Are there any GLBT divers/groups/clubs out there?

[iztok]

Believe or not that there are less accepted things in our society than being GLBT. In fact GLBT community is not really that anti-discriminatory itself when it comes to certain other minorities.

But that is nor here not there. When on a dive boat unless one mentions their sexual orientation no-one would actually notice or care.

 

[Sas]

Believe or not that there are less accepted things in our society than being GLBT.

And what is your point?

In fact GLBT community is not really that anti-discriminatory itself when it comes to certain other minorities.

And what is your point? I do agree that GLBT people can be discriminatory (for example, bisexual people tend to get discriminated against by some straight and some gay people) but I am not sure what it has to do with this topic.

But that is nor here not there. When on a dive boat unless one mentions their sexual orientation no-one would actually notice or care.

Well firstly, why should one have to not mention their sexuality just to stop people noticing or caring? People should be indifferent to someone's sexuality. Think about how much straight people talk about their partners in day to day life or just in general make comments that might indicate their sexuality (talking about someone they find attractive, etc), basically you are saying that if gay people don't do this, they'll be fine. Why should they have to act differently to heteros just to avoid negative treatment?

 

[iztok]

My point is that many GLBT people are just pot calling kettle black. Until that is corrected one really has no rights to call being discriminated against. (Same goes for African Americans here in US.)

I don't know about you but I never heard any such conversations during my boat dives. We talk about dive site, equipment, past dives etc. but not really about our sex life. I don't mention I am not homosexual when I am on a dive boat, it is not important. I also don't mention I am not a theist when on a dive boat. But if someone asks me for a prayer before the dive I decline. I also don't go out of my way to not tell I am libertarian. These conversations just don't come around that often on a dive boat. Now if one wants to ruffle some feathers, go ahead, announce your sexual orientation it doesn't bother me until you try to be in my face with it. Same with religion. It is fine until it is personal. If you want to start preaching on a dive boat I will tell you to stop or I will slip in some snide remarks about your holy book (and more than likely I know your holy book better then yourself).

Anyhow, the point I was trying to say is that for most of us it doesn't matter if person we are diving with is of different sexual orientation. It is not important info when it comes to diving.

 

[Sas]

My point is that many GLBT people are just pot calling kettle black. Until that is corrected one really has no rights to call being discriminated against. (Same goes for African Americans here in US.)

That makes no sense. Just because there are lots of discriminated against people, does not mean that one should just not discuss it.

I don't know about you but I never heard any such conversations during my boat dives. We talk about dive site, equipment, past dives etc. but not really about our sex life. I don't mention I am not homosexual when I am on a dive boat, it is not important. I also don't mention I am not a theist when on a dive boat. But if someone asks me for a prayer before the dive I decline. I also don't go out of my way to not tell I am libertarian. These conversations just don't come around that often on a dive boat. Now if one wants to ruffle some feathers, go ahead, announce your sexual orientation it doesn't bother me until you try to be in my face with it. Same with religion. It is fine until it is personal. If you want to start preaching on a dive boat I will tell you to stop or I will slip in some snide remarks about your holy book (and more than likely I know your holy book better then yourself).

Oh well we must hang around different crowds then as sex, politics and religion comes up fairly frequently with my friends. But even so, I don't agree that one should hide their sexual orientation. Heterosexual people just do not understand how much of what they say indirectly indicates their sexual orientation, so yea, you saying that sexual orientation should not be discussed by LGBT people, is hypocritical.

Anyhow, the point I was trying to say is that for most of us it doesn't matter if person we are diving with is of different sexual orientation. It is not important info when it comes to diving.

For a lot of people, it does matter. And that is the problem. As far as I can see very few places in the world have equal rights for LGBT people so yea, it is still a pretty huge deal.

 

[humanbeing]

iztok, do you think it's likely that lgbt people are having experiences that you may not be aware of? If it is no big deal, or if we should just "get over it," then why has this thread persisted for 8 years? What could be going on here that you don't understand?

I will tell you from my experiences as a gay person that many straight people are completely unaware of a lot of what goes on in my life, and how my life is different from theirs. And I know this not only from their actions, but because they themselves have told me repeatedly, after getting to know me and becoming a part of my life, "I had no idea about any of this..."

Yes, lgbt people want to connect with each other. Why is that such a threatening thing? Straight people are the dominant group in virtually every public space in our society. Why do they get their panties all in a twist when we want 2 inches of space for ourselves, or when we want to relate to each other, or when we attempt to create some type of space in which they are not at center stage every minute? They take offense at every deviation from their script.

If you're a libertarian, you'll likely grasp that lgbt people can choose to connect with each other within a diving context, and that other people's opinions or speculations on whether or not we should do this or why we do it don't matter much.

 

[humanbeing]

Also, as for lgbt people being prejudiced towards other groups, of course this happens. Just like it happens with straight people. And it bothers me when I see lgbt people who are, for example, racist, because I'm like, "Haven't they learned anything?"

That said, I would like to add that there are lgbt people who are also members of other marginalized groups. For example, there are gay Latino people, gay people with disabilities, etc. We are actual people, not abstractions, so of course we have just as many complexities as anyone else.

 

[humanbeing]

Heterosexual people just do not understand how much of what they say indirectly indicates their sexual orientation

Ding ding ding!

 

[RJP]

Believe or not that there are less accepted things in our society than being GLBT.

Ain't that the truth!

 

[RJP]

Oh well we must hang around different crowds then as sex, politics and religion comes up fairly frequently with my friends. But even so, I don't agree that one should hide their sexual orientation. Heterosexual people just do not understand how much of what they say indirectly indicates their sexual orientation, so yea, you saying that sexual orientation should not be discussed by LGBT people, is hypocritical.

+1

I can casually say to any stranger I meet on a dive boat "I love cave diving, but I'm married, and Nancy doesn't like the idea of me diving in a cave..." the likely response from 100% of people would be "You dive in caves?"

However...

I've got a female friend who's a diver who could well meet the same stranger on a dive boat and say "I love cave diving, but I'm married, and Nancy doesn't like the idea of me diving in a cave..." the response would often be "Why do you people always have to shove your sex life in our faces?"

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Good illustration RJP. Well put.