News and Society

How does LGBT stands for. LGBT communities. What is LGBT?

July 11, 2014

In our time, every person can defend their rights. To do this, he only needs to join a community of interests (as one of the options) or by common views on different things. There are many associations of people who seek to improve their lives or ... prove a point. Communities of this type direct their activities to achieve certain results, goals, or to combat problems that have arisen.

In addition to certain communities, there is the concept of "movement". It also consists of various groups of people who share common views on life or certain things. They strive to prove their point of view to the world, they want to be heard. Among these formations, LGBT people are singled out. Who it is, or rather, what it is - not everyone knows. So let's try to figure it out.

What is LGBT?

One thing is clear - this is an abbreviation. Among tens of thousands of different communities, there are a lot of those whose name consists of only a few letters. But what do they mean? For example, many are interested in how LGBT stands for. In simple words, this is a group of people united by their views and principles of life. They are often referred to as gay communities. They include representatives of various communities, groups of communication, currents, quarters and organizations.

But why LGBT? The decoding is simple: a community of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. All people who consider themselves to be part of this formation are united by common problems, interests and goals. In any case, LGBT representatives consider themselves full members of society, which they are trying to prove to others, since many do not recognize their views and lifestyle.

LGBT movement

In addition to the community of gays, lesbians and other representatives of sexual minorities, there is a special LGBT movement. It includes all the same people with a non-traditional orientation, but they are active in order to prove their rights and live as full-fledged individuals in today's society.

The LGBT movement, whose abbreviation consists of the first letters of four words - lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, stands for the equality of citizens, sexual freedom, tolerance, respect for human rights and, of course, the eradication of xenophobia and discrimination. In addition, the main goal of the participants is the integration of people with a non-traditional orientation into society.

Community history

The history of the LGBT movement dates back to the time of World War II. Yes, yes, oddly enough, but at a time when it was not only embarrassing, but even scary to ask a question about how LGBT is deciphered, a society of people of non-traditional orientation already existed, and every day there were more and more supporters. People slowly gained courage and ceased to be afraid of the reaction of society to them.

In general, the history of society is divided into five long periods: pre-war, post-war, stonewall (gay liberation uprising), AIDS epidemic and modern. It was after the second stage of the formation of LGBT that the ideology in society changed. The post-war period was the impetus for the formation of gay neighborhoods and bars.

Community symbols

The LGBT community is a formation that was formed by people who have the same views and interests, namely a non-traditional orientation, which in our time is perceived in completely different ways. In the course of the development of an unusual organization, its own symbolism appeared. These are special signs that have a meaning and a unique origin. They help to navigate in society and distinguish their like-minded people, supporters. In addition, the symbolism demonstrates the pride and openness of the community. It is quite clear that it plays a special role for every gay person.

Signs symbolizing the LGBT community are the rainbow flag and the pink triangle. Of course, these are not all designations, but they are the most common.

Earlier, during the Second World War, homosexuality was considered a big crime, for which the government punished, a person was prosecuted by law. Homosexuals were forced to hide. The LGBT community as a public organization was founded by the US government in 1960, after which the life of all representatives of sexual minorities has improved significantly.

Equality for sexual minorities!

"LGBT - what is it?" - many people ask, and having learned the decoding, they perceive such unions as something frivolous. In fact, the power and action of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community should not be underestimated. After all, it is thanks to him that all LGBT people can now enter into legal same-sex marriages, and no one has the right to condemn them for this.

Throughout the entire period of the existence of the community, it tried to achieve a change in legislation in favor of sexual minorities. After all, the main goal of LGBT is the protection of human rights and its social adaptation. It should be noted that this organization was once opposed by the anti-homosexual movement, which does not recognize LGBT representatives as equal members of society, or religion does not allow them to accept them.

In addition to the fact that sexual minorities fought for human rights, all of them have long dreamed of marrying each other. Previously, this was unacceptable! In this regard, same-sex civil partnership did not suit gays and lesbians, they needed official legalization of relations and family. Even the possibility of adopting a child was not ruled out. Eventually, thousands of gay couples were granted permission to enter into same-sex marriages.

