Society has just about got it about lesbians and gays: normal people with the same goods and bads as the rest of the human race. They are just attracted to the same sex rather than the opposite sex. Most know right from wrong. Many make good life choices and others get themselves into trouble with poor choices. Society is recognizing the L and G of LGBT as people deserving of recognition and respect as well as comparable rights and responsibilities.
Now society is beginning to wrestle with acceptance of transgender people, the T in LGBT. We are learning that some children are born with the physical attributes of one gender, but the internal sensation of being the opposite gender. Children are now sometimes recognized as transgender rather than 'gender confused'. Social workers, psychologists, teachers, clergy and parents are learning how to help such a child navigate childhood as the self-identified gender. Physical sexual reassignment is now available and is a valid choice for transgender adults.
But the scary one is the B for bisexual. We aren't quite there yet, but we need to be getting there. Actress Gillian Anderson has almost accidentally outed herself as bisexual. In an AZCentral.com article, Ms. Anderson explains her comments to Out Magazine about prior relationships with women. She further makes it clear that she doesn't consider herself gay [sic].
She said: ''I was talking to Out about gays and choice, and the view that you can just choose not to be gay in some way. I decided to talk about it now because someone with whom I was in a relationship a couple of decades ago - a woman - passed away about a year ago.
''I was talking about her and, in the context of the gentle conversation we were having, I thought I would say that I have had a couple of relationships with women, but that wasn't my experience because I did have a choice. I always knew I still liked boys.
''Being gay was never something that I identified with 100 per cent, because I knew that for me it wasn't the only way.''
And this is B for bisexual, the last of the sexual minorities to be dealt with, and possibly the hardest.
We don't want to acknowledge B because to some extent or another many straights and many gays are on the B spectrum. Rather than to acknowledge sexual attraction to both men and women, bisexuals tend to pick the end of the spectrum they feel closest to and identify as gay or straight. There is a sadness about being coerced by society to choose one end or the other, but that's the way it has been for millennia. Ya gotta be 'normal'. LGB and T are sexual minorities, but they are not abnormal.
Here's hoping the world can recognize and respect all minorities. We live in a magnificent creation with boundless diversity. The more we can open our minds to human diversity, the richer we can grow in spirit.
