Tag: Bisexual

LGBTI Meaning: What is LGBTI?

~ Alan Turing ~ Leave a comment

The expression LGBT, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual, has been used since the 1900s.

Expressed as a rights struggle, LGBT was used as GLBT for a period, but it started to be referred to as LGBT again because lesbians were ignored in the society, later added intersexual people.

What does LGBTI stand for?

LGBTI Which Stands For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex

The LGBTI operation dating back to antiquity, 2000-3000 BC, has succeeded in shedding light on this issue by reflecting on the works of that period.

Although Christianity prohibits homosexuality, it is known that homosexual relations, although not very common, continued in Western countries throughout the Middle Ages. The bans, court orders and executions of the popes and cardinals prove that sexual relations and love continue to exist among LGBTIs despite these prohibitions.

With the French Revolution, homosexuality was decriminalized again in Europe, with the abolition of all crimes and punishments based on religion. When the French emperor Napoleon enacted the civil law in 1810, he did not give up this practice. In the 19th century, countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Bavaria and Italy accepted the Napoleonic laws, but homosexuality was no longer a crime in these countries.

What is a LGBTI Honor Mark?

A frequently cited goal of activist or social movement among LGBTIs is social equality for LGBTI people; some people also sought to develop LGBTI communities or liberate the wider society from sexual oppression. LGBT movements organized today are lobbying and street walks; social groups, support groups and community events; magazines, films and literature; academic research and writing; and business activities, as well as a wide range of political activism and cultural activities.

L: Lesbian, Lesbians

G: Gay, Gays

B: Bisexual, Bisexuals, Bisexual Man, Bisexual Woman etc…

T: Transgender, Transgenders, Transsexual, Transsexuals, Trans Man, Trans Woman, Trans Men, Trans Women etc…

I: Intersex, Intersexual, Intersexuals

 

LGBTI Life in Afghanistan: Gradually Improving?

~ Alan Turing ~ Leave a comment

In 2012, Nemat Sadat, a former professor of political science at American University of Afghanistan mobilized a LGBT movement and on August 22, 2013, he became the first public figure to come out as gay and campaigned for gender freedom and sexual liberation. There does not seem to be much internet information on improvements since then, but I would think that there may be a gradual improvement.

Public Understanding of Homosexuality

When publicly discussed, homosexuality is often linked with prostitution and pedophilia and the level of awareness about sexual orientation or gender identity is limited.

In 2011, Afghan news reporters interviewed men who had LGBT-pride symbols on their vehicles, to find out that the men were unaware of the meaning of the rainbow flags and stickers, thinking that it was just another western fad, and began quickly removing the rainbows to avoid being seen as a LGBT person or as supporter of LGBT rights.

Homosexuality is thus often associated with both sexual abuse and prostitution, a popular misconception that trickles down into the nation’s legal system.

Despite the negative social attitudes and legal prohibitions, there is an institutionalized form of bisexuality within Afghan culture. This occurs when boys are kidnapped to act as sexual slaves for adult men, typically in a militia, or when an adult man buys sexual favors from young boys with money or gifts. These activities are tolerated within Afghan culture because they are not perceived as being an expression of an LGBT-identity, but rather an expression of male power and dominance; as the boy in these situations is forced to assume the “female” role in the relationship.

Militia members generally do not have access to women, and so boys are sometimes kidnapped to be humiliated and raped by adult men. Other boys become prostitutes for adult men, regardless of their sexual orientation.

These men involved are sometimes called bach bad in Persian and seem to flourish in the big cities of Afghanistan, possibly due to poverty and the strict social taboos surrounding interaction between men and women. A law has been enacted prohibiting Afghan soldiers from having their “ashna” live with them. In 2007, reports stated that the practice of “bacha bareesh” (beardless boys) is still prevalent in parts of northern Afghanistan. This practice involves teenage boys being dressed in women’s clothing and made to participate in dance competitions and engage in sexual acts

Paula’s comment:

From the world of LGBTI persons globally, we wish all our gay brothers and sisters in Afghanistan freedom to love those you love.