Right to Adoption

Few people know how LGBT stands for, but this does not mean that people should not be interested in it. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders fought and continue to defend their rights. And absolutely not in vain. After all, after a lot of effort, they were still allowed to enter into same-sex marriages. A little later, gay couples had a desire to raise a child. Thus, another problem arose - adoption. The LGBT is seeking the right to have a child, and in some countries members of sexual minorities are able to do so. The problem is only in establishing the parent. Many social services don't understand how to register mom and dad as guardians when they're both female or male.

Activities of the LGBT community

It should be noted that LGBT (an abbreviation whose meaning is now clear to you) is successfully engaged in social activities. The community organizes various events, including original film festivals, competitions, concerts, sports competitions, photo exhibitions and flash mobs, theatrical performances and more. The purpose of these events is the adaptation of people with non-traditional orientation. A feature of the event is its educational nature. It should be noted that the LGBT is engaged in the publication of magazines, books, and also speaks on television and radio. Community representatives provide amazing psychological, legal, medical and other types of support and assistance to their like-minded people.

Repeal of bans on professions

Now you know what LGBT is. Note that this formation is often mentioned in connection with social activities. Surprisingly, there were times when people with a non-traditional orientation were forbidden to work in certain positions. For example, they could not serve in the army, be a teacher or a doctor. Today, most of these prohibitions have been lifted, and all this has been achieved by a community created by representatives of sexual minorities. Of course, how LGBT stands for is known only to those people who are interested in this issue. In other cases, they prefer to remain silent about such formations.

Cancellation of donation bans

Asking a question about what LGBT is, a person with a traditional orientation wants to get a normal, satisfying answer. But far from everyone has to "taste" the reality and the whole truth, which lies in the decoding of this concept. So, there were times when lesbians and gays were forbidden to become donors. Their blood was considered "dirty", unworthy of an ordinary person. It is quite natural that sexual minorities were extremely offended by this attitude, and they began to fight against injustice. However, there are still countries today that continue to ban homosexuals from donating blood and organs.

So, we looked at what LGBT is. Who they are and what goals they pursue, also found out. The main task of this community today is to eradicate negative attitudes towards people who are different from the majority.

Intersex people also have to fight for acceptance. Photo: depositphotos

The abbreviation LGBT in connection with the Orlando gay club has been actively used in the press over the past few days, but few people know that there is also an abbreviation with the letter “and” at the end - LGBTI. It stands for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex".

Approximately one in every 2,000 people is born with abnormalities in reproductive/sexual anatomy or with a set of chromosomes that does not fully match the male or female type. Such a person is called intersex, because he can feel like both a man and a woman.

In many parts of the world, intersex people are reported to have to fight for recognition, equality and human rights, just like lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.

Although intersex are not as rare (nearly as common as redheads), their condition is not obvious to others, and they themselves sometimes do not recognize themselves as intersex until puberty.

Because intersex people are born with unique biological characteristics, they cannot be identified with transgender people—people who perceive their original gender identity as alien.

The paradox is that many intersex people undergo surgery and hormone therapy against their will, while transgender people often unsuccessfully seek the same for themselves.

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Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Surely you have heard or seen the LGBT abbreviation in magazines and newspapers more than once, but not everyone understood what is hidden behind these four letters (although they guessed 🙂).

Today I will try to explain in simple terms what it is, how this abbreviation stands for, and I will tell you other information on this topic.

What is LGBT and how it stands for

Let's figure it out.

According to Wikipedia, LGBT is an acronym used by to refer to all sexual minorities: lesbian, gay, bisexual and .

The designation came from the English language, where LGBT deciphered as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. The abbreviation has been used since the 90s of the XX century to unite all representatives of non-traditional orientation in order to tell the world about its different sides.

The purpose of the movement under this name is the struggle for the rights of sexual minorities, and the motto "My life - my rules" encourages others to consider gay people as full members of society.

The color of the flag and other symbols of the LGBT community

Now that you know what LGBT means, it's time to talk about the symbolism of the movement. There are several distinctive signs that help members of non-traditional sexual minorities stand out and are regularly used in gay parades and other events.

Among them:

LGBT activists and the fight for equal rights

In principle, this knowledge about LGBT (deciphering each letter from the abbreviation and information about symbols) will be enough for most readers (for general development, so to speak). But I still briefly propose to talk about the activists of the movement.

