What gives you hope?

generallyjack

Nearly every day I come across some piece of news about anti-LGBT hate that gives me profound feelings of anger, sadness and helplessness. It feels like a punch in the gut, or a twisted gut. I want to do something, but at the same time, I feel totally useless and insignificant. Do you get that?

There are a lot of posts here about LGBTQ persons feeling depressed and/or angry about being a member of our wonderful community. It is very difficult for a lot of us to come to terms with this gift, because of hate.

I want to give them hope, and I want to re-instill that hope in those of us fortunate enough to be in a good place. If you have the time, please share with us those experiences, stories, pictures, videos, books, quotes, words, or anything that gives you hope and that warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment. It doesn't necessarily have to be LGBT-related.

I'll start with this video: (You might cry; brace yourself!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNYs3vR-qYg

Thanks bunches for reading this post. All the best, and all my love C:

P.S. The song is "Warm Whispers" by Missy Higgins!

Chuchoter

Yeah I was listening to coleman at large on newstalk the other day and they were talking about gay adoption and literally every text was 'I wouldn't trust my kids with them' 'they're selfish for wanting kids' 'kids deserve a man and a woman'. It really upset me that such a huge proportion of the country considers me a danger to my baby cousin .

Pride gives me hope, even though I disagree with parts of it. That you can get 12,000 gay people in one place who don't give a **** what anyone thinks gives me hope. And that we are getting more complex representations of gay people (though not lesbians :S) ie Kurt on Glee and his relationship with his father/coming out, Syed on Eastenders. They're not perfect but its a step up from Gok Wan and the like or just catty sidekicks to a female lead

Chorcai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1-ip47WYWc

rainbow kirby

From Maccy D's in France, courtesy of Carnal Nation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiRC2e-Sszk

Translation:

The ad is, obviously, in French, but a rough translation follows. The spot opens with a cute young guy looking at his class photo in a McDonald's when his cell phone rings. "Yes, I was thinking of you," he says into the phone. "I'm looking at the class photo, and I miss you," he adds as he lovingly strokes one of the other guys in the photo. "I have to go," he says as his father approaches with their meal. Dad asks, "Is that your class photo?" The son nods and hands it over to him. "I looked just like you when I was your age," says nostalgic papa. "I did quite well with the girls." Oops. Awkward moment as the son looks away from his father. But then dad saves the moment by saying, "It's too bad there are only boys in your class...You have all the luck." Smiles and loving looks of understanding all around as a folk singer begins to croon, "I'm going on my road..." Fade to black and the new McDonald's slogan: "Come as you are." Yes, a "royale" with lots of cheese, but this is advertising where the way to your wallet is through your heart. What do you think?

LegacyUser

Someone like Kimberly Reed gives me a lot of hope. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/07/kimberly-reed-prodigal-sons-transsexual

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oz2BHFH4fc

Or really any time I hear of a transgender woman who's successful in life and isn't a porn star. Someone who isn't just some "chick with a dick". Media seems to view transgender women as the butt of a joke at best, out to shock guys with their revelation, or at worst psychopaths with split personalities.

GalwayGuy92

It might sound silly but for me one thing that really helped when i was first coming out was the song 'Defying Gravity' from the musical Wicked.
The lyrics really spoke to me, one line in particular: "If thats love it comes at much too high a cost".
As out of context as that is it is an inspiring line in my opinion since the musical is all about this girl who is strickingly different trying to fit in with the soceity and then she decides that she wont 'fit in' because the cost is too high.
I first heard of Wicked through Glee when Kurt sang the song with Rachel and that too really was an inspiring performance for me. Kurt is an inspiring character as he faces all of the strife with a stoicism and maturity, which helped me accept myself.

rainbow kirby

GalwayGuy92 wrote: »

It might sound silly but for me one thing that really helped when i was first coming out was the song 'Defying Gravity' from the musical Wicked.
The lyrics really spoke to me, one line in particular: "If thats love it comes at much too high a cost".
As out of context as that is it is an inspiring line in my opinion since the musical is all about this girl who is strickingly different trying to fit in with the soceity and then she decides that she wont 'fit in' because the cost is too high.

Hehe, thanks for posting that, Wicked is awesome and it's one of my guilty pleasures

Chuchoter

Ah I forgot about glee!

baby and crumble

Something that made me epically happy was when my Mum went out of her way 2 years ago to find a card that said 'Happy Christmas to my daughter and her partner', and made sure that the picture on it wasn't of a male & female, it was just 2 teddy bears. She went to 4 shops to find it.

