10 Awesome (Functional) Things About
Being an LGBTQ
(in no specific order)
(Picture: Like all good couples, Cameron and Mitchell, the gay couple on TV show Modern Family, love and support one another. They may not make sense on paper - as Cameron is flamboyant and outrageous, while Mitchell is more of a straight man (no pun intended) - but they've found a working balance between one another that gets them through even the most dire and embarrassing situations. Watch a comical situation of them here)
By Julijan Rahahleh
Au contraire to what the title of the article implies, being an LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender/Transsexual Queer/Questioning) doesn’t need explaining or listing of reasons to say why awesome it is. Being gay is not only awesome because of who you really are and for ultimately being true to yourself, but also because it could be efficient, practical, and very IN! YES!
1- Being able to understand both points of view: Since being gay is basically mixing up the best of both worlds; you have a profound understanding of your own gender whilst having the very strong sense of the opposite gender as well. As new studies show, gay peoples’ brains share similar characteristics to those of the opposite sex! Researchers found resemblances in the brain’s physical structure and size as well as the strength of neural connections among gay people and straight people of the opposite sex. Meaning, you can be very good friends with the opposite sex to the point that you can tell a woman you love her bathing suit, and actually mean her bathing suit. Your women friends will tell you everything you want to know about their boyfriends – and by anything I mean EVERYTHING, (even the ones that you don’t want to know).
But beware though! Your straight friends might be milking you for inside info about the opposite sex for their own benefit, I mean who can forget that straight guy from Eating Out who pretended to be gay just for the inside info on how to hook up with the girl of his dreams!
2- Pregnancy? Scare? Not really! No unexpected babies in your future, no matter how much you’re doing it! Planned parenthood never sounded sweeter! You can have kids whenever you want and if you want! The use of condoms is basically for protection, which is a must. Either if you see kids as little bundles of joy or as hell raisers from the deepest ditches of Satan (not really, figure of speech?), children are just an optional thing for you, and your relationship doesn’t depend on them in any way possible as it’s often is in most heterosexual relationships, in which popping out the baby is usually a standard condition (except in few cases), and especially if you live in the Middle East.
3- Flexibility of relationships: It’s no secret that homosexual relationships are more flexible than hetero ones and can overcome obstacles in an easier manner. Either something happens or it doesn’t. Beside few exceptions here and there of tops and bottoms only, but technically everyone is versatile in their own way! Most LGBTQ people are flexible when in relationships from all sorts of aspects, as they tend to bend the rules a lot in our severely conservative societies, making them more diverse in their choices.
4- Doubling the wardrobe: If you’re dating someone, and it’s going steady and serious, and you’re relatively the same size, then you will discover your lucky opportunity to doubling your wardrobe in-two! A new line: Her’s/His’! You’re lucky enough to borrow that shirt you saw her/his wearing the first time you laid your eyes on her/him. “Same-sex sells”, writes Ron Dicker for the Huffington Post. In 2012 Gap has released a campaign featuring two young men (Tony-nominated actor and gay activist Rory O’Malley and his boyfriend, Gerold Schroede) cuddling inside the same T-shirt, accompanied by the caption “Be One”. Caution: results may vary!
5- You get to tell all the straight guys that character Barney Stinson on show ‘How I Met Your Mother’ (played by Neil Patrick Harris) is actually gay, for real! Playing a serial playboy, using his relative, style, wealth and an array of outrageous strategies to seduce women for sex with no intention of engaging in a relationship. A hero to many straight men, who have no idea of the character’s actual orientation in real life… gay! Known to enjoy being single, wearing suits and playing laser-tag. He often uses different techniques and ideas to have sex with women, which is one of the show’s central themes. And you get to be the one to deliver the news to those absent minded admirers, he’s gay, he’s gay and yes, he’s gay! Watch the reaction, and claim the pride! If it weren’t for all of us he’d be nothing. We (read: gays) found him somewhere, gave him confidence, groomed him, put him through acting school, and tapped his back for years. Harris is one of the most famous openly gay actors and when proponents of the celebrity closet argue “gay actors can’t play straight roles,” Neil Patrick Harris is usually the defense against that.
6- No one suspects that you’re a gay couple if you live together! One of the best things about being gay in the Middle East/Arab world, is that no one questions why are two men or two women are living together! They instantly think cousins, family, or two roommates. Whilst the suspicions would immediately go to those un-married straight couples, who would usually face hard time finding people to sublet there apartments or let you rent if you’re single or not married. Gays have it easier in that one!