The leaders of this movement seek recognition of the rights of sexual minorities in each particular country at the legislative level.

In order to popularize their views, activists organize gay parades, demonstrations, and others in order to win people over to their community.

In addition to stories about LGBT, what it is and what goals it pursues, they are trying to draw attention to the problems of modern sexual minorities in society.

Priority Goals movement activists:

1. the possibility of representatives of non-traditional orientation to social adaptation;
2. reducing the level of hostility, attacks and insults towards LGBT people;
3. providing timely medical assistance to transgender people, homosexuals, lesbians;
4. the opportunity to enter into official same-sex marriages, to have children;
5. equality in all spheres of activity, including when applying for a job or study at a higher educational institution.

In the EU and the US, LGBT activists have achieved their goals. Gay parades are periodically held in China, Venezuela and even Turkey, where the majority of the population is Muslim.

A deplorable situation for representatives of non-traditional orientation and strict Muslim countries like Iran, Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, where homosexuals are sometimes physically destroyed.

Many celebrities do not hesitate to openly declare their orientation and actively fight for equal rights for representatives of sexual minorities, being an example for others.

Here are a few famous personalities who did not hesitate to reveal themselves:

1. Elton John. The singer committed (confessed to homosexuality) back in 1976, when even Western countries were not so loyal to homosexuals. Now Sir Elton John is officially married and has children.
2. Tom Ford. The famous designer confessed to being gay in 1997, later married a man, and since 2012 they have been raising a child together.
3. Thomas Hitzlsperger. In the sports world, people are still afraid to admit their non-traditional sexual orientation, fearing misunderstanding on the part of fans and potential employers. German football player Thomas Hitzlsperger played for clubs such as Bayern, Aston Villa, Stuttgart, Lazio, Westham, Wolfsburg and Everton, after which he ended his playing career and admitted to being homosexual.

How do LGBT people live in Russia

In Western countries, children from an early age are told “about this” (what this concept means), and they explain that such people also have the right to self-expression (which is not bad). Another thing is that lately it has become more like an ad such a way of life as more correct (which is absurd).

In Russia, however, representatives of sexual minorities are faced not only with homophobia (although this happens), but with intolerance on the part of the population and the government towards advertising and popularization of deviations. At the legislative level, officially propaganda is prohibited non-traditional sexual relations among persons under 18 years of age.

Gay parades, same-sex marriages, direct or indirect support for LGBT people - all this is an unaffordable luxury in Russia. Representatives of sexual minorities most often have to hide their orientation, and there is no possibility for them to create a family at the official level.

Tolerance, but not the creation of a cult (IMHO)

Now you know more about this topic and which celebrities are open about their homosexuality, and how do they relate to sexual minorities in Russia. I will dwell on the latter for a moment.

Now in the USA there is an acute problem (all their major media write about it) - men. This may seem strange to us from Russia, but for its rights it has so distorted the situation that men in the United States are now practically powerless and are slowly “degenerating”.

In South Africa, the situation with the struggle of the black population for their rights led to an absolutely opposite result. Now there is apartheid on the contrary - the white population is practically deprived of all rights and is openly discriminated against.

Having accelerated, it is very difficult to stop and not outweigh the thicket of scales in the other direction.

It will lead to the same unfortunate result aggressive wrestling for the right of "normality" of the LGBT community. This must be understood and taken into account. It is one thing to educate a tolerant attitude in society (people with deviations are not to blame that nature has decreed this) and another thing is to “swing rights”, as feminists in the States have done for decades.

Therefore, I am impressed by the balanced approach of Russia in this matter. But that doesn't mean you have to agree with me. It is even good when there are many opinions, because this allows you to achieve the most.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

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1. What is LGBT?

LGBT (LGBT) is an abbreviation formed from the first letters of the names of groups of representatives of sexual and gender minorities. It denotes a community of lesbians (lesbian), gays (gay), bisexuals (bisexual) and transgenders (transgender), united by common interests, problems and goals. The LGBT movement is a movement to uphold the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

2. What is the right way to talk about LGBT people?

The words "homosexuality" and "homosexual" should be avoided because they carry a negative emotional connotation. In Soviet medicine, these terms were used to denote sexual perversion subject to treatment, and in criminology, a crime subject to punishment.

