I don't pretend to be an expert on transgender issues.  I'll tell you right now that I'm not completely sure how transgender people function, I only know of their social stigmas and their battle for equality.

I do know enough, however, to spot a problem at school.  There is a girl at my school who is genetically male, but identifies as a straight female.  She is the subject of much ridicule, including from one of my very best friends.

She says that you can't argue with your chromosomes.  God put you in your body to be that sex.  I told her that isn't how it always works.  She still didn't understand that transgender people can't help their genetic material being different from who they are inside.  Kind of like how a can of soup with an incorrect label can't help that it's tomato when it's labeled cream of mushroom.

Soon after I came out two years ago, a concerned parent had a long discussion with me about how concerned she was for my eternal salvation.  I listened and told her I'd read what she wanted me to read, but that I wasn't doing anything wrong.  She was okay for a while after that.

Soon came a choir trip to DC, for which she was a chaperone.  She decided to talk to me and a group of friends about how all gay people have STD's no matter what, and AIDS was the big hit with her.  That's right... all gay people have AIDS.

I tried to tell her that not all gay people have AIDS, to no avail.  I can at least speak from personal experience.  I am a gay male.  I do not have AIDS.  Ergo, not all gay people have AIDS. 

But what about those of us who do?  AIDS carries a horrible social stigma.  People are uneducated.  They think that AIDS is an autmotic death sentence, that people with AIDS are like King Midas and infect everything they touch.  These are of course, untrue.  Though AIDS can be deadly, and is not fully curable, it is treatable and people with HIV/AIDS can lead full, happy lives.  AIDS can't be transferred through touch.  Using the same phone as a person who has AIDS won't give you AIDS, it's just simply a phone that someone else has used before. 

Help fight the social stigma.  Help fight the myths.  Also, help to educate people on how to help stop the pandemic.  Use condoms, talk to your partners, tell others to do the same.  You may think you're just one person reading some silly teenager's blog, but you...  Yes, you right there at your computer screen!  You CAN help make a difference.

I guess it seems like a fair question. "When did you choose to be gay?" Of course, asking me that is like asking me when I decided to have a face.

I have always had a face. I was born with it, and I plan to keep my face for the rest of my life.  Things may happen and my face may change, but for now I have my face, and I am comfortable with it.

The same thing goes for my sexuality. I'm gay, I've almost always known I was gay, and I am comfortable with it. For now I don't think I could dientify any other way, but I don't know what the future holds for me, so I honestly can't say that I will identify as a homosexual male for the rest of my life. 

I never chose to be gay. Living where I do, that would be a VERY dumb choice. Dealing with all of harassment, threats, and snide remarks I do makes it into a choice I can honestly say I would not make. 

I don't know anyone that CHOSE their sexuality. Whenever I'm asked when I chose to be gay, I like to reply "When did you choose to be straight?" It goes both ways, let's all remember that.

www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/11/1770480/who-has-the-right-to-judge.html


One of my teachers gave me a post-it today with this author's name on it.  She told me that his writings about social boundaries were life-changing, and that if he doesn't change your life, you are unable to be changed.  

Wow.

So, why DO we judge people?  We all have our biases, but what makes my bias more important than yours?  What makes your opinion more valid than mine?

Saying that a judge, who may or may not be gay, cannot rule on a case of same-sex marriage is indeed as horrid as mentioned by Pitts Jr.  It makes about as much sense as a can of tomatoes being put in the middle of a watermelon.

That's right.  Nonsense.

Basically, we have now been told being human means you can't rule on something dealing with other people's freedoms.

A woman, father, sister, or brother can't rule on anything to do with abortion, then.  As a matter of fact, none of us could considering we were all cells inside of a man and woman at some point.

Do you know a 38 year old man?  Sorry, you can't be a juror in this murder case.

I'm sorry your honor, we must ask you to recuse yourself because you have the same hair color as the plantiff.

Oh, you're black, you can't vote for Barack Obama.

Oh, you're white, you can't vote for John McCain.

Oh, you're from Georgia?  Then we're sorry, your bias for your state keeps you from voting for this presidential candidate.

Where, and when, does it end?  Are we really such a closed-minded country that a POSSIBLE bias is grounds for keeping the freedoms of a group of people revoked?

Land of the free, home of the biased.

I recently spoke with my mom on her opinions on me being sexually active at a young age.  I discovered that she agrees with me on how my life should be run.