Paula, 2017, stories4hotbloodedlesbians.com

Twenty-Five Unusual Facts About Homosexuality

~ Alan Turing ~ Leave a comment

1.The labrys, a double-edged hatchet or axe, is a symbol of strength and unity for the lesbian community. Demeter, the Goddess of Earth, is said to have used a labrys as her scepter, especially in religious ceremonies.

2. In 1987, Delta Airlines apologized for arguing in plane crash litigation that it should pay less in compensation for the life of a gay passenger than for a heterosexual one because he may have had AIDS.

3. Gay people tend to be left-handed much more often than heterosexuals.

4. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages in 2001.

5. In Egypt, two male royal manicurists named Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were found buried together in a shared tomb similar to the way married couples were often buried. Their epigraph reads: ‘Joined in life and joined in death’. Having lived in 2400 BC, they are believed to be history’s oldest recorded gay couple.

6. In 1952, the Unites States Congress enacted a law banning lesbians and gay foreigners from entering the country. The law was on the books until it was repealed in 1990.

7. There is some evidence that increased levels of steroids in the womb increases the chances that a girl will be a lesbian.

8. Some historical gay and bi figures have turned their lovers into gods. Alexander the Great wanted to make his boyhood lover Hephaestion a god when he died, but was only allowed to declare him a Divine Hero. The Roman Emperor Hadrian, of wall-building fame, was successful in making his lover, Antinous, a god after he drowned in the Nile.

9. The three U.S. cities that have the most gay couples are New York City (47,000), Los Angeles (12,000), and Chicago (10,000). The major metropolitan cities with the highest LGBT concentration are San Francisco 15.4%, Seattle 12.9%, and Atlanta 12.8%.f

10. The Roman Catholic Church sanctified gay marriages in the “so called” Dark Ages. A notable marriage was between Byzantine Emperor Basil 1st, (867-886) and his partner called John.

11. Gilbert Baker, also known as the “Gay Betsy Ross,” designed the rainbow flag, or Pride Flag, in San Francisco in 1978. The flag is the most prominent symbol of lesbian and gay pride. The colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet represent sexuality, life, healing, the Sun, nature, art, harmony, and the spirit, respectively.

12,. Mercury represents male and female principles in harmony. In mythology, Mercury fathered Hermaphroditus, who had both male and female sex organs.

13. The first U.S. lesbian magazine was titled Vice Versa and was written by the pseudonymous Lisa Ben (an anagram for “lesbian”).f

14. In ancient China, homosexuality was referred to as ‘the cut sleeve’ and ‘pleasures of the bitten peach.’’.

15. Until the late 1400s the word ‘girl’ just meant a child of either sex. If you had to differentiate between them, male children were referred to as ‘knave girls’ and females were ‘gay girls‘.

16. We can thank William Shakespeare and his Globe Theatre players for using the word “drag.” It was an acronymn for Dressed Resembling A Girl.”

17. Queen Elizabeth II of England may or may not be aware that in the early 17th century, there was a gay brothel on the site where she lives – Buckingham Palace. (Surely, there is a modern gay or lesbian in the ranks???)

18. As early as 1806, an early explorer, Nicholas Biddle, found that the Minitarees (Native American tribe) allowed for diversity of gender. He wrote, ‘if a boy shows any symptom of effeminacy or girlish inclinations, he is put among the girls, dressed in their way, brought up with them and sometimes married to men’.

19. The word “gay” used to refer to a woman prostitute – and a gay man, was a man who slept with lots of women.

2o. A novel called “Carmilla” was a story of a lesbian vampire that preyed on young women, was written 25 years before Dracula.

21. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association decided that homosexuality should no longer be classified as a mental disorder. Also the same year, the American Bar Association passed a resolution recommending the repeal of all state sodomy laws.c

22. There has been a gay U.S.A President. He was James Buchanan and he shacked up for 10 years with a future Vice President, William Rufus King. Later on, President Andrew Jackson named Buchanan as “Miss Nancy” and King as “Aunt Fancy.”

23. A monocle is a one-piece-eye- glass, now not in use. Lesbians particularly in France and Germany used a monocle as a means of identification.