Since these approaches are now fundamentally outdated, the use of the word “homosexuality” is incorrect in essence and offensive in form. Think about the fact that there are no words "heterosexual" and "heterosexual", but there is "heterosexual" and "heterosexuality". Therefore, when it comes to sexual orientation, it would be correct to say “homosexual” and “homosexuality” - these are the terms that correspond to their Western European counterparts (“homosexual” and “homosexuality”).

In the early 2000s, the neutral word “gay” began to be used more and more actively in everyday life. However, this term is not always correlated with sexual behavior: it means self-identification. A gay person is a person who accepts his homosexual orientation, is aware of his belonging to the gay community and culture, as well as the need to defend his rights. By the way, in the West, the word "gay" refers to homosexual people of both sexes - both men and women. Moreover, it is often used as an adjective. For example, "gay woman" ("homosexual woman") or "gay girl" ("homosexual girl").

In the Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking space, such women prefer to call themselves the word "lesbian", which goes back to the ancient Greek poetess Sappho (Sappho), who lived on the island of Lesvos and devoted many poems to love for a woman.

Bisexual men are called bisexuals, bisexual women are called bisexuals. Both of them together are often called the word "bi" (from the ancient Greek "two").

The correct terms for people whose biological sex does not match their gender self-identification are the words "transgender", "transgender man" and "transgender woman".

3. How many LGBT people are there in Ukraine?

According to various studies, there are from 800 thousand to 1.2 million representatives of the LGBT community in Ukraine. Counting is not an easy task, since openly answering a question about one's sexual orientation or gender identity in our country is still dangerous. Sociologists argue that in any society - regardless of its political and social structure, approval or disapproval of homosexuality - the proportion of LGBT people is approximately the same and ranges from 7 to 10 percent.

4. Why are gays and lesbians not visible?

For many gays and lesbians, it is very difficult to tell parents, colleagues and friends about their homosexuality. And all because a huge number of myths, stereotypes and all sorts of social stigma will most likely prevent them from perceiving information adequately. Relatives are most often afraid of the reaction of others to the fact that there is such a person in their family. The question is always raised: “But what about the grandchildren?”

In the worst case, relatives, friends and even parents can stop all contact with a person who has spoken about his homosexuality or transgenderism. Naturally, for this reason, people are in no hurry to devote others to the details of their sexual identity.

It is often difficult to admit this even to oneself, because in our society there is a stereotype that being homosexual or transgender means being rejected. Alas, this stereotype is hard to break.

5. Is it possible to change sexual orientation?

History has repeatedly described cases of attempts to "treat" homosexuality with a variety of methods - from electric shock and chemical castration to conversion therapy, mixed with religion.

Is it worth saying that often such “treatment” was more like torture? In fact, no therapy can change sexual orientation. First of all, because sexual orientation, whatever it may be, is not a disease. It is very easy to understand this in reverse, imagining a heterosexual man who, with the help of pills, prayers, electric shocks and hormone therapy, is trying to make other men want and feel disgust at the sight of a naked female body. Difficult? That's it.

6. Why hold gay parades?

Gay parade is an entertaining procession in the form of a fun carnival. There were no gay pride parades in Kyiv, and there are no plans in the near future. Kyiv is not the Brazilian São Paulo or the German Berlin: the Ukrainian LGBT community has nothing to celebrate by arranging carnivals yet.

Instead, the March of Equality is organized annually in Kyiv, which has nothing to do with the carnival. This is a public action within the framework of the International LGBT Forum-Festival "KyivPride". The Equality March is a human rights march in which ordinary people take part: representatives of the LGBT community, their friends and human rights activists. Equality March participants are not necessarily gay, bi- or transgender themselves.

The March of Equality is not about entertainment. This is about the observance of the rights and freedoms of every person in our country. Sexual orientation and gender identity is a private matter for everyone, but human rights are an issue of extreme importance for the whole society. Because freedom either exists for everyone, or it does not exist for anyone.

7. What is Pride?

The English word "pride" means "pride". In English, the connotations of this term may vary, and if a person says "I'm proud to be gay" (literally - "I'm proud that I'm gay"), this does not mean at all that he considers his sexual orientation more "worthy" than any other. This phrase should be taken in the context of "I am not ashamed of who I am, and I accept myself as such."

