"Must be gay!" What part bothers you?

[Charla McBee]

Many folks here bemoan the ignorance-driven stereotyping (for example, if you crossdress you must be gay) but given the opportunity to educate and inform choose to remain silent, reinforcing the stereotype. What do you expect?

I'm slightly hypocritical by saying this at the moment but I really think this is something we should be doing. We can only fight ignorance with information and we can only inform if we step out of the closet. It's a scary prospect as there will be consequences (which is why I'm not quite there yet) but I think in the long run it's something I want to do. There's no use sitting around complaining about the situation if you aren't willing to do anything about it.

I've clammed up in the past given the opportunity to speak up, thinking it was self-preservation but keeping a big part of myself hidden is a losing proposition in the end. Staying silent and in the shadows isn't helping me and it isn't helping anyone else.