24. The oldest surviving LGBT organization in the world is Netherlands’ Centre for Culture and Leisure (COC) which was founded in 1946. It used this as a cover name to mask its real purpose.

25. Gay male victims of the Holocaust, who wore the downward-facing pink triangle, were still considered to be criminals when they were freed from concentration camps. They were often sent back to prison to serve out their terms.

From Various Sources

Paula, 2015, stories4hotbloodedlesbians.com

Closing in on AIDS Cure

~ Alan Turing ~ Leave a comment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.A.) maintains there is no cure for AIDS as of 2011. The CDC points encouragingly to the preventative shot in the arm which has thus far apparently eluded researchers. The prescribed course for managing the disease is a selection of drugs considered successful in prolonging the life of the patient. The established mainstream considers anecdotal evidence more harmful than useful, sometimes going so far as to bring practitioners to court on charges of fraud.

Electrified Blood

In the early 1990s, Steven Kaali and William Lyman, researchers at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, evidently discovered a way to disable HIV by applying a specific electrical current to blood infected by the virus. They built on the understanding that everything in nature possesses its own resonant electrical frequency. Their findings were reported in a few publications, and a patent was issued on a mechanism for delivering this electric therapy. Speculation abounds, though, that their research was sealed or destroyed, and the men silenced. Robert Beck, physicist who applied their findings, continues to proclaim the veracity of their results even today. Beck and many others now consider blood electrification to be an appropriate response to the entire gamut of systemic diseases.

Are heavily capitalized pharmaceutical corporations keeping the public in the dark to everything but the drugs they peddle? It stirs the emotions to think so. To determine whether therapies are quackery or not requires impartial and accurate investigation. Whatever the facts turn out to be, it rests with every man and woman to apply themselves in due diligence, that we may be confident in the treatments we accept for managing whatever it is that ails us. More information on this and related non-conventional treatments is widely available on the world wide web.

LGBTQ Meaning, What does LGBTQ Stand for?

~ Alan Turing ~ Leave a comment

We use many abbreviations in our lives, one of these abbreviations is LGBTQ. So what do LGBTQ and sub expansions mean? LGBTQ stand for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer.

A lesbian is a woman who feels physical and / or emotional attraction to another woman. Lesbian means gay woman. Women who feel attracted to both men and women are bisexual. It may be that the person’s self-definition or the sexual identity he / she assigns on himself does not correspond to his behavior.

Gay is an adjective, term and noun meaning gay. The term generally used to denote male homosexuals is also used to describe homosexual women. From the word “gay” in English; In English, it passed from the “gai” origin in Old French. The term gay, which originally meant “cheerful, careless” and “brightly colored, flamboyant”, was first used by male homosexuals to describe themselves since the 1960s. The use of the word “gay” in its other meanings has also disappeared over time. The word lesbian, meaning female homosexual, has been used since the 1800s.

Bisexuality, romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior regardless of gender, or romantic or sexual attraction towards people of any gender or gender identity.

The term bisexuality is often used in the context of human attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings towards both men and women, and it is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with heterosexuality and homosexuality, which are part of the heterosexual-homosexual continuum. A bisexual identity does not have to feel equal sexual attraction to both sexes; People who are often more attracted to one sex also identify themselves as bisexual.

Bisexuality has been observed throughout history in various human populations and in the animal kingdom. But the term bisexuality, like hetero– and homosexuality, was coined in the 19th century.

The transgender or trans person’s gender identity is not compatible with the assigned gender. The term transgender person is used to describe people with this condition and is a phenomenon completely independent of sexual orientation; trans people are also gay, homosexual, homosexual, etc. They can be defined as; Some trans people think that traditional labels of sexual orientation are inadequate or impractical to them.

The definition of trance includes:

“Individuals clearly do not conform to traditional definitions of male or female gender roles, but move between them”

“Individuals feel that the gender they are assigned to is wrong or incomplete in identifying themselves based on the sexual organ they have at birth.