LGBT Pride may consist of holding public events, such as the Equality March, as well as various cultural and intellectual events of closed or semi-open content - exhibitions, film screenings, public discussions, educational sessions.

8. Who discriminates against LGBT people?

Representatives of the LGBT community are discriminated against in various areas of life. The most painful is the so-called family discrimination, when young children, sometimes minors, are kicked out of the house when they find out about their sexuality. Of course, discrimination is well known to adult gays and lesbians. Thus, representatives of the LGBT community can be groundlessly fired from work, denied employment, abruptly terminated a housing contract, kicked out of a cafe, expelled from a university or other educational institution.

LGBT people suffer from regular abuse, extortion and blackmail by unscrupulous law enforcement officials. Sometimes criminals choose representatives of the LGBT community as potential victims of robberies and robberies, based on the fact that they, out of fear for their reputation, will not complain to law enforcement officers. Moreover, since 2011, one after another, legislative initiatives began to appear in the Ukrainian parliament, which proposed to establish institutional (that is, coming not from society, but from the state) discrimination based on sexual orientation. First of all, we are talking about a number of bills that prohibited the dissemination of information about homosexuality in the public space. In other words, these were documents about the legalized discrimination of LGBT people and their transformation into second-class people at the level of state policy.

Transgender people are often subject to even more discrimination because their appearance differs from the majority's idea of ​​what a man or woman should look like. In addition, gender reassignment procedures for transsexuals in Ukraine are extremely burdensome and discriminatory. For example, only those transsexuals who are not married and do not raise children can undergo these procedures.

9. What specific LGBT rights are being violated?

Unfortunately, Ukrainian society and Ukraine as a whole are still very far from adhering to the implementation of Article 28 of the Constitution in everyday life. This article states that every citizen has the right to respect for his own dignity. Considering LGBT people to be second-class people, a kind of "non-citizens", our compatriots violate the fundamental human rights of representatives of the LGBT community at various levels.

The following rights are violated:

1) for housing (parents can expel a minor gay from home);

2) for healthcare (it happens that doctors refuse homosexuals, and especially transgender people, adequate medical care);

3) for education (they may unjustifiably be expelled from an educational institution);

4) to work (expelled from work, groundlessly not hired);

5) personal integrity (aggressive attacks on people because of their sexual orientation);

6) to an impartial attitude (blackmail, extortion by law enforcement officials; refusal to provide any commercial services);

7) non-disclosure of confidential information (information about sexual orientation may be communicated to third parties);

8) to create a family (people do not have the opportunity to legalize their family relations on the territory of Ukraine).

And this is not a complete list.

The problem is that such a large social group as homosexuals and bisexuals of both sexes is almost completely ignored in domestic legislation - as if they do not exist in nature. We have a wonderful anti-discrimination article in the Constitution, but human rights to equality regardless of sexual orientation are not explicitly protected in this article.

We have a law “On the Fundamentals of Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine”, but it never mentions sexual orientation or gender identity. Our Family Code completely ignores the 150,000 same-sex partnerships that unofficially exist in Ukraine, when people run a joint household, living under the same roof as a family and in many cases raising children.

In the practice of criminal proceedings, it is believed that the sexual relationship of a 100% gay man with a woman is “natural” for him, but the relationship of two gay men is unnatural for either of them.

It is good that several years ago the State Statistics Service had the common sense to abolish unnecessary statistical records of “underage homosexuals” (yes, such records were carried out at one time by the internal affairs bodies! “).

So, we need to thoroughly cleanse the legislation of the remnants of Sovietization and bring it into line with current social realities and European standards. Only then will everything begin to change for the better.

10. What does your organization do?

The all-Ukrainian public organization "Gay Alliance Ukraine" has been operating since 2009, has more than 15 regional offices in many regions of the country and successfully implements many interesting projects.

We are currently working on topics such as:

Promoting the implementation of fundamental human rights and freedoms, counteracting homophobia.

Development of the LGBT community.

Informing the public about LGBT and human rights issues.

Helpline for LGBT.

Support for women's initiatives.

Promoting the development of civil society and other useful activities.

We try to be in constant contact with the LGBT community and promptly respond to their requests. Therefore, the projects we carry out are relevant and result-oriented.

