PRIDE & SELF ESTEEM

More acknolwedgement and understanding of the dramatic social and psychological burden inflicted by a homophobic society needs to be factored into the equation of what its like to be Gay. Without that we will never fully comprehend the ramifications of such a hate-filled milieu, and the reasons why things are.

My head hurt as I watched him write in my chart "patient states he is homosexual."

To an outside observer, it may seem strange that a subset of a community that is surviving AIDS appears to be killing itself. They may not know that as kids, many gay men felt oppressed, ostracized or ashamed of liking guys. As young adults they desperately crave acceptance. They enter a party scene predicated on rejection -- for not being "cool" enough, cute enough, thin enough, etc. Crystal, which at first makes a user feel powerful and attractive, eases their fears.