Is being Gay and open more dangerous now?

[Hikari]

I think it depends where you live . . .
Some places are not so dangerous , but other ones are . . .

[LJay]

The soul selects her own society.

And there are a good number of reasons why.

[cftxp]

It's a mixed bag around where I live. In particular, I live pretty close to a rural area (though it's still considered urban statistically) and so I doubt "coming out" here is easy (though it is a Democratic-leaning area and I will admit to saying that I haven't found as many "interracial" couples anywhere in my life as I have here so I have no idea). The Houston area as a whole is pretty politically divided but I think it's safe to say that more Republican-leaning areas would be more openly homophobic. This is still Texas so you will find hate crimes, even murders, happen here like in other parts of the country - to those individuals, it was definitely a more dangerous environment!

[East]

For me..being gay is a complete non issue and always has been. I had a five minute window from the moment it occurred to me I was gay and telling my family...I was done with it. I never come out to anyone else except for a few women who would not leave me alone...eeek! I know it is a big thing for a lot of people but it would be an unnatural thing for me to "come out" to anyone...I just introduce them to my boyfriend and casually mention how much I like this or that guy and let them figure it out.

I don't care or even want to know if they have an issue...and I don't care if they like it or not. There are probably a lot of things I don't like about them and so it could be a real pissing match....and I don't want anyone's approval or even acceptance because I don't like to ask for something from others I am not sure I am willing to give in return...so tacky really to demand something from someone else you aren't willing to do yourself...

...and so I settle for basic respect from other people...I got it in the 70s...I get it today....so not much has changed for me

As for dangerous...I beat the crap out of the HS Bully in front of all his friends back in the 70s.....

.... so it seems it is a lot less dangerous for the bullies now than it was back then

[Iceblink]

If you are a "Screming Queen" wanderng around the streets of Detroit or similar, you're asking for it.

I live in the Detroit area. A screaming queen wandering around Detroit would definitely have to be careful, like anyone else would, but I would be much more worried about a white man from Kansas wandering around certain neighborhoods, as you would appear to them very vulnerable. If a screaming queen happens to be wandering around Detroit, they are probably going to figure there is nothing on his person worth having and is no threat to taking over anyone's turf. There is a lot of crime in Detroit, but they are almost all crimes of opportunity and gain and gangs.

[Iceblink]

We have to be careful when we watch the news today and see anti-gay violence reported by remembering that in the old days, these kind of crimes were not reported by the police or the media as anti-gay or hate crimes.

[Uneunsae]

I've never been the type to advertise my sexuality or tell anyone I'm gay unless it's relevant to the situation. However, I'm pretty sure many people can tell. LOL Though, I don't think people jump to conclusions as often as we think. Sometimes they probably just think something like, "He seems so gay, but I don't know!" especially since there are so many "metrosexual" men these days.

My real fear is when people can't tell if I'm male or female. I'm intersex/third gender for those of you who don't already know. Yeah, a lot of people couldn't care less, but living in the midwest, I've noticed that not being able to tell someone's gender really freaks some people out and sometimes they can say really hostile things that scare me. So, if I'm out really late, I am with a friend and I would NEVER go to a club by myself - but I don't go clubbing anyways. I really only get scared when I'm surrounded completely by people I don't know and topics that bring my gender and sexuality to attention come up (like sex!). I've been ridiculed, humiliated, and shamed (even by my own family). People even ask to see my body.

Next year, I am moving to San Francisco where my graduate school is so I'll be less worried about things like this.

[VidasParalelas]

Seattle is very liberal. It really depends on where you live.

[Mark]

For me I don't think its more dangerous being Gay in person now.. so in real life I think the danger doesn't really exist. Society has started to accept it a lot more and its really seen as nothing big. However.. I think being gay online is a lot more risky.. With the amount of social networking and how pretty much everyones details are online all you need is the wrong person to get your details and you are a little bit screwed.

[VidasParalelas]

The soul selects her own society.

And there are a good number of reasons why.

So you believe souls are feminine?