Gay And Slut Shaming

What Does It Mean To Be Gay?

"What does it mean to be Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual or Transgender( LGBT)?"
Being LGBT is not just about physical attraction, but rather, encompasses the same needs all people have, to love another person and be loved in return.
Regardless of sexual orientation, we all have the same basic emotional needs. At times you may have heard LGBT people spoken of as if their entire existence was limited only to their sexuality, but this is only one part of their being, and how they identify themselves. Throughout history many of our great writers, poets, actors, scientists, artists, thinkers, sports men and women, philosophers, musicians and politicians were, and are, LGBT.
There are many figures in contemporary life who are LGBT (Senator David Norris, Ellen Degeneres, Elton John, Johanna Sigurdardottir-Prime Minister Iceland, Graham Norton).

Through this can come Slut shaming.

Women's [or men's] sex lives and sexuality are matters of their own choice, and nobody else's business.

People (usually men, but sometimes women) often criticize women's appearance for being too sexual (according to their standards of acceptable sexuality), in order to control women. They also often blame women for being victims/survivors of rape, by using similar appearance-based criticisms. Both of these uses of shame in order to dominate and control women are examples of rape culture.

In geek circles, there is often a tension between women's own sexual expression or choices in dress/grooming, and between Sexualized environments, which can be unwelcoming for some women. One important point to consider is who is served by (eg.) the women in skimpy clothes? If the women are doing it for themselves (as in the case of cosplay, for example) it is very different from if a company has hired women to dress sexily to attract male customers. In the latter case, it's important to not slut-shame the women who were working, but to criticise the attitudes and actions of the company that hired them.

It is sometimes argued that although women can freely choose to dress/act sexily, those choices aren't made in a vacuum, and may be the result of broader sexist norms. This is true; and yet the criticism in these cases should be aimed at the sexist norms, which are the actual problem. See also: Choice.

Asexual women are not immune to slut-shaming either. An extremely high number of people don't believe that asexuals exist. An asexual woman can also be accused of lying about her asexuality due to her dress, behavior, or existing racial stereotypes (See: Intersectionality and Race). Asexual women can also be raped and blamed for it (See: Corrective rape of non-heterosexual women). The invisibility of asexual women also leads to probing questions that disrespect their privacy. For example, asexuals are often asked in public if they masturbate, as a demand for proof.

We must be careful with these two for combined, they could cause someone to end their life.