BEING   GAY   IN   YOUR   WORLD
      ---------------------------------

   I don't speak for all gay people, but only 
for myself. I am your brother, your best friend,
your parent, your roommate, your minister, your 
date but I hide it from you. You make me. Try to
understand what I am feeling.

BEING GAY IS:  to be condemned by the most 
churches as sinful, by some health profess-
ionals as pathological and curable, and by the
law as criminal to live two separate lives never
being able to be completely honest in either.
   It's listening to your friends talking about 
'queers' and make jokes about effeminate males 
and athletic looking females as you stand there
and know they would say the same thing about you.

   It's to go along with the women/men as they 
watch women/men when they would rather watch 
people of your own gender.

   It's to awaken every morning, live everyday,
and go to sleep at night fearing discovery and 
rejection by your family, friends, coworkers.

   It's dating people of the opposite gender 
when you really don't want to, just to maintain
a cover.

   It's pretending to be ignorant about homo-
sexuality and quietly listening to your straight
friends display their ignorance while you dare 
not correct them.

   It's meeting someone you really like but are 
too afraid to find if they are gay because they
are wearing the same mask you are.

   It's going to a public place with your 
significant other and never being able to 
display any affection to each other.

   It's being taught to hate yourself knowing
that you can not change, knowing you can never
share that wonderful feeling of being "in love"
with your family and most of your friends.



Author unknown.  Forwarded by:

--
Tina M. Wood       ____  | "And when the walls begin to
al715@yfn.ysu.edu  \  /  |  fall, can't hold back the joy
EQUALITY is not a   \/   |  that love will conquer all."            
"special right"!         |             --Three Dog Night