Its a gay thing
LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary
GLOSSARY
The terms and definitions below are always evolving, switching and often mean distinct things to different people. They are provided below as a starting show for discussion and empathetic. This Glossary has been collectively built and created by the staff members of the LGBTQIA Resource Center since the initial s.
These are not universal definitions. This glossary is provided to help provide others a more thorough but not entirely comprehensive understanding of the significance of these terms. You may even consider asking someone what they intend when they use a term, especially when they use it to depict their identity. Ultimately it is most important that each individual define themselves for themselves and therefore also define a legal title for themselves.
“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde
This glossary contains terms, such as ableism and disability, that may not be considered directly related to identities of sexuality or gender. These terms are essential to acknowledge as part of our mission to challenge all forms of oppression
Hiding your identity takes its toll: Overcoming homophobia to come out as a gay woman
For Anti-Bullying Week we are resharing this popular blog talking about the impact on Homosexual people of being surrounded by homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language
There was no way I was gay
I was fortunate never to encounter homophobic, bi-phobic or transphobic (HBT) bullying at school, I didn't arrive out until my mids. I did however develop up hearing HBT language on a daily basis, whether it was using the word "gay" to describe something that was "a bit rubbish", or as an insult. So I never even considered that I might be gay. Gay was a bad thing, a negative thing. There was no way I was gay.
Growing up under Section 28 meant that there were no 'out' teachers at school, and organisations appreciate Diversity Role Models (DRM) didn't seem to live. Sex education was strictly heterosexual and only about reproduction. So, without positive LGBTQ+ Role Models, sound discussion around sexuality or the tackling of HBT language in schools, I had no point of reference for myself as a young gay woman.
Is there something horribly mistaken with me?
Hiding your individuality will eventually take its toll,
by Fred Penzel, PhD
This article was initially published in the Winter edition of the OCD Newsletter.
OCD, as we know, is largely about experiencing severe and unrelenting doubt. It can cause you to disbelief even the most basic things about yourself – even your sexual orientation. A study published in the Journal of Sex Research found that among a group of college students, 84% reported the occurrence of sexual intrusive thoughts (Byers, et al. ). In order to have doubts about one’s sexual identity, a sufferer need not ever hold had a homo- or heterosexual experience, or any type of sexual exposure at all. I contain observed this symptom in young children, adolescents, and adults as well. Interestingly Swedo, et al., , establish that approximately 4% of children with OCD life obsessions concerned with forbidden aggressive or perverse sexual thoughts.
Although doubts about one’s own sexual identity might seem pretty straightforward as a symptom, there are actually a number of variations. The most clear form is where a sufferer experiences the reflection that they might be of a different sexual orientation than they formerly believed. If the sufferer is heterosexual
Hi. I&#;m the Answer Wall. In the material society, I&#;m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O&#;Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I survive in this blog. You might say I acquire multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren&#;t into deities of truth, like a ghost in the machine.
I have some human assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O&#;Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.
If you&#;d like a quicker answer to your question and don&#;t thought talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they own been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are veiled, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.
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