistake! However, I am a bit confused in regards to the mention of WWII and Hitler though, because it most certainly did include religion, particularly in regards to the persecution of million of Jewish people. I do honestly believe, in my personal opinion, that religion is a cause for many conflicts. It stems from people's beliefs, and those contradict each other constantly. But just because it is a cause does not mean it's the only cause; I am by no means accusing religion for being the thing that caused all of the world's problems!! I would just like to highlight that religion is most definitely a big part in this issue, we cannot ignore that. And in response to MK -- if you feel uneducated, you always have the choice to educate yourself. No one is preventing you! I apologize again for the assumption of avoiding them, but typically you want to avoid something that irritates you, yes? I disagree with a few of your phrasings and the reasoning behind it, such as "average Joe" -- how can anyone be "average" in such a diverse society of race, gender, religion, orientation, socioeconomic status, and disabilities? But again, this is my personal view on the subject. ^^ Thank you for sharing your opinion, dude!! I greatly appreciate it, and I would like to remind everyone who is reading this topic that this is about tolerance and acceptance, not necessarily debating being for LGBTQA+ or being against it. This is a sensitive topic that affects many people, and we are not trying to start an argument or cause aggression; this is a safe space to know there are people supporting you if this issue directly affects you as it does my life. Please keep in mind the core reason this thread was created!! Edit: also thank you machine!!!! Your points are very accurate and I am grateful for your elaboration on the subject. *high five for aces!!*

Okay, okay, so a lot has been going back and forth, and it sounds like some good stuff has been said. machine has said several good things that I agree with, and MK has said a few things I just like to point out/elaborate on!! These "gender norms" are constructs of society, and I honestly and thoroughly believe that we should not be teaching men to act in such a manner. There's nothing "weak" in regards to things that are considered more "feminine" such as crying, showing physical affection, and being more open about our feelings. In fact, I think those things can be extremely important when it comes to having effective communication between any two groups or more of people. Second, those are only stereotypes and stereotypes leave a bad taste in my mouth. Please don't make any assumptions about this group of people. I understand that some members who identify as homosexual of the LGBTQA+ community can be flirty and overly dramatic, but so can any other group. And saying that you want to avoid that group of people solely because a few people can act in such a way is being discriminatory, but you seem to already understand that. Thirdly, I request that you don't continue to refer to the LGBTQA+ community as "gays". The LGBTQA+ community is filled with diverse orientations, not only homosexual people. It is incorrect to refer to us in such a way, and I personally find it extremely exclusive. How much more difficult is it to type LGBTQA+ over "gays"? Only a few letters. Thank you. I know many religious people who still follow the church, well, religiously. It still has power, and always has been. Many wars in history have been fought because of religion, and it still has tremendous influence. And to say they get "no persecution" is an absolutely incorrect statement. Please look here, and feel free to google "hate crimes against lgbt" and see what comes up. Even if it'll "probably be hard to change" doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to dissuade use of that phrase, as some people in the community may be uncomfortable with it. It's the same as when using the phrase "that's so gay" offended many people, especially when it was used in regards to something that wasn't even human. And for that last part, can you blame them for being so focused on it and advocating for it? People are thrown out of their homes for coming out to their families, they're scared. People commit suicide because they feel like they can no longer continue to live with their gender identity. It is a pressing issue, one that should be brought to everyone's attention. And this is a huge aspect of their life, so of course they're going to talk about it! It's the same as you being passionate about something you like, such as Detective Conan, for instance. You want to talk about it with your friends because you really like it. It's the same, except this can BE their entire lives. Just something to keep in mind. Thanks!

Oh my gosh, thank you for bringing this up. This is extremely important, and again, thank you for drawing our attention to it. Rest in peace, Zander. ... Ahh, yes, I saw those Valentine's too!! I actually sent a few of them to my friends, and my boyfriend gave me an ace one, hehe. They're very nice, and I'm so glad to see that the tumblr community has been raising awareness for the ace/aro/gender communities, rather than solely focusing on only the LG (and only occasionally B ) part. Thank you very much for putting some explanations about gender there; it's unfortunate that so many people still aren't as familiar with these definitions. I would also be very interested to hear you talk more about your gender identity, if you are open to it!! What pronouns would you like us to use? And I'm very glad to hear that you've discovered these terms. I myself am gray aro and gray ace, being demiromantic and akiobisexual respectively. I only recently found out about the term "akio", and I'm very happy I did!! High five for being aroace buddies!!

so a lot has happened over the last few years!!! 37 states in the US so far have legalized marriage equality since the last time i checked, which is great news!!! only 13 states left to go. i would also like to bring up the topic of Leelah Alcorn. rest in peace. i think the emphasis on transgender people is very important in this community and we should not erase them. this also goes for asexual and aromantic people, particularly the latter with the recent date of valentine's day. any commentary people would like to add? feel free to bring up anything, i would love to get this topic active again!!