Is being Gay and open more dangerous now?

[driftwood]

... where I'm from it's definitely safer to be gay than it was a few decades ago.

That would apply to most of us, but today the news was reporting that there has been a rash of anti-gay laws being passed recently in some parts of the world.

[obroin]

I guess I was one of the lucky ones. Nobody ever really cared about my personal preferences when I was growing up, or when I got older............except a couple of rednecked douchebags....but I handled them.

Dude! that image is making me dizzy and feeling like I wanna puke Ugh

[Charon]

What we're at now is how homosexuals are viewed according to a caste and class system. If you are a "Screming Queen" wanderng around the streets of Detroit or similar, you're asking for it. If you are as most of us are, leading our lives just as people then it becomes a matter of how people who know or you have told react. Then there's the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The Phelps family who comprise it's membership. You will remember this group shows up at funerals of fallen soldiers proclaiming vocally and with signs that the existence of "fags" is why the man being buried died. This is God's way of punishing people for being even a little bit tolerant. Want to be more frightened? They go taken to the Supreme Court and WON on freedom of speech issues. I've never been sure why they're so wild eyed about this singular topic but that's there cause celebre and its been ongoing for years. As a friend of mine said, they shouldn't have a cross burning in front of their church, they should have a church burning in front of their parishoners. Preferably one started by lightning, sometimes known as the finger of God.
We're all subject to some minor harassment and the best we can do is overlook it. The great mass of society is,however lightly, on our side and see that sort of thing as wrong.

[BlackBaron]

I think that really depends on the area... where I'm from it's definitely safer to be gay than it was a few decades ago.

it's true. As for me i try to be careful. no one knows except my family and my friends about my sexual preference. But i don't feel that i'm surrounded by haters. I hide myself
behind the mask of "natural man".

[Sylph]

Tho we're probably the more gay friendly island people, we're still waiting for it to be safer :/

However, if you're local then it's not so bad, because we watch each other grow up, so unlike America where the flow of people changes everyday, we know who's who so it's less likely a gay person would just be attacked, unless they were walking in the wrong place at the wrong time around the wrong people.

I doubt we'll get much more better than we are now, we'll probably regress actually as we integrate more with our more Homophobic island relations(i.e Caribbean), but who knows :/

I feel safe day to day, and I did grow up with the Homophobes and "Gangstas" and Jamaicans(the rough ones, they ain't all bad) so I know the lifestyle and what to expect, but there are times you could feel intimidated.

Unfortunately, you just have to roll with the punches and luckily I have a tough skin :>

[Cuddly]

I would imagine it to be alot easier now, than it was then. Naturally coming out spreads alot faster now, than it would have before. It's literally three clicks on facebook and the entire world knows your sexual orientation.
So in cases of outing, it would be worse. But intentionally coming out, has never been better (I say that without having experienced the 60s 70s 80s or 90s as gay)

I don't think my peers consider me any different. I just dress better. I say "that's what he said" instead of "that's what she said"... That's about the only difference, except for the actual sexing, and I'm confident my peers feel that way too. I am openly gay at the university and even the faithful muslims are friends.
I don't shine bright like a diamond though, so one could say I am easier to tolerate than other more flamboyant gays. I don't hold back on gay jokes though!

URGH I almost forgot one thing! I had a few friends who refused to believe I was gay (coincidentally, these friends (happened on more occassions) were all muslim). That makes coming out harder today than it was before!
Imagine being laughed at with a "pfft.. yeah right!" comment thrown in at the end, when you're sincerely coming out to somebody. That's hurtful.

[Sylph]

URGH I almost forgot one thing! I had a few friends who refused to believe I was gay (coincidentally, these friends (happened on more occassions) were all muslim). That makes coming out harder today than it was before!
Imagine being laughed at with a "pfft.. yeah right!" comment thrown in at the end, when you're sincerely coming out to somebody. That's hurtful.

Actually never really thought of it that way. As opposed to myself, where I have a hard time getting people to believe I'm straight, it must be a Lil emotionally taxing to have to work up the nerve to come out only to kinda have it pushed aside, cause you aren't someone like me.

In that sense, I suppose it is more dangerous emotionally, as (judging by this forum alone) many gay males tend not to have overt signs of their sexuality. For a multitude of reasons mind you, but nonetheless still :/

Interesting take on it gurl

[Cuddly]

Actually never really thought of it that way. As opposed to myself, where I have a hard time getting people to believe I'm straight, it must be a Lil emotionally taxing to have to work up the nerve to come out only to kinda have it pushed aside, cause you aren't someone like me.

In that sense, I suppose it is more dangerous emotionally, as (judging by this forum alone) many gay males tend not to have overt signs of their sexuality. For a multitude of reasons mind you, but nonetheless still :/

Interesting take on it gurl

They usually believe me when I start quoting Lady Gaga lyrics or tell them why I only wear Hugo Boss jeans.
In the opposite realm, that you're in, you just need to memorize the results and who scored the goals in football (atleast that would work here in Denmark). And if you're really going for straight gold, wear white holed socks in sandals.

[Sylph]

They usually believe me when I start quoting Lady Gaga lyrics or tell them why I only wear Hugo Boss jeans.
In the opposite realm, that you're in, you just need to memorize the results and who scored the goals in football (atleast that would work here in Denmark). And if you're really going for straight gold, wear white holed socks in sandals.

Lol be like ; " I was born this way, hey!" With the little choreography she does that'd do the trick.

And ew gurl, i'm not a fashion queen, but talk about disaster xD. Sandals? I live on an island surrounded by ocean and beaches... The last time I wore sandals was when I was 8 and I remember putting my hands on my hips, sticking out my bottom lip and kicking those things off!

I was like, Really Mama?


Gurl, we're just hot ass mess gays and that's just what it is :p

[freelandia]

As of today, my answer is YES. Wearing a pink RL shirt is a no-no and very dangerous in a semi gay neighborhood in my county. I can only go by my daily experience.