“Failure to be identified or represented by the gender assigned (and accepted gender) at birth”

Queer is an umbrella term that does not fit into a heterosexual or binary gender system, that includes gender identity, sexual orientation, or both. Repeating the definitions of LGBT; The theory that explains their social, intellectual and political expansions as well as their historical and cultural developments. Although queer is a word with negative qualities such as “weird, weird, crooked” in Turkish, its use in political and theoretical issues started in the 1990s. Especially with the activities carried out especially in the academic field with the activist group called Queer Nation established in New York, the concept became concrete.

Male on Male Sexual Violence

~ Alan Turing ~ Leave a comment

Male Survivors of Incest or other Sexual Assault

It is estimated that 5-10% of reported cases of rape or sexual assault each year involve male victims (Scarce, 1997) . Some rape crisis centers see nearly equal numbers of girls and boys up to age 12. Researchers report one out of six boys will have been assaulted by age 16. Experts believe the number of cases are under-reported because survivors are less likely to report than are female survivors. Any male can be assaulted. Survivors are gay, straight, and bisexual. Most reported perpetuators are male. Several reports stated that the majority of rapes of males are perpetrated by heterosexual males (Isely & Gehrenbeck-Shim 1997, Scarce 1997).

The identification of sexual assaults committed against males is a recent phenomenon. Previous to the feminist efforts of the last 30 years, resulting in much more comprehensive laws and growing public awareness, rape was the only “sex crime” recognized by law. Only males could be charged with rape and females were the only victims recognized by law. Rape meant vaginal intercourse. Now, the term sexual assault includes many more of the behaviors by which people could be hurt. Many, but not all, states use the phrase sexual assault. Many states are beginning to recognize the sexual assault of males as a problem.

Boys tend not to be taught to empathize. We haven’t taught boys that they deserve the right to feel safe in their bodies, that the autonomy of their body is sacred, that “no” equals “no” for everyone and that when stated it should be respected. Without teaching little boys to expect these rights for themselves, how can we expect young men to respect these rights for men (or women)? Little boys are not taught how to say”no” to abusive clergy, scout-masters, coaches, uncles, fathers, baby-sitters, and other potential male perpetrators.

Males are only beginning to recognize how many of them have experienced sexual assault. For reasons similar that female survivors, male survivors deny their victimization. Their reasons include 1) a lack of information to define their experience as sexual assault; 2) a sense that they will be disbelieved by people; 3) a fear of reprisal by the perpetuator(s); 4) an unwillingness to think of themselves as survivors of sexual assault and fearing all the potential changes in themselves that might inevitably ensue; and 5) a resentment that the behavior of the perpetuator(s) had or has the power to cause the survivor to expend time, energy, emotional and financial resources-and therefore essentially take control of their life-for an unknown length of time.

Sex or Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is commonly defined as forced intercourse or sexual contact that occurs without consent as a result of actual or threatened force (Crooks & Baur 1998). Only recently, however, have many states amended their criminal codes to include adult males (meaning sixteen years of age and older) in their definition of rape (Isely & Gehrenbeck-Shim). All sexual assault is an expression of power, hate, and control. To many heterosexuals, an assaultive male is, crudely put, manifesting “homosexual” behavior. The majority of rapes of males are perpetrated by Caucasian, heterosexual men who often commit their crime with one or more cohorts (Scarce 1997) This demonstrates, again how straight culture confuses sex with sexual assault.

Any male who has been assaulted by another male has a disincentive to report the incident because many people assume that any male assaulted by another male is automatically gay. If the survivor is gay and the perpetrator is gay then reporting the sexual assault may involve “coming out” to authorities, which can be unsafe. Living in a homophobic culture which equates the rape of males to homosexual sexual behavior; a male survivor, who is gay or presumed to be gay, may assume that he will be disbelieved and harassed by the police rather than supported.

Some sexual assaults of gay males are committed by perpetrators who self-identify as heterosexual. The motivations of these men to assault gay males is similar to their motivation to assault females-to dominate and express hatred. Some sexual assaults of gay males are committed by other gay males. Estimates of numbers of assaults are impossible to come by with the prevalence of homophobia in the United States. Consent is what separates sex from sexual assault. Consent is not adequately taught to straight, bisexual or gay teens.

