Hiya everyone!

[Here2Learn22]

Well hi everybody! I was referred to this site by a soulforce pamphlet given to me in a class. I recently completed a course that studies race, class, gender, and sexuality as social constructions. A lot of new knowledge and theory has been introduced to me and its a time of change and reflection in my life. I'm interested in hearing stories from different members of these boards. I'd like to here about difficult times in your life due to homophobia. If I try to discuss these new theories with friends or others it is difficult to articulate my points because I don't have any personal stories of homophobia effecting my life (though I'm sure they exist). As my username says, I'm here to learn, so please teach me. I'd appreciate anything anybody is willing to share.

[Here2Learn22]

Oh, I forgot personal stuff! My name is Ben. I'm a student at the University of Iowa and I'm originally from Brooklyn but I've lived in Dubuque, IA for over a decade. I'm a liberal, pro-choice Jewish man who's advocated for equal rights for the homosexual community for as long as I can remember. I'm straight, actively anti-homophobic, and anti straight-privilege. I'm here to listen and learn. Please forgive me if I offend anybody here out of arrogance as I'm quite new to this. I'm excited to meet all of you.

[tdogg]

Hiya back!! Glad you're here. You can learn much by browsing the threads and conversations that have happened. We've all told our story here and there. Good luck, hope you find the site to be helpful and you'll stay around and share some more.

[Zerbie]

Hi there. Welcome, Ben. Thanks for the intro. Stick around for a while, and hey, if you do a forum search, you may find some old threads that discuss what you're looking for.

Thanks for saying hi.

[Gennee]

Hi Ben and welcome to the site. I happen to be transgender and a crossdresser so if you want to know anything about these two identities, feel free to ask. By the way, what part of Brooklyn are you from?

Gennee

[Here2Learn22]

Originally Posted by Gennee

Hi Ben and welcome to the site. I happen to be transgender and a crossdresser so if you want to know anything about these two identities, feel free to ask. By the way, what part of Brooklyn are you from?

Gennee

I lived close to Crown Heights, and was there during the riots over the killings of Gavin Cato and the Australian Jewish Scholar. Certainly an interesting time to be alive.

[Gennee]

Originally Posted by Here2Learn22

I lived close to Crown Heights, and was there during the riots over the killings of Gavin Cato and the Australian Jewish Scholar. Certainly an interesting time to be alive.

I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant. I wasn't living here when that event happened but I remember it well.

Gennee

[BenL]

Hi, from another Ben -- Christian, not Jewish. My Ben is a shortened form of Benedict. I'm betting you're a Benjamin.

Anyways, I'm a gay man in my 60s, married to a trans man. As others have said, browse some of the threads to get the lay of the land, so to speak. Thanks for your activism and your work against homophobia. It's far more persuasive in the broader community coming from a straight man like yourself.

Privilege is a many-headed monster. There's white privilege, gentile privilege, male privilege (and in some communities female privilege), heterosexual privilege, affluent privilege, college-educated privilege, married privilege, native-born privilege, able-bodied privilege, linguistic privilege. If you are bisexual or transgender, there's even gay and lesbian privilege in the LGBT community. Need I go on?

The most difficult privilege to spot is the privilege we ourselves benefit from but don't even realize we have it. Welcome to the forums.