She told me that she knows I'm probably going to have sex.  I'm 16, things happen.  She told me that all she asks is that I be safe and sensible.  Pick my partners wisely, and always be protected.  It's always reassuring to know that she agrees with me and that she at least wants me to be safe. 

I saw an episode of The Office last night that did some good things.  I don't know any character names, but this one jerk character was calling some office workers "faggy" whenever they would do something dumb.  He eventually called a homosexual faggy, and ended up outing the man to the entire office.  Many office workers found his conduct incredibly horrid and requested an apology.  One woman even talked to him about coming out being a big deal that shouldn't be done in the way he did it.

I was proud of this show for covering these topics and possibly educating some people on the treatment of homosexuals.  I'm actually surprised a network would take a side of homosexuality that wasn't making fun or ridiculing.

 

I once had a friend who had a very strange view of condoms.  I was telling him about my work as an advocate and about handing out condoms when he told me that he doesn't believe in allowing teenagers to have access to condoms. I asked him why and he told me that they caused people to have sex. He said that people are more likely to have sex when they have condoms.

I politely disagreed and told him that condoms just make sex safer for all parties involved.  This did make me curious as to what my other friends really thought about condoms so I went around and asked.

Many of my friends agreed that condoms don't make people more tempted to have sex, they merely make sex safer for those who choose to have it.

I had a few friends to state that condoms are a pathway to promiscuity. Yet again, I politely disagreed and told them my opinion.

Then I talked to adults. I was actually surprised with many of the answers! Many adults I spoke too, mostly religious and conservative, agreed that condoms make sex safe! I was proud that some adults are at least treaching their children what condoms are and what they do, not just bashing them because they can be used to have sex without making a baby. Way to go, grownups!

When I was in seventh or eighth grade, a group of people came to my middle school to give us what was basically sex ed.  Our school couldn't call it sex ed because our county didn't allow it, so instead we were informed that it was called "Abstinence Education."  Remembering this "education" makes me realize just how badly we need comprehensive sex ed programs.

It was a three day course that was done during our fun classes.  The first day, the men introduced themselves and told us that they weren't going to tell us how sex works, but why it's dangerous.  They gave us a brief overview of the entire course, telling us that sex before marriage will lead to several diseases and probably (No, not possibly, probably) death.

More...

My friend Amanda recently discovered that she is two months pregnant.  This...is her story.

Amanda is a junior in high school.  Her freshman year, she lost her virginity.  She told me about it on the bus the day after it happened.  She told me they had done it in the forest and that it had been a wonderful experience, but she felt differently about herself.  We discussed why she shouldn't be ashamed of herself for having sex when she told me the bad side of her entire encounter.

Due to a lack of protection, she may have gotten pregnant.  We were all worried for a while, as pregnancy is a pretty big deal, especially for a high school freshman.  She took a pregnancy test later and discovered that she was pregnant and vowed to protect herself from then on.

Recently, she broke her vow.  She and her boyfriend were having a passionate night together, and her boyfriend had forgotten to bring his condoms.  They decided to risk the sex anyway.  This time, Amanda wasn't able to dodge the baby-bullet. 

Amanda and her boyfriend have stepped out of the crowd of pregnant youth, however.  Her boyfriend has assumed responsibility for making the baby, and Amanda has told her parents that she is pregnant.  She has been examined and her parents are helping to ensure that she receives all necessary care during and after her pregnancy.

I am proud of Amanda.  Though she knows she could have prevented this entire situation and that this will follow her for the rest of the life, she has really stepped up to the plate.  I am proud that she knows how to be responsible in this situation, and I wish that more girls in her situation would show her level of maturity.
 

I had an experience the other day at school that I figured I should share.

I was sitting in my homeroom class when a boy I'm not particularly fond of walked to me.  He started talking to me, and I was kind and spoke back to him in a civil tone of voice.  Then he asked the big question everyone wants to know.  "Are you a faggot?"  I told him, "I am homosexual, but don't use the term 'faggot,' I find it offensive."  He continued using faggot in reference to me.

Next he started asking me about homosexual sex.  He asked me to explain how two males can have sex, which someone else did for me, and then asked if it was true that all "faggots" get diseases from sex.  I told him that that was false, homosexuals can have safe sex just as easily as heterosexuals can.  Then he started talking about how much sex I must have had since I'm gay.  I didn't understand, so I asked him what he meant.  "All you queers have sex all the time!" 

When did people start thinking this?  I didn't know that gay people had sex all of the time!  What rock have I been under?  Oh wait, that's right, being homosexual is not synonymous with being promiscuous.