Sexual assaults are not sex. When a male sexually assaults another male: 1)neither male becomes a homosexual as a result of the assault; 2) it is not the manifestation of latent homosexual behavior. There are homosexual men who commit assault but the assaults they commit are not homosexual sex acts. When a man punches another man we do not call it “homosexual battery.” “If you hit someone over the head with a frying pan, you wouldn’t call it cooking.” says Mike Lew, author of Victims No Longer: Men Recovering From Incest & Other Sexual Child Abuse.

Males Who Sexually Assault Other Males

Most of the perpetuators of sexual assault committed on male are other males. As stated before, the majority of perpetrators are heterosexual and Caucasian (Scarce 1997). The boy or young man who is a survivor can be confused, angry, blaming himself, hurt, desperate to understand. The hysteria and misinformation rampant about homosexuality makes understanding their assault very difficult for male survivors.

How Sexual Assault Affects You and Others

Some male survivors’ confusion about their sexual orientation, can hinder their recovery. While some males assaulted as boys by older males come to realize that while they don’t want to replicate the abusive component of their experience, they do want to explore consensual interactions with males. Gaining clarity about one’s sexuality is much more difficult for sexual assault survivors.

 

When you are dealing with survivors who you know, they may “frustrate or anger” you by not wanting to report their assault, call it assault, change behavior that you find problematic or even destructive, or other things. You may be irritated with the survivors’ rate of recovery or unwillingness to do things that you objectively know would be positive for them. Since the root of eating disorders, depression, and addictions is often incest and others sexual assault, our attention can be misdirected by manifestations of these “symptoms.”

When you are dealing with perpetrators who you know, they too may “frustrate or anger” you by not wanting to call their behavior assault, change behavior that you find problematic, etc. Their resistance may be maddening. Their alleged act may well contribute to the polarization of their circle of friends. The presumption of innocent until proven guilty can be sorely tested. Additionally, you may know or like them as people, and experience difficulty believing they could “do” this.

You don’t have to arbitrate, heal or solve this problem alone. Survivors need support not rescue. You will be helping yourself if you first look at your resistance or denial. Know your own biases and prejudices. And if you can’t/won’t listen at that particular time because you are busy/stressed, or this brings up discomfort from personal experience; you so not have to at the moment.

How to be a supportive listener for a friend/lover/relative who is a survivor of incest or other sexual assault

Most survivors never tell anyone that they have been assaulted. If someone tells you about their abuse, consider it an honor. You may not feel lucky but you are. Welcome to a very confusing, murky world.

  • Believe them-they are telling the truth. Tell them you’re sorry and it wasn’t their fault.
  • Really listen, don’t jump to solutions. Ask what help they would like.
  • Do not distract yourself with heroic fantasies to beat up the perpetrator.
  • Offer to make an appointment with them to see a counselor, clergy, police, etc.
  • Do not say that you know/understand how they feel. You don’t, even if you’re a survivor yourself. Your experience was not identical to his/hers.
  • Suggest counseling in addition to talking to you. Professional counselors are very useful.
  • There is no limit to how long the healing process takes. Saying things like, “You’ve got to forget about this.” won’t help and may harm recovery.
  • Be aware of school/local support resources and share those.
  • Sometimes you can’t “do” what seems to you very much, but the “little” that you do may be sufficient for survivors now. Don’t assume for them what they need.
  • Give them time and space. If you’re talking more than they are, you’re probably not helping.
  • Do not give advice, even if asked for it. Survivors of sexual assault have had their power profoundly taken from them. Making decisions overprotects them and may send a message that you think they’re incompetent. Help them problem-solve by offering all possible options. Offer to support whatever decision they make, then do it.
  • Get support for yourself too-the more you care, the more you are affected. Look inward; pay attention to your own feelings, your needs are valid too.
  • Don’t burden the survivor with your “stuff.” Males learn to expect others to “take care of” our emotional needs and want them to explain to us what we are thinking/feeling about their trauma. It isn’t wrong for us to have emotional needs. It is wrong for us to add to the survivor’s burden.
  • Respect their need for absolute confidentiality. Not making their secret public may be the only safe thing for them to do as they see it. If you get support for yourself as an affected “significant other,” do not tell the details of the abuse to anyone. If a person who you confide in presses you to identify the survivor, do not tell them. If you help make the details of the assault public, you will do the survivor harm.
  • Check-in with a person before leaping into an intense follow-up discussion. Don’t assume that the level of disclosure that you shared previously is acceptable currently or later when you talk to that person. If you want to talk further, recognize that this might not be a good time for him/her to talk.
  • Sometimes a friend/lover/relative will share that they were assaulted by someone. Some survivors never bring it up again. Some refuse to talk further about it. Some even avoid you. This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with you. You might be the only person they have confided in and every time they see you they recall their abuse. Don’t punish them for your feeling of being used if that is how you feel. Similarly, you may choose approach them at a private time and ask them if they want to talk further. If they don’t, that’s fine. If they do,that’s also fine as long as you both feel comfortable and safe.
  • When a survivor tells you tell you that they have been abused, you may feel uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. You have the right to state that what they are telling you is too difficult for you to hear. You may help them find someone else who can be there for them.
  • If anything you hear or feel resonates for you as you hear their story, it does not prove that you are a survivor. If you are a survivor and you are feeling old feelings again, there are (hopefully)caring resources available in you community.
  • Some people will seek out a stranger to tell their story to. They may feel safer telling their story to someone they won’t see again, feeling safer with anonymity this person provides. We all deserve the right to feel safe. ( Protective Behaviors, Inc).
  • Remember the value you place on a friend who took the time to really listen to you.
Possible Reactions of Male and Female Incest or other Sexual Assault Survivors