That same year my pseudo grandmother (she's like, 80 and was my grans best friend, you know how it goes...) went in and yelled at a poor guy in Easons because all their cards were boy-girl. Before me she would never have even thought about it.

Stories my Mum told me about how her best friends were all sitting around thinking how bad it was that my partner and I didn't have automatic rights, like straight couples. I thought they were going to start marching at one stage!

The fact that at my Mum funeral last year nobody batted an eyelid about my girlfriend sitting beside my brothers fiance in the second row, in relatively small town Ireland.

Of course some things make me sad, about how people judge me and put a label on me. But you know what? Other people can surprise you. And that's pretty awesome.

blogga

Great thread OP.
Hope is when something you had given up on springs into a new life, mayb different but new; when I realise how lucky I have been in meeting some of the amazing guys I have met. Hope is a May morning at 5 am when you're king of the world. And always this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K30e9O3Nng

LittleBook

Hi folks, someone in The Ladies Lounge thought you might like me to share this.

I saw two guys kissing this morning by the IFSC.

One was wearing a suit, the other was dressed a little more casually. Both in their early thirties.

It was just a peck on the lips ... have a good day ... see you tonight ... kind of thing, the most natural thing in the world for a heterosexual couple but something you rarely see (I've NEVER seen) a homosexual couple do on the street, particularly in the "financial district".

Warmed the cockles of my heart.

Links234

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE7Zw01bRgE

rainbow kirby

Not so much "gives you hope" as "makes me smile"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWPMkDDAb7w

TylerIE

generallyjack wrote: »

Nearly every day I come across some piece of news about anti-LGBT hate that gives me profound feelings of anger, sadness and helplessness. It feels like a punch in the gut, or a twisted gut. I want to do something, but at the same time, I feel totally useless and insignificant. Do you get that?

There are a lot of posts here about LGBTQ persons feeling depressed and/or angry about being a member of our wonderful community. It is very difficult for a lot of us to come to terms with this gift, because of hate.

I want to give them hope, and I want to re-instill that hope in those of us fortunate enough to be in a good place. If you have the time, please share with us those experiences, stories, pictures, videos, books, quotes, words, or anything that gives you hope and that warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment. It doesn't necessarily have to be LGBT-related.

I'll start with this video: (You might cry; brace yourself!)

Thanks so much for starting this thread, such a good idea, esp like you say with so much negative crap out there.

Ps. (being very gay), I did cry, but semi good tears!

Doop

Only saw this movie the other day, but I thought it was brilliant, called 'shelter' if you havent seen it defo worth a watch... gives me hope!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942384/

rainbow kirby

Gay couple gets married in Washington DC after 65 years together

This made me smile this morning

mollzer

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Gay couple gets married in Washington DC after 65 years together

This made me smile this morning

Thanks for that, made me smile too!

And great idea OP, thanks.

TylerIE

Sorry this video is meant to be a homophobic rant so ignore the trash at the beginning and the last 30 seconds...

if anybody wants to edit the hate messages out please do so and Il change the link - I aint that techny!

Im aware the hate messages go against this post but the rest of the video is worth it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKQXd0MpZA8

And number 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Ed1kb8B6U

generallyjack

generallyjack wrote: »

please share with us those experiences, stories, pictures, videos, books, quotes, words, or anything that gives you hope and that warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment. It doesn't necessarily have to be LGBT-related.

Sort of LGBT related...

Me and the girls were talking about having a baby for ages with the older of the two wanting to have one now but the younger for not some time yet.

We talked for ages, but there was always a worry in our heads about how the younger one would feel when we actually did announce "Its happened, theres a baby coming" and it was no longer just theory and talk. She seemed all for it but you always worry all the same.

I love when you give people news and the first words out of their mouth come so fast that there is no way they could have really thought about it. It is 100% natural.

I will always remember how when the two of us told her it was "on" she screamed "Oh my god we are going to be mommies!!!!!"

It is that selfless, automatic, from the heart, tiny little "WE" that will keep me feeling fuzzy right up to my death bed. One little word put any fear I had to rest instantly.

Still makes me all melty inside thinking of it. Not long until baby time now either!

Links234

http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/3/article_9024.php

Sir Ophiuchus

I love this thread so much.

Since we were talking about Glee, I have to post Kurt's dad's speech to Finn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCtF8QEC8hY

Quality is mediocre, but it's worth it.

Jim_Bob_2010

Good to see the musical loving homosexual seterotypes have a firm basis in reality lol

rainbow kirby

Couple of videos in support of Argentina's marriage equality bill (which is being debated this week) (Spanish w/English subtitles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN8I8Gk-BMU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BDOOvu5luk

rainbow kirby

^ Argentina legalised gay marriage yesterday.