11. Who supports you?

LGBT people, like many other social groups, face unfair treatment, violation of equal rights or, in legal terms, discrimination.

In recent years, discriminated groups in Ukraine have been much more supportive of each other. We cooperate with representatives of women's organizations, public figures who advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, the rights of refugees and religious minorities, the rights of people living with HIV, the rights of prisoners, etc. We are supported by our colleagues and like-minded people from many countries of the world, including a considerable number of political figures of international level. For example, the High Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, or the head of the EU foreign policy department, Baroness Catherine Ashton, as well as outstanding world-class philanthropists like Elton John.

We also receive partial support from the Ukrainian authorities: most recently, the Ukrainian judiciary adopted recommendations according to which people should not be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation in the field of labor relations.

To start, a little note. It is not always easy to write on topics that are sharp in some sense, it is easy to stumble upon negative comments and harsh criticism. I always warn you on the first lines of my articles: this is just my opinion and experience. And I, as a rule, look at life from a very positive side!

Talking about what the Statue of Liberty looks like from the ferry, or how you feel when you first find yourself in Times Square, is easy. Finding the right words for a story about a huge group of people is not an easy task.

I have a large number of friends of a straight orientation, as well as gays, lesbians, even a few transgender people appeared after moving to the USA. They live radically different lives, have different attitudes towards family life, eat different cuisines. Some of them are single, and some have been in a couple for more than 5 years, some live in my hometown, and some I see only on Skype. One thing unites them - they are all incredible people!

All people are terribly similar: two legs, two arms, almost everyone has a head on their shoulders. There are good ones, and there are bad ones, these concepts were also invented by people themselves, and which of them belongs to which group is another question. Most of all in our life I hate the word "stereotype" or "script". The life of a good boy or girl must necessarily develop according to the classical / stereotypical scenario, and if deviations are observed, then the boy or girl quickly falls from good to bad, sometimes without knowing it.

I will never understand why in Russian society, if you are gay, you automatically fall into the category of bad people, you lose part of your inner circle, you can be fired from your job or severely beaten.

In the life of the LGBT community, there is the concept of coming out - this is the process of voluntary recognition of one's sexual orientation and belonging to the LGBT community, which can literally be translated as "getting out of the closet." Why many gays and lesbians live “in the closet”, and what happens if they come out of it, is an old topic, but, in my opinion, very relevant.

In itself, the division of people into social groups seems to be a good and reasonable undertaking. It’s easier to find like-minded people, to find answers to life’s questions among “friends”. The other side of the coin is the acceptance of these groups by society.

I determined for myself a long time ago that it is high time to “leave the closet” not for those who consider themselves to be in the LGBT community, but for all those who do not accept this community to one degree or another. Over the past fifteen years, the world around has changed a lot, stepped forward in many ways, and falling behind is not the best option.

Many large organizations have long hung an LGBT Friendly flag on their buildings and websites, a huge number of people are tolerant of various social groups that seem to them to be different from them. They do a great job, support as best they can those who once had a hard time.

How different is the life of people belonging to the LGBT community, besides the choice of a sexual partner? Honestly, nothing.

Over coffee with a dozen straight people I know, I compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions. Some of them seemed to me funny and vital.

family orders

Everyone plays a role in life: in childhood, we are cute daughters and beloved sons, now someone plays the role of a mother or a newly-made husband. What role are you currently in charge of, does your husband's role change to wife if he, for example, cooks dinner or performs part of your (socially accepted) duties? Hardly. The picture of the family world of homosexual couples is identical, the actors are the same. Without agreeing, one partner is responsible for comfort in the house, and the second for peace and protection.

My colleague suggested that people from the “same planet” are easier and understand each other better. Probably so. But, having watched the couples, I was seriously surprised how the temperament and attitude of the opposite sex are sometimes pronounced in a girl or a man. Absolutely harmonious, by the way.

Children

Straight people are very lucky, gays and lesbians have a hard time. Sperm banks and foster children come into play.

At some point, many of us want and are ready to devote ourselves to children, homosexual couples are no exception, I know two lesbian couples with children. Their kids are no different from their peers, whose parents are straight. They are social, healthy mentally and physically, they have exactly the same warmth and love as in ordinary children.

