[Ramona_A_Stone]

Originally Posted by Drakonix

...If a person chooses to make his or her bedroom behavior public, that person must be prepared to accept public reactions, some of which might not be sympathetic or supportive...

A choice was made.

First of all, let's be clear and not confuse 'bedroom behavior' with the acknowledgment of preference. I've made my preference(s) a matter of public knowledge, yes, but never my 'bedroom behavior.' You may thank your lucky stars for this, as I thank mine that you do not regale me with lurid tales from your boudoir.

Interesting that no one ever seems compelled to issue such deeply thoughful warnings to heterosexuals, who quite commonly make their simple preference known as a matter of course and are rarely accused of dragging unwilling spectators into their bedrooms as a result.

For instance, when you recently posted a list of affectionate names for the human female breast (including my favorite, "Weapons of Mass Turbation"), I inferred, perhaps unduly, that your preference is probably for female sexual partners and lost absolutely no sleep over it. You might protest that this example is too ambiguous to be counted as you having 'made a choice' to make a 'public announcement of your sexual preference,' but then there's no reason for you to give such a thing a second thought, is there? In fact heterosexuals make their preference known with great frequency and transparency and with lesser or greater consciousness of it--and there's no reason they shouldn't, it's part of what they are.

In fact, it's likely I might be accused now, as I have been before, of 'going on and on about my sexuality' when in fact I've simply been drawn into a discussion about and predicated on other people's sexuality--and some might not so readily see that albed, for instance, by putting down my sexuality, is really 'going on and on' about his own.

So, your assessment, while well-intentioned and clearly not a product of conscious sexual bigotry, seems nonetheless to embody a double standard. It really is a polite suggestion that thoughtful homosexuals (or, in my case, bisexuals) might prefer to tiptoe about quietly, lest they should wake the sleeping mother of collective conscience and incur her grumblings.

Yes, I made a choice, as you imply, to be either honest or dishonest. In most communities heterosexuality is so ubiquitous it is assumed one is heterosexual until 'proven guilty,' therefor I suppose it would be a relatively simple affair to fly under the radar if one wished to pursue and explore this option of being dishonest indefinitely.

...Or would it? For instance, should I avoid all conversations dealing with sexuality at large in an attempt to appear safely asexual, or should I be more aggressive and lie overtly, pretending to like only girls when the topic comes up? Choices, choices...

Given the choice over again I'm sure I'd make the same one in spite of the fact that some might claim it makes me somehow responsible for whatever attempts at abuse come my way--or somehow, however equivocally, justifies such attempts.

I can only hope the same standard would not be offered to, say, a black person who was on the recieving end of racist epithets and slurs. They might be a good deal more offended than I am by being told it was their choice and that they might've avoided it by trying to appear caucasian.

At any rate, I'm big enough to handle it, so don't concern yourself. Generally I find that when I consider the source, the 'unsympathetic and unsupportive' feedback about my sexuality only makes me chuckle.

Of course pathological adolescents are common to just about every forum and all across the internet; those who seem to imagine that their ability to fire off stereotypical schoolyard-caliber insults and then slink away passes for some kind of wisdom.

Concerning albed, as he himself points out, he's not above using any other kind of stereotyping information in his attempts to 'discredit' people and thereby sleazily avoid actual intelligible dialogue about whatever subject is at hand. No reason for me to feel special. And of course 'intelligible dialogue' seems to be something he is entirely incapable of anyway, so I assume this is no great loss.