<p>I just found myself reading the thread about liberal/gay colleges, so I thought I'd make a thread about LGBTQA students on this website.</p>
<p>For those gay college students out there, how's life at your college? Do they show strong support? Have you faced any form of discrimination? Do you get involved with the lgbt community? Have people treated you differently? Has it been hard for you to meet other lgbtqa students? Etc.</p>
<p>By the way, the "Q" and the "A" stands for "questioning" and "asexual" respectively.</p>
<p>I guess this is just a thread for other lgbtqa to share their experiences during college. Feel free to post!</p>
<p>Darin</p>
<p>Edit: FYI, if you don't have anything positive to say, or contribute to the relevancy of this thread, please don't bother. There is no need for negativity on here.</p>
<p>Edit: I know this isn't the "High School Life" topic (I don't really care), but feel free to post high school experiences, as well!</p>
<p>I’m also interested in this topic. As an openly queer (another word in the LGBTQA acronym) high school student, I plan on being equally open in college and would like to be in a comfortable environment.</p>
<p>I am really glad to hear that you are open and proud! You are one brave man/woman! Very admirable. I’m not completely out to my family, but a couple know. Also, I didn’t come out in high school due to my denial of being gay, but I’ve embraced it now and I am willing to be who I am. If anyone asks me upfront, I am honest with them. No more hiding anymore. A few of my good friends from high school know, as well, and I am glad I told them because life just feels so much better. And they were fine with it, too!</p>
<p>Anyway, again, feel free to post ANYTHING related to LGBTQA on here. Whatever is on your mind.</p>
<p>Why does this need discussion? The best way to start moving away from being “discriminated against” is to stop bringing issues like this up. It is ironically a sort of reverse prejudice by assuming that, unless you go to a LGBTQA friendly campus, everyone is going to lynch you.</p>
<p>So in summary: blend in with the scenery and no one is going to care what your sexual preferences are or what your religion is or what color your hair is.</p>
<p>I never assumed that all “non-accepting” schools will “lynch” students. That’s not the point of this thread. The reason I made this thread is because I want to discuss about what others are going through. Sure, blending in with the crowd sounds ideal, but not everyone feels comfortable, especially when that person isn’t comfortable with who they are. That’s why I made this, so those who are not comfortable with themselves can discuss issues they’ve come across in college. And, unfortunately, it IS still an issue and it SHOULD be brought up. Brushing this kind of topic under the floorboard and pretending as if everything is fine is not the way to go. I’ve experienced some negativity at my school and so have my friends at their schools, so I thought this would be an interesting thread where people can be informed of the intolerance and what can be done to fix the problem or how to cope with such things.</p>
<p>My current school is very open to LGBTQA students. The student body may not always align with them (for instance, the ROTC debate proved pretty divisive), but there’s no open hostility. A transgender student wrote a weekly opinion piece in the main newspaper about his identity and related issues, and I think these were pretty well read. </p>
<p>I just visited my friend at another school, and I kept hearing people use the word “gay” as an insult (no one does that at my school). I definitely picked up a homophobic vibe there.</p>
Countless historical examples prove you wrong. </p>
<p>
In other words, hide certain parts of one’s identity to conform with the dominant trends of the time. Because if a majority of people are doing something, it must be right. </p>
<p>For the most part, the west is becoming increasingly pluralistic. It’s time to acknowledge, not deny, this fact. Maybe we can even embrace it.</p>
<p>This is exactly right. Conformity defines a society. Nail that sticks out gets hammered. Etc etc. There’s good reason why you wear a suit and tie to an interview instead of flip flops and a tshirt.</p>
<p>I don’t know. I’m a bisexual girl, but I tend to seem fairly straight to most. I think I come across as somewhat butch just because I don’t dress too girly, but I think most people meeting me for the first time don’t know my sexuality. And I like that. I prefer to be ambiguous as possible, but I’m pretty abnormal as LGBTQ people go. All my friends are straight girls and I think I kind of mute my bisexuality in a way to fit in with them (which is fine with me because I know myself and I value my close friendships much more than any potential relationship) so I don’t know if I have a very normal perspective. I have not gotten any weirdness in college other than some straight girls acting mildly weird because they find out I am bi (annoying but whatever). I plan to be more involved with the LGBTQ community this year and hopefully I can hang out with more LGBTQ people this year…all my friends are straight which is fine but it would be nice to have more people in my life that are like me.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m a gay male, and I’m currently a freshman at WUSTL. if anyone asks, I’ll tell them, but I won’t go screaming it to the entire world. I haven’t experienced any homophobia here, I feel completely accepted. I have gone to a few LGBT events, as I wish to make activism a larger part of my life. If you are interested in WUSTL, or college in general, and have questions, feel free to pm me!</p>
<p>I’m straight and from a pretty conservative area in California, but went to a strongly liberal state college on the west coast for my undergrad degree. The first year I lived in the dorms and my floor was full of Greeks and a few non-Greeks and the majority of people I got to know were conservative and, after getting to know them, slightly homophobic. (I was homophobic in jr. high, mostly due to sentiments learned from my parents, but I had friends who were more aware and sympathetic and slowly my views started to change.) The next year was like night and day. I had a lesbian and a few gay men in my dorm floor. Eventually my group of friends included many gays and lesbians. I would have never believed it if you had told me that ten years ago. </p>
<p>Queenthethird is absolutely wrong. How would tolerance ever be learned if people hid their true selves from others? Gay men and women have been hiding who they are throughout history and all that has brought is oppression and marginalization. It is only recently, starting with the civil rights movement and sexual revolution in the 60’s and 70’s, that LGBTQA people have been out and open about who they are and with that has been an increased acceptance by society and law.</p>