7 – Gay relationships are solid gold! “Gays can end up having better and longer relationships than heterosexuals.” writes Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D. for psychologytoday.com. “When asked about their love lives, gays were more likely to have long term relationships. In fact, 59% had been in a stable, loving relationship for three or more years. They were very committed to their significant others and reported high levels of joy in their lives.” according to a convenient research made by Deborah. “Since this was a convenience sample, the results could be affected by who was willing to respond.” Says Deborah. “However, the results were pretty dramatic. Clearly, gays and lesbians can have better relationships than their heterosexual counterparts. It all depends on the inviduals involved. The notion that all gays bounce from lover to lover is bunk. There are many, many committed gays who want nothing more than to live their lives and be with the love of their lives.”
Societies among history and time have deemed homosexuality in all it’s forms, it’s a struggle and no one can deny that. To be able to make it through, fight it and be in that relationship against all odds, strengthen the relationship even more!
8- You will never be out of tampons! Yeap, it’s real, so let’s be real, if one night you woke up and you’re like “Ooops! No tampons!” And you’re nowhere near a friendly pharmacist. Don’t get stressed – we’ve all been there. And nothing is worse than running out of your supply when being cozy at home! One of the fortunate and efficient part of being a gay woman is that you get to double your tampon supply! Now that you’re partners, you get to double each others’ necessary feminine product supplies, and for dayyyyyyyys, as you’ll both reliable source to one another. Cheers!
9- Experimentation is IN! Whether you’re well-versed in lesbianhood, a total newbian or interesting in gay relationships, we’d like to inform you that experimentation is IN! Blue singer Lee Ryan made the revelation in the Celebrity Big Brother House whilst speaking to bisexual housemates Ollie Locke of Made in Chelsea, entrepreneur Luisa Zissman and US model Jasmine Waltz. “Yeah I’ve been with a man. Everyone’s done experimental s***,” he said. He went on to say: “I’m a well travelled person, I’ve never admitted it anywhere. No-one’s bothered to ask.” The conversation came up after Jasmine discussed a relationship she had with a woman during a brief stint in prison. She said: “I went to jail and the only people I had around me was women. I want to feel loved, if that’s with a man or a woman it doesn’t matter.”
Yes, bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior toward both males and females. The term is mainly used in the context of human attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings toward both men and women. We’ve known of Madonna’s lesbian affairs with model Jenny Shimizu and (rumored) Sandra Bernhard in the late 80s early 90s, actress Lindsay Lo. and DJ Samantha Ronson in recent years. But the latest is model Cara Delevinge dating actress Michelle Rodriguez. “It’s going really well. She’s so cool. When we started hanging out, I just thought she was awesome, and we have the best time together.” Rodriguez told TMZ.
“I like being in a relationship with a guy. But there’s something just different about it with a woman. When I was with Samantha (Ronson), I didn’t want to leave, because I didn’t want to be alone. It was very toxic. And her family controlled anything she did.” Lindsay told Piers Morgan in a candid interview “I know I’m straight. I have made out with girls before, and I had a relationship with a girl. But I think I needed to experience that and I think I was looking for something different.”
10- LGBTQ couples are equivalent in fights! Domestic violence is a widespread problem that occurs all over the world. The term domestic violence is generally applied to married couples, however the problem occurs between unmarried couples, as well as same-sex couples. Often times when people think of domestic violence, they think of heterosexuals couple, but domestic violence occurs in gay and lesbian relationships more often than thought, in fact the rates of domestic violence in same-sex relationships is about the same as in heterosexual relationships. However, once in a gay relationship, know that you’re as equivalent to defend yourself, physically and mentally!
The abused partner feels alone, isolated and afraid, and is usually convinced that the abuse is somehow her or his fault, or could have been avoided if she or he knew what to do, and the purpose of the abuse is to maintain control and power over one’s partner. You must know that no one deserves to be abused, therefore, also know, you are in fact as equal to fight back, as you’re not as feeble as you’d think! Learn more about LGBTQ domestic violence on aardvarc.org (here)
Please note: That there is nothing awesome about domestic violence, and the fact that there are other factors that lead to domestic violence other than the physical ability. The 10th point certainly do not state it is ok to be in a violent relationship as long as your partner is the same gender. And it certainly does not state it’s ok for anyone to be abused.
The End