See Ireland, if a staunchly Catholic South American country can do it, so can we.

Links234

very nice article here: http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=27288

TylerIE

A friend was engaging in something of a drunken PDA in kissing a boy in a city centre multi-national fast food chain recently.

He noticed a few funny stares but being under the influence ignored them.

A guy who had the sterotypical scanger image was near them and seemed to be looking a bit and coughed in a kinda "quit" way. They ignored them and he shouted "hey". They stopped and when nobody was near them started again a minute later.

The guy came over and shouted "lads". Expecting a punch up and tirade of abuse they were a bit concerned.

"Lads", he says "I just wanted to say, Fair f---s to ye's, ya don't give a f---k what anybody thinks, fair f

---

g play to ye's" and shook hands with them.

The guy was in his late teens, had a Dublin inner city accent, and when they were going home they seen him engaging in "anti social behavior" down the street. If even the troublemakers of the city - the people who in the past would have been perhaps who would be most intimidating - are so accepting then Irelands come a long way.....

Links234

<snip>

From the charter:

Do NOT post content of an explicit nature here.

rainbow kirby

Some beautiful pictures:

The Big Picture: Same-Sex Marriage (boston.com)

Podgoricka

Doop wrote: »

Only saw this movie the other day, but I thought it was brilliant, called 'shelter' if you havent seen it defo worth a watch... gives me hope!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942384/

yup its some movie al right.. kinda be cool if all things happened that way ha

MultiUmm

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Some beautiful pictures:

The Big Picture: Same-Sex Marriage (boston.com)

Warmed my heart.

I Found Nemo

A little movie called "Milk".:)

nelly1912

i really want to thank everyone here for postiing on this thread, as someone who is going through a very hard time and finding it hard to have hope, reading your posts and looking at the videos etc really brought a bit of sun to me. thank you very much xxx

Jessibelle

I heard on the radio today (I think it was Joe Duffy) people discussing David Norris for president. An 'aul wan' rang in and was asked could she see Mr Norris' sexuality being an issue. 'No' she said, 'so long as he didn't try to paint the Aras canary yellow. Other than that why would it?'

On one hand I was impressed, on the other, well I feel I should warn folks, beware gay politicians, they will paint their property canary yellow.... ;D

generallyjack

Hello all,

I just wanted to thank everyone for posting, and reading. I would also like to apologise for not getting back sooner.

I feel the best kind of warm-hearted delight when reading the posts, it's simply wonderful - it's the biscuits to my tea!

Here's something for you all:

http://www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject

It seems like a truly brilliant project. While things are improving for LGBT rights with every passing second, I feel that we need to make sure every message is heard in order to penetrate the unfair stigmatisation and taboo, for all our sakes.

Best wishes my dears,
John

Sir Ophiuchus

generallyjack wrote: »

Hello all,

I just wanted to thank everyone for posting, and reading. I would also like to apologise for not getting back sooner.

I feel the best kind of warm-hearted delight when reading the posts, it's simply wonderful - it's the biscuits to my tea!

Here's something for you all:

http://www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject

It seems like a truly brilliant project. While things are improving for LGBT rights with every passing second, I feel that we need to make sure every message is heard in order to penetrate the unfair stigmatisation and taboo, for all our sakes.

Best wishes my dears,
John

Too slow!

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056040472

generallyjack

Sir Ophiuchus wrote: »

Too slow!

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056040472

Whoops-a-daisy!

Thanks,
John C:

DS333

I know I'm going to be classed as a stark raving luniatic, but I'm going to share this with you anyway. It is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me, God.

I am gay and Catholic. Despite countless abuses from within, I decided to stay. I just couldn't believe that God was the monster they were making him out to be. As for the abuse hurled at anyone who dared to suggest that Cardinal Newman was gay... There's no such thing as a gay man in heaven! God, am I sick hearing that.

Anyway, I recently read a book about Bobby Griffith, a young man hounded to death by religion. He took his own life back in 1983 when he was 20. The book is desperately sad, especially the quotes from his journal. After all he suffered, I refused to believe that he was in hell.

My 9 year-old dog developed a very aggressive form of cancer in July and everything that could go wrong went wrong. I was scared he's die under the G/A. Then when I'd mustered the courage, I discovered that the operating theatre was contaminated with MRSA. I had nowhere to turn.

So, on a Sunday morning, I asked Bobby Griffith to prove to me that he was in heaven by healing my dog who meant so much to me. By Sunday afternoon the tumour was half the size. By Monday it was half the size again. By Wednesday it was gone, without trace.

