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Wow uh... This has been an interesting conversation. And I think it's good that it's happened. I'll just toss my two cents in and be on my way. Personally, I'd like to take a moment to apologize for any insensitive comments I've ever made about the LGBTQA+ community. I know I have in the past. Those can be forgiven due to my lack of education on the matter during that time, but still. It really all comes down to educating yourself. Though it's getting better, a lot of people have been raised with stereotypes and generalities that do not apply to everyone. I identify as...well, I'm not entirely sure. Demisexual, maybe. Maybe grey-ace. Somewhere along those lines. Who even knows. I don't particularly enjoy labeling myself very specifically. I think places like the U.S. are gradually becoming more accepting towards members of the LGBTQA+ community, which is nice to see. I think I take the stance of "be yourself as long as you're not hurting anyone in the process." Including yourself. Some stuff on religion, since I do think it's relevant though it's also a point people argue a lot on... Yeah that's mostly what I've got to say. It's important to develop an environment that is safe for those who identify as LGBTQA+. It's not just a recent issue; it's been around for years and years and is only just now coming to light. In a perfect world, we would just accept each other and move along. But that's not the world we live in and it is a big issue and we need to start addressing it as a problem so we can work towards solving it and making sure that a lot of the terrible tragedies that have happened don't happen again. That's primarily rooted in education.

First and foremost I found this screencap of a tweet on tumblr and thought it was funny and still somewhat relevant as Akakata and I both fall on the ace spectrum And though the topic's kinda progressed onwards I wanted to link this which is about a transgirl named Jazz. She was only 11 at the time of it being filmed and it's sad how young she was when she learned about all the...just ignorance the general public has regarding transgender people. It's also nice to hear about a family that fully accepts their child and is allowing her to transition so early on! I agree with majority of what you said (and I bolded parts I found particularly important) so I don't have much to add. I would like to add a little to that last part though. It's that LGBTQIA+ people leave their house every day knowing some people hate them (some even want to physically harm them) solely based on their orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression. For LGBTQIA+ teens it's knowing they could be kicked out, disowned, put into conversion therapy, and/or beaten simply for not being straight and/or cis. It's going to school every day and knowing there are undoubtedly kids there who wouldn't hesitant to bully you if you were out of the closet. It's having to be misgendered on a daily basis by your family because they can't fathom the idea of their beautiful daughter or son not being the gender they were assigned with at birth. It's knowing you could lose your job based over something you can't control. It's knowing you and your same gender significant other would not be safe visiting certain countries. It's knowing that in some countries being non het/cis is a crime and can land you in jail or even lead to you being killed. It's knowing just because of what your identity is you might be denied medical treatment. It's also knowing you're at a higher risk for certain mental illnesses including depression. It's living in fear. (main source: page 2 of this) It's not a pleasant thing to talk about but it needs to be discussed openly and frequently. These problems are fortunately going away slowly but surely but it's not an exaggeration to say some LGBTQIA+ people might not be able to hold out that long for things to change. It does get a little tiring to hear it over and over but it's not being reiterated just for the sake of being irritating. (in reference to bold part) I haven't heard of there being trans animals (do animals even have a concept of gender identity...? who even knows) But homosexual behavior (I hate how that sounds but don't know how else to word it) has been seen in numerous species (x) I admittedly don't have much to add to this either and +1 to what Balthazar said

I Hate it when religion gets a bad rep for things its not mostly correct I have talked to several folks diff religion and asked them: "OK, if you were to take out the religious aspect of you, what are your thoughts about all this" The answers will not be written here, and there is no support from them to this community..in short Folks its not religion, give it a rest already

Okay, okay, so a lot has been going back and forth, and it sounds like some good stuff has been said. machine has said several good things that I agree with, and MK has said a few things I just like to point out/elaborate on!! These "gender norms" are constructs of society, and I honestly and thoroughly believe that we should not be teaching men to act in such a manner. There's nothing "weak" in regards to things that are considered more "feminine" such as crying, showing physical affection, and being more open about our feelings. In fact, I think those things can be extremely important when it comes to having effective communication between any two groups or more of people. Second, those are only stereotypes and stereotypes leave a bad taste in my mouth. Please don't make any assumptions about this group of people. I understand that some members who identify as homosexual of the LGBTQA+ community can be flirty and overly dramatic, but so can any other group. And saying that you want to avoid that group of people solely because a few people can act in such a way is being discriminatory, but you seem to already understand that. Thirdly, I request that you don't continue to refer to the LGBTQA+ community as "gays". The LGBTQA+ community is filled with diverse orientations, not only homosexual people. It is incorrect to refer to us in such a way, and I personally find it extremely exclusive. How much more difficult is it to type LGBTQA+ over "gays"? Only a few letters. Thank you. I know many religious people who still follow the church, well, religiously. It still has power, and always has been. Many wars in history have been fought because of religion, and it still has tremendous influence. And to say they get "no persecution" is an absolutely incorrect statement. Please look here, and feel free to google "hate crimes against lgbt" and see what comes up. Even if it'll "probably be hard to change" doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to dissuade use of that phrase, as some people in the community may be uncomfortable with it. It's the same as when using the phrase "that's so gay" offended many people, especially when it was used in regards to something that wasn't even human. And for that last part, can you blame them for being so focused on it and advocating for it? People are thrown out of their homes for coming out to their families, they're scared. People commit suicide because they feel like they can no longer continue to live with their gender identity. It is a pressing issue, one that should be brought to everyone's attention. And this is a huge aspect of their life, so of course they're going to talk about it! It's the same as you being passionate about something you like, such as Detective Conan, for instance. You want to talk about it with your friends because you really like it. It's the same, except this can BE their entire lives. Just something to keep in mind. Thanks!