If people look into history... they will notice that homosexuality isn't a phase or something new. Its been around for a very very long time and inside each and every culture. While every culture has its different views.... its usually the religious right that make it a huge issue. My view is this.... your sexual preference is the least of my concerns. I care about things that actually matter... like honesty, and the deeds people do.

I made a post on how the prop 8 bill was bullshit, and it goes in explaining and debunking certain things that the religious right stirred up. Here are some examples.

* If you do sociological research on children in gay homes, you will find that they are just as healthy and normal as other kids and that they have also expanded socially and psychologically into balanced, open-minded and good kids. They usually delve outside their typical gender roles, for example; a boy could clean more ,be a better listener and more open to his feelings. A girl might be more interested in football or other more masculine activities. IMO its better to be balanced, because gender roles change over time and our current ones are very sexist and outdated in alot of ways.

* Just because you see gay behavior does not mean they you are going to turn gay. If thats your fear... then odds are you probably are imo.

* If the above statement was true... everyone in Boston, San Fransisco, and boys-town here in Chicago is a homo.... and thats not true.

* It is wrong to teach about homosexuality in school. Then it is wrong to teach about most of the famous intellectuals, artists and scientists of our past... because many of them were homosexual or bi-sexual.... including Socrates, Ben Franklin.. to name a couple.

* Even in the dictionary it states the union of marriage is between a man or a woman, two objects, or two people (m + f ) in the eyes of god .... most of the definitions are christian. We are supposedly not a christian nation ... bs.... so that means that even if I don't practice the christian faith... I am bound by LAW by christian rule. That is ridiculous.

Just my opinon.

My take on this is that the majority of people, at one point or another, been exposed to the prejudiced ideas of others, who assume (often incorrectly) that we believe as they do. Many of us choose to ignore racism, bias, homophobia and bigotry, rather than confront it. Perhaps we are so shocked, or made so uncomfortable by the ignorance demonstrated by such bigotry, that we feel we can only stand mute in its presence. Or, perhaps we fear negative repercussions - such as being viewed as an outsider - if we fail to stand unified with "our group."

Assume Responsibility for Change in Your Immediate World:
It is often said that change starts with one person. Be the change you want to see in the world. Recognize that if each of us confronted bias, bigotry, homophobia and racism in our daily lives, we would, each of us, play an important role in ultimately shaping social norms.
Be your own persona, apply critical thinking and make judgements based on the facts rather than on institutionalised prejudices that come from group led agendas or the Christian mindset so prevalent in post modernist neo-paganism.

Best
Rig

well said.

>>> I also have a hard time accepting people who prove themselves irresponsible. <<<

I hope that you will forgive my irresponsible typing. I just noticed quite a few errors. But my message remains the same. Love is love and I don't care how we come by it as long as each person is a willing partner.

very good thread. Thanks. Especially for those who worded some of my own opinions better than I can.

I am new to the group and I've been enjoying reading this thread. As a gay man, I have some strong feelings about this issue, mainly because of the lack of acceptance of homosexuality in mainstream (i.e., x-tian) religion.

Not every gay man has a "woman's heart," just like not every lesbian woman has a "man's heart." I'm a gay man - but I've also been in the military, I am a weightlifter, I enjoy the outdoors, etc. - typically "masculine" behavior and attitudes. (Truth be told, the majority of gay men would be considered "masculine" - you just don't realize how many of us there are, because we don't stand out.)

I am not attracted to other men because I see myself in a feminine role, with a "woman's heart" - in fact, it's just the opposite. I am attracted to other men because they represent the ideals of masculinity that I am working toward for myself.

If I visualized myself as a warrior in a pagan tribe, it would be easy for me to also visualize sharing that raw strength and masculinity, power and courage, with other warriors - in the bedroom as well as on the battlefield. I don't know how common this kind of sexual conduct has been in pagan cultures historically - but it wouldn't surprise me to discover that it was fairly frequent.

On the female side, I can see the same thing. Women whose mates are away for long periods of time doing battle - it seems only natural that those women, who are responsible for maintaining the home and the family, keeping the village running, would bond with each other and share the responsibilities of womanhood. For two women to become sexually intimate under these circumstances seems to be very natural. Not because one of them is a dominant, butch, 'manly' personality - but because they have the bond of shared experience.

That is, to me, the core of homosexual experience - the bond of shared experience, similar outlooks. Male-female bonds represent the attraction of opposites, the combining of separate forces, the God/Goddess duality played out in everyday life. But homosexual bonds are different - they reinforce each half of the God/Goddess duality separately, honoring and celebrating each one for itself.

When I share sex with another man, it magnifies and glorifies the God-Father, whether he be Odin, Cernunnos, Apollo, or whoever - masculine energy combining with masculine energy to celebrate the Godhood, the fount and spring of all masculine energy. When two women are intimate, they are celebrating and glorifying the Goddess-Mother as Herself, in all Her glory, woman sharing with woman in a way that invokes the Goddess without having to rely on masculine energy.

Just my take on things...