Just like in classic couples, there are those who (yet) do not think about children.

Loyalty

As one of my acquaintances told me: "among straight people there is a myth that gays and lesbians maintain only open relationships and often change sexual partners." The key word here is myth.

In my inner circle there are 5 married couples, 3 of which are homosexual and have been living in a civil marriage for more than 5 or even 8 years. These families deserve respect, their relationship will be the envy of many natural newlyweds.

In a way, they fought for their love.

Sex

Attitude towards sex does not depend on the choice of partner - isn't it obvious?

I was genuinely surprised by the opinion that sex for the LGBT community means absolutely nothing. If you prefer, for example, running to swimming, does this affect your life beliefs and even more so your attitude towards sex?

The LGBT community, like the whole world, absorbs completely different people, and many of them have brought up fairly strict beliefs about the family and sexual side of life.

The hardest

Unfortunately, in Russia the society not only does not accept LGBT people. This group is ostracized and humiliated. Against gays and lesbians the state.

And some of those gays, whose happiness was once destroyed by the attitude of relatives or groups of homophobes, can not stand it mentally.

If a person is told every day that he is a fool, he will become one. If every day you are told that you are a disgrace to your family and you need to be treated, you will hate everything around and say at least once: “why am I not like everyone else?”.

Many of us know how painful it is for us to lose loved ones, how difficult it is to repair a broken heart. But few natural couples and singles know what it's like to live someone else's life.

It is also difficult for those in whose environment happy natural couples subtly hint: it's time for you to get married / get married. And you, willy-nilly, look after yourself a partner of the opposite sex, remaining unhappy, often living someone else's life.

Choice

Why did you become gay - in my opinion, the most stupid question 🙂 Why were you born a boy? 🙂

I don't know the true answer. The only thing I'm sure of is that it's not a disease, as they thought in Soviet times.

Personally, my opinion is that every person in adolescence makes his choice, falls in love or feels interest in someone. And this choice is laid from birth. To blame the fact that the child is homosexual, a bad father or an unfortunate environment, in my opinion, is the wrong decision. I have heard many stories and they are all different. And if you are gay or lesbian or transgender, this does not always mean that your family was not happy enough.

Another interesting suggestion, as my friend says. We are all straight until X. This phrase says that everyone is bisexual by nature. Perhaps I agree with this 🙂

Appearance

As it turned out, there is a certain well-established opinion that if a family consists of two girls, then one of them should look and dress like a man, well, or almost. I don't know if this myth applies to male couples.

Undoubtedly, getting up to a certain role in the family, the partner can look more restrained and everyday. Or vice versa - feminine and romantic. But do not forget that this is still the love of two women or men in their classical view.

Once I happened to be at a gay parade in London. Any girl would bite her elbows at the sight of those gays and would envy the chic appearance of the girls performing in a group of lesbians.

Russia / America

No one here is surprised by a same-sex family. I was lucky to be at the Christmas dinner with the landlady of my apartment in New York. You should have seen my eyes as she walked across the room, introducing me to her brothers and sisters, introducing me to her sisters' wives and brothers' boyfriends at the same time. This country is fundamentally different in relation to minorities when compared with Russia.

Gay friends explained to me this way: this is freedom of action, elementary security, openness and goodwill of people. Here the LGBT community has equal rights with everyone, it will surprise and upset me all my life that somewhere some people are respected, and some are beaten with sticks.

MARRIAGE

In Russia, homosexual couples can only exist within their own home, they have no right to legitimize relationships. It seemed like a small problem. But everyone forgets about emergencies, when your loved one suddenly ended up in the hospital, or something else happened. At this moment, you are nobody, you have no right to get into his room or be responsible for him. Official MARRIAGE gives many privileges and rights in such situations.

In America, LGBT people can register MARRIAGE by queuing with other couples.

Help

This block is for those who are worried about their children and do not understand them, but really want to. For those who are afraid to open up to their loved ones and talk about belonging to the LGBT community.

In every city in Russia there are secret LGBT support groups, they are not so difficult to find. I was at such a meeting once. There you can meet completely different people, they are united only by the fact that they want to support their loved ones or need help themselves. No one will judge you, you will hear many personal stories and many lived moments. And you will never be alone!