LGBT section: what is your views regarding LGBT, and how would you describe yourself regarding hanging in this section?

I believe LGBT should be fully accepted - we have the right to openly exist and be represented in the media and such. But I also think that it shouldn't be a big deal if someone is gay (as in, not news-worthy).

I can understand people who respectfully disagree with it, but I cannot stand when people are jerks about it (saying gay people are disgusting, saying they're "perverted" or that it's a "mental illness," etc.), or when people want to take away LGBT rights because of their own personal beliefs.

And despite the fact that this section is the one I most post in on the site, I'm a bit neutral on the idea of an LGBT community as a whole, or the idea of /only/ focusing on LGBT things. I have other interests and personally do other things, such as drawing and webcomic stuff. Which, possibly surprising to some, have never yet touched on social justice issues.

As for how I describe myself hanging in this section - my main goal here is to help people when I can. Whether it's giving helpful advice (or at least trying to), or providing a voice of reason against bigots and/or non-obvious trolls in a hopefully-entertaining way. To word it differently, I feel that bigots' comments have less impact when there is an opposing voice - I try to provide that when I can. Plus it's sort of enjoyable poking fun at them, at times.

I've never been involved with LGBT groups in real life nor have I frequented gay pubs or youth groups, so this section is my only LGBT-focused means of learning or helping others. As Tyler said I also will look out for non-obvious trolls goading a person to kill themselves or posting an ironic question in an attempt to make bigoted viewpoints appear validated.

For me I'm a 24 year old gay ftm bricklaying student/apprentice fluent in Polish. As a person I'm not easily upset or offended. I have a lot of safe sex with men in real life and I'm honest and open about it. Having been through quite a colourful life I'm sometimes able to give support on genuine bad situations. I'm an antinatalist vegan (watch the thumbs downing begin..) but that's something I consider my personal life and choice which I don't shove down other people's throats.
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The reason I'm here is to clarify my views on LGBT issues.

My views regarding LGBT issues are:

* There are tensions between the communities in the acronym with white cis wealthy men at the top of the hierarchy, which is why there is so much emphasis on gay marriage - they want to be accepted by the establishment and it's a badge of status for them, which is seriously a side issue for, say, someone having to sell their body to support their transition.

* I'm against all marriage and therefore against same-sex marriage. Having same-sex marriage prioritises it over other kinds of sexual relationship in what used to be a clean slate for creativity in that respect. Having said that, it's probably a necessary evil because it deals with things like next of kin and probate. Heterosexual marriage is purely about men oppressing women and nothing else, so it should be abolished.

* Lesbian and gay relationships are better than heterosexual ones because they subvert patriarchy. Penetrative heterosexual sex is always rape in patriarchy, so obviously we shouldn't do it!

* Gender dysphoria *is* a mental illness, though not of the kind transphobic people say it is. It can be managed but not cured by transition and a person assigned male at birth would not be female even if she had a fully functional female body with periods, pregnancy and a pair of X chromosomes in each diploid somatic cell in her body. because gender is class, not biology. Gender identity, on the other hand, is determined by brain structure or function, so just as a left-handed brain is a left-handed person, a female brain is a woman. There's no contradiction here because gender is not gender identity, and nor are either sex.

* In a non-patriarchal society, the ideal is pansexuality because it means you love everyone and express that love sexually. However, it appears that some people do have preferences in that respect. Strictly speaking I'm asexual, so I can't be said to be answering from an informed perspective on that. However, it's basically impossible for a heterosexual relationship not to be sexist, so they're best avoided.

* There is no such thing as cross-dressing. To say there is would be to make a concession to bigots. All there is, is clothing (plus make up, jewellery etc), and there are for some reason people who restrict their image to boring, ugly and uncomfortable choices, most of whom have an XY karyotype for a completely mystifying reason. What you wear and your image says nothing about your gender or gender identity, and the same applies to things like piercings and implants. There is no reason at all why a man shouldn't choose to have breast implants, complete hair removal and a neovaginoplasty and not continue to identify as male.

* Asexuality and intersexuality tend to be ignored in all this but are important in themselves and relevant.

* I am a born-again evangelical Christian. There is no Scriptural justification for homophobia or transphobia even if you take a historical-critical approach to the Bible, and people who think there is have misunderstood the Bible and not listened to God, possibly because they have mistaken emotional responses such as disgust for ethical responses. Just as the Bible appears to say pi=3 but in fact simply says that because Hebrew couldn't express decimal fractions, the Bible appears to condemn homosexually expressed love because of the inadequacy of language used to express it.

I think that's it. I'm British, married to a cis woman and have two grown up children, and I'm a part-time carer and medical herbalist.

Throughout my experiences being in this category, my views regarding the LGBT are mostly opposing views. I'm simply not convinced that people are truly born LGBT. Instead, I believe that homosexuality is unnatural, most likely caused by childhood trauma, is associated with various diseases, and a choice like all forms of sexuality.

