How Do I Know If I Am Gay? Is Being Gay Or Bisexual Wrong? Coming Out However, many parents are very supportive and there is a group
set up by parents, for parents, called 'P.FLAG' (Parents & Friends
of Lesbians and Gay Men). Your local gay switchboard should be
able to tell you more about them. They will also have details
of social groups for people who are just coming out. What the Law Says About Gay Sex What About Aids? Despite what you may have heard, HIV is very hard to catch. Much
harder, than say, a cold. It can only be caught when a person
who already has HIV in their body fluids (usually their blood
or semen), passes it to another. In sexual situations, this is
most likely to happen through unprotected intercourse, and for
this reason lesbians appear to be at less risk than gay men -
but should nevertheless take care, particularly if either of the
partners is menstruating. What Is Safer Sex? Listed below are some telephone numbers of organisations that
can answer questions about safer sex, the law and many other things
to do with being gay or lesbian. Useful Telephone Numbers Terrence Higgins Trust Helpline: 0171-242-1010 (12 noon - lOpm) The THT staff will be able to advise you on all aspects of safer
sex including which condoms and lubricant you should use. This link will connect you to the THT web site. London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard 0171-837-7324 (24 hours, free) The world's only 24 hour gay switchboard. Their volunteers will
be able to answer any questions you may have about being gay or
lesbian, safer sex, as well as any gay pubs or clubs that are
in your area. They will also be able to tell you if you have a
local gay switchboard, since the London switchboard is so busy
it can sometimes take hours to get through. Keep trying! National Aids Helpline: 0800 567-123 (24 hours, free) This number if a freephone number and can only be dialled from
Britain. If you can't get through to any of the above numbers, you can
always e-mail us at Safex (safex@safex.co.uk) and we will try to help as best we can. Don't
forget we might be in a different time zone to you, so it may
take us a day or two to get back to you! (Britain is 8 hours ahead
of California, 5 ahead of New York.) GOOD LUCK and STAY SAFE ! !
Gay information page
Most gay adults say that they first thought they might be gay
around puberty, when they began to have their first sexual feelings.
But it doesn't necessarily mean that you are gay just because
you have had erotic thoughts about your own sex. Some people still
believe that it is common to go through a gay 'phase' during adolescence.
Others believe that these feelings do not just go away. What is
certain, is that many people experience gay feelings and it's
probably best to wait a few years to see how they develop before
deciding to label yourself one thing or the other.
No. But many young people are still taught that loving someone
of their own sex is wrong or 'unnatural', even though their feelings
are very natural to them. Being told these things can lead young
people to become very depressed about their feelings and many
contemplate suicide at some time. But gay people have always existed
and they are neither sick nor perverted. Most find boyfriends
and girlfriends and live normal, happy lives like everyone else.
It is important to realise that gay people do not choose to have
the feelings they have and it is not usually possible to change
them, anymore than a brown-eyed person could change their eyes
to blue.
The expression 'coming out' comes from the American expression
'to come out of the closet'. It refers to the time when a person
decides to stop hiding (in the 'closet') and starts telling other
people that they are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Most people eventually
come out because they are tired of living a lie and pretending
to be someone they are not. Many people will react well to this
and be very supportive, but many people still react badly to this
news (particularly if they have strong religious beliefs) so it's
best not to tell people until you are very sure about yourself
- especially if you are still living at home or financially reliant
on your parents! It's not unheard of for kids to be kicked out
of the house when their parents find out.
In Britain, men and women can have sex with each other once they
are both 16. However, a man cannot have sex with another man until
he is 18. But a woman can have sex with another woman once she
is 16. Confusing isn't it?! In most European countries, the age
of consent is equal for everybody, and gay people are still trying
to get the law changed in England so that everybody has the same
rights.
A.I.D.S. stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Aids
is not really a disease as such, but is a term used to describe
all the things that happen to your body once the body's immune
system gets weak from HIV. HIV stands for Human Immuno-deficiency
Virus. So you see, you can't catch Aids, you can only catch HIV.
HIV doesn't know the difference between a man and a woman. It
can not tell if you are gay or straight, or whether or not it
is your first time, so it is important that you always practice
'safer sex'.
'Safer sex' means pretty much the same for gay people as it does
for straight people. For men, it means a condom should be worn
whenever penetrative sex is involved. Those having anal sex, with
either a man or a woman, should use an 'extra-strong' condom,
like Safex Forte. A water-based lubricant will also be needed,
like Safex personal lubricant. Never use lubricants that are not
water-based (like Vaseline, baby oil or hand-cream) because these
will rot the rubber very quickly and can cause the condom to break.
Lesbians sometimes use 'dental dams' for oral sex and often cover
sex toys (like dildos) with condoms so that body fluids are not
exchanged. Condoms will also help to protect you from other sexually
transmitted infections (STIs) like 'herpes', 'syphilis' and 'gonorrhoea'.