Quote Originally Posted by Squirt View Post
This is common in the African American community and hispanic communities as well.

The difference with the Gay community is that our members are made up of all races, and all members of our community have less rights then heterosexuals. Another thing to keep in mind is that when an African American child is born, he is not rejected by his parent, or family, or ridiculed because of his minority status, many members of the Gay community are and this rips at the soul of any human being, the fabric of who we are.

One can't help but to question ones worth when it's acceptable for people to lobby against their having equal rights.

Imagine the uproar if there was a lobby pushing to make it illegal for African Americans to adopt children, or marry, or have health coverage for their partners.

Coming together for equality is something that lifts the spirit and helps empower those who feel worthless. I see a day coming soon where we have found our soul again and come forward stronger then ever as a force nobody can deny is worthy of equality.
Great post, Squirt. Those are my points as well. All of the stuff going on in the gay community happens in other communities as well. Women are, of course, very prone to insecurity and feelings of inadequate self-worth based on archaic views of femininity passed down through the years, but I do think there is a special kind of self-loathing that is birthed within the gay community, especially within the gay male community. Not only are we gay, but we are gay MALES, so we are also under pressure to conform to standards of masculinity and maleness. We've all seen how lesbianism can be considered "hot" and "trendy" in pop culture. Women being lesbians don't pose as much of a threat to society, because women don't run society. Gay men, however, are viewed as being traitors to masculinity and the patriarchal power structure in general. (This is, of course, not to say that lesbians don't have it bad too. I minored in Women's Studies in college. I know the oppression they've faced as well.)

I just think that there is something very specific about being gay that contributes to our own kind of alienation and self-hatred that manifests itself in excessive drug use and the other things I mentioned.