General Discussions

[Mav]

The point about the gay numbers is the more accepted it is, the more people feel comfortable coming out. I'm talking in recent history, like over our lifetimes. Being more public does not 'change' people into being gay, just allows them to be open about it. So more numbers does not equal more 'conversions' for lack of a better term, but rather more honesty.

Unfortunately, the right wingers are using the reverse logic to justify attacks on the LBQTI community in the US. They argue the greater percentage of people who self-identify as being queer than was the case in the ‘50s proves that a ‘social contagion’ is to blame. They argue that the antidote is to make life so tough for queer folk that everyone will resist “infection”. Any program that seeks to increase tolerance or address suicidality is therefore evil and needs to be ruthlessly opposed.