Note: I include this sections to illustrate the multitude of sometimes contradictory effects that sexual assault survivors experience. This list was created from several lists that compiled responses of many survivors, both male and female. Not all survivors necessarily experience all or even most of these.

  • Nightmares
  • Swallowing and gagging sensitivity (suffocation feelings)
  • Alienation from the body-poor body management. Manipulating body size to avoid sexual attention.
  • Fear that everyone is a potential attacker
  • Eating disorders, drug or alcohol abuse; other addictions; compulsive behaviors
  • Self-destructiveness; skin carving; self-abuse
  • Suicidal thoughts, attempts, obsessions; Depression (sometimes paralyzing); seemingly baseless crying
  • Inability to express anger; fear of actual or imagined rage; constant anger
  • Intense hostility toward entire gender or ethnic group of the perpetuator
  • Depersonalization; going into shock, shutdown in crisis
  • A stressful situation is always a crisis; psychic numbing
  • Physical pain or numbness associated with a particular memory, emotion (for example anger), or situation (for example sex)
  • Rigid control of one’s thought process; humorlessness or extreme solemnity
  • Nervousness about being watched or surprised; feeling watched
  • Trust issues; inability to trust; trusting indiscriminately
  • High risk behaviors; inability to take risks
  • Boundary issues; control power, territorial issues; fear of losing control
  • Obsessive/compulsive behaviors
  • Guilt, shame; low self-esteem, feeling worthless, high appreciation of small favors by others
  • No sense of own power or right to set limits or say no
  • Pattern of relationships with much older persons (beginning in adolescence)
  • Blocking out part of childhood (especially ages 1-12), or specific person or place
  • Feeling of carrying an awful secret; urge to tell, fear of its being revealed
  • Certainty that no one will listen; feeling “marked” (“The Scarlet Letter”)
  • Feeling crazy; feeling different; feeling oneself to be unreal and everybody else to be real, or vice versa; creating fantasy worlds, relationships, or identities
  • Denial; no awareness at all; repression of memories; pretending
  • Sexual issues: sex feels “dirty”; aversion to being touched (especially in gynecological exam); strong aversion to or need for) particular sex acts; feeling betrayed by one’s body; trouble integrating sexuality and emotionality; compulsively “seductive” or compulsively asexual; must be sexual aggressor, or cannot be; impersonal, “promiscuous” sex with strangers concurrent with inability to have sex in an intimate relationship; sexual acting acting out to meet anger or revenge needs; sexualizing of meaningful relationships. Note: Homosexuality is not an after effect.
  • Limited tolerance for happiness; reluctance to trust happiness

youthresource.com/library/ygm5.htm – 2000