FUCKIN' A!

       As the Florida legislature passes the "Don't Say Gay" bill let's take a break from the war and re-examine what the proper terms are these days for racial and sexual assignations. Try to keep up. The last I looked non-white people in America are called BIPOC (black, Indigenous, person of color) or AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander). There may be more subtle subdivisions I'm not aware of. As for so-called "gay" people "they" are called LGBTQ+ or so I thought. Then I heard that the letter "I" had been added. So I Googled it. I thought maybe it stood for "independent." It didn't. "I" stands for "intersex." 

What is intersex?

    Intersex is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types—for example, a girl may be born with a noticeably large clitoris, or lacking a vaginal opening, or a boy may be born with a notably small penis, or with a scrotum that is divided so that it has formed more like labia. Or a person may be born with mosaic genetics, so that some of her cells have XX chromosomes and some of them have XY.

    To my surprise another letter had been added without my knowledge. As I am scheduled to fly to San Francisco in April, I need to be up on all these terms. Not knowing the language on the West Coast can put you in deep shit with the locals. The proper term (as of today) is LGBTQIA+. To my delight the "A" stands for ally. Finally I have a letter! 

     Since I was a teenager with a few scraggly pubes on my balls I knew I liked girls and also liked and was fascinated by gay people. I had a great English teacher and a neighbor who grew pot, both of whom I assumed were gay. They were the coolest of my older friends. When I moved to SF in my twenties my horizons and choice of friends widened. I met plenty of gay people. Switching teams never entered my mind, but gay clubs and the overall gay scene was always preferable to any scene that was not welcoming of LGBTQIA+ people. I wasn't an advocate, but was definitely an ally. Whoever decides theses things I want to say thank you! I'll always be an old, cisgendered white man of Dutch and English ancestry. I can't change that. But I consider myself an ally for civil and sexual rights across the board. Changing race isn't exactly an option, but any of my friends who want to change sexual preferences or even sex, I have no problem with that. As long as you don't owe me money, I'll still love you without question.  You may not be able to say "gay" if you teach elementary school in Florida, but I don't think they can stop you from being an ally and teaching those tykes about inclusiveness and love. LGBTQIA+ rules. Fuck you De Santis, you creepy little troll! You are a disgrace. Fuckin' A!