The Catholic Church proves someone is in heaven when a miracle is performed. What I witnessed was a miracle. Benign growths do not disappear, let alone cancerous ones.

As far as I'm concerned we gays have a bona fide Patron Saint in heaven. That certainly makes me feel good and, I must confess, is mud in your eye for my so-called fellow Christians.

Links234

Transgender model Lea T lands her first magazine cover

Coeurdepirate

DS333 wrote: »

I know I'm going to be classed as a stark raving luniatic, but I'm going to share this with you anyway. It is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me, God.

I am gay and Catholic. Despite countless abuses from within, I decided to stay. I just couldn't believe that God was the monster they were making him out to be. As for the abuse hurled at anyone who dared to suggest that Cardinal Newman was gay... There's no such thing as a gay man in heaven! God, am I sick hearing that.

Anyway, I recently read a book about Bobby Griffith, a young man hounded to death by religion. He took his own life back in 1983 when he was 20. The book is desperately sad, especially the quotes from his journal. After all he suffered, I refused to believe that he was in hell.

My 9 year-old dog developed a very aggressive form of cancer in July and everything that could go wrong went wrong. I was scared he's die under the G/A. Then when I'd mustered the courage, I discovered that the operating theatre was contaminated with MRSA. I had nowhere to turn.

So, on a Sunday morning, I asked Bobby Griffith to prove to me that he was in heaven by healing my dog who meant so much to me. By Sunday afternoon the tumour was half the size. By Monday it was half the size again. By Wednesday it was gone, without trace.

The Catholic Church proves someone is in heaven when a miracle is performed. What I witnessed was a miracle. Benign growths do not disappear, let alone cancerous ones.

As far as I'm concerned we gays have a bona fide Patron Saint in heaven. That certainly makes me feel good and, I must confess, is mud in your eye for my so-called fellow Christians.

Just watched the film. Although it's so heartbreaking, you end up having immense respect for the mom at the end.

DS333

Coeurdepirate wrote: »

Just watched the film. Although it's so heartbreaking, you end up having immense respect for the mom at the end.

That's perfectly true but I bet her heart is broken. No matter what great work she does, she can't bring him back. But... Perhaps his martyrdom was what was needed to achieve so much progress...

rochey84

zoegh wrote: »

Something that made me epically happy was when my Mum went out of her way 2 years ago to find a card that said 'Happy Christmas to my daughter and her partner', and made sure that the picture on it wasn't of a male & female, it was just 2 teddy bears. She went to 4 shops to find it.

That same year my pseudo grandmother (she's like, 80 and was my grans best friend, you know how it goes...) went in and yelled at a poor guy in Easons because all their cards were boy-girl. Before me she would never have even thought about it.

Stories my Mum told me about how her best friends were all sitting around thinking how bad it was that my partner and I didn't have automatic rights, like straight couples. I thought they were going to start marching at one stage!

The fact that at my Mum funeral last year nobody batted an eyelid about my girlfriend sitting beside my brothers fiance in the second row, in relatively small town Ireland.

Of course some things make me sad, about how people judge me and put a label on me. But you know what? Other people can surprise you. And that's pretty awesome.

Amazing post, really thought you captured the spirt of some of the older generations and thats really inspiring, what gave me hope a few years ago was when my cousin and her family were over from Austrailia and without me saying anything my cousins 2 youngest kids asked if I had a partner and then other family members enquired as to why my partner wasn't there, (I didn't have 1 at the time) but that kind of told me that my family couldn't care less who I'm with as long as I'm happy and safe, so that was pretty heart warming to me!

NotYetKatie

What gives me hope is knowing I can reach a certain level of self-happiness in life.

rainbow kirby

First transgender trial judge in the US to be sworn in this week

Links234

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3onLLM2-Ns

Links234

transgender model Lea T and Kate Moss

Chuchoter

This song always puts in in a good mood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue_ia7Dikq0

Links234

http://www.styleite.com/media/lea-t-love-magazine-cover/

bodice ripper

I thought I would grow out of loving this, but no, clearly not....

possibly offensive and or not safe for work:

faget by korn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0UkTiKxmc&feature=related

Links234

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e12i9sP2gMg

rainbow kirby

Saw this on Reddit /r/lgbt this evening, thought it was a lovely article.

2 gay dads, 12 happy kids.

TylerIE

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Saw this on Reddit /r/lgbt this evening, thought it was a lovely article.

2 gay dads, 12 happy kids.

Amazing, thanks a million for that... Quite inspiring.