p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"Although some cities celebrated Gay Pride weeks ago and some won't have theirspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spancelebrations for possibly months, today is the "traditional" day of Gay Pride as the anniversary of the Stonewall riots here in the U.S./font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"I'm curious though, how many of us are OUT. /font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"While many of us here are identified as gay and bisexual, if not in our profile information, at least by our presence here. But how many of us are self-identifying as members of the LesBiGay community outside of cyberspace? /font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"Being "out" doesn't have to mean being grand marshal of the span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"/spangay pride parade or even showing up at a gay pride picnic or event like Gay Days at Disney (and wearing a red shirt). But it should mean supporting your community in whatever way you're able and comfortable. At the very least it's certainly not hiding the fact that you're gay or bisexual./font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"But as being a member of the LesBiGay community isn't just about who we sleep with (as many homophobes focus on), it's also about the diversity of the community itself. Not just the different races and ethnic backgrounds but also the other lifestyles that are just as much a part of our identities as gays and bisexuals. /font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"How many of us are OUT about being nudists? How many of us are OUT about being a part of the leather community? How many of us are OUT as span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"/spanparents or possibly parents of gay youth? How many of us are OUT about being in a same sex relationship for longer than Brittney Spears has been alive and still don't have as many marriage rights as she possessed before her 24 hour annulment?!?!?!span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span. . . . (blush) Sorry, touchy subject. How many of us are OUT about being a member of a GALA chorus, softball or bowling league, MCC or other gay affirming church, member of GLSEN or any other professionalspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/ company sponsored LesBiGay organization, contributing member of aspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanlocal or national organization for LesBiGay issues, etc.?/font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"font face="Calibri" size="3"Do even your gay and bisexual friends know about your "lifestyle(s)"?/font
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"

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