Hi Misty

A big welcome to you. It means a lot that you have taken the step of reaching out to us here. 🙂

We are all learning and look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Blessings,

Ann Maree

Hi Misty,

Welcome, so great to have you on F2B, this is a section of the forum I know everyone is keen to see grow so the more the merrier.

I completely understand your concerns of not saying the right thing or using the right terminology, so I did a lot of research and posted some info on the forum to help us all out. It can be found here http://www.freedom2b.org/topic/1592 you might find it of interest.

People at F2B are great, they are always appreciative and supportive of people willing to support them. As you read people’s stories your heart will be moved, so many have suffered great pain at the hands of other’s. A kind word from someone like yourself means so much. So thankyou for joining us.

God Bless

I forgot to say, and Welcome Misty.

Hey Misty….so cool to have another straight ally here. You are very very welcome in this space BIG HUG 🙂

You will find this a very respectful place…..no one is put down or attacked here. This tone was set back in 2005 and has been maintained successfully by participants and moderators for the last six years. Its a safe space. Remember that is no such thing as a stupid question. So any questions you have fire away. The enemy is ignorance. If there is something you say or term you use that is not quite appropriate then just has you have so graciously suggested we help you ……you will be graciously offered an alternative.

From my experience the two most comment mistakes that straight people make who might be new to the LGBT space is to use the terms ‘preference’ when referring to sexuality and the other is ‘lifestyle’ when referring to the way some gay and lesbian people might live their lives (but not all of course….actually the vast majority). For most LGBT people these terms are offensive. People may use the terms sometimes out of ignorance and not always intended to offend…….just that people where uneducated about appropriate language and terms.

For example I was catching a cab last night in Sydney to go and have dinner with a friend who lives outside the gaybourhood (this term is ok :bigsmile: ). I had a hat and scarf on and the taxi driver asked if i was an actor, artist,….someone famous he thought……hehe. I was feeling a bit chirpy so I said no…….I am an ambassador……..reeeeeeeeeeally he replied (thinking he had some important diplomat in the taxi).

Yes I said …..I am an ambassador for the gay community.

He paused for a moment then told me he that we are all human beings and no one should be judged because of their sexual preference. I didn’t jump on it immediately but talked some more. I asked if he had any religious background to which he replied that he believed in God and didn’t believe human being should judge other human beings. we talked some more about this and finally he came out of the closet. He was as I thought he might be…….Moslem.

I asked if it was okay if I corrected a term he used. Because of the friendly nature of our chat he jumped at the offer. I then talked to him about the term sexual preference, why it was offensive to many gay and lesbian people and that the correct term was sexual orientation. it was a conversation probably lasting about 15 minutes. After I paid my fair he thanked me for the interesting conversation and that now he understood the differences in the terms he would not say sexual preference again. One down…….??????? million to go……. :bigsmile:

Thank you Anthony and so many others for the warm welcome. I’m glad I’ve taken the step. God bless.