Beginning with my first point, homosexuality is unnatural. Albeit the word "natural" has many definitions, one of those meanings is "to conform to the ordinary course of nature." For example, our ability to be sexually aroused naturally exists to prepare us for reproduction, which is only possible with the opposite sex. Because lesbians, gays, and bisexuals are sexually aroused by people of the same sex, clearly their sexuality doesn't correspond to the ordinary course of nature. Additionally, some LGBT people and their supporters might claim that homosexuality is natural because homosexuality occurs in the animal kingdom or that sex doesn't truly have to be done for reproductive purposes. Either way, even if animals engage in true homosexuality, it only proves that even animals can engage in unnatural acts and even if sex doesn't have to be reproductive, it's still the biology purpose of sex regardless of what we use it for. Therefore, homosexuality is unnatural.

Furthermore, homosexuality mighty likely to be caused by childhood trauma. Although LGBT people and their supporters might not want to admit it, a strong correlation exists between people that suffered some sort of trauma during their childhood such as abuse and homosexuality. For instance, 48% of members of "People Can Change" online support groups, which have a combined membership of 600 men, said that they had been sexually abused as children and 96% considered the abuse to be a contributing factor to their developing same-sex attraction feelings. I believe that people that underwent sexual abuse as children from a person of the same sex is more likely to find a same-sex person as a partner when they age due to having the experience early, but in a loving way rather than being a victim again. Additionally, LGBT people and their supporters might claim that trauma doesn't cause homosexuality because they are gay, but never experienced abuse. My response is that while there might be some exceptions, the strong correlation between LGBT that suffered some sort of trauma can't be ignored. Therefore, childhood trauma is likely a causative factor in homosexuality.

Moreover, homosexuality is highly associated with diseases. Despite LGBT people supposedly being around 2% of the population or so, high rates of STD infections and diseases such as anal cancer exist in the gay community. For example, despite gays being only 2% of the population, they comprise over 70% of new HIV/AIDS cases every year, to which 57% of all people infected with HIV/AIDS were men who have sex with men; even using protection barely prevents HIV or STD spreading due to condoms being more likely to break in the anus. Gay men are also at high risk of anal cancer more so than any other groups and comprise the group mostly infected with primary and secondary syphilis. In addition, some might claim heterosexuals comprise the group mostly infected with STDs. However, because heterosexuals are about 98% of the population, apparently heterosexuals would be the group mostly afflicted, but because gay people are around only 2% of the population, they have the highest rates of infection. Therefore, disease is mostly associated with homosexuality.

Lastly, homosexuality is a choice like any form of sexuality. While people might not be to choose what sexually arouses them initially, they can choose whether or not they wish to remain gay. For example, even though sexual attraction might not exist, a person can still date and connect with another person based on other factors such as enjoying the person's personality, have sex, get used to it, enjoy it, and eventually develop a sexual attraction to the sex acts and the person that he or she connected to. Though it might seem impossible, the effort takes strong dedication and the true desire to change sexual orientation. In addition, some might claim that choosing sexual orientation is impossible because they felt gay since they were children. However, many cases exist of people choosing to be gay or gay people choosing to be straight, and claims that people with choices were "bisexual all along" are nothing more than arguments used to hold on to the belief that homosexuality is a birth trait. Therefore, being LGBT is a choice.

As for transgender people, I'm not convinced that they are the sex they claim to be. Being male or female isn't something that you choose or identify as because biological sex is determined by sex chromosomes and enforced by reproductive roles, not gender identity. For example, if a person has XY chromosomes with the reproductive role of producing sperm and fertilizing egg cells, this person is male. If the person has XX chromosomes with the reproductive role of producing egg cells and giving birth, this person is female. Because sex chromosomes and reproductive roles can't be altered, a person's birth sex can't be altered too. Hormone therapy and surgery only makes cosmetic changes to the human body, not genetic changes. Additionally, some people might claim that transgender people are born with different brain patterns that can cause gender identity disorder. However, no real evidence proves it true because studies aren't conducted to prove if transgenderism is possible without the brain patterns. Therefore, transgender people would always be the sex they were born.

In conclusion, based on my arguments and facts presented, it's should be clear that homosexuality is unnatural, most likely caused by childhood trauma, is associated with various diseases, and a choice like all forms of sexuality. It should also be clear that transgender people would never be the sex they claim to be as well. Nonetheless, I have nothing against LGBT people, but I would always have my reasons for opposing their lifestyle.

Sources:
Defining "natural:" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural
Disease rates: http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/std.htm
Accounts of people choosing homosexuality: http://www.queerbychoice.com/
Possible causes of homosexuality and childhood trauma: http://www.peoplecanchange.com/change/causes.php
Gay men and anal cancer: http://www.cancer-network.org/cancer_information/gay_men_and_cancer/anal_cancer_hiv_and_gay_men.php
What determines biological sex: http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/sex-determination-and-differentiation
Can sex chromosomes be altered: http://genetics.thetech.org/ask/ask35

1. I'm LGBT friendly 'cuz I support & love my LGBT family members.
2. I'm here for that reason but also my home forum is right next door.
3. I dislike the ignorance both here & there so I bounce around providing answers.
4. I come across as "not serious" because so many questions are not serious.
5. A 1000 word essay explaining why one dislikes gays, minorities or bald guys isn't a question. It's a rant which should be shared with a therapist.
6. Much of the content here & in my home forum is attention seeking.